Adele and Harry Styles reportedly turned down invitations to perform at Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee.

The British superstars are believed to have been approached about taking to the stage at the spectacular Party at the Palace concert to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, but they both reportedly declined.

A source told The Daily Mail newspaper’s Eden Confidential column: “They were told [Adele] couldn’t do it. Scheduling issues, or something like that, were given as an excuse. It caused a lot of surprise, particularly as she was awarded an MBE. After all, how many chances will there be to perform in front of Buckingham Palace for the Queen?”

And a source close to Harry, 28, told the newspaper: “He was asked. He could not participate because of timing with his schedule.”

While Adele, 34, and Harry, did not perform at the concert celebration, a number of stars took to the stage outside Buckingham Palace to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth.

Ed Sheeran, Alicia Keys, Duran Duran, Diana Ross and Sam Ryder were among the performers at the two-and-a-half hour event.

The Queen kicked off proceedings in a pre-recorded clip, where she enjoyed a cup of tea and a marmalade sandwich from her handbag with Paddington Bear.

The duo then started tapping their teaspoons to the rhythm of Queen’s song ‘We Will Rock You’ as the British band and Adam Lambert kicked off the concert.

The Duke of Cambridge wrote to the grieving girlfriend of Capitol riot police officer Brian Sicknick.

Prince Wiliam, 39, praised Sicknick for his part in “upholding democracy” following the 43-year-old’s death from a stroke a day after last year’s violent insurrection.

The royal’s letter – which breaks from royal tradition of steering clear from politics in Britain and abroad – said:”’Please forgive me if I am intruding but I wanted to write and let you know how sorry I am about the death of your partner, Brian.”

He added he had watched the “harrowing events that took place at the Capitol” and wanted to hail Sicknick’s “patriotism” and “selflessness”.

His note went on: “By all accounts Brian performed valiantly while on duty and despite suffering injuries continued to do his utmost to protect those inside.

“I hope you can take some comfort from knowing that it is thanks to law enforcement officers like Brian that the situation did not escalate further and democracy was upheld.”

It is understood to be the first time William has waded into US issues, unlike his younger brother the Duke of Sussex, 37, and his wife the Duchess of Sussex, 40, known as Meghan Markle before she married Prince Harry.

William’s letter was revealed by Sicknick’s partner Sandra Garza on CNN on Friday. (17.06.22)

She also used her appearance to slate ex-US president Donald Trump, 76, who has been accused of inciting a “coup” after his supporters stormed Congress on 6 January 2021 in a bid to thwart the certification of Joe Biden’s election.

Garza fumed: “Trump does not give two c**** about law enforcement or Brian and yet Prince William took the time to honour me and Brian.”

Kensington Palace has not yet commented on the letter.

The Queen refrained from commenting on the global political row that unfolded globally after the riot.

But Prince Harry claimed he battled to warn former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, 45, the platform was being used to “plan a staged coup”.

He said last November: “Jack and I were emailing each other prior to January 6, where I warned him that his platform was allowing a coup to be staged. That email was sent the day before and then it happened, and I haven’t heard from him since.”

Harry added this January the riot was a “literal attack” on democracy that was only possible as it was arranged by extremists on social media by extremists.

Kate Bush has thanked the makers of ‘Stranger Things’ for propelling ‘Running Up That Hill’ to the top of the UK charts.

The 1985 single recently featured in the hit Netflix show, and Kate has thanked the Duffer brothers – who created and serve as executive producers of the series – for her record-breaking chart success.

Kate said: “The Duffer Brothers have created four extraordinary series of Stranger Things in which the child actors have grown into young adults. In this latest series the characters are facing many of the same challenges that exist in reality right now. I believe the Duffer Brothers have touched people’s hearts in a special way, at a time that’s incredibly difficult for everyone, especially younger people.

“By featuring Running Up That Hill in such a positive light – as a talisman for Max (one of the main female characters) – the song has been brought into the emotional arena of her story. Fear, conflict and the power of love are all around her and her friends.

“I salute the Duffer Brothers for their courage – taking this new series into a much more adult and darker place. I want to thank them so much for bringing the song into so many people’s lives. (sic)”

Kate has broken the record for the biggest gap between releasing a single and topping the UK chart. The singer has also become the oldest female artist ever to score a UK number one, overtaking Cher and her 1998 hit ‘Believe’.

The ‘Wuthering Heights’ hitmaker added on her website: “I’m overwhelmed by the scale of affection and support the song is receiving and it’s all happening really fast, as if it’s being driven along by a kind of elemental force.

“I have to admit I feel really moved by it all.

“Thank you so very much for making the song a No 1 in such an unexpected way.

“Kate (sic)”

By Joey Roulette and Eric M. Johnson

(Reuters) -Private rocket company SpaceX fired at least five employees after it found they had drafted and circulated a letter criticizing founder Elon Musk and urging executives to make the firm’s culture more inclusive, two people familiar with the matter said.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The New York Times reported on Thursday that SpaceX had fired employees associated with the letter, citing three employees with knowledge of the situation. It had not detailed the number of employees who had been dismissed.

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell sent an email saying the company had investigated and “terminated a number of employees involved” with the letter, the New York Times said.

The newspaper said Shotwell’s email said employees involved with circulating the letter had been fired for making other staff feel “uncomfortable, intimidated and bullied, and/or angry because the letter pressured them to sign onto something that did not reflect their views”.

Reuters could not independently confirm that report.

Billionaire Musk is pursuing a $44-billion bid for Twitter and has made clear his support of freer controls on speech on the site. On Thursday, he told Twitter employees the platform should allow “pretty outrageous things” as long as the content is not illegal.

The SpaceX letter, headed “an open letter to the Executives of SpaceX,” seen by Reuters, called Musk a “distraction and embarrassment” to the company he founded.

In a list of three demands, it said “SpaceX must swiftly and explicitly separate itself from Elon’s personal brand,” “hold all leadership equally accountable to making SpaceX a great place to work for everyone” and “define and uniformly respond to all forms of unacceptable behavior”.

Musk, also head of electric automaker Tesla Inc, has been in the headlines and featured in late-night comedy monologues in recent months, including over his quest to take over Twitter, his criticism of Democrats and a reported allegation of sexual harassment, which Musk has denied in a Twitter post.

The open letter at SpaceX, first reported by The Verge, was drafted by SpaceX employees in recent weeks and shared as an attachment in an internal “Morale Boosters” group chat that brings together thousands of employees, a person familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named.

Musk, also the company’s chief engineer, has been viewed as a central figure in many of SpaceX’s high-profile successes, such as pioneering the re-use of orbital rocket boosters and bringing back routine human spaceflight from U.S. soil after a nine-year hiatus.

Shotwell, who leads much of the company’s day-to-day business, has said she will enforce SpaceX’s “zero tolerance” standards against employee harassment.

Founded by Musk in 2002, SpaceX has played a central role in the U.S. space program, becoming the only company capable of launching NASA astronauts into space from U.S. soil and planning to send humans to the moon for the space agency within the next decade.

SpaceX is also one of two companies on which the Pentagon depends to launch into space the bulk of U.S. military and spy satellites.

(Reporting by Joey Roulette, Eric M. Johnson, Baranjot Kaur in Bengaluru; editing by Shailesh Kuber, Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Barbara Lewis)

Lil Nas X says awards shows have a long way to go before they are fully inclusive.

The 23-year-old rapper shared his hope things will improve at the 2022 Songwriters Hall of Fame gala Thursday night (16.06.22) in New York City, where he was honoured with the ‘Hal David Starlight Award’, which pays tribute to young songwriters whose work is impacting the music industry.

He said: “I think we have a long way to go in some places, but I feel like the world is definitely trying its best to change in many ways.”

The comment came after the Grammy-winner hit out at the Black Entertainment Television network.

It announced nominations for this year’s edition of its long-running awards show but he received zero nominations

He said in now-deleted tweets: “Thank you BET awards. An outstanding zero nominations again. Black excellence!”, before going on to argue the move highlighted a larger trend of exclusion and erasure of queer black artists by black spheres of power.

He also tweeted: “This not over no bet award this is about the bigger problem of homophobia in the black community, y’all can sit and pretend all u want but imma risk it all for us.”

Lil Nas X then emphasised the limitations around self-expression often imposed on queer artists and argued other black queer rappers such as Frank Ocean and Tyler, the Creator, were “more respected when they do less feminine things”.

In his new track dubbed ‘F*** BET’, Lil Nas X also appears shirtless and raps about being snubbed, while listing his accolades as a chart-topping artist.

But in a statement to Entertainment Tonight, the network explained the nomination process while vowing it is committed “to using all of our platforms to provide visibility and inclusion for all of the many intersections of the Black community”.

It added: “We love Lil Nas X. He was nominated for a ‘Best New Artist BET Award’ in 2020, and we proudly showcased his extraordinary talent and creativity on the show twice: he performed ‘Old Town Road’ with Billy Ray Cyrus at ‘BET Awards 2019’ and his ‘BET Awards 2021’ performance was a highlight of our show. No one cheered louder that night than BET.

“Unfortunately, this year, he was not nominated by BET’s Voting Academy, which is comprised of an esteemed group of nearly 500 entertainment professionals in the fields of music, television, film, digital marketing, sports journalism, public relations, influencers, and creative arts… at BET, we are passionate advocates for the wonderful diversity that exists within our community.”

Lil Nas X responded: “These are literally just buzz words placed together.”

By David Morgan and Doina Chiacu

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The day after the latest U.S. congressional hearings on the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol by Donald Trump’s supporters, the former president criticized Mike Pence’s actions that day, saying that his vice president had lacked courage.

The hearings have detailed the ways in which Trump urged his supporters to turn on Pence for refusing his requests to reject the November 2020 election results, before they stormed the Capitol, fighting with police as some chanted “hang Mike Pence!”

“Mike Pence had a chance to be great. He had a chance to be, frankly, historic,” Trump told an audience of Christian conservatives in Nashville on Friday.

“Mike, and I say it sadly because I like him, but Mike did not have the courage to act,” Trump added.

Republican Trump repeated his false claims that his defeat to Democrat Joe Biden was the result of widespread fraud, assertions that were rejected by multiple courts, state election officials and members of his own administration.

Multiple Trump allies including his daughter Ivanka, former attorney general William Barr and other officials have testified to the committee that they did not believe Trump’s false claims.

Pence’s staff were not immediately available for comment.

Pence defended his actions, however, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published on Friday.

“Ultimately, I believe that most Americans understand that we did our duty that day under the Constitution and the laws of this country,” the newspaper quoted Pence as saying.

Trump attacked the bipartisan nine-member Jan. 6 select committee, which has held three hearings in little more than a week and is building a case that Trump acted illegally by trying to overturn his election loss.

“Let’s be clear, this is not a congressional investigation, this horrible situation that’s wasting everyone’s time. This is a theatrical production of partisan political fiction. That’s getting these terrible, terrible ratings and they’re going crazy,” Trump said.

On Thursday, former Pence aides told the committee that Trump pressed Pence to overturn the election results in Congress, after being told repeatedly that it was illegal to do so. Democrats on the panel said Trump kept up the pressure even though he knew a violent mob of his supporters was threatening the Capitol, where Pence and lawmakers worked to certify the election results.

Trump has protested that the hearings lack “equal representation.” Democrats initially pressed for a balanced bicameral investigation, but Republicans rejected the plan.

The committee’s proceedings are taking place in the runup to congressional elections in November, which will determine the balance of power in the Senate and House of Representatives ahead of the 2024 general election.

Trump continues to flirt publicly with the idea of running for president again in 2024.

But for now, the former president is concentrating on a revenge election campaign this year against his perceived enemies, including 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach him after the Capitol attack, among them Representative Liz Cheney, who is vice chair of the investigating committee.

(Reporting by David Morgan, Doina Chiacu and Katharine Jackson; Editing by Scott Malone; editing by Grant McCool)

Samantha Fox is getting married to Linda Olsen on Saturday (18.06.22).

The 56-year-old pop star has been in a relationship with the Norwegian tour manager since 2016, and the pair are reportedly set to finally tie the knot this weekend, having delayed their nuptials multiple times due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A source told the MailOnline: “[Sam] is set to tie the knot with fiancée Linda Olsen on Saturday.”

The former Page 3 girl was previously linked to Australian career criminal Peter Foster, Kiss star Paul Stanley and had a 16-year relationship with Myra Stratton until her death from cancer in 2015 but back in April, Linda shared her excitement at finding her wedding dress back in May with an Instagram post..

Alongside a selfie of the brides-to-be, she wrote: “Our big day is getting closer!”

Meanwhile, the ‘Touch Me’ hitmaker – who struck up a relationship with Linda just nine months after Myra had died – previously explained that prior to her tragic death, her late partner had given Samantha her blessing to find someone new when she had passed.

Samantha said: “During the time Myra was ill, she always said, ‘I really want you to meet someone when I’m gone as I know you’d hate to be on your own. Myra was terminally ill for two years and she used to tell me, “I never want you to be on your own. I’d love for you to meet someone really nice and trustworthy.”

Back in 2020, a source claimed that both Samantha and Linda – who has two children from a previous relationship – were “very happy together” and were hoping to get married “soon.”

The insider said: “Sam and Linda are so happy together and want to spend the rest of their lives together. They’re so in love and want to make it official!”

By Brendan Pierson

(Reuters) -Iowa’s highest court on Friday ruled that the state’s constitution does not include a “fundamental right” to abortion, reversing its own finding from four years ago and reviving a law requiring women to wait 24 hours after an initial appointment before getting an abortion.

The 5-2 ruling by the Supreme Court of Iowa overturned a lower court one blocking the law, which had been challenged by a Planned Parenthood affiliate. It comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is expected in coming weeks to issue a major ruling that could dramatically curtail abortion rights at the national level.

Planned Parenthood and the office of Iowa Attorney General Thomas Miller, which defended the law, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, a Republican, signed the 24-hour waiting-period law in 2020. The state Supreme Court had struck down an earlier law imposing a 72-hour waiting period in 2018, finding that the state’s constitution included a fundamental right to abortion.

Justice Edward Mansfield, writing for the majority on Friday, said the 2018 decision had been “flawed” and “one-sided” because “having an abortion without delay is deemed more important than preserving unborn life.”

Chief Justice Susan Christensen in a dissent said the court was too quick to overturn its earlier ruling. She noted that four of the seven current justices – including herself – had been appointed since 2018 by Reynolds.

“The legitimacy of judicial review hinges in part on the public perception that we are applying the rule of law regardless of our personal preferences instead of merely engaging in judicial policymaking,” she wrote.

If the U.S. Supreme Court rolls back abortion rights, state-level legal battles over the issue are likely to become more frequent, as Republican-led states move quickly to pass new abortion restrictions.

(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Mark Porter and Alexia Garamfalvi)

For stars Keke Palmer and Uzo Aduba, “Lightyear” takes the “Toy Story” franchise to infinity and beyond by reflecting heroes of all kinds.

Disney and Pixar’s latest animated movie serves as an origin story for the fan-favourite Buzz Lightyear, but the actors agree their film’s new characters’ journeys are just as pivotal.

“It’s ‘to infinity and beyond’ for all of us,” Palmer told the Daily News.

“Leaders, heroes come in all shapes and sizes, and I think that’s the thing that ‘Lightyear’ is also writing for. That is the future. ‘To infinity and beyond’ with that. Yes, Buzz is a hero, but so are all of the faces that you are going to meet along the course of the journey.”

Zooming into theaters Friday, “Lightyear” is the first spinoff film in the “Toy Story” series, premiering nearly three decades after the original movie introduced the Buzz action figure as a favourite toy of a child named Andy.

The opening sequence of “Lightyear” informs audiences they’re watching Andy’s favorite movie, which depicts the adventures of the human space ranger Buzz Lightyear who inspired the toy.

“We’re so familiar with the toy, but very rarely do we ever get to learn the story behind the man, or the toy, and they have a full life,” Aduba told The News. “We get to see Buzz’s full life, along with the full lives of our own characters.”

The film picks up with Buzz, voiced by Chris Evans, and his fellow astronauts getting stranded on a strange planet. They work to develop hyperspeed technology to return to Earth, but every time Buzz goes on a test run, multiple years pass without him aging at all.

Aduba, 41, voices Buzz’s trusted partner Alisha Hawthorne, while Palmer, 28, portrays her granddaughter Izzy, whom Buzz meets decades in the future.

Buzz works alongside people from different backgrounds throughout the film, including Alisha, who is one of Pixar’s first openly LGBTQ characters.

Aduba — a three-time Emmy winner for “Orange is the New Black” and “Mrs. America” — praises “Lightyear” for showcasing “faces, ages, sizes and identities in ways that we haven’t seen before, and proving that all of those people can be heroic.”

“It certainly makes anybody who gets to see those stories dream differently,” Aduba said. “It certainly makes them dream of their own possibility. Everybody needs to see themselves on screen.”

Joining the “Toy Story” franchise delighted Palmer, who grew up a major fan of the previous films that starred Tim Allen as Buzz and Tom Hanks as the cowboy doll Woody.

“I always loved Andy’s journey, even as the ‘Toy Story’ franchise continued to grow,” Palmer said. “We were also growing alongside Andy and understanding our relationship with our toys and the experiences that we had and how to transition.

“I think that’s why I loved (2010′s) third ‘Toy Story’ so much, because we were all adults at that point. It’s like, how do we make away with those memories and those things of the past? How do we grow and still hold on to that child that still exists in all of us? I love how that franchise continued to grow with us and taught us stuff along the way.”

Palmer, who also has the Jordan Peele-directed horror movie “Nope” out next month, loves how “Lightyear” captures the spirit of the “Toy Story” films.

“It’s such an original story,” Palmer said, “that still carries that nostalgia.”

Kesha is “not gay” and “not straight”.

The ‘Praying’ singer told how she “loves people” and doesn’t want to label her sexuality, though she is “open to it all” in a message wishing all of her followers a Happy Pride in recognition of June being LGBTQ+ Pride month.

Sharing a selfie, the 35-year-old star wrote in the caption: “Happy pride! In case I haven’t been straight forward enough (LOL) I just wanted to take a sec to tell everyone that you are not only enough, just as you are, but the world is so f****** lucky to have you.

“I’m not gay. I’m not straight. I don’t know what I am. I love people. I love people because we are all our own little consciousness journeys, dancing around the sun. How weird and interesting and fun this life is, right?

“I refuse to be anything, really, except for open to it all. I know it can be confusing sometimes, but you are so seen and loved.

“Love u animals, happy pride [rainbow emoji] see u at stonewall soon!!!!!(sic)”

Kesha will headline Stonewall Day 2022 on 24 June in New York City and she recently admitted she is “so honoured” to be involved in the event, which commemorates the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Riots, a series of spontaneous protests from members of the city’s gay community.

She previously said: “I am so honoured to be a part of this historic event.

As a forever advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, I’m excited to embark on this monumental occasion with my friends at Pride Live and perform for Stonewall Day.”

“Stonewall is a special place for the queer community, and I cannot wait to honour and celebrate how far we have come while standing in the conviction that the fight for equality in this country is ever upon us, and I will never back down. Come dance with me!”