united-states

The international a-peel of Aussie television's top bananas

Which Australian icons would you say are the most internationally recognised? At the closing ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, the organisers wheeled out the likes of golfing great Greg Norman on top of a giant shark on wheels, and model Elle MacPherson. But between their floats, out came three teddy bears, one rat and two bananas on a staircase.

Poet Sharon Olds writes whatever she likes, thank you

But they all feature in Odes, the latest collection from Sharon Olds.

In recent years, the American poet has found critical acclaim.

She won the Pulitzer Prize and the TS Eliot Prize in 2013 for Stag's Leap, written when her husband left her after almost three decades of marriage.

Last year, Olds was awarded the Academy of American Poets' Wallace Stevens Award, which came with a $US100,000 cheque and acknowledgement she was an "American master, and a national treasure".

'These were my passionate subjects'

Steve Irwin posthumously honoured with star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

Irwin rose to international fame in 1996 with his documentary series, The Crocodile Hunter.

He was a highly respected conservationist and world-renowned television personality who was the face behind Australia Zoo, one of Queensland's most iconic tourist destinations.

The adventurous wildlife warrior died while making the documentary, Ocean's Deadliest, after being stabbed in the chest by a stingray barb during underwater filming on the Great Barrier Reef.

Parenting expert sues Disney and Pixar over Inside Out movie

Denise Daniels said the animated film, featuring colour-coded characters representing individual human emotions, mirrors a children's program called The Moodsters hat she conceived and pitched to Disney every year from 2005 to 2009.

In a complaint filed in the Los Angeles federal court, Ms Daniels said she had an 'implied-in-fact' contract with Disney requiring that she be paid from box office, DVD, Blu-Ray, iTunes and merchandise revenue from Inside Out.

The film has grossed more than $US850 million worldwide since its June 2015 release.

Did Bob Dylan plagiarise his Nobel lecture?

The American singer-songwriter used a video posted online to accept the prize for literature earlier this month, just in time to collect the 8 million Swedish krona ($1.2 million) reward.

But American author and journalist Andrea Pitzer said substantial chunks of Dylan's address were copied without attribution from the Spark Notes cheating website.

Chris Cornell's family disputes preliminary suicide finding

The city's medical examiner said 52-year-old Cornell — the lead singer in Soundgarden and Audioslave — died early Thursday morning after performing at a concert on Wednesday night.

But Cornell's family said without toxicology test results completed they do not know what caused his death.

On Friday, an official said the results of a full autopsy and toxicology tests could take days before they are completed and released.

Chris Cornell died by suicide, preliminary autopsy shows

The Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office said it completed the preliminary autopsy on the 52-year-old, but "a full autopsy report has not yet been completed".

Cornell's death stunned his family and his die-hard fans, for whom Cornell performed hours earlier at a show in Detroit.

Soundgarden's current tour kicked off in late April and was planned to run until May 27.

More people than ever before are single — and that's a good thing

Today, the number of single adults in the US — and many other nations around the world — is unprecedented.

And the numbers don't just say people are staying single longer before settling down.

More are staying single for life.

Daily Mail forced to pay first lady "millions" over false escort claims

US President Donald Trump's wife, 46, had sued the publisher of the Daily Mail in Britain and also filed a $US150 million ($200 million) lawsuit against it in New York, claiming the article had cost her millions of dollars in potential business.

The article, which ran in the newspaper under the headline "Racy photos and troubling questions about his wife's past that could derail Trump", was published last August.

Golden Globes bartender Oscar Zuleta a favourite with the stars

As the long-time bartender in the show's off-camera green room, Oscar Zuleta has toasted with Sean Connery, gotten a head rub from Tom Hanks and shared a selfie with Jessica Alba.

The 48-year-old Beverly Hilton Hotel staffer keeps the drinks flowing at the awards circuit's booziest gathering.

"A lot of people know me for that — 'you are the only Oscar at the Golden Globes'," Mr Zuleta said.

"I know many of the presenters for years now — wonderful people and I get to see them every year and they happen to remember me, luckily."