Fire causes ‘substantial damage’ to Book of Mormon theater in New York

Costume Art pairs couture pieces with items from its collection in exploration of many kinds of human bodiesSpeaking at the opening of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute spring exhibition in New York, Anna Wintour described the first Monday in May as her “favourite day of the year, and also my most terrifying one”.This particular Monday may be more high-stakes than previous years, with Monday night’s Met Gala for the exhibition’s launch mired in controversy, owing to Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos’s sponsorship of the event. It is also the inaugural exhibition for the Costume Institute’s new home: a 12,000 sq ft space, named the Condé M Nast Galleries, that puts the museum’s fashion exhibitions in a considerably more high-profile spot, right off its Great Hall. Continue reading...

The 80-year-old singer will not be performing rescheduled dates in September but assured fans she is receiving treatment and ‘improving every day’Dolly Parton has canceled her Las Vegas residency over ongoing health issues.The 80-year-old singer had originally been scheduled to perform six shows at Caesar’s Palace last December but moved the dates to September 2026. She has now announced on social media that she won’t be able to perform as planned. Continue reading...

Labor’s 2026-27 budget shows state has recorded $700m surplus this financial year, first of its kind since before the Covid-19 pandemicGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastVictoria is back in black for the first time since the start of the pandemic, with Tuesday’s state budget to deliver an operating surplus and forecasting another next financial year.The 2026-27 budget, to be handed down on Tuesday afternoon, will show the state recorded a $700m surplus in 2025-26, largely in line with December’s pre-budget update of $710m and an improvement on the $611m forecast last May. Continue reading...

Labour leadership challenge in wake of disastrous local poll results could unleash chaos in party, MPs warnedCabinet ministers have warned mutinous Labour MPs that any attempt to oust Keir Starmer after a potentially disastrous set of election results this week would unleash chaos for the party that would not be easily overcome.However, several told the Guardian that even with the prime minister’s determination to stay in Downing Street after Thursday’s vote, the mood on the backbenches was febrile and events could yet spiral out of control. Continue reading...

Ron DeSantis approves maps that give Republicans an advantage in four more races in November’s midtermsUS politics live – latest updatesFlorida governor Ron DeSantis signed a new gerrymandered congressional district map into law Monday which gives Republicans an electoral advantage in four additional races in November’s midterm elections.“Signed, Sealed, and Delivered,” DeSantis said in a post on X, with a map of the new districts attached. Continue reading...

Police are searching for at least four individuals responsible for ‘terrifying signals of hatred and threats of violence’Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxSeveral synagogues and homes in the New York borough of Queens were vandalized overnight Monday with swastikas, according to the city council speaker.On Monday, Julie Menin, along with other city council members including Lynn Schulman and Phil Wong, visited Congregation Machane Chodosh, one of the sites targeted in Forest Hills. Continue reading...

The British artist was booed after identifying as a Republican voter while on stage in DallasRapper Kid Cudi has fired MIA from his tour after the British artist went on a rant that went viral while on stage in Dallas.While opening up for the hip hop artist on 2 May, MIA was booed after saying: “I’ve been canceled for many reasons. I never thought I would be canceled for being a brown Republican voter,” as reported by Variety. Continue reading...

Former New York City mayor, who was placed on ventilator, is also being monitored, a spokesperson saidRudy Giuliani, a former New York City mayor, is breathing on his own after being hospitalized with pneumonia and placed on a ventilator, his spokesperson said Monday.Giuliani, 81, remains in critical but stable condition at a Florida hospital and is being monitored as a precautionary measure, Ted Goodman, a spokesperson, said. Continue reading...

A key Indian state, the result is set to have significant implications for the country’s political landscapeIndian prime minister Narendra Modi’s party has won a resounding election victory in West Bengal, a state which had been a rare opposition stronghold, expanding his unrivalled consolidation of power across the country.It is the first time that Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have won assembly elections in West Bengal, a large and politically significant state in eastern India. Continue reading...

The 26th president was wounded in the attack but the thick manuscript in his breast pocket helped save his lifeThe first page of a thick manuscript that helped slow a bullet and save the life of Theodore Roosevelt during a 1912 assassination attempt has been uncovered by a presidential historian in Pennsylvania.Signed by the 26th president, who at the time was seeking another term in the White House after leaving office almost four years earlier, the document from Roosevelt was found in the possession of a private collector and has not been seen in more than a century. Continue reading...

After banging the battle drum, the US president is now in Nobel Peace Prize mode, promising to free marooned ships“Project Freedom” has all the trappings of a classic episode of the Trump Show, the reality series that the rest of the world does not just have to watch, but live through and survive. It has a dramatic plot twist, it is bathed in a self-projected beatific light, and the trailer looked far more promising that the reality.Trump spent a long weekend in Florida banging the war drum. Iran had not “paid a big enough price” for its past misdeeds, he wrote in an online post before spending Friday afternoon revving up a cheering crowd at America’s largest retirement community. Continue reading...