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Published by New York Daily News Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin voted Thursday to strike a recently implemented rule protecting LGBTQ youth from so-called LGBTQ “conversion therapy.” The widely debunked practice attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. After around four hours of testimony, the Republican-led Joint Committee on Administrative Rules voted 6-4 along party lines to repeal the ban, the Wisconsin State Journal reported. “Once again, Republican legislators have demonstrated that they will put politics over people and allow young people in Wisconsin to be hurt by those who should be hel… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Cate Blanchett has hit back at suggestions that ‘Tar’ is “anti-woman”. The 53-year-old star won a Golden Globe award this week for her portrayal of the fictional orchestra conductor Lydia Tar but conductor Marin Alsop slammed the movie amid suggestions that the main character was inspired by her. ‘Tar’ follows Blanchett’s alter ego at the height of her successful career before accusations about her behaviour surface and destroy all she has worked for. Alsop said: “I was offended as a woman, I was offended as a conductor, I was offended as a lesbian. “There are so many men – actual, documented men – this film could have been based on but, instead, it puts a woman in the role but gives her all the attributes of those men. That feels anti-woman.” Cate has the “utmost respect” for Alsop but claims that the character’s circumstances are merely coincidental. ‘The Aviator’ star said: “What (director Todd Field) and I wanted to do was to create a really lively conversation. So there’s no right or wrong responses to works of art. “It’s not a film about conducting, and I think that the circumstances of the character are entirely fictitious. I looked at so many different conductors, but I also looked at novelists and visual artists and musicians of all stripes. It’s a very non-literal film.” Blanchett stressed that the conductor is “entitled to her opinion” but defended the movie against claims of sexism. The Oscar-winner said: “She’s entitled to her opinion, absolutely. But it’s a meditation on power and power is genderless. It is a meditation on power and the corrupting nature of power and I think that that doesn’t necessarily happen only in cultural circles. “I mean, she could just as well have been a master architect or the head of a major banking corporation.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Christy Turlington has hailed Tatjana Patitz as the embodiment of “European sophistication and style”. The model died from breast cancer on Wednesday (11.01.23), aged 56, and Christy has taken to social media to pay a glowing tribute to the catwalk star. She wrote on Instagram: “Tatjana was always a vision. Glamorous, sophisticated, and warm, once she let you in. I could have watched her smoke cigarettes and speak in any of the many languages she was fluent in all day. Who needed to work? I was learning how an international woman behaved and moved in the world in real time. You are unforgettable and are forever in my heart.” Elsewhere, Milla Jovovich has hailed Tatjana as “one of the most stunning humans” she’s ever met. The 47-year-old model recalled being invited to a photoshoot with Tatjana when she was just 13. Milla said: “She was a natural mama even at such a young age. She only got better at it as the years went by.” Tatjana became one of the so-called ‘Big Five’ supermodels during the 90s. In 1990, she also starred in the music video for George Michael’s hit song ‘Freedom! ’90’. The catwalk star appeared in the video alongside fellow models Christy, Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista. Tatjana modelled for the likes of Chanel, Donna Karan and Vivienne Westwood during her career, and she also often appeared in the pages of American and British Vogue. She made her last catwalk appearance at Milan Fashion Week in 2019, when she modelled items from Etro’s autumn/winter collection. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Evan Peters’ Golden Globe win has been slammed by the mother of one of Jeffrey Dahmer’s victims. The 35-year-old actor took home the Best Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television award for his portrayal of the serial killer in ‘Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’ at the awards ceremony earlier this week but Shirley Hughes thinks his success only brings more pain to the victims’ families. Shirley, whose son Tony Hughes was 31 when he was killed by Dahmer in 1991, said: “There’s a lot of sick people around the world, and people winning acting roles from playing killers keeps the obsession going and this makes sick people thrive on the fame. “It’s a shame that people can take our tragedy and make money. The victims never saw a cent. We go through these emotions every day.” She also told TMZ Evan should have used his acceptance speech to mention the grieving families or to call for Hollywood to put an end to telling stories about killers and glorifying them. And Shirley insisted the actor should have turned down the role in the first place out of respect for those who lost loved ones at the hands of the serial kiler. When he accepted the award at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Evan thanked viewers for tuning in, acknowledging the show had been “difficult” to film and wasn’t an easy watch. He said: “Most importantly, I want to thank everyone out there who watched this show. “It was a difficult one to make, a difficult one to watch, but I sincerely hope some good came out of it.” Last month, Evan admitted it was a “real struggle” for him to accept the role of the notorious killer – who was convicted of murdering 17 men between 1978 and 1991 – but ultimately felt “up for the challenge” because of his trust in showrunner Ryan Murphy. Speaking to the producer, he said: “It was a real struggle. I was really thinking about it and trying to process it. I went back and forth a lot. I knew that you’re an incredible support system and I trust you and there’s an honesty there. I knew that, with the goal in mind of finishing this thing as strong as I started it, that you would create a great safety net. If I fell down, I could get back up and we could finish this thing. I was up for the challenge.” View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Former President Donald Trump reportedly discussed launching a nuclear weapon against North Korea and blaming another country for the preemptive attack, RadarOnline.com has learned. In a shocking development to come nearly two years after President Trump left office, former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly has provided surprising testimony and insight into Trump’s thinking and decision-making during his sole term in the Oval Office. Mega According New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt’s upcoming new book Donald Trump v. the United States, Trump was obsessed with Kim Jong-un and North Korea when Kelly became the then-president’s chief of staff in July 2017. “What scared Kelly even more than the tweets was the fact that behind closed doors in the Oval Office, Trump continued to talk as if he wanted to go to war,” Schmidt wrote after interviewing Kelly, Kelly’s staffers and dozens of Trump Administration officials. “He cavalierly discussed the idea of using a nuclear weapon against North Korea, saying that if he took such an action, the administration could blame someone else for it to absolve itself of responsibility,” Schmidt added. Despite Kelly purportedly telling Trump that “it’d be tough to not have the finger pointed at us” regarding the nuclear strike against North Korea, the former president would become “baffled and annoyed” and consistently “turn back to the possibility of war, including at one point raising to Kelly the possibility of launching a preemptive military attack against North Korea.” Mega Trump’s obsession with North Korea continued to escalate even after Kelly joined the White House, with the situation ultimately reaching a crux in January 2018 when Trump targeted Kim Jong-un on Twitter and bragged about his “Nuclear Button.” “North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the ‘Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times,’” Trump wrote at the time. “Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!” Kelly was eventually able to reel Trump in when, in the spring of 2018, he appealed to the then-president’s “narcissism” and convinced Trump that he would be seen as the “greatest salesman in the world” by successfully striking a diplomatic relationship with North Korea. Mega Shortly after Kelly’s suggestion, Trump began dialing back both his public rhetoric against Kim Jong-un and his private threats to launch nuclear weapons at North Korea. Trump also met Kim Jong-un in person just a few months later in June 2018, and even became the first sitting U.S. president to enter North Korea in June 2019. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Andrew Goudsward and Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. prosecutors on Thursday accused leaders of the far-right Proud Boys group of plotting an assault on American democracy as one of the most high-profile trials to stem from the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack got underway. In an opening argument, federal prosecutor Jason McCullough told jurors that Proud Boys chairman Henry “Enrique” Tarrio and four other leaders engaged in sedition by using force to try to keep Donald Trump in office after he lost the 2020 presidential election. “On January 6, they took aim at the heart of our democracy,” McCullough told jurors. The case marks the third time that the Justice Department has charged members of extremist groups with the rarely prosecuted crime of seditious conspiracy, after Trump supporters invaded the Capitol in a failed bid to prevent lawmakers from certifying his November 2020 election loss to Biden. Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and another chapter leader of the far-right militant group were found guilty of seditious conspiracy in November, and another trial is pending against four more members. The Civil War-era law, which prohibits people from plotting to overthrow or destroy the U.S. government, carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison. When it became clear that Trump would not win re-election, “these men did not stand back. They did not stand by. Instead they mobilized,” McCullough said, paraphrasing a comment Trump made in a debate before the election that the Proud Boys should “stand back and stand by.” All five Proud Boys defendants have pleaded not guilty and their attorneys will argue that they did not plot to block the peaceful transfer of power. Prosecutors have brought criminal charges against more than 950 people following the assault. Four people died during the chaos, and five police officers died of various causes after the attack. Under Special Counsel Jack Smith, the Justice Department is also investigating efforts by Trump’s advisers to overturn his election defeat. In the Proud Boys case, the government accuses Tarrio and four other group members, some of whom led state chapters, of purchasing paramilitary gear for the attack and urging members of the self-described “Western chauvinist group” to descend on Washington. They say Tarrio directed the attack from Baltimore because he had been ordered to stay out of Washington after being arrested on Jan. 4 for burning a Black Lives Matter banner at a historic African-American church in December 2020. Prosecutors say Tarrio met with Rhodes, the Oath Keeper founder, at an underground parking garage after being released from custody. Prosecutors accuse the four other defendants – Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola – of being among the first members of the crowd to charge past the barricades that had been erected to protect the Capitol. A fifth member of the group, North Carolina chapter leader Charles Donohoe, pleaded guilty to other charges in April 2022 and could potentially be called as a witness in the case. Biggs and Nordean are accused of tearing down a black metal fence that separated the crowd from police, Donohoe of throwing water bottles at police, and Pezzola with grabbing an officer’s riot shield. “Dude, we’re right in front of the Capitol right now. American citizens are storming the Capitol – taking it back right now,” Biggs said on a video he recorded of himself. The indictment said Pezzola used the stolen shield to break a window, allowing members of the mob to enter the Capitol. (Reporting by Andrew Goudsward and Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Andy Sullivan and Alistair Bell) View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega A Republican strategist working on the Georgia GOP andHerschel Walker’s Senate campaign alleged that Matt Schlapp, the powerful chairman of the American Conservative Union, “fondled my junk without my consent” when he was tasked with driving Schlapp back to an Atlanta hotel weeks before the November midterm election. While Schlapp denied the alleged incident, the staffer dropped a bevy of text messages that he said back up his accusations, RadarOnline.com has learned. The unnamed strategist, who is in his thirties, told CNN about Schlapp’s alleged sexual advances, which he claimed happened on October 19 while chauffeuring the chairman back to his hotel from two bars in the area. According to the employee, Schlapp groped and fondled his groin in the car. He claimed that Schlapp also invited him up to his hotel room, but he declined the offer. Mega Hours after the alleged encounter, the strategist reported Schlapp to senior campaign staff. He also called and texted friends about the reported sexual advances. “He’s pissed I didn’t follow him to his hotel room,” one of the staffer’s text messages read. “I’m so sorry man,” the acquaintance responded. “What a f——- creep.” A text message sent by the employee later read, “I just don’t know how to say it to my superiors thst heir [sic] surrogate fondled my junk without my consent.” The night of the alleged incident, the employee claimed Schlapp invited him via text to have drinks at a local bar. In a text message, allegedly sent by Schlapp, the conservative businessman wrote, “I have a dinner at 7. May grab a beer after if you want to join let me know.” At the bar, the staffer alleged Schlapp invaded his personal space. He also said that when the alleged sexual advance happened, he didn’t say anything because he was shocked and focused on driving. Mega According to a call log, Schlapp called the employee later that night to confirm he’d be driving him to a Walker event in the AM. The staffer claimed he broke down, allegedly filming himself and recalling the alleged incident. “Matt Schlapp, of the CPAC, grabbed my junk and pummeled it at length. And I’m sitting there (in the car) saying, ‘What the hell is going on that this person with a wife and kids is literally doing this to me, from Manuel’s Tavern to the Hilton Garden Inn there at the Atlanta Airport,’” he stated in one of the self-recorded clips. “He literally has his hands on me. And I feel so f—— dirty. Feel so f—— dirty. So I don’t know what to do in the morning.” When he reported the alleged sexual advances in the morning to top Walker campaign officials, they directed him not to drive Schlapp to that day’s political event. When Schlapp reached out to the staffer via text about driving him, the employee responded by writing, “I did want to say I was uncomfortable with what happened last night. The campaign does have a driver who is available to get you to Macon and back to the airport.” Schlapp allegedly tried to call the staffer multiple times before later sending him a text message. “If you could see it in your heart to call me at the end of the day. I would appreciate it. If not I wish you luck on the campaign and hope you keep up the good work,” the message read. Mega Walker campaign officials confirmed the staffer reported the alleged incident, revealing they offered him options including legal counsel, contacting law enforcement, and a therapist. They also informed him he could speak to reporters if he wanted to. Schlapp denied the accusations through his attorney, who called the allegations an “attack.” “The attack is false and Mr. Schlapp denies any improper behavior,” his lawyerCharlie Spies said. “We are evaluating legal options for response.” Schlapp also runs the ACU. The organization’s leadership backed him up, claiming the report about the alleged incident was a “character assassination.” “We stand squarely behind Matt Schlapp, and the ACU Board of Directors has full confidence in his leadership of the organization,” the first and second chairs of the ACU stated. View the full article

Published by DPA A woman uses a hand fan in the shade of a tree in Frankfurt's Opera Square. Last year was the fifth or sixth hottest on record, depending on the data set, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in a report released on Thursday. Arne Dedert/dpa Last year was the fifth or sixth hottest on record, depending on the data set, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in a report released on Thursday. The result means that it is among the eight hottest on record, all of which were in the years after 2014. The trend of rising temperatures will continue, the WMO said, because there are record amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The consequences are becoming more and more apparent, the agency added. The agency did not settle on 2022’s ranking as the differences between individual years are often so small that it is difficult to rank them accurately. The WMO evaluated six data sets for the calculation. In some, 2022 landed in fifth place, in others in sixth. With a 1.15-degrees-Celcius temperature rise compared to pre-industrial temperatures, 2022 did not beat 2016’s record 1.3-degree increase. These levels are compared to temperatures during the pre-industrial era of 1850-1900. That 2022 did not break the 2016 record was likely due to the La Niña weather phenomenon, which has a cooling effect, according to the WMO. La Niña involves changes in air and water flow in and over the Pacific Ocean. Unusually, this winter is the third consecutive winter with La Niña effects, which are 60% likely to continue through March, the WMO said. In contrast, 2016 was dominated by La Niña’s counterpart, El Niño, which tends to contribute to higher global average temperatures. In the 10-year average from 2013 to 2022, the global average temperature was 1.14 degrees above pre-industrial levels. In the 10 years from 2011 to 2020, it was 1.09 degrees, the WMO reported. WMO chief Petteri Taalas pointed to a difficult outlook, with record heat in 2022 in China, Europe, South Asia, and North and South America, among other places, and the ongoing drought in the Horn of Africa. Heat and droughts have always existed. But climate change is contributing to weather extremes becoming more severe and more frequent. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The late conservative Australian Cardinal George Pell was the author of an anonymous memo condemning Pope Francis’ papacy as a “catastrophe” where political correctness held sway while global wrongs were ignored, says the journalist who published it. Released last year under the pseudonym “Demos” – Greek for populace – the document accuses the pope of silence on moral issues, including the German Catholic Church’s openness to the LGBTQ community, women priests and communion for the divorced. “Commentators of every school, if for different reasons … agree that this pontificate is a disaster in many or most respects; a catastrophe,” the memo begins. “Decisions and policies are often ‘politically correct’, but there have been grave failures to support human rights in Venezuela, Hong Kong, mainland China, and now in the Russian invasion,” it adds. “These issues should be revisited by the next Pope. The Vatican’s political prestige is now at a low ebb.” Italian journalist Sandro Magister, a conservative Catholic himself with a long record of leaking authentic Vatican documents, revealed Pell’s authorship in his religious affairs blog “Settimo Cielo”. “He wanted me to publish it,” Magister told Reuters on Thursday. Pell, 81, who spent more than a year in jail before being acquitted of sexual abuse allegations in his native Australia, died on Tuesday night in a Rome hospital of heart failure. Father Joseph Hamilton, Pell’s personal secretary, declined to comment on Magister’s report, saying in a text message that he was “more preoccupied by my grief”. Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said he had no comment. Pell appeared to like the more liberal-minded Francis personally, but not how he ran the Church. Francis supported Pell privately during the abuse saga and on the day of the acquittal offered Mass for all who suffer unjust sentences. ‘ECCENTRIC NOMINATIONS’ Magister said Pell was a frequent visitor to his home and during one visit the late cardinal showed him the English-language text he wanted to circulate among cardinals. The general treatment of many subjects discussed in the memo is similar to the way Pell spoke of them in public, including in an interview with Reuters in 2020. But the document, written with a view to the election of the next pope, becomes more personal and scathing, including naming specific people. The author asserts that “Christ is being moved from the centre” under Francis’ papacy, adding that “the Christo-centric legacy of St. John Paul II in faith and morals is under systematic attack”. He accuses one cardinal from northern Europe of being “explicitly heretical” on Church teachings about sexuality and laments the “active persecution” of traditionalist Catholics. “The political influence of Pope Francis and the Vatican is negligible. Intellectually, Papal writings demonstrate a decline from the standard of St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict,” the author writes. The memo shows particular familiarity with the Vatican’s financial situation, which occupies about 25% of the document. Pell was the Vatican’s economy minister from 2014-2017. In a section under the heading “The Next Conclave”, the author writes that the College of Cardinals “has been weakened by eccentric nominations,” an apparent reference to Francis naming cardinals from far-flung places with relatively few Catholics, such as Mongolia. “The first tasks of the new pope will be to restore normality, restore doctrinal clarity in faith and morals, restore a proper respect for the law and ensure that the first criterion for the nomination of bishops is acceptance of the apostolic tradition,” the memo reads. (Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne) View the full article

Published by OK Magazine Madonna Missing her new man? Though pop icon Madonna is enjoying her family’s wintertime vacation to Africa, it seems the “Material Girl” icon may still be pining for a special someone back home in the United States! @madonna/Instagram Earlier this week, the queen of pop took to social media with an adorable clip depicting her and her brood heading on a horseback riding excursion, the artist taking a moment to show off her seemingly telling outfit. HUNG UP & LOVED UP! MADONNA SPOTTED GETTING COZY WITH 23-YEAR-OLD MODEL IN NEW YORK CITY In the Instagram Story shared with her 18.6 million followers, the A League of Their Own actress sported not only riding gear, including a helmet and a vest, but also a striped button-down shirt reading “My boyfriend is out of town.” While it’s unclear whether Madge currently has a boy toy, the 64-year-old star has been dipping her toe in the dating pool over the last several months since calling it quits with her former flame, 28-year-old Ahlamalik Williams last April. In September, the “Like A Prayer” artist was spotted cozying up to 23-year-old male model Andrew Darnell, with the pair spending Labor Day weekend packing on the PDA in NYC. Mega After attending a concert for Nigerian artist REMA at Manhattan venue Irving Plaza, Madonna, Darnell, and a group of pals headed north to high-end eatery Mr. French in the city’s Flatiron district. As the star-studded party sipped on glasses of rosé and fare including “truffle fries, crispy rice, and several different pastas including truffle gnocchi,” they also seemingly let loose, “dancing, and taking selfies at the table,” per one onlooker who spied the Grammy winner during her night on the town. Amid the excitement, Madonna and Darnell, with whom she had previously modeled with during an ultra-steamy photoshoot, proceeded to show some PDA, as OK! previously reported. MADONNA LETS LOOSE WITH HER KIDS AS HATERS BEG QUEEN OF POP TO CANCEL WORLD TOUR: ‘IT WOULD BE A HUGE FLOP’ “She and Andrew were being very openly affectionate all night, snuggling and cuddling in the booth,” the insider explained, noting that the newly-minted couple “were definitely smooching.” View the full article

Published by uInterview.com Will Smith was the punchline of one too many jokes at the 2023 Golden Globes on Tuesday. His infamous slap was jabbed at by Eddie Murphy, who some have said was more tasteful than the night’s host, Jerrod Carmichael, who also called out Smith during the ceremony. Carmichael, whose off-color and often very niche jokes fell flat several times throughout the night, took a shot at Smith that many are criticizing for being homophobic. “Just some quick housekeeping stuff, if you’re listening, if everyone’s listening,” Carmichael started during one segment. “While we were on commercial we actually pr… Read More View the full article

Published by OK Magazine Mega Days after No Doubt frontwoman Gwen Stefani sparked backlash after defending accusations of cultural appropriation with her early 2000s Harajuku aesthetic by repeatedly alleging she was Japanese, conservative commentator Megyn Kelly has offered to take on the online brouhaha. Earlier this week, the Fox News alum slammed Allure’s Senior Editor Jesa Marie Calaor, who interviewed with Stefani for the storied beauty publication, slamming the writer as a “very young reporter” who she claims exaggerated the impact of the star’s strange words. Mega “So now, there’s a whole thing about whether Gwen Stefani has really stepped over the line by saying ‘I am Japanese,” the radio personality explained during a recent installment of her eponymous Sirius XM series,The Megyn Kelly Show, on Wednesday, January 11. ITALIAN-AMERICAN GWEN STEFANI DOUBLES DOWN ON CLAIM SHE’S JAPANESE Alongside urging Calaor, who is Asian, to “get over” being called racial slurs, as she detailed in the now-viral piece, Kelly awkwardly attempted to liken Stefani’s bizarre racial comments to transgender people coming out. Mega “No problem for Gwen Stefani to come out tomorrow and to say ‘I am a man,’” Kelly continued. “She can say it no problem. But ‘I am Japanese’ has caused the people at Allure to ‘tisk tisk’ her with all these experts weighing in and saying she’s cultural appropriated [sic] again, and they’re angry.” GWEN STEFANI & BLAKE SHELTON SNEAK A SMOOCH WHILE ENJOYING A ‘LITTLE END OF THE YEAR HIKE’ Kelly’s bizarre remarks come hours after the “Hollaback Girl” made headlines for claiming she was of Japanese descent despite admitting she is “Italian American — Irish or whatever mutt that I am.” “That was my Japanese influence and that was a culture that was so rich with tradition, yet so futuristic [with] so much attention to art and detail and discipline and it was fascinating to me,” said Stefani of her interest in the nation’s aesthetics despite having no ties to the East Asian culture. “I said, ‘My God, I’m Japanese and I didn’t know it,” she continued, a sentiment The Voice alum purportedly reiterated throughout her time speaking to Calaor. “I spent 32 minutes in conversation with Stefani, many of them devoted to her lengthy answer to my question about Harajuku Lovers,” Calaor remembered of her chat with Stefani. “In that time, she said more than once that she is Japanese.” View the full article

Published by Kaiser Health News As the University of California’s health system renews contracts with hundreds of outside hospitals and clinics — many with religious affiliations — some of its doctors and faculty want stronger language to ensure that physicians can perform the treatments they deem appropriate, including abortions for women or hysterectomies for transgender patients. University of California Health is in the middle of a two-year process to renew contracts with affiliate hospitals and clinics that help the university deliver care in underserved parts of the state. Many of the agreements are with faith-based fa… Read More View the full article

Published by AlterNet For decades, the U.S. Supreme Court expanded civil liberties, from 1969’s Stanley v. Georgia to 1965’s Griswold v. Connecticut to 2003’s Lawrence v. Texas to 2015’s Obergefell v. Hodges. And some of the “yes” votes in those decisions were appointees of Republican presidents. From Justice Anthony Kennedy (a Ronald Reagan appointee) to Chief Justice Earl Warren (a Dwight D. Eisenhower appointee), some GOP-appointed justices of the past were socially liberal in landmark rulings. But in 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court is dominated by far-right social conservatives. When Roe v. Wade was overturned 5-4… Read More View the full article

Published by New York Daily News U.S. Rep. George Santos on Thursday cryptically promised to step down from Congress over his unending string of lies “if 142 people ask me to resign.” It wasn’t clear what the embattled New York Republican meant, and the statement sparked instant petition drives and moves by fellow lawmakers to build even more pressure on him to quit. Santos, 35, shouted the odd response to a scrum of reporters as he ducked into an elevator at the Capitol. The only way for Santos to be forced out of office would be if two-thirds of the entire House of Representatives vote to expel him. Two-thirds of the Republ… Read More View the full article

Published by Raw Story Rep. George Santos (R-NY) insisted that he’s lived an honest life, despite the unraveling of major portions of his biography, but he refused to say where he’s gotten his money. The embattled New York Republican, who’s under investigation by county prosecutors back home, the Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Election Commission, appeared on the “War Room” podcast with Rep. Matt Gaetz, who filled in for host Steve Bannon while he made a court appearance. “Embellishing one’s resume isn’t a crime, it’s frankly how a lot of people get to Congress,” Gaetz said. “We want everyone to be h… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Ben Platt is returning to Broadway. The 29-year-old actor made his name in the title role of the musical ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ in 2015 and went on to star in the film adaptation in 2021 but is now set to make his return to The Great White Way in the limited run of ‘Parade’ at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre opposite Micaela Diamond after a brief Off-Broadway run in the show last year. Director Michael Arden said in a statement: “I am delighted that Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown’s musical will be seen by Broadway audiences again after our brief run last fall. ‘Parade’ has been a seminal piece of theater for me as an artist since it premiered 25 years ago, and to be collaborating with this incredible group of producers, designers, and artists led by the brilliant Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond is truly a dream come true. The story of Leo Frank is more important than ever to re-examine, and it is my hope that audiences are both inspired and activated to reflect on both the past failure and the enduring promise of the complicated tapestry we call America.” The musical – which is expected to open in March and run until August – tells the true story of the 1913 trial and imprisonment, and 1915 lynching, of Jewish American Leo Frank in Georgia. In 2021, Ben – who became the youngest ever actor to win a Tony Award for his role as struggling teenager Evan at the age of 23 – expressed that he “loved” being live on stage and hoped to return to Broadway “many times” throughout his career. He said: “I love live performance more than anything and so returning to Broadway someday is a huge thing that I see in my future. I would love to find the right thing and I hope and pray to return many times in my life.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Harry Styles has a big future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The 28-year-old mega star made a cameo appearance at the end of the 2021 movie ‘Eternals’ as Eros/Starfox and Marvel Studios producer Nate Moore confirmed that Harry’s alter ego is a “fascinating” character with a family connection to the villainous Thanos. During an interview on the Deadline Crew Call podcast, Moore said: “We certainly didn’t cast Harry for a tag. I mean, again – And a character (that) maybe I have too much affection for, ’cause he’s had some problematic runs in publishing. But there are more stories to be told with the character.” The producer added: “He has a really interesting connection with Thanos; they’re half-brothers and share the same father. He has an interesting power set. “He’s a complicated character, but a really fun character. And I think… having met Harry Styles, he is as charming as you want him to be. And I think there’s no limit to how good that character’s going to be once we get to bring him back.” ‘Eternals’ director Chloe Zhao revealed that she was the driving force behind the decision to give the ‘As It Was’ hitmaker a role in the MCU. She said: “Long story short, with that depressing ending, at some point he was going to be one of the Eternals on that ship. “And that didn’t quite work out. “But I had been wanting to bring Eros into the MCU. “So I kept mentioning [casting Harry Styles] to Kevin [Feige] at every chance I had in the hallway, because I love the idea of Eros being another Eternal, another Ajak. He’s an Eternal, and he was stationed on Titan – 10 of them were, just like the 10 Eternals on Earth, assuming Titan is also a host planet at some point. “Now, if you think about that, what influence could Eros have had on the inhabitants of Titan, the way Ajak has influenced people on Earth? And how that has affected Thanos.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Jessica Chastain feels “nervous” about getting sick while starring on Broadway. The 45-year-old actress is set to take on the leading role of Nora in the Henrik Ibsen play ‘A Doll’s House’ – which tells the story of a housewife who finds herself limited in life by a male-dominated world – at the Hudson Theatre from March, but Jessica has admitted to being anxious about her role in the production. The acclaimed actress – who is one of the most sought-after stars in Hollywood – explained: “It’s pretty great. I’m doing a play right now in New York, I’m gonna be doing ‘A Doll’s House’, and I’m playing Nora. So I’m really excited about that. “I’m a little nervous about getting sick but I’ve got my mask. I’m doing both but oh my gosh, you have to be so careful in the theatre and I don’t want to let my cast down.” Meanwhile, Jessica – who won an Oscar last year for her role as celebrity televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker in ‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye’ – is also starring as ‘Stand by Your Man’ singer Tammy Wynette in the Paramount series ‘George and Tammy’. The actress admitted that she “never imagined” playing two different Tammys in her career – even though the two women were “very different” people. Speaking to E! News about the projects, Jessica shared: “I got asked over a decade ago if I would play Tammy Wynette. So it’s been a long project in the making. I never imagined playing, I didn’t set out to play singing Tammy but they’re very different personalities so it felt like a different atmosphere.” View the full article

Published by Radar Online mega Republican Sarah Huckabee Sanders used her first day in office as Arkansas’ first female governor to prohibit the use of “Latinx” in state documents, RadarOnline.com has learned. The former White House press secretary initiated an executive order to enforce the new vocabulary ban. Sanders, 40, cited pew research to support her decision to prohibit the “ethnically insensitive” term. mega After making history when she was officially sworn into office on January 10, Sanders got to work. Important topics like State infrastructure, public education, and healthcare were not targeted. Instead, the fresh governor took aim at the gender-neutral terminology that is used in place of Latino or Latina. Sanders announced that she planned to ban the use of “Latinx” in state government documents through the use of an executive order, a power reserved for the governor. According to Sanders, only 3% of American Latinos and Hispanics used the term to describe themselves. mega She described the term as “ethnically insensitive” as the reason for the ban. “Ethnically insensitive and pejorative language has no place in official government documents or government employee titles,” the executive order stated. “The government has a responsibility to respect its citizens and use ethnically appropriate language, particularly when referring to ethnic minorities.” The use of the term became popular in recent years through a progressive movement to use gender-neutral terminology, which aimed to promote inclusion and avoid bias of a particular sex or gender — something that Sanders suggested was impossible with Latin-based “romance languages.” mega “One can no more easily remove gender from Spanish and other romance languages than one can remove vowels and verbs from English,” Sanders’ executive order continued. “It is the policy of the Governor’s administration to prohibit the use of culturally insensitive words for official state government business.” Gender-inclusive terminology has been at the forefront of GOP-led states’ issues, in addition to cracking down on gender-affirming health care. The executive order would also ban the use of TikTok from state-owned devices and government networks, which has been enacted in other Southern states like Texas under fellow GOP Governor Greg Abbott. View the full article

Published by AFP An empty Soyuz spacecraft will be sent to the ISS next month to bring home two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut whose vehicle was damaged by a meteorite strike Moscow (AFP) – Russia said Wednesday that it will send an empty spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) next month to bring home three astronauts whose planned return vehicle was damaged by a strike from a tiny meteoroid. The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, made the announcement after examining the flight worthiness of the Soyuz MS-22 crew capsule docked with the ISS that sprang a radiator coolant leak in December. Roscosmos and NASA officials said at a joint press briefing that an uncrewed Soyuz spacecraft, MS-23, would be sent to the ISS on February 20 to bring Russian cosmonauts Dmitry Petelin and Sergei Prokopyev and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio back to Earth. “We’re not calling it a rescue Soyuz,” said Joel Montalbano, ISS program manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “I’m calling it a replacement Soyuz. “Right now the crew is safe onboard the space station.” MS-22 flew Petelin, Prokopyev and Rubio to the ISS in September after taking off from the Russian-operated Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. They were scheduled to return home in the same spacecraft in March, but their stay on the ISS will now be extended by several extra months. “I may have to find some more ice cream to reward them,” Montalbano joked. MS-22 began leaking coolant on December 14 — shortly before Russian cosmonauts were to begin a spacewalk — after being hit by what US and Russian space officials believe was a tiny space rock. Montalbano said “everything does point to a micrometeoroid” and not space debris, or a technical problem. The executive director of Human Space Flight Programs at Roscosmos, Sergei Krikalev, said the “current theory is that this damage was caused by a small particle about one millimeter in diameter.” MS-23 had been scheduled to fly Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub and NASA’s Loral O’Hara to the ISS on March 16. SpaceX Crew Dragon The decision was made to use MS-23 to fly the current crew home, Krikalev said, because of concerns over potential high temperatures in the damaged MS-22 during reentry to Earth’s atmosphere. He said it could still potentially be used “in case of emergency.” Another emergency scenario involves using the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule that is currently docked with the ISS after flying four astronauts to the space station in October for a six-month mission. Montalbano said discussions have been underway with SpaceX about using the Crew Dragon capsule to fly home other astronauts aboard the ISS. “We could safely secure the crew members in the area that the cargo normally returns on the Dragon,” Montalbano said. “All that is only for an emergency, only if we have to evacuate ISS,” the NASA official stressed. “That’s not the nominal plan or anything like that.” Krikalev said an uncrewed MS-22 would return to Earth, probably in March, following the arrival of the replacement vehicle. It would bring back equipment and experiments that are not “temperature sensitive,” he said. When the original MS-23 crew will get to the ISS is still being worked out, Montalbano added. Space has remained a rare venue of cooperation between Moscow and Washington since the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine and ensuing Western sanctions on Russia. The ISS was launched in 1998 at a time of increased US-Russia cooperation following the Cold War “Space Race.” Russia has been using the ageing but reliable Soyuz capsules to ferry astronauts into space since the 1960s. View the full article

Published by Reuters (Reuters) – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) allowed some flights to resume after an outage of the system that alerts pilots to any obstructions before take-off had earlier forced the civil aviation regulator to ground all aircraft in the United States. Over 4,000 flights were delayed and more than 600 canceled because of the outage as of early Wednesday morning. U.S. flights were slowly beginning to resume departures as a ground stop was lifted. Here is a brief summary of what the pilot warning system does, what we know about what went wrong and background about the safety notices provided to pilots, known as NOTAM. WHAT HAPPENED? The FAA system that is meant to distribute notices to pilots on hazards failed at about 2 a.m. Eastern Time, officials said. The FAA ordered airlines to put a halt on all domestic departures until 9 a.m. Eastern time while it tested whether crews had managed to restore the system and bring it back online. The White House said that U.S. President Joe Biden had been briefed on the outage by Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. “There is no evidence of a cyberattack at this point,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a tweet. The U.S. Department of Transportation is conducting an investigation, she said. WHAT IS A NOTAM? The system that failed on Wednesday is part of a nearly century-old practice originally known as Notices to Airmen – originally modeled on a system for notices to mariners. The system, which was changed to be called “Notices to Air Missions” in 2021, is meant to alert pilots to hazards, everything from snow, volcanic ash or birds near an airport. It also provides information on closed runways and temporary air restrictions. The NOTAMs sent by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration are part of a global safety system managed through the United Nations’ aviation agency. Pilots are required to review the notices, either printed on paper or on an iPad, before take-off. The information provided can run up to 200 pages for long-haul international flights. NOTAMs are written in a kind of encoded shorthand that had been originally designed to make communication more efficient. HOW HAS THE SYSTEM CHANGED? The U.N. Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has been leading an effort to overhaul the system to make it easier for airlines and pilots to filter the most important warnings and present them in clearer language. In July 2017, an Air Canada jet landed on the wrong runway at San Francisco’s airport and came within seconds of colliding with four other planes. The notice of the closure of one of the two runways at the airport had been flagged in the pre-flight NOTAM – on page eight of a 27-page briefing – and missed by the pilots. The incident, and the information overload that pilots complain the system encourages, prompted the effort to change the way the system operates. “(NOTAMs) are just a bunch of garbage that nobody pays any attention to,” U.S. National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Robert Sumwalt said at a 2018 hearing on the Air Canada incident, which helped spur a global campaign for change. FAA officials have been involved in efforts to modernize the system in recent years. (Reporting by Nathan Gomes and Abhijith Ganapavaram in Bengaluru, Editing by Kevin Krolicki and Nick Zieminski) View the full article

Published by OK Magazine @madonna/instagram Madonna fans are loving the Queen of Pop’s social media content recently. Over the past few weeks, the 64-year-old has been traveling across Africa with her children — all while rumors simultaneously swirl of an upcoming “Greatest Hits” tour set to begin at some point in 2023. @madonna/instagram On Tuesday, January 10, the mom-of-six took to Instagram to showcase horseback riding adventures with five of her children, Rocco Ritchie 22, David Banda, 17, Mercy James, 16, and twins Estere and Stelle Ciccone, 10. MADONNA JETS OFF TO LOLLDAIGA WILDLIFE & SAFARI PARK WITH HER PRECIOUS BROOD: ‘KISSES FROM KENYA’ “Hold tight to ,” the pop sensation wrote alongside an exciting video of each family member on the horse’s saddle. @madonna/instagram Madonna’s caption not only emphasized her love for the country of Kenya, but name-dropped one of her fan-favorite songs “Hold Tight,” which the A-lister attached as an audio sound alongside the cool clip. Fans quickly flocked to the award-winning artist’s comments section to express their love for both Madonna’s recent adventures and her famed music. “I want to be there!! epic !!,” one admirer of the “Hung Up” singer’s excursion, as another wrote, “My favorite song from Rebel Heart! the synths are everything!” Other supporters couldn’t help but gush over the idea of an upcoming potential performance from the generational icon. “After this vacation we want the world tour of hits ,” one fan pleaded, as another joked, “I hold tight my money for your next tour Queen .” FANS PRAISE MADONNA’S PARENTING AS TROLLS CONTINUE TO SLAM QUEEN OF POP’S ‘DISTURBING’ APPEARANCE Excitement toward Madonna’s rumored return to the stage comes after a source dished that the talented celeb was secretly planning a world tour, even claiming the concert series was already scheduled to begin later this year, as OK! previously reported. @madonna/instagram “Madonna is trying something completely new — and really giving fans, young and old, what they want,” the insider spilled on Tuesday, January 3, while noting London’s O2 Arena is reportedly already booked for more than one of her performances. “She wants to capitalize on tracks like ‘Frozen’ and ‘Material Girl’ popping off on TikTok, and introduce her back catalogue to an entirely new generation,” they continued. “Previously she has always wanted to be forward-facing and focus on whatever new album she’s plugging. But now, in her mid-sixties, she is going back to basics and once again reinventing herself.” “It’s massively exciting,” the source concluded. View the full article

Published by New York Daily News NEW YORK — Bette Midler is sad to see the end of a Broadway run that she’s calling historic. “What a shame ‘The Music Man’ at the #WinterGarden in NYC is closing on the 19th,” she tweeted Tuesday. “It’s one of the best shows I’ve ever seen in my life; absolutely beautiful.” The show’s website indicates “The Music Man” will close Sunday, which the theater confirmed by phone. Fans of the Divine Miss M rushed to their keyboards to speak about their experiences seeing the Tony-nominated show starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster. Some remarked that “The Music Man” must be something special to ge… Read More View the full article