AP Entertainment SummaryBrief at 9:30 a.m. EST

Kristen Bell returning as host to SAG's Actor Awards

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kristen Bell is returning as host of the Screen Actors Guild’s Actor Awards for a third time. SAG-AFTRA, the actors union that presents the annual awards, announced Wednesday that Bell will emcee the March 1 awards, formerly known as the SAG Awards. Though the ceremony has often gone without a host, Bell was their first in 2018 and she returned again last year for the awards’ first time on Netflix. Netflix will again stream live the awards from the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall in Los Angeles. “One Battle After Another” leads all nominees with seven nods, including for best ensemble.

This just in from The New York Times: Its first 2-player game, and an evolving business model

There's a lot more to The New York Times than its news stories, and that's by design. The success of ancillary products on its website — Games, the Wirecutter product recommendations, mounds of recipes in cooking and podcasts — have fueled the news company's success over the past decade. Digital subscriptions keep rising from people who can't kick their Wordle habits, and it has led to The Times more than doubling its staff of journalists over the past decade, particularly remarkable at a time of rapid contraction in the news industry. Wednesday's a big day at The Times' Games site, as it introduces its first competition designed for two players.

Rome pays its last tribute to fashion 'emperor' Valentino in a two-day public viewing

ROME (AP) — Rome is paying its last tribute to legendary designer Valentino, who made of his high-glamour gowns and trademark shade of red an iconic symbol of Italian elegance. Valentino Garavani, who died aged 93 at his Rome residence on Monday, built his house in the Italian capital, where he will be lying in state at his foundation in Piazza Mignanelli on Wednesday and Thursday, just a few steps away from the world-known Spanish Steps. His funeral will be held on Friday in the Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri in central Rome.

We Need Diverse Books launches Unbanned Book Network to fight school bans

NEW YORK (AP) — We Need Diverse Books has launched the Unbanned Book Network to counteract book bans in schools and libraries. The program announced Tuesday will donate banned books and appoint Author Ambassadors to school districts facing bans. It plans to start with 20 under-resourced schools in states where there are bans, including Texas and Florida. CEO Dhonielle Clayton says the initiative addresses both a literacy crisis and rising censorship. Authors Ellen Oh and Meg Medina, whose books have been banned, will be among the participants. PEN America reports a surge in book bans over the past four years, prompting various responses from publishers and advocates.

'West Wing' actor Timothy Busfield released from New Mexico jail pending trial

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Actor Timothy Busfield has been released from a jail in New Mexico, where he faces charges of child sexual abuse. Attorneys for the actor known for appearances in “The West Wing” and “Field of Dreams” successfully argued during a detention hearing Tuesday that he's not a danger to the community. Prosecutors sought to keep him behind bars, emphasizing the gravity of the charges and what they say is a pattern of sexual misconduct, grooming behavior and abuse of power by Busfield over decades. Busfield is accused of inappropriately touching a minor while working as a director on the set of the TV series “The Cleaning Lady.” Busfield denies the allegations.

Pharrell opens Vuitton’s monogram anniversary year with cinematic menswear show

PARIS (AP) — Pharrell Williams opened a celebration year for Louis Vuitton’s monogram — marking the house’s 130th anniversary of its most recognizable signature — with a Fall-Winter 2026 men’s show that was equal parts brand pageant and movie set.Inside the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, a grassy runway ran in the round. At its center sat a glass-walled, minimalist apartment — part bedroom, part display box — where models kept entering and exiting like characters crossing movie scenes. It was also a celebrity-heavy room, with a front row mixing music, film and online fame—SZA, Usher, Future, Jackson Wang and others, plus a runway debut to seal the crossover: BamBam of Korean boy band GOT7.

Han Kang, Angela Flournoy, Arundhati Roy nominated for National Book Critics Circle awards

NEW YORK (AP) — Novels by Nobel laureate Han Kang and Angela Flournoy, along with a memoir by Arundhati Roy, are finalists for the National Book Critics Circle awards. The critics association announced nominees in eight competitive categories and three honorary winners. Celebrated author-journalist Frances Fitzgerald will receive a lifetime achievement award. On Tuesday, NBCC President Adam Dalva praised the finalists for broadening creative and social horizons. Han's “We Do Not Part” is a fiction finalist. Roy is nominated in autobiography for “Mother Mary Comes to Me.” Winners will be announced on March 26.

Brooklyn Beckham accuses David and Victoria of putting branding before family and sabotaging wedding

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Brooklyn Beckham has accused his parents, David and Victoria Beckham, of trying to sabotage his marriage and putting branding ahead of family. In a series of Instagram posts, the eldest of their four children says his parents have above all sought to control narratives in the press throughout his life. He says he doesn't want to reconcile with them. Brooklyn married American actor Nicola Peltz in 2022, and many of his grievances stem from their wedding. He claims his mother bailed on designing Peltz's dress and “hijacked” their first dance to his embarrassment. David and Victoria Beckham did not have an immediate public response to the posts, and messages left for their representatives were not immediately answered.

Music Review: Megadeth is going out on top with ferocious self-titled final album

Megadeth is going out on their own thunderous terms. The Grammy-winning thrash metal pioneers will release their self-titled 17th and final studio album on Friday. It marks more than 40 years of guitar-shredding. The album kicks off with “Tipping Point,” a furious first single featuring classic Megadeth elements like blistering guitar solos and crunchy riffs. The Associated Press’ Dennis Waszak Jr. writes in his review that the album is a fittingly loud farewell, sending the band out on top. The album includes a reimagined version of Metallica’s “Ride The Lightning.” Founder, frontman and the only constant member of Megadeth Dave Mustaine says he added the song to pay respects to his career's beginnings.