The Cricket's Daily 3: Farewell to George Michael

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Here's what's happening in pop culture after a long Christmas weekend:

• The music world is mourning the death of English pop star George Michael. The singer, known both for his solo career and as half of the pop duo Wham!, died at the age of 53 on Christmas Day — when, ironically, Wham!'s 1984 holiday hit "Last Christmas" was getting the most airplay. [BBC News]

• "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" dominated the four-day Christmas weekend at the box office, beating out the animated "Sing" and the underperforming "Passengers," "Why Him?" and "Assassin's Creed." [Box Office Mojo]

• A&E has canceled its upcoming documentary series "Fighting the KKK," after the network learned the show's producers had paid people in it to take part. [The Hollywood Reporter]