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    Political Drama Averted, Artists In Spotlight At Kennedy Center Honors

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments2708 Views
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    2017 Kennedy Center Honoree Norman Lear attends the 40th annual Kennedy Center Honors at the Kennedy Center on Sunday, Dec. 3, 2017, in Washington. (Photo by Greg Allen/Invision/AP)

    By Ashraf Khalil

    WASHINGTON (AP) --

    This year's Kennedy Center Honors recognizing outstanding artists and performers managed to skip the political drama that loomed over it earlier this year — just ask honoree Norman Lear.

    Ahead of Sunday night's festivities at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the longtime television producer behind "All in the Family" and other hits reacted with mock surprise when reminded that President Donald Trump was not attending.

    "Really? Wow!" Lear said as he entered the building. "I'm expecting a warm, funny, wonderful evening. My guess is that the focus tonight will be on the arts."

    The president usually sits with the honorees and other guests. But Lear threatened to boycott the event over his opposition to Trump, and other artists expressed unease with the idea of meeting the president. A showdown was avoided when Trump announced in August that he and first lady Melania Trump would not attend.

    Another honoree, rapper and actor LL Cool J, called the evening "an amazing, amazing moment" for a hip-hop artist who officials said was the youngest-ever Kennedy Center Honors recipient at 49.

    He said there were many deserving rappers and performers from his generation but would not go so far as to say that anybody deserved the honor over him.

    "I'm humble, but I'm not going to play pseudo-humble," he said before the program. "I'm the one!"

    The 40th annual Kennedy Center Honors ceremony also paid tribute to dancer and choreographer Carmen de Lavallade and musicians Lionel Richie and Gloria Estefan.

    Honorees each received a lengthy and personally tailored onstage tribute sprinkled with surprise guests.

    Estefan was greeted with performances of her greatest hits and a solo performance by her daughter Emily.

    For LL Cool J, they recreated a club onstage with performances by Busta Rhymes and members of The Roots as well as a testimonial by Queen Latifah.

    For Lear, a series of quick changes transformed the stages into the sets from "Good Times," ''All in the Family" and "Maude," with testimonials from Rob Reiner, Dave Chappelle and Anthony Anderson from the current hit show "Black-ish."

    In addition to the Sunday ceremony, this year's recipients were honored Saturday at a gala State Department dinner. The program was to be televised Dec. 26 on CBS.

    In the past, most U.S. presidents have attended the ceremony, but it's not unprecedented for a sitting president to skip it. Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton all missed ceremonies during their terms in office, but in all previous cases the first lady attended.

    Kennedy Center officials didn't hide their relief when Trump announced he wouldn't attend. Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter and Chairman David M. Rubenstein released a statement saying they were "grateful" to the Trumps for avoiding a conflict that would overshadow the ceremony.

    "In choosing not to participate in this year's honor's activities, the administration has graciously signaled its respect for the Kennedy Center and ensures the honors gala remains a deservingly special moment for the honorees," the statement said.

     

    Category:News
    Tags:Kennedy Center HonorsNorman Lear



    A Closer Look At Proposed Measures Designed To Curb Google’s Search Monopoly

    Thursday, November 21, 2024

    U.S. regulators are proposing aggressive measures to restore competition to the online search market after a federal judge ruled Google maintained an illegal monopoly for the last decade.

    The sweeping set of recommendations filed late Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice could radically alter Google's business, including possibly spinning off the Chrome web browser and syndicating its search data to competitors. Even if the courts adopt the blueprint, Google isn't likely to make any significant changes until 2026 at the earliest, because of the legal system's slow-moving wheels.

    Here's what it all means:

    What is the Justice Department's goal?
    Federal prosecutors are cracking down on Google in a case originally filed during near the end of then-President Donald Trump's first term. Officials say the main goal of these proposals is to get Google to stop leveraging its dominant search engine to illegally squelch competition and stifle innovation.

    "The playing field is not level because of Google's conduct, and Google's quality reflects the ill-gotten gains of an advantage illegally acquired," the Justice Department asserted in its recommendations. "The remedy must close this gap and deprive Google of these advantages."

    Not surprisingly, Google sees things much differently. The Justice Department's "wildly overbroad proposal goes miles beyond the Court's decision," Kent Walker, Google's chief legal officer, asserted in a blog post. "It would break a range of Google products — even beyond search — that people love and find helpful in their everyday lives."

    It's still possible that the Justice Department could ease off on its attempts to break up Google, especially if President-elect Donald Trump... Read More

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