Netflix's hit women's prison drama "Orange Is The New Black" got something of an early release Thursday, when the American streaming giant debuted the third season a few hours ahead of schedule.

The critically-acclaimed show, which has attracted a global following, had initially been set for release on Friday at midnight but Netflix launched the new season a few hours before, making it available to 60 million subscribers worldwide.

Jim Ed Brown, a longtime Grand Ole Opry member who had solo and group hits and was a prominent figure on country music television shows, died Thursday. He was 81.

Brown died of cancer at Williamson Medical Center in Franklin, Tennessee, according to a news release from Webster Public Relations. He will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame this year.

Lenny Kravitz is busy. Just turned 51, he's still looking like the rock sex symbol he's always been, and he's also expanding his artistic horizons as a photographer, an actor and a designer.

But in an interview this week with AFP in Paris, the city that he half calls home (along with his other place in the Bahamas), he admits there is one thing missing, something he sings about the most: love.

A week before his 73rd birthday, Paul McCartney wowed concert-goers at the Stade de France on Thursday, belting out a series of songs that were peppered with Beatles hits.

Clad in a jacket and white shirt, McCartney put on an energetic performance that included "Hey Jude", "Yesterday" and "Helter Skelter", as well as a series of songs from Wings, his band between 1971 and 1981.

Tall, pale and with a deep resonating voice, British actor Christopher Lee, whose death was confirmed Thursday, will forever be remembered for his spine-chilling performance as Dracula in the cult Hammer Horror movies.

The 93-year-old appeared in more than 250 films and television shows, including "The Lord of the Rings", "Star Wars" and "The Man with the Golden Gun", but could never shake off his image as the bloody-thirsty vampire.

Music vendors around the world will start on July 10 to release albums globally on Fridays, ending most but not all regional variations, an industry group announced.

The IFPI, the music industry's global body, announced an agreement in February to start selling albums on Fridays but said that all sides needed time to sort out the logistics.

A former reality starlet, glamour model and yoga teacher will become a real-life princess in Sweden on Saturday when she marries Prince Carl Philip in a lavish Stockholm wedding.

Sofia Hellqvist, a slender and elegant brunette, is a 30-year-old commoner known for her infectious gap-toothed smile and easygoing ways.

A writer of Latino descent was named US poet laureate on Wednesday -- a first for the country's booming Hispanic community.

Juan Felipe Herrera, a Californian of Mexican descent, got the prestigious nod from the Library of Congress, America's oldest and the world's biggest.

D'oh! Will Homer and Marge split after more than 25 years together on "The Simpsons"? Or are their creators just teasing us?

The hit cartoon comedy's writers appeared Wednesday to damp down divorce speculation, despite the executive producer announcing the couple's separation in an interview.

For centuries, women and sometimes men have squeezed their feet into tiny shoes or balanced on towering heels to feel sexy, empowered and to show their wealth and status.

Now their sacrifice is being celebrated in a new exhibition, 'Shoes: Pleasure and Pain', which opens at the V&A museum in London on Saturday.