Music Review: Miley Cyrus' 'Something Beautiful' is a return to form. 'Hannah Montana' fans, rejoice

LOS ANGELES (AP) — For longtime Miley Cyrus fans, the singer's ninth studio album is bound to live up to its name. It truly is “Something Beautiful.” In her review, The Associated Press' Krysta Fauria says Cyrus' new album is an eclectic tapestry of pop, rock, electronic, disco and even funk. She says the record is also a return to form for the 32-year-old singer, whose pop reputation has always been in tension with her interest in other genres. But she also demonstrates, through her electronic songs in particular, how her sound has evolved and expanded over time.

A former aide says Sean 'Diddy' Combs kidnapped her in a plot to kill Kid Cudi

NEW YORK (AP) — A former top aide to Sean “Diddy” Combs has testified at his sex trafficking trial that the music mogul threatened her with death on her first day on the job. She also says he later kidnapped her to help him kill fellow rapper Kid Cudi. The testimony on Tuesday from Capricorn Clark, the former global brand director for Bad Boy Entertainment, launched the third week of testimony in the trial on a violent note. Prosecutors are trying to prove Combs led a racketeering conspiracy for 20 years that relied on beefy security employees and others to ensure he got what he wanted. Combs has pleaded not guilty.

Book Review: 'Fatherhood' studies the impact of family ties through history

Augustine Sedgewick looks at how fathers' roles and impact have evolved over time in “Fatherhood: A History of Love and Power.” The Associated Press' Andrew DeMillo writes that the book may not offer a clear answer on what fatherhood is, but that it includes enlightening stories about how several famous figures have approached life as fathers. The book looks at a motley assortment of dad, including Charles Darwin and Bob Dylan. DeMillo writes that the book is a timely read for a point when family roles continue to be challenged.

Swimmer circumnavigates Martha’s Vineyard ahead of ‘Jaws’ 50th anniversary

VINEYARD HAVEN, Mass. (AP) — A British-South African endurance swimmer has crossed the finish line of a roughly 60-mile swim around Martha’s Vineyard. Lewis Pugh became the first person to swim all the way around the island. He swam for hours over 12 days in 47-degree water just as the white shark migration season began. His feat also marks the 50th anniversary of the movie “Jaws.” The 55-year-old swimmer says sharks were maligned by the 1975 blockbuster film as “cold-blooded killers.” He's hoping to change public perception of the vulnerable animals. He also used a device that creates an electric field to keep them away.

Music Review: Virtuosic guitarist Ty Segall finds a new sweet spot on his laid-back 'Possession'

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Much of Ty Segall’s prolific career has been characterized by a sludgy intensity. But his 16th LP, “Possession,'' crystalizes a new, less-aggressive era for the indie rocker, The Associated Press' Krysta Fauria writes in her review. His signature psychedelic sound and distorted guitar solos are still there. But the songs are also restrained and refined. He trades in his additive synths for strings and horns, all while maintaining his singular garage-psych. Fauria says that on “Possession” Segall seems to have found a kind of sweet spot that balances force with restraint in this new phase of his discography.

Book Review: Sheriff hunts for a missing postal worker and tussles with a cult

The woman who delivers the mail on the longest postal route in the U.S. has gone missing. Sheriff Walt Longmire and his dog named Dog set off to find her in Wyoming’s unforgiving Red Desert. Along the way, they find themselves in a standoff with a weird-as-they-come religious cult. Johnson is known for creating memorable characters, and perhaps the most memorable this time is Dog, a German Shepherd-Saint Bernard mix who is as smart and loyal as they come. Associated Press reviewer Bruce DeSilva says “Return to Sender,” the 22nd installment in Craig Johnson’s Longmire series, has a fast-moving plot, memorable characters, tight prose, and a vividly drawn landscape.

Bono: 'The world has never been closer to a world war in my lifetime'

CANNES, France (AP) — Bono has a seaside villa that’s a short trip away from Cannes. That doesn’t mean the Cannes Film Festival is a particularly familiar experience for the U2 frontman, though that’s changing this year. He’s at the festival to premiere the Apple TV+ documentary “Bono: Stories of Surrender” on Thursday, which captures his one-man stage show. “Bono: Stories of Surrender,” an Andrew Dominik-directed black-and-white film that begins streaming May 30, adapts the one-man stage show that, in turn, came from Bono’s 2022 book, “Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story.” Bono tells The Associated Press the project has brought him new clarity about who he is, and also revealed a new appreciation for his father, who died in 2001.

What to Stream: 'Mountainhead,' Bono documentary and Elizabeth Banks and Jessica Biel play sisters

NEW YORK (AP) — “Succession” creator Jesse Armstrong’s satirical drama “Mountainhead” and Elizabeth Banks and Jessica Biel playing dysfunctional siblings in the murder thriller series “The Better Sister” are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you. Also among the streaming offerings worth your time for the week of May 26 as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: A new concert special featuring Aretha Franklin, U2’s frontman revealing all in the documentary “Bono: Stories of Surrender” and multiplayer gamers get Elden Ring: Nightreign, sending teams of three warriors to battle the flamboyant monsters of a haunted land.

Marcel Ophuls, the Oscar-winning filmmaker who forced France to face its WWII past, is dead at 97

PARIS (AP) — The Academy Award-winning German-born filmmaker Marcel Ophuls has died at age 97. His landmark 1969 documentary “The Sorrow and the Pity” shattered the comforting myth that most of France had resisted the Nazis during World War II. His grandson Andreas-Benjamin Seyfert confirmed to The Associated Press that Ophuls died Saturday at his home in southwest France. He died of natural causes. Ophuls won an Oscar for “Hôtel Terminus," his searing portrait of Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie. But “The Sorrow and the Pity” marked a turning point not only in his career, but also in how a nation confronted its past.

Demi Lovato marries singer-songwriter Jordan 'Jutes' Lutes in California

Demi Lovato is officially married. The musician-actor tied the knot with Canadian singer-songwriter Jordan “Jutes” Lutes on Sunday in California. The ceremony was first exclusively reported by Vogue. The couple met while working on Lovato’s last album, 2022’s “Holy Fvck." They dated for nearly two years before Lutes proposed in December 2023. Lutes co-wrote a few of the songs that made the album, including the pop-punk single, “Substance.” Lovato wore a white Vivienne Westwood dress and Lutes wore a Saint Laurent suit. Messages seeking comment were sent to Lovato's representatives.