• Comedians are making their return to the White House Correspondents' Dinner after last year's hiatus. Kenan Thompson of Saturday Night Live and Hasan Minhaj of Netflix's Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj will headline this year's dinner, which takes place April 25 in Washington. Presidents and first ladies have traditionally attended the dinner, which serves as a celebration of the First Amendment as well as a fundraiser for college scholarships. Reporting awards are given out as well. But President Donald Trump has skipped the dinner throughout his presidency and instead has elected to hold campaign rallies. The White House declined to comment about whether the president would attend this year. Last year's dinner featured Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Chernow after some dinner attendees and commentators complained that a sharply anti-Trump performance by comedian Michelle Wolf in 2018 was too pointed and unfairly targeted then-White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Thompson will serve as this year's host. Minhaj will be the featured entertainer. "Kenan and Hasan are two of the most engaged and engaging entertainers in America. I'm thrilled they'll help us celebrate the role of a free press in our democracy," said Jonathan Karl, Chief White House correspondent for ABC News and president of the White House Correspondents' Association.
• Elton John canceled his two remaining New Zealand shows late Tuesday as he continued to suffer from a bout of pneumonia. The shows have been rescheduled for next year. On Sunday, John cut short a performance in Auckland after he lost his voice and needed medical help on stage. In a statement Tuesday, John said he was "incredibly disappointed" and sent his sincerest apologies to his fans. It was not immediately clear if his illness would affect other dates on his tour, which next moves to Australia. Video clips posted online by fans at Sunday night's performance showed John breaking down in tears as he told the cheering crowd he couldn't go on any longer. The 72-year-old singer said he had walking pneumonia and was assisted off stage. Tour promoters Chugg Entertainment initially said that John was recovering and the tour would go on as planned, aside from pushing back the next performance by one day. But on Tuesday night, the promoters released another statement that the performances would be moved to January. The concerts were part of John's Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. After the New Zealand shows, John is scheduled for seven performances in Australia before traveling to the United States and Canada.
A Section on 02/19/2020