Spice Girls to tour as foursome
A report says the Spice Girls are about to give fans what they really, really want: a reunion.
The Sun newspaper said Saturday that the 1990s girl group is about to announce anew tour, but without original member Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham.
The newspaper says the band has recorded a message that will be broadcast Monday announcing a
2019 U.K. stadium tour.
Apart from Beckham, now a successful fashion designer, the lineup includes Melanie “Sporty Spice” Chisholm, Emma “Baby Spice” Bunton, Melanie “Scary Spice” Brown and Geri “Ginger Spice” Horner.
The band was a 1990s phenomenon with hits including “Wannabe” and “Viva Forever.” They performed as a four-piece for two years after Horner quit the band in 1998, split in 2000 and last reunited at the 2012 London Olympics. — Associated Press
Baldwin denies ‘clickbait’ charge
Alec Baldwin is denying that he punched anyone over a parking spot and says the allegation is being reported “for the purposes of clickbait entertainment.”
The actor was arrested Friday and charged with assault and harassment after allegedly hitting another man in the face during a parking dispute in New York City.
The other man told police Baldwin hit him with his hand. He said he wasn’t sure if it was a punch or a slap.
Baldwin’s publicist did not respond to a request for comment after the arrest.
But Baldwin said later on the Twitter account of the Hilaria and Alec Baldwin Foundation that “the assertion that I punched anyone over a parking spot” is false. He said he “wanted to go on the record stating as much.”
— Associated Press
Shakira opens two schools in Colombia
Shakira has laid the cornerstones for two schools in her native Colombia as she wraps up a five-month world tour that included stops in Germany, Brazil and the United States.
The famous pop singer and philanthropist visited the historic city of Cartagena on Friday and laid down the first bricks for a school that will serve around 1,000 children.
She then rushed to her hometown of Barranquilla where she inaugurated construction of a similar facility in front of dozens of adoring fans.
The construction of the schools will be financed by Pies Descalzos, a foundation run by Shakira that currently manages three schools for underprivileged children.
Shakira concludes her El Dorado world tour on Saturday in Bogota, where she will sing at a venue that fits 35,000 people.
Python presents slithery situation at Texas Goodwill store
— Associated Press
Movie: Grindelwald character not Trump
Johnny Depp’s charismatic leader at the center of the new “Fantastic Beasts” sequel isn’t modeled on President Donald Trump.
But the stars of “Crimes of Grindelwald,” which J.K. Rowling was writing during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, say there are some similarities.
Callum Turner, who plays the older brother of Eddie Redmayne’s main character, says the movie shines a light on leaders both past and present. Turner says the film is about how people can be drawn in by leaders with a seductive message.
The film set in the “Harry Potter” universe finds Depp’s character, Gellert Grindelwald, seeking to gain power and divide “pureblood” wizards from humans in 1920s Paris.
Katherine Waterston plays a magical law enforcement agent. She says Grindelwald is far more “subtle” than the blunt president.
Donation center gets scaly surprise
A Goodwill worker collecting clothes and other items at a Texas sorting center was surprised to find an albino python clinging to the side of a bin.
The python was huddled in a pile of clothes when the worker discovered it Thursday at the center in Fort Worth.
Manager James Murphy says it’s not clear if the snake slithered away from its owner and was accidentally dropped off or if its donation was intentional.
The python had a serpentine journey: It arrived at one of nearly 40 Goodwill donation drop-offs in the area before being transported to the Fort Worth sorting center.
Goodwill staffers will care for the python until the owner claims it or a permanent home is found.
— Associated Press