Search results for

Ministries raise millions of dollars with little oversight. One Senate lawmaker wonders whether the lavish lifestyles of the ministers violate the churches' tax-exempt status. Six megachurches have been asked to respond by Dec. 6 to questions about their spending.

Before the Civil Rights movement, segregated American cities helped give birth to the Chitlin' Circuit, a touring revue that provided employment for hundreds of black musicians. Rock historian Ed Ward profiles two recent books which illuminate the conditions these musicians endured.

These five books take us inside the minds of a founding father and the father of the iPod; the vexing artists who brought us Starry Night and Slaughterhouse-Five; and the couple whose scientific discoveries changed the world in awesome, and awful, ways.

The night wasn't about kitsch for her. Writer Danyel Smith fulfilled the real dreams of her 13-year-old self when she saw the pop singer live on Broadway.

For the book A History of the World in 100 Objects, the director of the British Museum chose 100 objects from his institution's collection of thousands to tell a surprisingly comprehensive history of the world.

This has been a strong year for African music, with two big trends emerging: the continuing integration of African music into the U.S. and European mainstream, as well as the ongoing unearthing of treasures from Afropop's "golden era," particularly the '70s.

CIA director Michael Hayden says the agency destroyed videotapes of its interrogations of two top al Qaida suspects, made in 2002. Philip Zelikow, executive director of the 9/11 Commission, had hoped to review the tapes.

Musician Alex Chilton died yesterday. He was the lead singer of the Memphis band Big Star. To remember the underground legend, Ed Ward reviews Keep an Eye on the Sky, a four-disc collection of recordings, demos and outtakes.

Ash from an Icelandic volcano is causing big and costly disruptions in Europe but, so far, it's nothing compared with the havoc caused by the country's economic eruption a year and a half ago. How can a remote island in the North Atlantic, with only about 320,000 people, be the source of so much damage?

Ash from an Icelandic volcano is causing big and costly disruptions in Europe but, so far, it's nothing compared with the havoc caused by the country's economic eruption a year and a half ago. How can a remote island in the North Atlantic, with only about 320,000 people, be the source of so much damage?

Gustav Holst evokes the astrological character of the planets in his popular symphonic suite. John Eliot Gardiner tops the list of conductors who have recorded Holst's forerunner of science-fiction soundtracks.

In Myanmar's largest city, troops appear to ease their lockdown after the largest anti-government protests in decades, as a U.N. envoy hopes for a meeting with the country's top military leader to convey the people's demands for democracy.