NEWSMAKERS
NEWSMAKERS
‘American Sniper’ has top spot at box office
LOS ANGELES
“American Sniper” hit the mark with moviegoers again.
The military drama starring Bradley Cooper as Navy SEAL marksman Chris Kyle topped the box office for a second weekend in a row with $64.4 million in first place, according to studio estimates Sunday.
In a distant second place, the saucy Universal thriller “The Boy Next Door” featuring Jennifer Lopez as a teacher who engages in an affair with a younger man played by Ryan Guzman, debuted with $15 million.
Rounding out the top five were: “Paddington,” $12.4 million, third; “The Wedding Ringer,” $11.6 million, fourth; and “Taken 3,” $7.6 million, fifth place.
In Iraq, Jolie says more needed for refugees
DOHUK, IRAQ
Actress Angelina Jolie, the special envoy for the United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR, appealed Sunday for urgent funding to assist more than three million displaced Iraqis and Syrians living in dire conditions in northern Iraq.
Visiting Iraq for the fifth time, Jolie said that the slow pace of funding this year to help people displaced by the conflicts in Syria and Iraq has triggered a humanitarian crisis that will lead to catastrophe if not addressed.
The UNHCR said it received only 53 percent of the $337 million required to fund its response to internal displacement in Iraq and Syria during 2014.
“We are being tested here as an international community and so far, for all the immense efforts and good intentions, the international community is failing,” she told journalists at a camp for the displaced in the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk.
Miss Colombia wins Miss Universe title
MIAMI
Miss Colombia Paulina Vega has been crowned Miss Universe in pageant in Miami, beating out contestants from 88 other countries.
Miss USA Nia Sanchez of Las Vegas, Nev., and Miss Ukraine Diana Harkusha were the first and second runners-up, respectively, during Sunday’s competition in Miami.
Also in the top five were Miss Netherlands Yasmin Verheijen, third runner-up, and Miss Jamaica Kaci Fennell, fourth runner-up.
Vega is from Barranquilla, Colombia, and is studying business administration. She said the contests leading to Miss Universe were the first she’d participated in and will be her last as she’s eager to return to her studies in business administration.
The 22-year-old is the granddaughter of a legendary tenor, Gaston Vega.
Earlier this week she said, “It will be a dream come true to represent the woman of today. A woman that not only care about being beautiful and being glamorous, but also cares about being a professional, intelligent, hard-working person.”
“Today Show” personality Natalie Morales was host of the show.
Associated Press