Breaking News

Arts and Culture

Renée Watson’s ‘All the Blues in the Sky’ wins Newbery Medal for best children’s book

NEW YORK (AP) — Renee Watson’s “All the Blues in the Sky,” in which the author blends poetry and prose to tell the story of a teen confronting the death of her best friend, has won the John Newbery Medal for the year’s best children’s book. The Randolph Caldecott Medal, for outstanding illustration, was given to Catia Chien for the summertime picture book “Fireworks,” written by Matthew Burgess. The Caldecott and Newbery awards, along with dozens of other prizes for children’s literature, were announced Monday by the American Library Association. Jewell Parker ...

New Carnegie Medal winners Megha Majumdar and Yiyun Li love libraries

NEW YORK (AP) — Novelist Megha Majumdar, one of this year’s winners of medals presented by the American Library Association, doesn’t only visit libraries for the reading. There’s the jigsaw puzzle table in midtown Manhattan and the telescope she borrowed from the central branch of ...

In the Oscar nominated ‘Arco,’ an apocalypse kids can get behind

In all the dystopian visions of the future that the movies have trotted out over the last few decades, the one that sticks the most, surprisingly, is “WALL-E.” That’s not just because of the chastening sight of an over-polluted Earth or those sedentary humans glued to their screens. It’s because those quite plausible possibilities mean something different in a kids movie. It’s their future, after all. Some of the same can be said about Ugo Bienvenu’s “Arco,” a charming and dreamy sci-fi animated movie where environmental catastrophe and cartoony fun collide. Like ...

Gay ice hockey drama ‘Heated Rivalry’ becomes a surprise hit in Russia despite anti-LGBTQ+ laws

LONDON (AP) — If you haven’t heard of gay ice hockey TV drama “Heated Rivalry” and its two lead stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie yet ... then get your skates on. What started as a word-of-mouth hit in the U.S. and Canada in December 2025 has spread to become a global phenomenon. Its stars have rocketed from unknowns to cultural icons in the space of weeks, appearing on stage at the Golden Globes, sashaying down the Milan catwalks to, this week, carrying the torch for the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. Based on the 2019 novel by Rachel Reid, the story traces the ...

Local artist, Avary Gunsallus, brings her skills to the Pajama Factory

WILLIAMSPORT — A Clinton County native is making her mark in nearby Lycoming County. Central Mountain High School graduate, Avary Gunsallus is described as a tailor, painter and educator whose work bridges fine art and functional design, according to information released by the Pajama ...