Dawn French admitted she didn’t like “posh” Jennifer Saunders when they first met.

The ‘Vicar of Dibley’ star confessed to not taking immediately to her future ‘French and Saunders’ double act partner, 64, at drama school in the 70s but soon became such good friends they “sort of in love”.

Speaking to the ‘Finding the Funny’ podcast, the 64-year-old comic told Ange and Ruth Corden: “I didn’t really like Jen that much at the very beginning because she’s quite posh, or I thought she was but she’s not really. She had a whole friendship group of way out of my league sort of people, and then I had to share a flat with her.

“But as soon as I got rid of my prejudice about her, which I still have to this day – prejudice against posh people, they have to prove their worth to me – I thought, ‘She’s actually great.'”

“We were just children together, enjoyed showing off for each other, and were sort of in love, really. Because we were friends first and this career came as a result of that we have been very careful to make sure the friendship is what is preserved.”

Jennifer and Dawn will be reuniting for the Comic Relief, the charity pioneered by Dawn’s ex Lenny Henry, 64 – and the father of their daughter Billie, 31, – a gig she “wouldn’t ever want to let anyone down”.

Dawn said: ‘I know that the money is spent correctly and I know that there are projects that are ongoing that need us to be ongoing and I wouldn’t ever want to let anyone down.”

“So I think the more that we can do to boost and support, the better!”

The funny gals will be spoofing the BBC One show ‘The Repair Shop’, which the ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ star labelled as the “perfect thing” for them to parody.

Jennifer added: “As I watched The Repair Shop, I thought all I could ever see was these characters going into The Repair Shop, or me and Dawn, pretending to mend something or imitating the characters. You know, I just thought, this is the show for us.’

“Then Comic Relief said we’ve got The Repair Shop and it was like the perfect thing. It was so perfect!”

Lisa Rinna congratulated her husband Harry Hamlin for securing his first major studio film in 40 years.

The ‘Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ star gushed about her “stud” 70-year-old husband and his latest professional success.

On Instagram, the 58-year-old reality television personality wrote: “I’d like to share a little story about my husband. 40 years ago he started in a Movie for @20thcenturystudios called Making Love. “It was the first gay love story controversial and groundbreaking. 40 years later Harry just got his first Studio movie.”

“He hasn’t worked for a MAJOR film studio in 40 years. Talk about Tenacity and standing your ground and risk-taking and being a f- – – ing Stud!!! I’m so blessed and honored to be able to call myself his wife. Congrats Harry Hamlin!!!!!!!”

Lisa – who shares two daughters, the fashion models Delilah Belle, 23, and Amelia Gray, 20, with Harry – teased that his as-yet-unnamed co-star was something special in the as-yet-unnamed project.

She said: “ps wait until you hear who he is starting in the new movie with.”

Harry – who in the 1982 movie played Bart McGuire, who begins an affair with a married doctor, played by Michael Ontkean, 76 – has appeared in Lifetime movies and many television series since the movie, such as ‘Mad Men’, ‘Shameless’ ‘Glee’, along with making cameos on the Bravo reality franchise that his wife stars in.

Last month, Harry – who also has son Dimitri, 40, with his ex Ursula Andress, 85 – claimed that he and Lisa were able to mark 25 years of marriage because they were “diametrically opposed”.

He said: “[The secret is] being diametrically opposite. I like going up to the mountains, and her idea of camping is anything below the 10th floor of the Four Seasons.”

(Reuters) – “Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler was briefly detained by police in Atlanta in January after he was mistaken for a bank robber, video footage released by Atlanta police on Wednesday shows.

Coogler, 35, was detained by police before being released on Jan. 7 after he went to Bank of America to make a transaction, according to a report from Variety.

“From we got the call, sounded like someone was trying to rob the bank,” one of the officers says in the bodycam footage.

The director handed the bank teller a withdrawal slip with a note written on the back that reportedly read, “I would like to withdraw $12,000 cash from my checking account. Please do the money count somewhere else. I’d like to be discreet,” the Variety report said.

The bank teller misinterpreted the situation as an attempted robbery when the transaction amount exceeded $10,000 and informed her boss, Variety reported.

Bank of America did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Black Panther became the second-highest grossing movie at box offices worldwide in 2018, heralded for its vibrant celebration of African culture and applauded as a milestone for racial diversity in Hollywood.

The film was nominated for six Oscars, including best picture. It won three Academy Awards – in the best original score, best costume design and best production design categories.

(Reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates)

(Reuters) – A District of Columbia retirement board has ruled that a police officer died in the line of duty when he took his own life due to injuries he suffered during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, the Washington Post reported.

Washington’s Police and Firefighters’ Retirement and Relief Board said in a letter on Monday that Jan. 6 was the “sole and direct cause” of Metropolitan police officer Jeffrey Smith’s suicide, the newspaper reported.

His widow Erin Smith fought for a year for the board to reverse an earlier decision denying her late husband’s death was in the line of duty.

The latest ruling allows her to receive a yearly annuity equal to her husband’s salary. It also opens the possibility for a memorial service to be held for him at the Capitol Rotunda and other honors typically bestowed to officers who died while on duty, the Post reported.

Medical reports submitted to the board said Smith lost consciousness after he was struck in the head during the riot. He later exhibited “mood and behavioral changes” that led to his suicide, the newspaper reported, citing the reports.

“Officer Jeffrey Smith would still be alive today if he hadn’t risked his life to defend all of us at the U.S. Capitol and our democracy itself on January 6th,” U.S. Representative Don Beyer, who represents Smith’s district in Congress, said in a statement.

Smith was one of four Metropolitan police officers who have died by suicide after guarding the building that day.

Hundreds of then-President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the building that day in an unsuccessful attempt to stop Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential election win.

Four people died on the day of the violence.

A Capitol Police officer who had been attacked by protesters died the following day. More than 100 police officers were injured.

The mayhem led to Trump’s second impeachment. More than 500 people have been arrested for their roles in the violence.

(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien; editing by Jonathan Oatisditing by Jonathan Oatis)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said on Thursday that Russian forces are operating with “reckless disregard” for civilians as they face stronger-than-expected resistance in Ukraine and intelligence agencies are tracking their actions to hold them to account.

“The IC (intelligence community) is engaged across the interagency to document and hold Russia and Russian actors accountable for their actions,” Haines told the Senate Intelligence Committee’s annual hearing on worldwide threats to U.S. security.

(Reporting by Jonathan Landay, Doina Chiacu and Patricia Zengerle; editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

By Jonathan Saul

LONDON (Reuters) – A Russian-operated oil tanker that Britain turned away over a week ago has yet to find a port to discharge its cargo, and many other vessels are likely to be in the same position as buyers shun trade deals following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden imposed an immediate ban on Russian oil and other energy imports and Britain announced soon after that it would phase out the import of Russian oil and oil products by the end of 2022.

The European Union has yet to provide clarity on the prospect of a similar ban by the bloc. The European Commission, the EU executive, has only said it would continue to work on further sanctions.

Britain on March 1 banned from its ports all ships that are Russian-owned, operated, controlled, chartered, registered or flagged.

The situation is not clear-cut as Britain later said Russia could still send oil and gas to the country because the sanction targeted the vessel, not its cargo.

Dockers, however, refused to unload a tanker carrying Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) last week, forcing it to discharge in France.

Earlier on Feb. 28, the NS Champion, operated by Russian shipping company Sovcomflot (SCF), changed course and sailed away from Britain towards Denmark, ship-tracking data on Eikon showed.

The vessel last reported its position close to Denmark’s coast on Wednesday with its status showing as underway using engine, tracking data showed.

SCF did not respond to a request for comment, and the ship’s crew could not be reached.

Under Danish law, ports are obliged to receive vessels provided there is space and security considerations are met.

Danish authorities did immediately comment on whether they had been in contact with the NS Champion.

Up to 65 million barrels of Russian crude are estimated to be on board 90 tankers, which have yet to reach destinations, predictive maritime analytics company Windward said.

Seven of those vessels, with 5 million barrels of oil, were reporting their positions as headed to the United States, Windward added.

European Union countries are divided on whether to ban energy cargoes with a Russia footprint.

Other ships with Russian gas have been able to deliver their cargoes. Two LNG tankers have docked and discharged in ports in France and Belgium since March 5, analysis by data intelligence firm ICIS showed.

Denmark is pushing for the EU to take a common decision on excluding Russian vessels from ports in the bloc, Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said in emailed comments to Reuters.

“It will naturally be a far-reaching decision that requires careful preparation. Therefore, it is not something you just do,” he said.

SCF was among the Russian entities the U.S. Treasury restricted in February from raising capital in U.S. markets, which shipping sources say will complicate transactions for the Moscow-listed company.

Shipowners and operators were “struggling to keep up with the unfolding sanctions and are concerned that activities that are permitted today, will be banned tomorrow,” said Alexander Brandt, a sanctions lawyer at law firm Reed Smith.

Significant numbers of Russian-linked tankers carrying crude oil and LNG call at UK ports each year as well as ships carrying steel and other goods, added Nick Austin, a shipping partner at Reed Smith.

“Those ships and cargoes will now have to go elsewhere, or more likely never leave Russia at all,” Austin said.

(Reporting by Jonathan Saul in London and Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen, additional reporting by Forrest Crellin in Paris and Nora Buli in Oslo; editing by Barbara Lewis)

Washington (AFP) – Dating app Tinder will give US users a way to check if potential dates have been convicted of a violent crime, a check that experts warn has limitations.

The app’s parent firm Match Group announced on Wednesday it would begin offering access to Garbo, a new US online background check platform that can show if someone has a history of violence.

After navigating to Garbo through the Tinder app, users then enter the name, phone number or other details about a potential date to check for arrests, convictions and sex offender registry information.

Dating apps, including Tinder, have been pressured to take action after women have reported they were sexually assaulted by men they connected with via the platforms.

“This is just the first step in delivering on our mission to help proactively prevent harm in the digital age,” Garbo founder Kathryn Kosmides said in a statement.

Match said up to 500,000 free Garbo searches would be made available, and thereafter a check would cost $2.50 plus a processing fee.

Search results exclude certain offenses like drug possession, loitering or vagrancy, and do not provide personal details like home addresses and phone numbers, Garbo said.

The firm, in a blog post, said the service is intended to prevent violence by offering information, but noted its limitations.

“Most violent individuals never interact with the criminal justice system and Garbo does not have access to all records across the United States due to jurisdictional challenges,” the post said.

Sexual violence researcher Nicole Bedera told AFP sexual assault is frequently not reported to authorities, and documented cases face barriers in the justice system.

“It’s a very under prosecuted crime. And even when cases do move through the criminal justice system — regardless of what country you’re in — you’re going to see a low conviction rate,” she added.

Sarah Lageson, an associate professor at the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice, pointed to the incompleteness of criminal record information as well as their racial bias.

“Many white sexual predators do not have a criminal record and many Black people have a misleading or unfair one,” she noted.

Garbo, for its part, pointed to the reality and risks of the current time.

“In today’s digital age, we’re connecting with more strangers than ever before — yet we increasingly know less and less about who we’re meeting,” the company noted.

“What if we could proactively prevent some of the harm against ourselves and our communities?” it asked.

Amazon has launched an app that will allow users to have their own radio show.

The tech giant – which already runs an online megastore as well as a TV and music streaming platform – has unveiled a “live radio” app called Amp which will allow users to host their own DJ-style shows, complete with a catalogue featuring “tens of millions of licensed songs” and the ability to create playlists and play host to guest callers.

The description of the free app reads: “It’s easy to share your voice and favorite songs with the world on Amp. Decide on a show title, create a playlist, and you’re just seconds away from streaming your own radio show!”

The new app – which was reportedly in development under the name Project Mic – has also enlisted the help of rapping superstar Nicki Minaj, who will be hosting her show ‘Queen Radio’ on the app, and will be joined by Pusha T, singer-songwriter Tinashe, electronic artist and violinist Lindsey Stirling, Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, Lil Yachty, and Big Boi in bringing their own content to the new platform.

John Ciancutti, vice president of Amp, said in a statement: “Radio has always been about music and culture. But imagine if you were inventing the medium for the first time today. You’d combine what people love about radio—spontaneous talk, new music discovery, diverse personalities, and broad programming—with all that’s made possible by today’s technology. You’d make it so anybody with a phone, a voice, and a love for music could make their own show. And that’s exactly what we’re doing. Amp makes it possible for you to grab the mic and run the airwaves. We are creating a new version of radio that will have an infinite dial of shows.”

Since the app is “still in the works”, according to Amazon, users can only use the app when provided with a beta code as they make sure to “improve the experience and better serve everyone when the app officially launches.”

The app itself is available to download from the U.S version of the App Store and users can and sign up for the waitlist and subscribe to the Amp Newsletter.

The Indian Wells Masters for women and men starting later Wednesday saw Novak Djokovic as part of the men’s draw but it remains unclear whether the former world number can play in California.

The Serb has said he is not vaccinated against the coronavirus and according to United States rules only people who have been jabbed can enter the country, unless the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) makes an exception.

Djokovic is the second seed and has a first-round bye.

“Novak Djokovic is on the tournament entry list, and therefore is placed into the draw today,” the tournament said late Tuesday.

“We are currently in communication with his team; however, it has not been determined if he will participate in the event by getting CDC approval to enter the country.”

Djokovic was deported from Australia in January after attempting to play at the Australian Open. This year he has only played in Dubai where only a negative PCR test was needed to enter.

By Andrea Shalal and Katanga Johnson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday requiring the government to assess the risks and benefits of creating a central bank digital dollar, as well as other cryptocurrency issues, the White House said.

Biden’s order will require the Treasury Department, the Commerce Department and other key agencies to prepare reports on “the future of money” and the role cryptocurrencies will play.

Wide-ranging oversight of the cryptocurrency market, which surged past $3 trillion in November, is essential to ensure U.S. national security, financial stability and U.S. competitiveness, and stave off the growing threat of cyber crime, administration officials said.

Analysts view the long-awaited executive order as a stark acknowledgement of the growing importance of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoins and their potential consequences for the U.S. and global financial systems.

“The growth in crypto currencies has been explosive,” Daleep Singh, deputy national security adviser for economics, said in an interview with CNN.

Cryptocurrencies and digital assets can affect how people access banking, whether consumers are safe and protected from volatility, and the primacy of the U.S. dollar in the global economy, he said.

The executive order is part of an effort to promote responsible innovation but mitigates the risk to consumers, investors and businesses, Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council, and Jake Sullivan, White House national security adviser, said in a statement.

“We are clear-eyed that ‘financial innovation’ of the past has too often not benefited working families, while exacerbating inequality and increasing systemic financial risk,” they said.

One of the order’s key measures directs the government to assess the technological infrastructure needed for a potential U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) — an electronic version of dollar bills in your pocket.

In January, the Federal Reserve kicked the question of whether the United States should pursue a digital dollar to Congress, leading analysts to predict such a project would take years.

But one administration official said the United States would move forward with developing a digital dollar, albeit with care given the dollar’s role as the world’s primary reserve currency.

“We’ve got to be very, very deliberate about that analysis because the implications of our moving in this direction are profound for the country that issues the world’s primary reserve currency,” the official said.

The order also encourages the Federal Reserve to continue research and development efforts.

Nine countries have launched central bank digital currencies, and 16 others – including China – have begun development of such digital assets, according to the Atlantic Council https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/cbdctracker, leading some in Washington to worry that the dollar could lose some of its dominance to China.

The U.S. dollar remains underpinned by key fundamentals, including a commitment to transparency, the rule of law and the full independence of the Federal Reserve, the official said.

“The dollar’s role has been and will continue to be crucial to the stability of the international monetary system as a whole. Foreign central bank digital currencies and their introduction by themselves do not threaten this dominance,” the official said.

The United States will monitor developments with an eye to maintaining the centrality of the dollar in the global economy, the White House said.

In addition, the order asks agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to review other issues raised by cryptocurrencies, including systemic risk and consumer protection.

One key objective is to redress inefficiencies in the current U.S. payments system and boost financial inclusion, especially of poor Americans, about 5% of whom do not currently have bank accounts due to high fees, one official said.

“Before today, there hadn’t previously been an organized effort to bring together the expertise and authorities of the entire U.S. government to inform a holistic approach to digital assets,” another official added.

Bitcoin surged on Wednesday and remained on track for its biggest gain since Feb. 28.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Katanga Johnson; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Michelle Price, Simon Cameron-Moore and Mark Porter)

By Tyler Clifford and Brendan O’Brien

(Reuters) – Lawyers for four men standing trial on charges they planned to break into Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s vacation home and kidnap her at gunpoint said their clients only engaged in idle talk and never conspired to abduct the governor over her COVID-19 mandates.

“There was no agreement. There was no conspiracy to kidnap the governor of Michigan or any other governor,” attorney Christopher Gibbons, representing Adam Fox, said in his opening statement.

Fox is standing trial in a Grand Rapids, Michigan, federal court along with Brandon Caserta, Barry Croft Jr. and Daniel Harris on charges of conspiring to kidnap the Democratic governor in 2020.

All the defendants except Caserta are also charged with knowingly conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction against persons or property. If convicted by a 12-person jury, the men face the possibility of life in prison.

In their opening statement, prosecutors told the jury they would offer evidence that would prove the men planned to break into Whitmer’s vacation home, hog-tie her and take her away at gunpoint to stand trial on treason charges over her COVID-19 mandates.

“To accomplish that, they would shoot, blow up and kill anybody who got in their way, in their own words, creating a war zone here in Michigan,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Roth said.

Prosecutors are expected to rely on the testimony of two witnesses, Ty Garbin and Kaleb Franks. Indicted along with the four defendants by a grand jury in December 2020, both struck plea deals with prosecutors and agreed to testify against the defendants. Garbin is currently serving a six-year sentence, while Franks is awaiting sentencing.

A total of 13 men, some of whom prosecutors said were associated with an anti-government militia group known as Wolverine Watchmen, were arrested in October 2020 and charged with state or federal crimes in the alleged kidnapping conspiracy. Seven of them are facing charges in state court.

Julia Anne Kelly, an attorney for Harris, said the evidence would show her client was unaware of any plans to kidnap the governor.

“He liked to talk about drinking and girls and guns,” Kelly said. “He was not perfect in the summer of 2020. But he’s not done what the government has accused him of.”

The FBI said it began tracking the group’s movements after seeing online discussions that included posts about the violent overthrow of some state governments to end curbs on social and business activities imposed to control the coronavirus.

The indictment accuses one or more of the defendants of discussing Whitmer’s kidnapping and planning to meet in Wisconsin to train with assault rifles. The posts also discussed buying supplies to be used in the kidnapping and putting Whitmer’s vacation home under surveillance.

Fox ordered $4,000 worth of explosives from an undercover FBI agent posing as a co-conspirator, the indictment said. It also said Fox and Harris made payments for the explosives in the following weeks.

(Reporting by Tyler Clifford and Brendan O’Brien; Editing by Karishma Singh and Howard Goller)

By Jan Wolfe

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Texas legal regulators have asked a judge to discipline attorney Sidney Powell for filing lawsuits they say were frivolous in support of former President Donald Trump’s false claims of election fraud.

The disciplinary action is a major development in what has become a nationwide effort to punish pro-Trump lawyers who tried to overturn the November 2020 presidential election result, but is not a final finding of wrongdoing.

A Texas state court judge will hear the complaint and decide whether to impose a sanction and what that might be.

In the complaint made public on Tuesday, the State Bar of Texas Commission for Lawyer Discipline said Powell “had no reasonable basis” for filing lawsuits challenging President Joe Biden’s victories in key battleground states.

“Respondent (Powell) had no reasonable basis to believe the lawsuits she filed were not frivolous,” the complaint stated and called the suits a violation of a federal ethics rule requiring an attorney’s due diligence before asserting claims in court.

Powell said in a statement that she looked forward to presenting evidence to clear her name.

“The Texas bar decision was totally expected, but it is an unfortunate and poor decision by the Bar,” Powell said. “No lawyer could practice law under the rule they would set for me.”

Powell represented Trump’s campaign when he sought to overturn the election result. His campaign distanced itself from Powell after she claimed without evidence at a Nov. 19 news conference that electronic voting systems had switched millions of ballots to Biden.

In August, a federal judge in Michigan said an election lawsuit Powell filed in that state was frivolous.

“This lawsuit represents a historic and profound abuse of the judicial process,” U.S. District Judge Linda Parker said in her decision, adding that the case “was never about fraud – it was about undermining the people’s faith in our democracy and debasing the judicial process to do so.”

Powell and lawyers with whom she worked have appealed that ruling, saying her conduct was ethical.

(Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Scott Malone and Howard Goller)

Britney Spears says nail art helped her “unbearable” social anxiety.

The ‘Toxic’ hitmaker thinks having jazzy manicures makes her “not scared to talk at all” in some social settings after feeling “ghosted” for so long.

In an Instagram post of her done-up nails, the 40-year-old pop star wrote: “I’ve felt ghosted [ghost emoji] most of my life … but if you feel somewhat not acknowledged enough in life or have confidence problems, I swear these charms do in fact change your perspective! For instance… I never talk because I’m usually shy … I have social anxiety but like the worst kind where it’s unbearable [sad face emoji] … but holy s–t there’s hope! I looked at my hands, saw these charms and I exploded [firecracker explosion emoji] with conversation … not scared at all to talk.”

The ‘If U Seek Amy’ hitmaker admitted to “never” having seen the “adorable little charms” before in the caption of the photo that showcased her huge 4 carat rock from her fiance Sam Asghari, a 28-year-old personal trainer.

Britney wrote: “I’ve never done this before… I believe it’s called nail embellishments. Have people been holding out on me because I’ve never seen these before! The most adorable little charms I’ve ever seen in my life!”

Yesterday, the ‘Crossroads’ star hinted that she had already tied the knot with Sam after she labelled him her “husband” on Instagram while vacationing in French Polynesia.

Britney – who has sons Sean Preston,16, and Jayden, 15, with her ex Kevin Federline- wrote: ‘Such an amazing pic of my husband @samasghari !!!!”

She added: ‘He’s such a hard worker and he amazes me each day with his passion for life !!!! I’m so lucky to be able to share my life with him …. HAPPY BIRTHDAY.’

The pair became engaged in September after Britney was freed from the 13-year conservatorship that gave her father Jamie Spears control over her professional, financial and health decisions.

On Friday (04.03.22), the ‘Piece of Me’ singer shared another post that referred to Sam as her “husband” as she gushed about baby turtles.

Britney wrote: “My husband @samasghari sent me this and said: 100 baby turtles leave the hatch only 20 make it to reefs because most get eaten by sharks only 1 strong strong Turtle makes it out of 100 and comes back a year later stronger than ever and hatches babies He said these turtles represented life !!!!!’”

She also got tongues wagging when she posted a nude snap with only diamond emojis covering her modesty.

Explaining why she was baring it all, she wrote: “showing my body in Polynesia as a rebel and a free WOMAN.”