Shawn Levy is no novice when it comes to rumors around his projects. Years on "Stranger Things" taught him how to tune out the noise. Yet even he's found himself astonished by the sheer volume of speculation around "Deadpool & Wolverine."

"The rumors around this movie are overwhelming," Levy said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. "But so is the anticipation, which is a nice situation."

" Barbenheimer " is a hard act to follow.

The summer of 2023 brought a new enthusiasm for moviegoing, with the fortuitous counterprogramming of "Barbie" and " Oppenheimer," and surprise hits like " Sound of Freedom," helping the season's box office crack $4 billion for the first time since 2019. But before the industry could take a victory lap, there was another crisis looming with the dual Hollywood strikes, which shuttered most productions for months.

It looks like the third time is the charm as the 2024 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage festival prepares, again, for The Rolling Stones to perform.

The festival, which spans two weekends, is set to open Thursday with dozens of acts playing daily on 14 stages spread throughout the historic Fair Grounds race course. The Stones play next Thursday, May 2, tickets for which have long been sold out.

A rapper in Iran who came to fame over his lyrics about the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini and criticizing the Islamic Republic has been sentenced to death, his lawyer and rights activists said Thursday.

Confusion still surrounds the death sentence issued against 33-year-old metal shop worker Toomaj Salehi, as even Iran's state-run IRNA news agency and its judiciary did not formally confirm it. But the news quickly drew international criticism from the United States and United Nations experts, who pointed at it as a sign of Tehran's continuing crackdown against all dissent following years of mass protests in the country.

Under the gaze of the world's media, the fragile lagoon city of Venice launched a pilot program Thursday to charge day-trippers a 5-euro (around $5.35) entry fee that authorities hope will discourage visitors from arriving on peak days and make the city more livable for its dwindling residents.

Visitors arriving at Venice's main train station were greeted with large signs listing the 29 dates through July of the plan's test phase, as well as new entrances separating tourists from residents, students and workers.

Spicy, steaming, slurpy ramen might be everyone's favorite Japanese food.

In Tokyo, long lines circle around blocks, and waiting an hour for your ramen is normal. What awaits might be just a dive, but a hot bowl of ramen rarely fails to hit the spot.

True love's kiss or an invite to the Met Gala? Those in the rarified ranks of international celebrity — and Anna Wintour's good graces — need not choose.

Stars of film, fashion, music, sports, politics and social media will ascend the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art on the first Monday in May — May 6, that is — to sip cocktails, have dinner and sample the new exhibit, "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion." As fashion's biggest night approaches, it's time for The Associated Press to issue the 2024 version of our annual guide.

The ambiguity of Imagine Dragons' next album starts from the cover.

Two figures stand in the distance separated by a dawning sun. Or is it setting? Lead singer and songwriter Dan Reynolds, who dreamed it up, sees it both ways.

Who knew what Taylor Swift's latest era would bring? Or even what it would sound like? Would it build off the moodiness of "Midnights" or the folk of "evermore"? The country or the '80s pop of her latest re-records? Or its two predecessors in black-and-white covers: the revenge-pop of "Reputation" and the literary Americana of "folklore"?

"The Tortured Poets Department," here Friday, is an amalgamation of all of the above, reflecting the artist who — at the peak of her powers — has spent the last few years re-recording her life's work and touring its material, filtered through synth-pop anthems, breakup ballads, provocative and matured considerations.

San Francisco is the latest U.S. city preparing to receive a pair of pandas from China, in a continuation of Beijing's famed "panda diplomacy."

San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced the panda loan in Beijing on Friday, alongside officials from China Wildlife Conservation Association, or CWCA. It will be San Francisco's first time hosting the beloved animals long-term — the result of a yearlong advocacy campaign, Breed said.