BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) - Thousands of students, faculty and supporters of Hungary's University of Theater and Film Arts formed a human chain Sunday between their institution and parliament to protest government steps seen diminishing its autonomy. Those at the protest passed from hand to hand a document declaring the school's principles and goals, which was to be presented to lawmakers. Organizers asked participants to wear masks and gloves because of the coronavirus pandemic. In the past few years, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's nationalist, conservative government has transferred several key universities to private foundations ruled by boards of directors loyal to the government. While the government says the new structure will increase educational quality and make the institutions financially independent, critics see the reforms as efforts to limit the schools' autonomy and bring them ideologically closer to the nationalist government. Students at the University of Theater and Film Arts have barricaded themselves inside the building since Tuesday. A school official said Sunday that the start of classes would be postponed by a week. Many of the university's top professors have resigned, as has the school's leadership, in wake of the designation of the foundation's board of trustees, led by theater and film director Attila Vidnyanszky. Since 2013, Vidnyanszky has also been the director of Hungary's National Theater. The SZFE, the university's Hungarian acronym, is 155 years old and counts several Oscar winners among its graduates, including Michael Curtiz, the director of "Casablanca," and Vilmos Zsigmond, the cinematographer for "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Numerous actors, musicians, artists and other universities have expressed their...

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) - Thousands of students, faculty and supporters of Hungary's University of Theater and Film Arts formed a human chain Sunday between their institution and parliament to protest government steps seen diminishing its autonomy. Those at the protest passed from hand to hand a document declaring the school's principles and goals, which was to be presented to lawmakers. Organizers asked participants to wear masks and gloves because of the coronavirus pandemic. In the past few years, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's nationalist, conservative government has transferred several key universities to private foundations ruled by boards of directors loyal to the government. While the government says the new structure will increase educational quality and make the institutions financially independent, critics see the reforms as efforts to limit the schools' autonomy and bring them ideologically closer to the nationalist government. Students at the University of Theater and Film Arts have barricaded themselves inside the building since Tuesday. A school official said Sunday that the start of classes would be postponed by a week. Many of the university's top professors have resigned, as has the school's leadership, in wake of the designation of the foundation's board of trustees, led by theater and film director Attila Vidnyanszky. Since 2013, Vidnyanszky has also been the director of Hungary's National Theater. The SZFE, the university's Hungarian acronym, is 155 years old and counts several Oscar winners among its graduates, including Michael Curtiz, the director of "Casablanca," and Vilmos Zsigmond, the cinematographer for "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Numerous actors, musicians, artists and other universities have expressed their...

VENEZIA (AP) - Los confinamientos por el coronavirus han impedido la presencia de la mayoría de los cineastas y actores hollywoodenses en el Festival de Venecia, pero Gia Coppola y Maya Hawke llevaron algo del Estados Unidos de hoy al Lido con "Mainstream", una mirada penetrante a la cultura de YouTube y los "influencers". Las dos miembros de la realeza de Hollywood (Coppola es nieta de Francis Ford y Hawke la hija mayor de Uma Thurman y Ethan Hawke) dijeron que les hicieron varias pruebas del virus desde su arribo, como requieren las normas de la Mostra para los que llegan de fuera de Europa. "Parece un momento en que decimos, 'está bien, podemos seguir las reglas y seguir celebrando el arte y el cine y protegernos mutuamente'", dijo Hawke, y añadió que le gusta sobre todo que los asistentes al festival adhieran a las precauciones antivirus de Italia, como el uso de la mascarilla y el respeto al distanciamiento social. En Estados Unidos "tenemos muchas dificultades para trabajar juntos. Y es por eso que una se siente tan bien al estar aquí, trabajar juntos y con mucho respeto mutuo", dijo a he Associated Press el sábado. Es el segundo largometraje de Coppola y su segunda presencia en el festival, donde debutó en 2013 con "Palo Alto" en la sección Horizontes para nuevos talentos. "Mainstream" también tendrá su estreno en la sección. En la película, Hawke hace el papel de Frankie, una camarera de bar en Los Ángeles cuyo video en YouTube de un don nadie (Andrew Garfield) se vuelve sensación en el internet. El filme indaga en el lado oscuro de la cultura "influencer" y la necesidad de ganarse la atención de desconocidos en la red social. "Pregunta si es o no es posible crear arte mientras uno trata de llamar la atención y buscar likes", dijo Hawke, quien actualmente...

VENEZIA (AP) - Los confinamientos por el coronavirus han impedido la presencia de la mayoría de los cineastas y actores hollywoodenses en el Festival de Venecia, pero Gia Coppola y Maya Hawke llevaron algo del Estados Unidos de hoy al Lido con "Mainstream", una mirada penetrante a la cultura de YouTube y los "influencers". Las dos miembros de la realeza de Hollywood (Coppola es nieta de Francis Ford y Hawke la hija mayor de Uma Thurman y Ethan Hawke) dijeron que les hicieron varias pruebas del virus desde su arribo, como requieren las normas de la Mostra para los que llegan de fuera de Europa. "Parece un momento en que decimos, 'está bien, podemos seguir las reglas y seguir celebrando el arte y el cine y protegernos mutuamente'", dijo Hawke, y añadió que le gusta sobre todo que los asistentes al festival adhieran a las precauciones antivirus de Italia, como el uso de la mascarilla y el respeto al distanciamiento social. En Estados Unidos "tenemos muchas dificultades para trabajar juntos. Y es por eso que una se siente tan bien al estar aquí, trabajar juntos y con mucho respeto mutuo", dijo a he Associated Press el sábado. Es el segundo largometraje de Coppola y su segunda presencia en el festival, donde debutó en 2013 con "Palo Alto" en la sección Horizontes para nuevos talentos. "Mainstream" también tendrá su estreno en la sección. En la película, Hawke hace el papel de Frankie, una camarera de bar en Los Ángeles cuyo video en YouTube de un don nadie (Andrew Garfield) se vuelve sensación en el internet. El filme indaga en el lado oscuro de la cultura "influencer" y la necesidad de ganarse la atención de desconocidos en la red social. "Pregunta si es o no es posible crear arte mientras uno trata de llamar la atención y buscar likes", dijo Hawke, quien actualmente...

SAO PAULO (AP) - Una rueda gigante con luces rojas ilumina un camino lúgubre en un parque de diversiones con temática de terror en Brasil. Una fila de autos se desplaza lentamente mientras actores vestidos de hombres lobo y brujas se acercan a los vehículos con los brazos extendidos. Aparece otra escena apocalíptica: dos zombis devoran una víctima. Gente en decenas de autos acudieron el viernes al parque de diversiones Hopi Hari en Vinhedo, estado de Sao Paulo. El parque temático, cerrado debido a la pandemia, reabrió con una adaptación para prevenir la propagación del virus: la gente disfruta del terrorífico espectáculo desde sus autos. Para las familias hartas de meses de encierro, Hopi Hari significa la posibilidad de estremecerse deliciosamente con los fantasmas, demonios y monstruos desde el auto. Durante el tour de 2,7 kilómetros que se realiza en media hora, los visitantes pasan por siete atracciones principales que incluyen breves reproducciones de películas de terror como "El exorcista". "Se adaptan, y esto es muy bonito. Nos permite salir de casa y divertirnos", dijo Jose Purgato, quien llevó a su familia al parque. Sao Paulo es el estado brasileño con más casos reportados de coronavirus: más de 800.000, con unos 31.000 decesos. Algunas ciudades han habilitado autocines e incluso espectáculos de circo. "Estuvimos encerrados en casa durante tanto tiempo", dijo Tariana Souza, de 31 años, quien dijo que la salida al parque permitió "escapar de nuestra rutina".

SAO PAULO (AP) - Una rueda gigante con luces rojas ilumina un camino lúgubre en un parque de diversiones con temática de terror en Brasil. Una fila de autos se desplaza lentamente mientras actores vestidos de hombres lobo y brujas se acercan a los vehículos con los brazos extendidos. Aparece otra escena apocalíptica: dos zombis devoran una víctima. Gente en decenas de autos acudieron el viernes al parque de diversiones Hopi Hari en Vinhedo, estado de Sao Paulo. El parque temático, cerrado debido a la pandemia, reabrió con una adaptación para prevenir la propagación del virus: la gente disfruta del terrorífico espectáculo desde sus autos. Para las familias hartas de meses de encierro, Hopi Hari significa la posibilidad de estremecerse deliciosamente con los fantasmas, demonios y monstruos desde el auto. Durante el tour de 2,7 kilómetros que se realiza en media hora, los visitantes pasan por siete atracciones principales que incluyen breves reproducciones de películas de terror como "El exorcista". "Se adaptan, y esto es muy bonito. Nos permite salir de casa y divertirnos", dijo Jose Purgato, quien llevó a su familia al parque. Sao Paulo es el estado brasileño con más casos reportados de coronavirus: más de 800.000, con unos 31.000 decesos. Algunas ciudades han habilitado autocines e incluso espectáculos de circo. "Estuvimos encerrados en casa durante tanto tiempo", dijo Tariana Souza, de 31 años, quien dijo que la salida al parque permitió "escapar de nuestra rutina".

HALBERSTADT, Germany (AP) - Hundreds of fans attended a special kind of musical happening Saturday at a church in Germany: a chord change in an organ piece that is supposed to last for an entirety of 639 years. The performance of the "ORGAN/ASLSP," or As Slow As Possible, composition began in September 2001 at the St. Burchardi Church in the eastern town of Halberstadt and is supposed to end in 2640 - if all goes well. The music piece by the American composer John Cage is played on a special organ inside the medieval church. The last sound has been the same one for the last six years and 11 months, and therefore the chord change Saturday was a big event among fans of the John Cage Organ Project. A chord change means that the sound of the organ pipes changes either because new sounds are added or existing sounds end. On Saturday, two new organ pipes were added. Organizers say the performance is "one of the slowest realizations of an organ musical piece." A compressor in the basement creates energy to blow air into the organ to create a continuous sound. When a chord change happens, it's done manually. On Saturday, soprano singer Johanna Vargas and organist Julian Lembke changed the chord. The new sound reminded some listeners of the metallic buzz inside a big ships's engine room. The next chord change is planned for Feb. 5, 2022, the German news agency dpa reported. When the piece officially started on Sept. 5, 2001, it began without any sound. It was only on Feb. 5, 2003, the day of the first chord change, that the first organ pipe chords could actually be heard inside the church. Cage was born in Los Angeles in 1912 and died in New York in 1992. He's known not only as a composer, but also as a music theorist, artist and philosopher. The St. Burchardi...

HALBERSTADT, Germany (AP) - Hundreds of fans attended a special kind of musical happening Saturday at a church in Germany: a chord change in an organ piece that is supposed to last for an entirety of 639 years. The performance of the "ORGAN/ASLSP," or As Slow As Possible, composition began in September 2001 at the St. Burchardi Church in the eastern town of Halberstadt and is supposed to end in 2640 - if all goes well. The music piece by the American composer John Cage is played on a special organ inside the medieval church. The last sound has been the same one for the last six years and 11 months, and therefore the chord change Saturday was a big event among fans of the John Cage Organ Project. A chord change means that the sound of the organ pipes changes either because new sounds are added or existing sounds end. On Saturday, two new organ pipes were added. Organizers say the performance is "one of the slowest realizations of an organ musical piece." A compressor in the basement creates energy to blow air into the organ to create a continuous sound. When a chord change happens, it's done manually. On Saturday, soprano singer Johanna Vargas and organist Julian Lembke changed the chord. The new sound reminded some listeners of the metallic buzz inside a big ships's engine room. The next chord change is planned for Feb. 5, 2022, the German news agency dpa reported. When the piece officially started on Sept. 5, 2001, it began without any sound. It was only on Feb. 5, 2003, the day of the first chord change, that the first organ pipe chords could actually be heard inside the church. Cage was born in Los Angeles in 1912 and died in New York in 1992. He's known not only as a composer, but also as a music theorist, artist and philosopher. The St. Burchardi...

NBA star and Port Arthur native Stephen Jackson partnered with the Feed Your City Challenge, an initiative backed by the Ricky Davis Legacy Foundation, to help people whose food security had already been threatened by the coronavirus' economic damage.

NBA star and Port Arthur native Stephen Jackson partnered with the Feed Your City Challenge, an initiative backed by the Ricky Davis Legacy Foundation, to help people whose food security had already been threatened by the coronavirus' economic damage.