Broadway theater blaze forces 'Book of Mormon' to close

Country music legend Dolly Party on Monday announced the cancellation of a series of Las Vegas concerts, citing ongoing health concerns.

Parton, 80, said in videos posted to her social media accounts that although treatment for an unspecified illness was going well, she wasn't ready to be performing on stage.

The "9 to 5" singer had previously postponed the Las Vegas residency, which was originally scheduled to kick off last year.

"The good news is I'm responding really well to meds and treatments, and I'm improving every day now," she said in the video on Monday.

"It's going to take me a little while before I'm up to stage performance level," she said, adding that medicines she's taking were making her light-headed and woozy.

"Of course, I can't be dizzy carrying around banjos, guitars and such, on five-inch heels, and you know that I'm going to be wearing them. Not to mention all those heavy rhinestone outfits, the big hair, my big personality," she joked.

Parton said her doctors were working hard on strengthening her immune and digestive systems. 

"They assure me that everything I have is treatable," she said. 

Speculation over Parton's health last year -- following her sister's public request for prayers -- prompted the music legend to post a video addressing her fans titled "I ain't dead yet!"

In her latest video, Parton -- whose husband Carl died last year -- thanked fans for their support and said she was still working on various projects including a museum and hotel set to open in Nashville, Tennessee later this year, and a Broadway musical.

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A blaze caused major damage Monday to Broadway's storied Eugene O'Neill Theater, forcing it to close for repairs and halting its run of the smash hit musical "The Book of Mormon," the New York fire department said. 

This religious satire about two young Mormon missionaries sent to a remote village in Uganda has been on Broadway for 15 years and been performed in London's West End and beyond.

The New York fire department's assistant chief, David Simms, told a media briefing at the scene of the fire that "the building is going to be out of service pending repairs." He said almost 200 firefighters and EMS staff rushed to the site. 

It was not immediately clear how long the closure will last, or if the show will be moved to another theater.

"There's been substantial damage on the fourth floor in the electrical room, which contains lighting equipment, and the hanging chandeliers," Simms added.

"This was a deep-seated fire, involving a lot of electrical equipment... It was very difficult to get to. There was a lot of catwalks and rigging in the theater."

Ambassador Theater Group, which owns the Eugene O'Neill, did not respond to a request for comment.

"The Book of Mormon" is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' sacred text, and the name Mormon has been used to identify the church since it was established in 1830, although initially outsiders said it as a derogatory term.

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Coverage of the Trump administration dominated the Pulitzer Prizes announced Monday as the prize committee unleashed a searing attack on US President Donald Trump's attempts to limit freedom of reporting.

"We stand for civil discourse and against censorship," said Pulitzer Administrator Marjorie Miller ahead of the announcements, which honored coverage of Trump's immigration crackdown and his enrichment of his allies. 

"Unfortunately, this bears repeating now, as media access to the White House and Pentagon is restricted, free speech is challenged in the streets, and the President of the United States has filed lawsuits for billions of dollars for defamation and malice against multiple print and broadcast media."

The prestigious Pulitzer Prize for public service journalism was awarded to the Washington Post for its in-depth coverage of Trump's "chaotic" efforts to reconstruct the US federal bureaucracy.

"In rich detail" the coverage explored "the human impacts of the cuts and the consequences for the country," Miller said.  

The investigative reporting prize went to The New York Times for its series exposing how Trump "exploited the money-making opportunities that come with power, enriching his family and allies."

Its reporting highlighted how Trump's allies and families benefited from ties with wealthy Gulf monarchies and involvement in cryptocurrency.

In the local reporting category, The Chicago Tribune was honored for its "vivid, muscular prose" reporting how federal immigration agents subjected the midwestern city to a "siege-like incursion" as part of Trump's crackdown on undocumented migrants. 

A second prize in that category went to the Connecticut Mirror and ProPublica for an investigation into unscrupulous vehicle towing practices.

Miami Herald reporter Julie K. Brown received a special citation for her "groundbreaking reporting" in 2017 and 2018 of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

"Her 'Perversion of Justice' series, published nearly a decade ago, revealed how prosecutors shielded Epstein from federal sex trafficking charges when he was first accused of abusing young women," Miller said.

- 'Inventive and revelatory' -

The New York Times won the breaking news photography category for Saher Alghorra's  "haunting, sensitive" images showing the "devastation and starvation in Gaza resulting from the war with Israel." 

The Reuters news agency received the nod in the national reporting category for its coverage of Trump's use of executive power and his supporters' influence to "exact vengeance on his foes."

The Associated Press news agency was honored in the international reporting category for its reports on how the US government allowed its country's businesses to sell surveillance technology to China.

The Pulitzer for explanatory reporting went to the San Francisco Chronicle for its series on the aftermath of the LA fires, showing how insurers undervalued properties lost to fires, denied homeowner claims and hampered their efforts to rebuild.

The Reuters news agency scooped the Pulitzer for beat reporting, honoring what the committee called "inventive and revelatory" coverage  of how Meta knowingly exposed users to scams and AI manipulation.   

The Pulitzer for breaking news reporting was awarded to the Minnesota Star Tribune for its coverage of a shooting in a back-to-school mass at a Catholic school that left two children dead and 17 wounded.

The coverage highlighted the prevalence of gun violence in the United States and the limitations of efforts to combat it.

The Pulitzer for feature writing went to Aaron Parsley of Texas Monthly for his account of the Central Texas floods that destroyed his home and killed his nephew.

'Liberation,' by Bess Wohl won in the drama category, while the history Pulitzer went to 'We the People' by Jill Lepore, and the biography prize was awarded to 'Pride and Pleasure,' by Amanda Vaill.

The Pulitzer Prizes are overseen by Columbia University.

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(The Center Square) – Second-term Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed his redrawn congressional map into law.

The Legislature gave passage last week.

“Signed, sealed and delivered,” DeSantis wrote on social media, with his signature on the new map’s image.

Florida's representation is 20 Republicans, seven Democrats and one vacancy from the resignation of former Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick. The new map is forecast to bring an end for Democratic U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor in the Tampa area and Maxwell Frost in Central Florida.

Five districts represented by Democrats are expected to leave just three. They include areas represented by Reps. Jared Moskowitz, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Lois Frankel, Frederica Wilson and Cherfilus-McCormick.

Litigation is expected. The primaries in Florida are scheduled Aug. 18. The second qualifying period, inclusive of U.S. House of Representative candidates, is scheduled June 8-12, according to the Florida Department of State’s Division of Elections.

The plan was approved 21-17 by the Senate after an 83-28 breeze in the House of Representatives.

New maps have been redrawn and implemented for November's midterms in six states, another has a change from litigation, and three more states remain tied up in courtrooms. A fourth state in litigation, Louisiana, learned its fate from the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Those seven changes have given a potential net gain of seven seats to Republicans, the last four coming from Florida.

The U.S. House was divided 220 Republicans, 215 Democrats following the 2024 election cycle. Today, it's 217 Republicans, 212 Democrats, one independent formerly Republican, and five vacancies.

New maps are in play for the 2026 elections in California, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas. Litigation has also led to changes in Utah.

Virginia, Georgia and New York remain in litigation. The Supreme Court's ruling announced Wednesday is expected to lead Louisiana to a new map for November. Maryland's bid for new congressional maps died in April without making it out of a Legislature with majority Democrats in each chamber.

For Republicans, in addition to Florida's four, Texas could gain five seats (to 30-7), Ohio two (to 12-3), and Missouri (to 7-1) and North Carolina (to 11-3) one each.

For Democrats, California (to 48-4) could flip five seats and Utah (to 3-1) one.

Two-time reigning American League Cy Young Award winner as top pitcher Tarik Skubal will undergo arthroscopic elbow surgery to remove loose bodies, Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers announced on Monday.

The move came after an elbow injury flared up on Sunday, with neither the Tigers nor the 29-year-old left-hander putting a timetable on his return from an injury that typically requires a two- or three-month recovery.

Skubal was pulled from a scheduled Monday start against Boston five days after an injury scare last Wednesday against Atlanta and sent to the injured list.

Skubal shook his left arm and grabbed his foream in Atlanta. He prepared for his next start but suffered a setback in work on Sunday.

"I thought I was progressing in a very positive manner," Skubal said. "Yesterday's catch play just didn't really go great, which led to getting scans and getting the information."

Skubal won a record $32 million arbitration decision to pitch this season and will be a free agent after the campaign.

"This is something I've kind of been dealing with," Skubal said. “But then again, it was progressing in a positive manner, so I wasn't very concerned about it."

Skubal has no ligament damage and is likely to pitch again this season.

"From my understanding, you just go take (the loose bodies) out," Skubal said. "I'm going to come back and be the same guy. I'm not really too worried about that."

Skubal is 3-2 this season with a 2.70 earned-run average and 45 strikeouts in 43.3 innings for the Tigers, who share the AL Central division lead with Cleveland at 18-17.

Skubal had Tommy John ligament replacement surgery and missed the 2017 college season, then had left forearm tendon surgery in August 2022 and missed 11 months.

Since then, Skubal has gone 41-15 with a 2.41 ERA in 511 innings over 84 starts. He led the AL in wins, strikeouts and ERA in 2024 for the pitching Triple Crown.

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(The Center Square) – Army veteran Daniel Swain spoke only briefly in response to a federal magistrate judge on Monday and will have a detention hearing on Thursday.

Swain, of Summerville, S.C., was arrested in North Carolina on Wednesday because of threats scrawled onto the vehicle authorities believe he was driving to Washington in search of second-term Republican President Donald Trump. The arrest in Apex at a car wash drew action from the U.S. Secret Service, the State Bureau of Investigation and its bomb squad, and the FBI.

According to the federal complaint, "The defendant, did knowingly and willfully make a threat to take the life of, to kidnap, or to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States." He's charged with communicating a threat against the president.

If convicted, he could face five years in prison.

He told U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Numers II of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina on Monday he understood the charges against him.

In Wake County District Court, he faces charges of resisting a public officer, possession of methamphetamine and a fictitious license plate.

Swain will remain jailed until Thursday’s hearing.

Apex police said he had written threatening messages on the outside of his vehicle. One message read, “headed to WSH to kill the Pres.” The rear window messages said, “Tell Donald he is fired,” “5 dead 5 years,” and “3 Navy, Teacher & Trucker.”

A message on the passenger side window told the read to commit suicide. That was among the messages scrawled out after a car wash, according to the federal complaint relying on surveillance video.

The federal warrant says Swain “stated his motivation to write the threats on the vehicle was his perceived wrongful death of his father, uncle and grandfather. These family members served in the military and died under suspicious health-related circumstances.”

(The Center Square) – Iran is testing the ceasefire as it fires at U.S. naval and commercial vessels within hours of the implementation of “Project Freedom.”

U.S. Central Command Commander Adm. Brad Cooper told reporters Iranian cruise missiles targeted U.S. Navy ships and commercial shipping vessels, but were “defended,” according to Cooper.

President Donald Trump said via Truth Social Monday afternoon that the U.S. “shot down seven smaller boats,” also referred to as fast-attack boats, which Iran has been relying heavily on to wreak havoc in the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump warned Iran during an interview with Fox News that if the regime attacks any U.S. Navy ship, “They’ll be blown off the face of the Earth.”

The warnings come as the United Arab Emirates claims they have been under attack by the Islamic Republic on Monday, with the regime launching ballistic and cruise missiles at the Gulf nation, which houses U.S. military forces.

Since Iran essentially shut down the Strait of Hormuz shortly after the strikes began, the president has been urging nations that rely on oil from the strait to take action to secure the vital waterway connecting the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

Trump reignited that call Monday, urging South Korea to “join the mission,” after the president said Iran targeted a South Korean ship. Though the president also said, despite the South Korean ship being targeted, “at this moment, no damage going through the strait.”

It is unclear if the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, which was initiated April 7, is still in effect following the latest uprising from Iran.

Trump said that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine would host a press conference Tuesday morning, possibly providing an update on the fragile ceasefire and “Project Freedom.”

World number six Collin Morikawa, a two-time major winner, withdrew from the PGA Truist Championship on Monday, taking a rest before next week's PGA Championship at Aronimink.

The 29-year-old American, who captured the 2020 PGA Championship and 2021 British Open, has battled several injuries in recent weeks, including a back injury that forced him to pull out of The Players Championship in March after one hole.

Morikawa, who won his seventh career PGA Tour title in February at Pebble Beach to snap a 28-month win drought, shared 62nd last week at Doral.

He also withdrew from last month's PGA Texas Open ahead of the Masters, where he shared seventh. He shared fourth the following week at the Heritage tournament.

World number two Rory McIlroy, coming off his second consecutive Masters victory last month at Augusta National, leads this week's field at Quail Hollow, where McIlroy has won four times.

The tuneup for the year's second major tournament also features England's third-ranked Matt Fitzpatrick, fourth-ranked American Cameron Young who won last week at Doral and England's fifth-ranked Justin Rose and seventh-ranked Tommy Fleetwood.

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Russia on Monday declared a unilateral ceasefire with Ukraine between May 8-9, when Moscow marks its annual World War II Victory Day commemorations, and threatened a "massive missile strike" on Kyiv if Ukraine violated it.

Ukraine responded by declaring a truce of its own between May 5-6, saying it was "not serious" to expect it to observe a ceasefire during a Russian military holiday.

The quarrelling between the two sides comes with a lull in US-led diplomatic efforts to end the war, as Washington shifts its focus to conflict in the Middle East.

Russian strikes killed nine people across Ukraine on Monday, according to Ukrainian officials, while a Ukrainian drone crashed into a high-rise building in an upscale Moscow neighbourhood overnight.

"In accordance with a decision of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces, Vladimir Putin, a ceasefire has been declared from May 8–9, 2026... We hope that the Ukrainian side will follow suit," the Russian defence ministry said in a post on state-backed messaging service MAX.

"If the Kyiv regime attempts to implement its criminal plans to disrupt the celebration of the 81st anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, the Russian Armed Forces will launch a retaliatory, massive missile strike on the centre of Kyiv," it added.

"We warn the civilian population of Kyiv and employees of foreign diplomatic missions of the need to leave the city promptly."

Russia marks World War II Victory Day each year with a massive military parade through Red Square.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that having a ceasefire so Moscow could mark the celebration was "not serious", and that Russia was afraid Ukrainian drones would "buzz over Red Square".

"As of today, there has been no official appeal to Ukraine regarding the modality of a cessation of hostilities that is being claimed on Russian social media," Zelensky said in a post on X.

"In this regard, we are announcing a ceasefire regime starting at 00:00 (2100 GMT) on the night of May 5–6. In the time left until that moment, it is realistic to ensure that silence takes effect," he added.

The Ukrainian leader later landed in the Gulf nation of Bahrain for talks on "security cooperation", a source in the Ukrainian delegation told AFP.

- Deadly attacks -

Russian strikes on Ukraine killed at least nine people on Monday, according to Ukrainian officials.

A Russian ballistic missile attack on the town of Merefa -- outside Ukraine's second city of Kharkiv -- killed seven civilians and wounded dozens earlier Monday, regional authorities said.

AFP journalists in Merefa saw several bodies strewn in the street, covered by blankets and white sheets -- with shops, houses and cars damaged.

A separate Russian strike on the village of Vilnyansk in the southern Zaporizhzhia region killed two others, the region's governor Ivan Fedorov said.

"Unfortunately, a married couple was killed: a 51-year-old man and a 62-year-old woman," Fedorov said. 

Their 31-year-old son was wounded in the strike, along with three other people, he added.

In Russia, a Ukrainian drone killed a civilian in the border region of Belgorod, governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

A Ukrainian drone also hit a residential high-rise building in an upscale Moscow neighbourhood overnight, the Russian capital's mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

- Russia advances slow -

Russia lost more territory than it gained in Ukraine in April for the first time since a Ukrainian counter-offensive in the summer of 2023, an AFP analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) showed.

Moscow ceded control of about 120 square kilometres (46 square miles) between March and April, the ISW data showed.

Despite the fighting at the front reaching a near stalemate, intense and deadly drone-dominated attacks have continued unabated in recent months.

Russia's advances have slowed since late 2025, as communication issues in the Russian army combined with Ukrainian counterattacks helped Kyiv make localised breakthroughs in the southeast.

The Ukrainian army's net gains -- their first in more than two years -- were marginal however, representing only 0.02 percent of Ukrainian territory, the data showed.

Moscow currently occupies just over 19 percent of Ukraine, the majority of which it seized during the first weeks of its invasion in 2022.

Approximately seven percent, including Crimea and areas in the Donbas region, were already under Russian or pro-Russian separatist control before the invasion.

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(The Center Square) – With Congress juggling government funding, the farm bill, government surveillance reauthorization and more, a Republican election security bill has taken a backseat, much to the chagrin of President Donald Trump.

As U.S. lawmakers take a week-long recess, Trump and a vocal minority of Republican senators are ramping up calls to terminate the Senate filibuster so that the SAVE America Act has a chance of passing the chamber.

Those lawmakers – a group that includes Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky.; Mike Lee, R-Utah; Ron Johnson, R-Wis.; and Roger Marshall, R-Kan.; – argue that if Republicans don’t eliminate or weaken the 60-vote threshold, Democrats will once they regain the majority.

Once that happens, they argue, the election reforms within the SAVE America Act that almost all Democrats oppose will never pass.

“When the Democrats have the chance, they will end the filibuster. They want to turn America into a one-party nation – pack the Supreme Court, turn D.C. and Puerto Rico into states,” Johnson told Fox News on Monday. “So we need to stop them, and the only way we can stop them is to end the filibuster now, pass election integrity reforms, so that only American citizens can vote.”

He added, “I’m just being practical. They’re going to do it. We ought to do it before that for the benefit of the American people.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has resisted his colleagues' calls to nuke the filibuster, saying there is not enough support in the Republican caucus.

As an olive branch, Thune kicked off a marathon debate in March, which allowed senators to hold the floor to speak either for or against the House-passed SAVE America Act for as long as they are able.

But the 60-vote threshold for passage still applies, and in the midst of April’s whirlwind of legislative activity, the marathon debate effectively died with Republicans having failed to bring any Democratic senators to their side.

Democrats view the SAVE America Act as a voter suppression bill. The legislation would require Americans to present proof of citizenship when registering to vote, necessitate in-person voter registration for federal elections, and require states to remove all noncitizens from their voter rolls.

Republicans argue that the bill implements “commonsense” election reforms. Many also believe it is crucial for congressional Republicans to maintain their majority in the midterm elections.

“Two years ago, I was for keeping [the filibuster],” Marshall said in a recent Fox News interview. “But I just want to remind everybody… [Democrats are] going to end it next chance they get. And I think if that’s the case, then there are some things worth ending the filibuster over. I think voting rights, voting integrity would be one of those types of things that I’d be willing to end it for.”