Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs. MTV’s VMAs to honor coronavirus shutdown music

Pop stars Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga led a girl power list of nominations on Thursday for the MTV Video Music Awards, which added two new categories to reflect how musicians are responding to the coronavirus pandemic. Grande and Gaga got nine nominations each, mostly from their dancey collaboration “Rain on Me” whose nods included best video, song and collaboration of the year. Ellen DeGeneres TV show to make workplace changes after probe of culture

Ellen DeGeneres on Thursday sent an emotional message to the staff of her television talk show saying she was taking steps to improve the culture on set following accusations of a hostile working environment. The email followed an internal investigation by Warner Bros. Television, which produces “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” of complaints ranging from bullying to racism among production staff. Snazzy face mask fashion reaches Nairobi neighbourhood

Most of us have accepted COVID-19 face masks as an inconvenient, albeit necessary, safety measure. For the style conscious like James Maina Mwangi, however, they are an unmissable fashion opportunity. Mwangi’s brightly coloured suits and hats made him stand out even on the busy streets of Nairobi’s Umoja neighbourhood, where nobody ever seems to sleep. Hamster hero? How a Japanese cartoon became Thai youth protesters’ symbol

Thailand’s emerging student pro-democracy movement has adopted a Japanese cartoon hamster, Hamtaro, as a creative way to get support from young people around the country. University and high school students have rallied almost daily in the past two weeks to demand the dissolution of parliament, an end to harassment of government critics, and amendments to the military-written constitution that critics say help maintain the influence of the army over the political system. Alan Parker, director of ‘Bugsy Malone’ and ‘Mississippi Burning’, has died – UK media

British filmmaker Alan Parker, director of movies ranging from “Bugsy Malone” , a gangster comedy featuring children armed with cream-shooting guns, to tense prison drama “Midnight Express” , has died aged 76, British media reported on Friday. Parker, who also directed “Fame”, “Evita” , “Mississippi Burning” , “The Commitments” and other successful movies, died on Friday after a lengthy illness, according to the media reports. Facebook brings official music videos to users’ feed

Facebook Inc said on Friday that its users in the United States would be able to view and share official music videos on its platform, in a move to better compete with Alphabet Inc’s video platform YouTube. Facebook, which had 2.7 billion monthly active users in the last quarter, said it inked deals with Sony Music Group, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group among others. (https://bit.ly/3hTXY0D) Adventurer’s ‘Into the Wild’ bus may be headed to Alaska museum

The infamous bus that served as the final campsite for doomed adventurer Christopher McCandless could be preserved as a museum piece under a plan announced on Thursday by Alaska officials. The University of Alaska Museum in Fairbanks has offered to house the bus, removed by the state last month from its six-decades-long resting site near Denali National Park. NBA’s return doubles typical regular-season audience, broadcaster TNT says

The NBA’s return to regular-season play for the first time in four months averaged 3.4 million viewers for a close contest between the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers, the league and AT&T Inc’s TNT cable network said on Friday. The viewership for the Thursday game was more than double the average for a regular-season NBA telecast, the league and the network said in a joint statement. Superstar Lebron James made the winning shot with 12.8 seconds left to secure the Lakers’ 103-101 victory. ‘Breaking Bad’ star Bryan Cranston says he has recovered from COVID-19

Emmy-winning “Breaking Bad” star Bryan Cranston disclosed on Thursday that he had recovered from mild symptoms of COVID-19 and donated his plasma in the hopes that his antibodies would help others with the disease. Wearing a face mask, Cranston revealed the news in an Instagram video in which he documented the donation process at a blood and plasma center run by the University of California at Los Angeles.