National Entertainment

NEW YORK — The New York Times admitted Friday that it could not verify the claims of a Canadian man whose account of committing atrocities for the Islamic State in Syria was a central part of its 2018 podcast “Caliphate.

LE PECQ, France — Au revoir, Jean-Pierre. And merci.

SHREVEPORT, La. — A sexual assault charged was dropped against New Orleans rapper Mystikal, who was released from jail on a $3 million bond almost two years ago.

BERLIN — The annual Berlin International Film Festival is being put off this year due to the coronavirus pandemic and split into two parts later in 2021, organizers said Friday.

LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. — Mick Jagger, Florida Man? The Rolling Stones front man recently purchased a mansion south of Tampa as a Christmas present for his girlfriend, ballet dancer Melanie Hamrick.

MONTREAL — Quebec is offering $4.6 million in grants to the province's struggling cinemas, which have been shut for months because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

HARDCOVER FICTION 1. “Ready Player Two” by Ernest Cline (Ballantine) 2. “A Time for Mercy” by John Grisham (Doubleday) 3. “Deadly Cross” by James Patterson (Little, Brown) 4. “The Return” by Nicholas Sparks (Grand Central) 5.

LOS ANGELES — Jeremy Bulloch, the English actor who first donned a helmet, cape and jetpack to play Boba Fett in the original “Star Wars” trilogy, died Thursday.

LONDON — A news and photography agency has agreed not to take pictures of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their son, Archie, the High Court in London was told at a hearing Friday.

GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — A man who sued his parents for getting rid of his pornography collection has won a lawsuit in western Michigan and can seek compensation. U.S.