France returns sacred talking drum looted from Côte d’Ivoire over 100 years ago
France returns sacred talking drum looted from Côte d’Ivoire over 100 years ago
Djidji Ayôkwé was handed to Ivorian officials in Paris earlier this month
A sacred artefact looted by French colonial authorities more than a century ago has been returned to Côte d’Ivoire in one of the most significant cultural restitutions to a former French colony in years.
The Djidji Ayôkwé, a talking drum confiscated in 1916 by French administrators, landed at 8.45am on Friday at the airport in Port Bouët on the outskirts of the economic capital, Abidjan. It was handed over to Ivorian officials in Paris earlier this month after being removed from the Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac Museum.
Aboussou Guy Mobio, the chief of the Adjamé-Bingerville community, said: “After a long stay away from this land, it is returning to its own people and it is an honour for us and a relief to welcome it,. This is the missing piece of the puzzle that is returning today … Receiving this sacred instrument is a relief, but it is also another form of connection with our ancestors who were very close to this instrument.”
Talking drums are hourglass-shaped pressure drums designed to mimic the tone, pitch and rhythm of human speech. The 4-metre Djidji Ayôkwé, which weighs 430kg, held cultural and political significance to the Ebrié people – after whom the lagoon in Abidjan is named – as a symbol of resistance. Before and during colonial times, it was used to send messages over several miles to announce deaths or celebrations – and in some cases, alert villages about coming danger. After villagers resisted forced labour on a road in one incident in 1916, colonial authorities seized it and took it away to France.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, promised to return the drum in 2021, but it took four years of discussions and lobbying for the French parliament to ratify and approve the decision.
“I feel deep emotion. We are indeed experiencing a moment of justice and remembrance,” Françoise Remarck, the minister of culture and Francophonie in Côte d’Ivoire, said in her speech on Friday. She thanked President Alassane Ouattara and Macron for what she called “a historic day”.

Then she addressed the drum, saying: “Djidji Ayôkwé, today your return is a message for our youth who have chosen to reclaim their history, and for the communities … a symbol of social cohesion, peace and dialogue … 13 March is just one step.”
As a forklift operator rolled the wooden crate holding the drum from the aircraft, a cultural troupe broke into the traditional tchaman dance. Another ceremony is expected to herald the permanent installation of the drum at the Musée des Civilisations de Côte d’Ivoire in the Plateau administrative district, at a later date believed to be in April. In readiness for the exhibition to the public, Unesco has donated $100,000 (£75,400) through its Abidjan office for research and training at the museum.
Sylvie Memel Kassi, a former director of the museum and founder of the TAPA Foundation for Arts and Culture, said the drum’s return to Ivorian soil paved the way for more restitution. “We are studying eight other objects,” she said, referring to the Ivorian and French authorities.
"All the Empty Rooms" wins Oscar for Steve Hartman's project memorializing children killed in school shootings
March 15, 2026 / 10:49 PM EDT / CBS News
The documentary "All the Empty Rooms," which memorialized children killed in school shootings through a look at the bedrooms they never returned to, took home the Oscar for Best Documentary Short at the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday.
The film follows CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp along their seven-year journey to document the toll of America's school shooting epidemic. Director Joshua Seftel accepted the Oscar on stage alongside Hartman, producer Conall Jones and Gloria Cazares, whose daughter Jackie was killed in the Uvalde school shooting in 2022.
"The four empty rooms in our film belonged to four young children who were all killed in school shootings: Hallie, Gracie, Dominic and Jackie," Seftel told the crowd before passing the mic to Cazares.
Wearing red dress and a pin with an image of Jackie, Cazares spoke of her 9-year-old daughter and appealed for an end to gun violence.
"Since that day, her bedroom has been frozen in time," Cazares said. "Jackie is more than just a headline. She is our light and our life. Gun violence is now the number one cause of death in kids and teens. We believe that if the world could see their empty bedrooms, we'd be a different America."
When Hartman traveled to Uvalde, Texas, where a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School, Cazares told him that people are always telling her that they can't imagine what she's going through. But she said we need to imagine, and that's why she invited Hartman and Bopp into her home.
"It just makes everything more real for the public, for the world," Carazes said at the time. "Her room completely just speaks of who she was."
In Jackie's room, there was the chocolate she had saved for a day that never came, and an "About Me" chalkboard where she wrote that she wanted to be a veterinarian when she grew up.
Many of the children's rooms, like Jackie's, remained virtually untouched, years after the shootings.
"Their personalities shone through in the smallest details of their untouched rooms — hair ties on a doorknob, a toothpaste tube left uncapped, a ripped ticket for a school event — allowing me to uncover glimpses as to who they were," Bopp said in an essay about the project in 2024.
Explore the rooms:
Unmade beds and overdue books: Photographing the rooms of kids killed in school shootings
More from CBS "Sunday Morning":
Standing on the threshold of grief, documenting the bedrooms of kids killed in school shootings
Missed watching the 2026 Oscars? Here's how to watch the awards show now.
Updated on: March 15, 2026 / 10:59 PM EDT / CBS News
"Sinners" came into the 2026 Oscars with the most nominations ever, 16, but it was "One Battle After Another" that took home marquee awards like Best Picture and Best Director on Sunday night. Here's how to watch and what to know about the 98th annual Academy Awards.
Where to watch the Oscars with cable
The 98th annual Academy Awards were broadcast live on ABC stations, as well as on international networks worldwide, on Sunday, March 15, 2026.
How to stream the Oscars
The Oscars streamed live on Hulu and was available live on ABC.com and the ABC app if those services were connected to your regular TV provider. Other streaming services like YouTubeTV, AT&T TV and FuboTV also carried the show.
The Oscars will be available to stream Monday on ABC.com and Hulu for those who missed it live.
Who were the Oscar nominees?
"Sinners" was eyeing a big night after nabbing a record-breaking 16 nominations, including for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor. Michael B. Jordan brought home the golden statue for taking on the dual roles of twin brothers Smoke and Stack, and Autumn Durald Arkapaw won for Best Cinematography, the first woman to win the award in Oscar history.
"One Battle After Another" was also up for a slew of top awards, winning Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, the first Oscar wins for Paul Thomas Anderson after being nominated 11 times prior to this year's ceremony.
See the full list of winners and nominees here.
Go behind the scenes to see excerpts of performances and highlights of CBS News interviews with nominees in these top categories:
- Best Picture
- Best Actor
- Best Actress
- Best Supporting Actor
- Best Supporting Actress
Who hosted the Oscars?
Former late-night TV host Conan O'Brien handled hosting duties at the Academy Awards for a second straight year.
O'Brien took over as master of ceremonies for the show last year following a two-year stint from fellow comedian and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, who has hosted the Oscars a total of four times.
Matt Berry, the star of TV shows such as "The IT Crowd," "What We Do in the Shadows" and "Toast of London," was the announcer for the Oscars this year.
Where were the Oscars held?
The 2026 Oscars were held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Who won Oscars for 2026? See the full winners list here
Updated on: March 15, 2026 / 11:07 PM EDT / CBS News
What to know about the 2026 Oscars
- "One Battle After Another" came into the night with the second most nominations, 13, and took home several big awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and the newly created Best Casting.
- "Sinners" had the most nominations of any movie ever with 16. It took home the awards for Best Actor and Best Cinematography — with Autumn Durald Arkapaw becoming the first woman to win that award.
- Best Casting is the first new category at the Academy Awards in 25 years.
- Former late-night TV staple Conan O'Brien returned to host the show for a second year in a row. Matt Berry of "The IT Crowd" and "What We Do in the Shadows" fame handled announcing duties.
- The Oscars took place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and aired live on ABC and streamed on Hulu.
See the full list of winners and nominees in each category below,
Best Picture
- "One Battle After Another" — Winner
- "Bugonia"
- "F1"
- "Frankenstein"
- "Hamnet"
- "Marty Supreme"
- "The Secret Agent"
- "Sentimental Value"
- "Sinners"
- "Train Dreams"
Best Actress
- Jessie Buckley, "Hamnet" — Winner
- Rose Byrne, "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You"
- Kate Hudson, "Song Sung Blue"
- Renate Reinsve, "Sentimental Value"
- Emma Stone, "Bugonia"
Best Actor
- Michael B. Jordan, "Sinners" — Winner
- Timothée Chalamet, "Marty Supreme"
- Leonardo DiCaprio, "One Battle After Another"
- Ethan Hawke, "Blue Moon"
- Wagner Moura, "The Secret Agent"
Best Director
- Paul Thomas Anderson, "One Battle After Another" — Winner
- Chloe Zhao, "Hamnet"
- Josh Safdie, "Marty Supreme"
- Joaquim Trier, "Sentimental Value"
- Ryan Coogler, "Sinners"
Best Original Song
- "Golden" from "KPop Demon Hunters" — Winner
- "Dear Me" from "Diane Warren: Relentless"
- "I Lied To You" from "Sinners"
- "Sweet Dreams of Joy" from "Viva Verdi"
- "Train Dreams" from "Train Dreams"
Best International Feature
- "Sentimental Value," Joaquin Trier (Norway) — Winner
- "It Was Just an Accident," Jafar Panahi (France)
- "The Secret Agent," Kleber Mendonça Filho (Brazil)
- "Sirāt," Olivér Laxe (Spain)
- "The Voice of Hind Rajab," Kaouther Ben Hania (Tunisia)
Best Cinematography
- "Sinners," Autumn Durald Arkapaw — Winner
- "Frankenstein," Dan Laustsen
- "Marty Supreme," Darius Khondji
- "One Battle After Another," Michael Bauman
- "Train Dreams," Adolpho Veloso
Best Editing
- "One Battle After Another," Andy Jurgensen — Winner
- "F1," Stephen Mirrione
- "Marty Supreme," Ronald Bronstein
- "Sentimental Value," Olivier Bugge Coutté
- "Sinners," Michael P. Shawver
Best Sound
- "F1" — Winner
- "Frankenstein"
- "One Battle After Another"
- "Sinners"
- "Sirât"
Best Original Score
- "Sinners," Ludwig Göransson — Winner
- "Bugonia," Jerskin Fendrix
- "Frankenstein," Alexandre Desplat
- "Hamnet," Max Richter
- "One Battle After Another," Jonny Greenwood
Best Documentary Feature
- "Mr. Nobody Against Putin" — Winner
- "The Alabama Solution"
- "Come See Me in the Good Light"
- "Cutting Through Rocks"
- "The Perfect Neighbor"
Best Documentary Short
- "All the Empty Rooms" — Winner
- "Armed Only With a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud"
- "Children No More: Were and Are Gone"
- "The Devil Is Busy"
- "Perfectly a Strangeness"
Best Visual Effects
- "Avatar: Fire and Ash" — Winner
- "F1"
- "Jurassic World Rebirth"
- "The Lost Bus"
- "Sinners"
Best Production Design
- "Frankenstein," Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau — Winner
- "Hamnet," Fiona Crombie and Alice Felton
- "Marty Supreme, "Jack Fisk and Adam Willis
- "One Battle After Another," Florencia Martin
- "Sinners," Hannah Beachler and Monique Champagne
Best Original Screenplay
- "Sinners," Ryan Coogler — Winner
- "Blue Moon," Robert Kaplow
- "It Was Just an Accident," Jafar Panahi
- "Marty Supreme," Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
- "Sentimental Value," Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt
Best Adapted Screenplay
- "One Battle After Another," Paul Thomas Anderson — Winner
- "Bugonia," Will Tracy
- "Frankenstein," Guillermo Del Toro
- "Hamnet," Maggie O'Farrell and Chloé Zhao
- "Train Dreams," Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar
Best Supporting Actor
- Sean Penn, "One Battle After Another" — Winner
- Benicio Del Toro, "One Battle After Another"
- Jacob Elordi, "Frankenstein"
- Delroy Lindo, "Sinners"
- Stellan Skarsgård, "Sentimental Value"
Best Live-Action Short
- "The Singers" and "Two People Exchanging Saliva" — Winners (tie)
- "Butcher's Stain"
- "A Friend of Dorothy"
- "Jane Austen's Period Drama"
Best Casting
- Cassandra Kulukundis, "One Battle After Another" — Winner
- Nina Gold, "Hamnet"
- Jennifer Venditti, "Marty Supreme"
- Gabriel Domingues, "The Secret Agent"
- Francine Maisler, "Sinners"
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
- "Frankenstein," Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey — Winner
- "Kokuho," Kyoko Toyokawa, Naomi Hibino and Tadashi Nishimatsu
- "Sinners," Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine and Shunika Terry
- "The Smashing Machine," Kazu Hiro, Glen Griffin, and Bjoern Rehbein
- "The Ugly Stepsister," Thomas Foldberg and Anne Cathrine Sauerberg
Best Costume Design
- "Frankenstein," Kate Hawley — Winner
- "Avatar: Fire and Ash," Deborah L. Scott
- "Hamnet," Malgosia Turzanska
- "Marty Supreme," Miyako Bellizzi
- "Sinners," Ruth E. 8arter
Best Animated Short
- "The Girl Who Cried Pearls" — Winner
- "Butterfly"
- "Forevergreen"
- "Retirement Plan"
- "The Three Sisters"
Best Animated Feature
- "KPop Demon Hunters" — Winner
- "Arco"
- "Elio"
- "Little Amélie or the Character of Rain"
- "Zootopia 2"
Best Supporting Actress
- Amy Madigan, "Weapons" — Winner
- Elle Fanning, "Sentimental Value"
- Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, "Sentimental Value"
- Wunmi Mosaku, "Sinners"
- Teyana Taylor, "One Battle After Another"
Major weather threats bring blizzard conditions to U.S. northern tier, early heatwave to the West
Updated on: March 15, 2026 / 11:20 PM EDT / CBS/AP
Severe weather threats across the United States have millions of Americans on alert for blizzard conditions, potential tornadoes and record-breaking high temperatures in the coming days.
More than 11.5 million people are under blizzard warnings, another 4.3 million are under winter storm warnings, and about 20.6 million are under an extreme heat watch, according to forecasters.
A storm sweeping system is expected to bring life-threatening travel conditions in the Northern Plains and Upper Great Lakes, the potential for damaging winds and tornadoes across the eastern half of the country on Monday.
Across parts of the West, an unusually early heat wave is expected for much of the week.
Blizzard slams Northern Plains, Upper Great Lakes
A rapidly intensifying storm is producing blizzard conditions from eastern South Dakota through Wisconsin into Michigan's Upper Peninsula on Sunday.
Over 20 inches of snow fell in some portions of southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin as of Sunday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. Transportation officials warned of worsening conditions with low visibility and snow-covered roadways.
Warnings of hazardous road conditions were issued across Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin, where transportation officials warned of worsening conditions Sunday with low visibility and snow-covered roadways.
More than 600 flights flying out of and into the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport were canceled Sunday, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight disruptions. Dozens more through Detroit were also scrapped.
State officials have issued a no-travel advisory in southern Minnesota, and Gov. Tim Walz has authorized the Minnesota National Guard to support emergency operations, CBS Minnesota reported.
Wisconsin snowplow driver Aaron Haas said it was one of the worst storms he had seen in years. On Sunday, he was stacking piles of snow as high as his truck in the town of Marshfield.
"You can't see anything when you're on the highways outside of the city," he said.
Blizzard conditions are likely to stretch into Monday with additional lake-effect snow behind the storm.
Severe weather threat expanding east
The same storm fueling the blizzard is also triggering severe storms across the Midwest and South along a powerful cold front.
A developing squall line swept across parts of the Midwest and Mid-South on Sunday and is expected to move east overnight. Forecasters warn of an enhanced risk of severe weather from the Lower Great Lakes through the Ohio and Tennessee valleys.
The threat is expected to intensify Monday, when a moderate risk of severe weather stretches across parts of the Mid-Atlantic. Storms could produce tornadoes, damaging wind gusts, hail and flash flooding as they push toward the East Coast, according to forecasters.
A stretch from parts of South Carolina to Maryland appeared most likely to experience particularly damaging winds Monday afternoon, the weather service said. That could include Raleigh, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia and the nation's capital. The weather service said an increased — albeit much lower — risk stretched north to a portion of New York and south to northern Florida.
Early-season heat building in the West
While the central and eastern U.S. brace for storms, the western U.S. is heading into an unusually early heat wave driven by a strengthening ridge of high pressure.
Beginning Monday and continuing through much of the week, record-high temperatures are possible across Southern California, the Desert Southwest and the Great Basin, forecasters said. Desert areas could see temperatures climbing into the 90s and 100s, while much of California and the interior West may experience highs in the 70s and 80s.
The warm, dry, and windy pattern is also expected to increase wildfire danger across parts of the West and High Plains.
In Nebraska, about 30 National Guard members were deployed over the weekend to help combat multiple wildfires across a broad swath of range and grassland, the state's Emergency Management Agency said.
As of Saturday, three of the largest wildfires had damaged well over 900 square miles, the agency said. One fire-related fatality was reported on Friday, and in a news release, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen urged residents to follow locally-issued evacuation orders, adding that winds were "supposed to be extraordinary" on Sunday.
Landslides, rescues, and collapsed homes on Maui
Acres of farmland and homes have been flooded in Hawaii. Roads have been closed, and shelters opened. PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages nationwide, reported over 30,000 electric customers in Hawaii without power as of Sunday evening.
Flash flooding has been a major problem in recent days in places like Maui, Molokai and the Big Island, where rain had been falling from 1 to 2 inches an hour overnight, according to the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.
Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said in a social media post late Saturday that some areas of Maui had received 20 inches of rain in the previous 24 hours.
"We're seeing flooding, landslides, sinkholes, debris and downed power lines across the county," he said. Expressing gratitude in the Hawaiian language, the mayor added "mahalo for continuing to look out for one another."
Video footage in Bissen's post showed washed out or collapsed roads, a car stuck by floodwaters and raging waterways. National Guard members and fire department workers made multiple floodwater rescues, Bissen said.