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Published by Reuters NEW YORK (Reuters) – Allen Weisselberg, a longtime senior executive at former U.S. President Donald Trump’s family business, took the stand on Tuesday as the prosecution’s star witness at the Trump Organization’s tax fraud trial in New York state court. Weisselberg, 75, pleaded guilty in August to avoiding taxes on $1.76 million in personal income and helping Trump’s real estate company engineer a 15-year tax fraud scheme. His plea was part of a deal with prosecutors to testify at the trial in exchange for a five-month jail sentence. The company has pleaded not guilty. Its lawyers argue that Weisselberg – who worked for Trump for half a century, and is currently on paid leave – orchestrated the scheme to benefit only himself. Trump, a Republican, has not personally been charged with a crime, but has called the prosecution politically motivated. Both Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his predecessor who began the investigation, Cyrus Vance, are Democrats. The case is one of several legal troubles facing the 76-year-old Trump as he is set to announce another bid for the presidency after losing in 2020. (Reporting by Karen Freifeld and Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Josie Kao) View the full article

Published by NJ.com By Lauren Albrecht and Joe Forte In New Jersey and nationally, a much-hyped “Red Wave” predicted for Tuesday’s election failed to manifest. In its place, a growing Rainbow Wave has swept local and national elections. With tensions running high surrounding issues such as LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum, trans rights, DEI initiatives, and reproductive rights, being an openly-identifying LGBTQ candidate is still a fraught, and sometimes dangerous, undertaking. However, LGBTQ candidates are running, and winning, in record-breaking numbers in New Jersey and around the country. In New Jersey, at least se… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Queen Elizabeth didn’t like her hands, according to royal photographer Rankin. The 56-year-old celebrity photographer – who has photographed the likes of David Bowie, Kate Moss and Madonna, to name a few – revealed the late monarch’s insecurity and how she used it as a “get out” when he tried to get an image of her holding a sword for the Golden Jubilee in 2002. Speaking on the ‘Tea With Twiggy’ podcast, he spilled: “I was like, ‘I really want to photograph you holding the sword,’ and she said, ‘I don’t like my hands.’ [I thought] that’s the best ‘get out’ for holding the sword. “I’m probably not supposed to say that [she disliked her hands], but what I loved about her is she’s so smart and everything in response that she was saying had this amazing twist to it.” Rankin – whose real name is John Rankin Waddell – said his brief time with the royal was “really, really brilliant”. He told former supermodel Twiggy: “It was just really, really brilliant. I loved it — I spent five minutes with her, so I don’t know her intimately.” Rankin shared how when Elizabeth – who was 96 when she died peacefully of old age on September 8 – entered the room “this wave of empowerment washes over you.” He said: “I’ve never felt that aura and she was just so funny from the minute she walked in. The photographer insisted he has proof his image of the late sovereign was regarded as one of Buckingham Palace’s “favourites”. He said: “I got a really amazing note where the curator said my photograph of her is one of their favourites – which I think means the Palace’s favourite – because she’s really laughing in my picture.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Danielle Broadway (Reuters) – Nominations for the music industry’s Grammy Awards were announced during a livestreamed program at the Grammy Museum on Tuesday. The following is a list of nominations in key categories. RECORD OF THE YEAR “Don’t Shut Me Down” – ABBA “Easy On Me” – Adele “BREAK MY SOUL” – Beyonce “Good Morning Gorgeous” – Mary J. Blige “Woman” – Doja Cat “Bad Habit” – Steve Lacy ALBUM OF THE YEAR “Voyage” – ABBA “30” – Adele “Un Verano Sin Ti” – Bad Bunny “RENAISSANCE” – Beyonce “Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe)” – Mary J. Blige “In These Silent Days” – Brandi Carlile “Music Of The Spheres” – Coldplay “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers” – Kendrick Lamar “Special” – Lizzo “Harry’s House” – Harry Styles SONG OF THE YEAR “abcdefu”-Sara Davis, GAYLE & Dave Pittenger, songwriters “About Damn Time” – Lizzo “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (The Short Film)” – Liz Rose & Taylor Swift “As It Was” – Tyler Johnson, Kid Harpoon & Harry Styles “Bad Habit” – Matthew Castellanos, Brittany Foushee, Diana Gordon, John Carroll Kirby & Steve Lacy, songwriters (Steve Lacy) “BREAK MY SOUL” – Beyonce, S. Carter, Terius “The-Dream” Gesteelde-Diamant & Christopher A. Stewart, songwriters (Beyonce) “Easy On Me” – Adele Adkins & Greg Kurstin, songwriters (Adele) “GOD DID” – DJ Khaled Featuring Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, John Legend & Fridayy) “The Heart Part 5” – Kendrick Lamar “Just Like That” – Bonnie Raitt, songwriter (Bonnie Raitt) BEST NEW ARTIST Anitta Omar Apollo DOMi & JD Beck Muni Long Samara Joy Latto Maneskin Tobe Nwigwe Molly Tuttle Wet Leg BEST POP DUO/GROUP PERFORMANCE “Don’t Shut Me Down” – ABBA “Bam Bam” – Camila Cabello Featuring Ed Sheeran “My Universe” – Coldplay & BTS “I Like You (A Happier Song)” – Post Malone & Doja Cat “Unholy” – Sam Smith & Kim Petras BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM “Voyage”-ABBA “30”-Adele “Music Of The Spheres”-Coldplay “Special” – Lizzo “Harry’s House” – Harry Styles BEST RAP PERFORMANCE “GOD DID” – DJ Khaled Featuring Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, John Legend & Fridayy “Vegas” – Doja Cat “pushin P” – Gunna & Future Featuring Young Thug “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)” – Hitkidd & GloRilla “The Heart Part 5” – Kendrick Lamar BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE “So Happy It Hurts” – Bryan Adams “Old Man” – Beck “Wild Child” – The Black Keys “Broken Horses” – Brandi Carlile “Crawl!” – Idles “Patient Number 9” – Ozzy Osbourne Featuring Jeff Beck “Holiday” – Turnstile BEST COUNTRY ALBUM “Growin’ Up” – Luke Combs “Palomino” – Miranda Lambert “Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville” – Ashley McBryde “Humble Quest” – Maren Morris “A Beautiful Time” – Willie Nelson The 2023 Grammy’s will take place in Los Angeles at the Crypto Arena on Feb. 5. (Reporting by Danielle Broadway; Editing by Bill Berkrot) View the full article

Published by AFP Adele and Beyonce will go head-to-head for Album of the Year honors at the 2023 Grammys, as they did in 2017 New York (AFP) – Beyonce leads this year’s pack of Grammy Award nominees with nine chances at gold on music’s biggest night, ahead of rapper Kendrick Lamar coming in at eight, and balladeers Adele and Brandi Carlile scoring seven each. That sets the stage for a fresh showdown at the February gala between Beyonce and Adele, after the British artist shut out the pop queen’s “Lemonade,” which wowed critics and fans — in the major categories in 2017. The nominations, announced on Tuesday, also saw Beyonce move into a tie with her husband, Jay-Z, as the most nominated artists ever with 88 each. The 65th annual Grammys are slated to take place in Los Angeles on February 5, at what looks set to be the Recording Academy’s most star-studded gala in recent memory. R&B legend Mary J. Blige won six chances at a prize off her album “Good Morning Gorgeous” — she was tied with rapper Future and DJ Khaled for his album “God Did.” Pop juggernaut Harry Styles, who has been snubbed in past years by the Academy, will also vie for six awards, including alongside Beyonce, Lamar and Adele for Record and Album of the Year. Queen Bey’s dance and disco-inflected album “Renaissance” was a boon for songwriters including Terius “The-Dream” Gesteelde-Diamant, who thanks to his work on “Renaissance” also was nominated in six categories. Recent Grammy regulars Lizzo and Doja Cat also figure among the top nominees. Taylor Swift, who’s been making good on a vow to re-record her first six albums so she can control the rights to them, garnered recognition in the country categories along with a nod for best music video and another in the prestigious Song of the Year contest for her 10-minute version of “All Too Well.” And Bad Bunny, indisputably the world’s biggest streaming and touring artist, came away with three nominations for his major drop “Un Verano Sin Ti,” which is in the running for best album. OG stars make Grammy splash The Academy — made up of music-makers including artists, composers and engineers — also honored a coterie of music’s enduring stars including Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson and ABBA with a significant collection of nominations each. Grammy regulars in the global categories including Angelique Kidjo and Burna Boy also made appearances, while South Korea’s boy band sensation BTS — who earlier this year declared they were taking a hiatus — while vie once again for their first elusive gramophone. And it wouldn’t be the Grammys without a few surprises: icon Neil Young will compete against stars including Adele, Billie Eilish and Justin Bieber for the award for Best Music Film. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jeffrey Dastin (Reuters) -Amazon.com Inc is planning to lay off around 10,000 employees in corporate and technology roles beginning this week, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday, in what would amount to its biggest such reduction to date. The cuts, earlier reported by the New York Times, would represent about 3% of Amazon’s corporate staff. The exact number may vary as businesses within Amazon review their priorities, the source told Reuters. The online retailer plans to eliminate jobs in its devices organization, which makes voice-controlled “Alexa” gadgets and home-security cameras, as well as in its human-resources and retail divisions, the person said. Amazon’s time frame for informing staff remained unclear. The source attributed the reduction to the uncertain macroeconomic environment faced by Amazon and other companies. The news follows a wave of layoffs across the technology sector, which is wary of recession after years of rapid hiring. Just last week, Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc said it would cut more than 11,000 jobs, or 13% of its workforce, to rein in costs. Seattle-based Amazon is predicting a slowdown in sales growth for the typically lucrative holiday season. On a call with reporters last month, Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky said the company saw signs of tighter household budgets for shopping, and it continued to wrestle with high inflation and energy costs. It since has said it would freeze incremental corporate hiring for several months. Amazon’s devices unit in some recent years has posted an annual operating loss of more than $5 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported last week. The company has weighed whether to focus on new capabilities for Alexa when some customers use the voice assistant for just a few tasks, the report said. Company-wide, taking warehouse and transportation jobs into account, which made Amazon’s headcount more than 1.5 million as of Sept. 30, the planned cuts amounted to less than 1% of the retailer’s workforce. Shares of Amazon have lost more than 40% of their value this year. They were down 1.1% at $99.67 on Monday afternoon. (Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin in Palo Alto, Calif., and Tiyashi Datta and Nivedita Balu in BengaluruEditing by Arun Koyyur and Matthew Lewis) View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega When Jeff Bezosvowed to give most of his $124 billion fortune to charity, he probably didn’t expect it to blow up in his face. Haters are calling BS on the Amazon tycoon, 58, after he revealed his plans to devote the bulk of his wealth to fighting climate change and supporting humanity as a whole, RadarOnline.comhas learned. Bezos made his promise during a sit-down interview with CNN, telling reporter Chloe Melas that he’s “building the capacity to be able to give away this money.” When asked if he planned to give up the majority of his money during his lifetime, the billionaire responded, “Yeah, I do.” But RadarOnline.com can reveal that not everyone believes him, with many claiming he can start with his own employees. Mega “These billionaires pays their workers peanuts then give millions to charities and donates their wealth when they are dead and no longer need it,” one naysayer tweeted following the Saturday interview. “If you want to do good why not pay Amazon workers better, pay big bonuses so those people can have better lives and help others too.” Mega Another person called him a “shameful elite,” writing it’s “unfortunate that he doesn’t treat his own employees with respect or dignity,” adding, “this man has ZERO intention of giving away his wealth.” Someone else called him an “evil man,” claiming, “he’s raised the price on everything on AMAZON in the name of Inflation.” Mega Others called him out directly, claiming he’s the one capitalizing off the weak economy after giving his tips on how to protect yourself during the recession. “Jeff Bezos: ‘Fortunately, at Amazon we sell a large range of hatches that you can buy, and also the exact tools you will need to batten them down…and we can deliver them to you overnight,'” one user tweeted. “So he tells small business to slow down, make sure you spend your money correctly… he will be spending S— loads of money and he will be making tons of profit off the shit that he has just told everyone not to purchase and they will….he only says this to be more rich….!!!” another wrote. Despite his alleged good intentions, Bezos’ interview grew more haters than fans, with many urging him to put his money where his mouth is. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Mike Scarcella (Reuters) – Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday asked a U.S. appeals court to revive his lawsuit against Twitter Inc challenging his permanent suspension from the platform after his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Lawyers for Trump, a Republican, told the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a filing that the ban from Twitter marked “overtly partisan censorship” and was “contrary to First Amendment principles deeply rooted in American history and law.” His lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages and a court order requiring Twitter to “immediately reinstate” his account that was permanently suspended on Jan. 8, 2021. Trump has vowed to keep posting to his own Truth Social media platform. Twitter’s new owner, billionaire Elon Musk, has said that he would reinstate Trump’s account. A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment, and a Twitter spokesperson did not immediately reply. A lawyer for Trump, John Coale in Washington, told Reuters on Monday, “We want him to have the right to get back on” to Twitter. Twitter said last year it had permanently suspended Trump’s account “due to the risk of further incitement of violence” after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as it was preparing to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential win. San Francisco-based U.S. District Judge James Donato in May dismissed Trump’s claim that his ban from Twitter violated speech protections accorded under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. Donato also denied Trump’s claim that Twitter was serving as a “state actor” when it banned his account. (Reporting by Mike Scarcella in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis) View the full article

Published by OK Magazine mega Following in Jeff Bezos‘ footsteps! Lauren Sánchez announced she will go to space in 2023 alongside “a great group of females” — something the Amazon billionaire did in 2021. But this time around, the businessman won’t be coming along for the ride. During the interview, which aired on CNN, the pair sat down for the first time as a couple to chat about a slew of topics. But the one thing people took away from the conversation was that Bezos plans to give away most of his money to charity. “I’m finding, and I think Lauren is finding the same thing, that charity, philanthropy, is very similar,” he said. mega The pair also discussed why Bezos gave Dolly Parton $100 million as the latest recipient of his Courage and Civility Awards. “When you think of Dolly, everyone smiles, right? And all she wants to do is bring light into other people’s world,” Sánchez said of the country star. “You have too many examples in the world of conflict and people using ad hominem attacks on social media,” he added. “I think that people use conflict as a tool to achieve their own ends …. Certain politicians criticize other politicians; they criticize their motives, their character, they call them names. Once you’ve done that it’s hard to work with somebody.” JEFF BEZOS JOKINGLY THREATENS LEONARDO DICAPRIO AFTER GIRLFRIEND LAUREN SANCHEZ SWOONS OVER ACTOR IN CRINGE-WORTHY VIDEO mega JEFF BEZOS’ EX-WIFE BILLIONAIRE MACKENZIE SCOTT FILES FOR DIVORCE FROM HUSBAND DAN JEWETT Bezos and Sánchez started secretly dating in 2018, while they were both married. In 2019, Bezos and his ex-wife MacKenzie Scott called it quits. “We feel incredibly lucky to have found each other and deeply grateful for every one of the years we have been married to each other,” they said in a joint statement posted to social media that January, adding that “if we had known we would separate after 25 years, we would do it all again.” Since then, it seems like Bezos and the brunette beauty have really bonded over their shared interests. “Both Jeff and Lauren are really energized by the work they are doing in philanthropy,” an insider previously dished. “You can see and hear their excitement when they meet with partners on the climate, education and homelessness work.” The Daily Beast reported on the model’s future plans. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Akriti Sharma and Kanishka Singh (Reuters) – Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes should spend 15 years in prison and pay $800 million in restitution to investors defrauded in the blood testing start-up, U.S. prosecutors recommended late on Friday. The Department of Justice recommendation, made in a court filing, came as Holmes prepares to be sentenced next week. “Considering the extensiveness of Holmes’ fraud… the sentencing of 180 months’ imprisonment would reflect the seriousness of the offenses, provide for just punishment for the offenses, and deter Holmes and others,” the prosecutors said. Holmes earlier urged U.S. District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California not to send her to prison. A jury convicted the 38-year-old on four counts of wire fraud and conspiracy in January. Each count carries a maximum 20-year prison term. Any sentence would likely be served concurrently. Prosecutors said she lied to investors from 2010 to 2015 by promising Theranos Inc’s technology could run many tests on one drop of blood from a finger prick. Holmes had pleaded not guilty to charges that she lied about Theranos, including that its technology could detect diseases with a few drops of blood, and said the firm’s lab directors were in charge of test quality. On Monday, Davila rejected her requests for a new trial, including over a claim that a key prosecution witness visited her at home and made statements that undermined his testimony. Holmes founded Theranos in 2003 at the age of 19. The company was once valued at $9 billion, and Forbes magazine estimated Holmes’ net worth at $4.5 billion in 2015. Theranos collapsed after the Wall Street Journal published a series of articles, starting in 2015, that suggested its devices were flawed and inaccurate. (Reporting by Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru and Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Pravin Char) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Emma D’Arcy joked they are “allergic” to having long hair. The ‘House of Dragon’ star – whose uses they/them pronouns – does not want to rock the same hairdos their character Princess Rhaenyra sports on the HBO prequel to ‘Game of Thrones’ but has massive respect for the “art of wigging”. The 30-year-old actor told the digital edition of GQ: “The word I used when explaining it was that I am almost ‘allergic’ to lots of hair” “I think the art of wigging is complete magic. They are made for you, so they fit your head perfectly. The illusion is seamless. Immediately, a good wig changes your behaviour, your posture, but also, fractionally, it changes how you are read and perceived.” Emma is not “fond” of getting dolled up in conventionally feminine ways on the red carpet either. They said: “‘Glamour’ is not a word I’m particularly fond of… I have an awkward relationship with it.” “In those inherently public spaces, I try to distance myself from myself. I want to be at least two steps to the left of me, because it can be very vulnerable being out there in these places as myself.” Last month, Emma gushed about how “grateful” they were about their co-star Matt Smith, who is veteran of big budget projects like ‘The Crown’ and ‘Doctor Who’ and plays Daemon Targaryen from the George RR Martin-created world. They said: “God, I’m so grateful to Matt. I’ve learned a lot from him. I’ve learned how to play in what can be an intense environment. He has taught me how to ignore the various pressures, the time pressures, all the things that come with shooting on this scale, and tap back into those first principles.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Nandita Bose and Andrea Shalal NUSA DUA, Indonesia/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -As midterm election forecasts darkened for his Democratic party, U.S. President Joe Biden kept predicting things would turn around. This weekend, he was partially vindicated as Democrats retained control of the U.S. Senate, bucking history, media projections and pundits who warned voters cared more about gas prices than Biden’s warnings that equality and democracy were under threat. “I know I’m a cockeyed optimist,” Biden told reporters in Cambodia, referencing a sunny song from the musical South Pacific, “but I’m not surprised by the turnout.” His next step, he said, is to reach across the aisle to Republicans. Continued control of the Senate and improving prospects in the House of Representatives give the Biden White House more room to win approval for judicial and other nominees, and a better chance that Democrats can pass more Ukraine funding and domestic social programs. Voters’ rejection of conspiracy theorists seeking to take over elections as too extreme also gives weight to Biden’s long-standing belief that the United States is more united, and more moderate than recent history suggests. Asked what Democrats would do next, Biden said “I’d rather talk with the Republican leadership when that’s settled as to what we’re going to try to get done in the lame duck and just take it slow, in terms of what the priorities are.” WORLD WATCHES THE MIDTERMS Since leaving Washington on Thursday for climate, ASEAN and G20 meetings, Biden has phoned home regularly to congratulate Democratic candidates who won their races, including Senator Catherine Cortez Matso, whose victory in Nevada assured Democrats of a continued majority and Chuck Schumer of the Senate Majority spot. A Democratic victory in a Georgia Senate runoff on Dec. 6 would give the party outright majority control, bolstering its sway over committees, bills, and judicial picks. Republicans, however, remained close to seizing control of the House as officials continued counting ballots, with returns still flowing in for several races. As of Sunday evening, Republicans had won 211 seats and the Democrats 206, with 218 needed for a majority. World leaders at an East Asia summit of ASEAN nations told Biden they are closely following the election results, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One. “One theme that emerged over the course of the two days was a theme about the strength of American democracy and what this election said about American democracy,” Sullivan said, adding that Biden “feels that it does establish a strong position for him on the international stage.” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden planned to speak with leaders in the Senate and the House but did not elaborate when the conversations would take place. The Senate’s Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, said he would again reach out to Republicans who are not aligned with what he called former President Donald Trump’s extremist agenda. Asked why he thought they would listen this time, Schumer was blunt. “Because they lost,” Schumer told CNN. “The red wave proved to be a red mirage.” Biden traveled to the Indonesian island of Bali on Sunday for meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders from the Group of 20 major economies, and will return to Washington on Thursday. He has said he will invite Republicans and Democrats to the White House once he returns. Jean-Pierre said Biden’s priorities included avoiding a government shutdown, protecting Medicare and Social Security, protecting abortion rights and marriage equality, and would work with Republicans to continue to push forward his agenda. White House senior adviser Anita Dunn told NBC’s “Meet the Press” program on Sunday that Biden would continue to build on his track record in securing bipartisan infrastructure legislation and the first major gun law in over 30 years. “He’s made some real progress, but he has a lot more to do,” she said. Dunn said even with a 50-50 split Senate and a very narrow House majority, it had “not been all that easy” to move forward on legislative priorities over the first two years of Biden’s presidency, but some major legislation had still been passed. “The reality is that the people of this country want progress. They want people to work together … and they want their leaders in Washington to put their priorities first, and not necessarily political priorities,” she said. (Reporting by Nandita Bose and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Heather Timmons and Alistair Bell) View the full article

Published by DPA Getting a limited cinema release before arriving on Apple TV+ on November 18, “Spirited” sees Ghost of Christmas Present Will Ferrell haunting Ryan Reynolds as a modern-day Twitter Scrooge. Apple/dpa Like many onscreen Scrooges before him, Ryan Reynolds’ character in “Spirited” is told that he will face his past, present and future. But he surprises even the spirit haunting him upon raising his hand and asking: “Like ‘A Christmas Carol’? The Dickens story? The Bill Murray movie with Bobcat Goldthwait?” “Yes, yes!” he is told. “Like the Dickens book, and the Bill Murray movie, and every other adaptation nobody asked for!” This irreverent humour is part of what makes “Spirited” — now playing in select cinemas and streaming beginning November 18 on Apple TV+ — a Christmas miracle in itself. With some strategic reframing, updated characters and many weeks of dance rehearsals, “Spirited” refreshes Hollywood’s most overtold and arguably outdated, morality tale as a topical musical comedy that manages to be astute about our divided culture without losing the source material’s streak of sincerity. From the opening frames, “Spirited” stands out from other clever retreads of Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella by zooming in on its three ghosts. “Scrooge is always the one with the character arc, but the ghosts are the masterminds of the mission to transform him,” says director Sean Anders. “A few years ago, my writing partner, John Morris, and I started talking about what the planning of the whole thing must be like — they can’t just show up on the day and haunt him, they have to go through his entire life and decide what they’re going to show him, right?” “Spirited” envisions the overnight operation as an elaborate, yearlong endeavour: carefully choosing someone to transform, meticulously re-creating key moments in that person’s life, painstakingly rehearsing monologues to inspire major changes. And the three ghosts — Christmas Past (Sunita Mani), Present (Will Ferrell) and Yet-to-Come (voiced by Tracy Morgan) — are power players in a massive corporation, complete with retirement planning and a human resources department. “This story has been done a lot, but the concept of looking at it from the inside, of how the sausage is made, was the reason to do it,” Ferrell tells The Times. “It takes some chances and is out-of-the-box in terms of what you expect it’s going to be because it also looks at the burden of the ghosts, and whether or not what they’ve been doing for centuries is even moving the needle in today’s world.” Ferrell’s Christmas Present wrestles with that question while trying to redeem this year’s Scrooge: Clint Briggs (Reynolds), a ruthless media consultant whose job is described as “creating controversy, conflict and disinformation for the benefit of his clients worldwide.” According to Anders, he’s “very charismatic and a pretty fun guy to be around,” but he might be more harmful to society than the classic’s grouchy miser, not to mention more relatable to the movie’s modern viewers. “What’s made Clint Briggs this year’s Scrooge isn’t just that he’s an active Twitter user — although that does qualify you enough in and of itself — but that he’s harnessing these forces to create controversy and division,” Reynolds says. “I am somebody who lives in the muck and mire of social media from time to time, and I see how absurd and crazy and toxic it can be. … We’re just constantly pushing farther and farther away from each other.” The timing of the film’s release, coming in the same week as Twitter’s rapid unravelling under new Chief Executive Elon Musk underscores its allusions to culture wars, fake news and trolls, though here the truth is softened by the conventions of the movie musical — something Anders and Morris have been wanting to make for years. The songs, written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, along with Khiyon Hursey, Sukari Jones and Mark Sonnenblick, are insightful about what Paul calls “the main question of the story, which is: Am I able to overcome the worst parts of me to become a better version of myself?” But they are also jam-packed with punchlines and undercut by onscreen eye-rolling about the fact that, yes, someone is starting to sing again. When Clint is introduced — at a conference of Christmas tree growers, natch — Reynolds channels the charm of Fred Astaire in an elaborate, super-smooth musical number about the exploitability of human nature. “We leaned into that which is Ryan Reynolds — charming, good looking, a consummate storyteller,” says choreographer Chloe Arnold. “It’s so fun to watch, but it’s also to illustrate how Clint is this master manipulator.” Adding to that message is Octavia Spencer as Kimberly, a character who, though she works for Clint as Bob Crachit does Scrooge, sends a very different message by beginning to confront her own compromised morals. “She sings about that moment when you’re thinking about who you’ve been and who you want to be and how those two versions of yourself conflict, and questioning whether the decisions you’ve made are ones that reflect your values,” says Spencer. But of all the changes to “A Christmas Carol” that “Spirited” makes, the most astounding is its conclusion, which goes against the ending of its source material. You’ll have to see the film to know how it goes down, but needless to say this Scrooge doesn’t end up throwing money to the masses on Christmas morning. “I’ve been a huge fan of the original ‘Christmas Carol’ my whole life, and we have fun with all the tropes,” Anders says. “But one reason I wanted to make this movie is that I don’t think people can change overnight. It just doesn’t happen that way; it takes work.” Getting a limited cinema release before arriving on Apple TV+ on November 18, “Spirited” sees Ghost of Christmas Present Will Ferrell haunting Ryan Reynolds as a modern-day Twitter Scrooge. Apple/dpa View the full article

Published by Reuters By Guy Faulconbridge and Humeyra Pamuk LONDON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns was expected to caution President Vladimir Putin’s spy chief at talks on Monday about the consequences of any use of nuclear weapons, and to raise the issue of U.S. prisoners in Russia, a White House official said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to Russian news agencies that a U.S.-Russia meeting had taken place in the Turkish capital Ankara but declined to give details about the participants or the subjects discussed. The White House spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Burns was meeting Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service. It was the first known high-level, face-to-face U.S.-Russian contact since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. “He is not conducting negotiations of any kind. He is not discussing settlement of the war in Ukraine,” the spokesperson said. “He is conveying a message on the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons by Russia, and the risks of escalation to strategic stability … He will also raise the cases of unjustly detained U.S. citizens.” Burns is a former U.S. ambassador to Russia who was sent to Moscow in late 2021 by President Joe Biden to caution Putin about the troop build-up around Ukraine. “We briefed Ukraine in advance on his trip. We firmly stick to our fundamental principle: nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine,” the spokesperson said. Putin has repeatedly said Russia will defend its territory with all available means, including nuclear weapons, if attacked. He says the West has engaged in nuclear blackmail against Russia. MANY OUTSTANDING ISSUES The remarks raised particular concern in the West after Moscow declared in September that it had annexed four Ukrainian regions that its forces partly control. The U.S.-Russian contact in Turkey was first reported by Russia’s Kommersant newspaper. The SVR did not respond to a request for comment. Beyond the war, Russia and the United States have a host of outstanding issues to discuss, ranging from the extension of a nuclear arms reduction treaty and a Black Sea grain deal to a possible prisoner swap and the Syrian civil war. U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, asked at a summit of the Group of 20 (G20) leading economies in Indonesia about the meeting in Turkey, said the United Nations was not involved. Biden said this month he hoped Putin would be willing to discuss seriously a swap to secure the release of U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, who has been sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony on drugs charges. Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who holds American, British, Canadian and Irish passports, was sentenced in 2020 to 16 years in a Russian jail after being convicted of spying, a charge he denied. Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer jailed in the United States, has been mentioned as a person who could be swapped for Griner and Whelan in any prisoner exchange. (Reporting by Reuters; Additional reporting by Jonathan Spicer in Turkey; Editing by Gareth Jones) View the full article

Published by AFP Former US vice president Mike Pence, right, at a November 4, 2022, campaign appearance in Michigan Washington (AFP) – Former president Donald Trump’s inflammatory words before and during last year’s US Capitol insurrection endangered Americans including his own deputy Mike Pence, the former vice president said in a television interview set to air Monday. “The president’s words that day at the rally (before the riot) endangered me and my family and everyone at the Capitol,” Pence told ABC News. Pence reportedly is laying the groundwork for a presidential run in 2024. It would pit him against his former boss, who has convened the media to his palatial Florida home on Tuesday night reportedly to announce his own White House bid. Pence’s interview to be broadcast on ABC’s “World News Tonight” coincides with the release Tuesday of his memoir, “So Help Me God.” The veteran Republican told the network that Trump, speaking on January 6, 2021 at a park near the White House, incited the crowd before it marched toward the Capitol: “The president’s words were reckless. It was clear he decided to be part of the problem.” Pence said he was “angered” when he read a Trump tweet that day asserting that the vice president “didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done” to keep Trump in office by blocking Congress’s certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. “I turned to my daughter, who was standing nearby, and I said, ‘It doesn’t take courage to break the law. It takes courage to uphold the law,'” Pence told the network. The vice president was on Capitol Hill at the time, and US Secret Service officers evacuated him from the US Senate chamber where he narrowly avoided an encounter with rioters who had stormed into the complex. Pence has largely kept mum about his interactions with Trump in the run-up to the January 6 mob attack — until this month. In an excerpt from his memoir, published last week by the Wall Street Journal, Pence said he spoke with Trump by phone on New Year’s Day 2021 and conveyed his refusal to take part in a plan to keep Trump in power. “‘You’re too honest,'” Pence said Trump told him. “Hundreds of thousands are gonna hate your guts…. People are gonna think you’re stupid.'” View the full article

Published by Radar Online mega Ivanka Trump cropped out her brother Don Jr.’s fiancée, Kimberly Guilfoyle, in what some perceived as a social media snub, RadarOnline.com has discovered, before reposting the same image with the TV personality included. The former first daughter sparked rumors of a family feud after sharing a photo on her Instagram grid captured at sister Tiffany Trump‘s Mar-a-Lago wedding this weekend — sans Guilfoyle. MEGA In the portrait, Tiffany stood front and center in her sparkling Elie Saab gown with her mother Marla Maples dressed in mauve on her right. Next to Marla was Tiffany’s sister-in-law Lara Trump, who could be seen wearing a gold sparkly dress. Melania Trump was in a creme colored dress to Tiffany’s left and Ivanka could be seen alongside Melania in a baby blue gown. Next to Ivanka in the original image was Guilfoyle, who wore a black dress to the event. The Trump ladies were gathered to watch Tiffany exchange vows with 25-year-old billionaire Michael Boulos. Within moments, several social media users noticed the image was cropped. Some questioned if Ivanka cut the portrait because Guilfoyle was wearing black. MEGA Wedding etiquette expert Elaine Swann said wearing black to weddings has been viewed as a fashion faux pas in past years, but that it’s now being more widely accepted if done with the proper style. Instead, the rule of thumb is to “always avoid wearing anything that’s too low cut, too short, or too tight,” Swann told Brides Magazine last year. Interestingly, Ivanka later reposted the uncropped photo to her Instagram Stories with heart emoji, ensuring that Guilfoyle was back in it. Although some called the move savage on Twitter, an insider told Daily Mail there is no ill will between them. mega Ivanka and Guilfoyle spent a “lot of time together at the wedding and really have a wonderful relationship,” claimed the insider, confirming it was just a terrible mistake. “Ivanka loves Kimberly and in no way would crop her out,” added the source. “The two women are very close and Kimberly has really become part of the Trump family. When Ivanka realized what had happened, she immediately reposted the photo.” View the full article

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A watchdog group on Monday asked the U.S. Federal Election Commission to probe a $20 million transfer between two groups tied to former President Donald Trump, alleging the money was illegally sponsoring Trump’s aim to return to the White House. Trump has repeatedly hinted that he plans to run for president again in 2024 and has invited media to his Florida estate on Tuesday for what he says will be a “major announcement.” Since leaving office in 2021, the former president has aggressively raised money for his Save America group. But under campaign finance rules he is barred from spending Save America funds on his own campaigns. In October, Save America transferred $20 million to a Trump-aligned group called Make America Great Again Inc, which is registered with the Federal Elections Commission as an independent super PAC. The group spent more than $11 million supporting Republican candidates in the midterm elections and last reported having more than $23 million in the bank on Oct. 19. The legal complaint filed on Monday by the Campaign Legal Center, a non-partisan group, said the FEC is obliged to investigate the transfer because the money is “obviously intended to fund support for Trump’s 2024 presidential candidacy.” An FEC spokesperson said the commission does not comment on litigation. (Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Scott Malone and Chizu Nomiyama) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Andrew Chung WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away another challenge to a federal ban imposed under former President Donald Trump on devices called “bump stocks” that enable a semi-automatic weapon to fire like a machine gun. The justices declined to review an appeal by a group of firearms dealers and individuals in Minnesota, Texas and Kentucky after a lower court rejected their argument that the government had violated the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment “takings clause” by effectively taking their private property without just compensation. Trump’s administration moved to reclassify bump stocks as machine guns, which are forbidden under U.S. law, in a rare firearms control measure prompted by a 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas. The Supreme Court in 2019 declined to block the ban from going into effect. The justices last month rejected appeals by a Utah gun lobbyist and firearms rights groups of lower court rulings upholding the ban as a reasonable interpretation of a federal law prohibiting machine gun possession. Bump stocks use a gun’s recoil to bump its trigger, enabling a semiautomatic weapon to fire hundreds of rounds per minute to let it shoot like a machine gun. Trump pledged to ban them after a gunman used semiautomatic weapons outfitted with bump stocks in a shooting spree that killed 58 people at a country music festival in Las Vegas. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), a U.S. Justice Department agency, reversed a previous conclusion and classified bump stocks as machine guns under a 1934 U.S. law called the National Firearms Act. The policy took effect in 2019. Two sets of plaintiffs filed lawsuits seeking compensation for having to destroy or surrender their bump stocks in the Court of Federal Claims, which hears monetary claims against the U.S. government. A judge dismissed the actions, finding the policy to be a lawful exercise of the federal government’s power to outlaw dangers to public health and safety. The Washington-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld those decisions last year for a different reason, ruling that a property right in the devices was inherently limited given the existing federal prohibition on machine guns. In a nation divided over how to limit firearms violence, gun rights are becoming increasingly expansive. Legal experts have said a variety of gun control measures are at risk since the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in June recognizing for the first time a right to carry a handgun in public for self-defense under the Constitution’s Second Amendment guarantee of the right to keep and bear arms. That ruling, powered by the court’s 6-3 conservative majority, struck down New York state limits on carrying concealed handguns outside the home. (Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham) View the full article

Published by Reuters By William James and Valerie Volcovici SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed on Monday to resume cooperation on climate change and other issues, offering a boost to bogged down and behind schedule negotiations at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt The leaders of the world’s two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases met at the G20 summit on the Indonesian island of Bali where climate change will be competing for time with issues such as the global economy and Russia’s war in Ukraine. Their agreement to talk again about climate thawed relations frozen earlier this year after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi angered China by visiting Taiwan. News of the rapprochement came just as COP27 climate negotiators at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh were looking for a sign that G20 nations were willing to stump up more cash and fresh commitments in the fight against rising global temperatures. Teresa Ribera, Spain’s climate minister, said she was hopeful that the rapprochement would energise negotiations. “The two biggest emitters need to be cooperative and ambitious,” she told Reuters. Manish Bapna, president and CEO of the environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council, called it “essential”. “This unequivocal signal from the two largest economies to work together to address the climate crisis is more than welcome; it’s essential,” Bapna said. Heading into the last week of the two-week conference progress has been slow, frustrating negotiators who are struggling to find consensus on how rich countries should help developing nations meet the cost of climate-fuelled disasters. The outcome on that issue, referred to in climate talks as “loss and damage”, could define the perceived success or failure of the COP27 talks. One senior negotiator, who could not be named due to the sensitivity of the talks, said that after an opening week heavy on promises but light on new cash commitments, many developing nations were watching Bali closely for a signal that the richest economies were taking concrete actions. Progress from the G20 group of the world’s wealthiest economies – and also its largest emissions producers – could come in the form of both cash and political signalling. One issue some delegates and observers in Egypt were looking for progress on was the provision of climate finance to developing countries by multilateral development banks – the international financial institutions whose sovereign shareholders sit mostly within the G20. “It’s important that they do that, and that will provide support and momentum for COP,” Avinash Persaud, special envoy on climate finance to Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, told Reuters. The United States is expected to announce an energy transition plan with Indonesia on Tuesday which will also involve other G7 nations – essentially a funding package to help switch from coal power to clean energy. G20 leaders may also look to agree a statement on addressing environmental concerns, providing some relief after officials in August failed to agree a joint communique, amid objections over language used on climate targets and the war in Ukraine. (Reporting by William James and Valerie Volcovici; Additional reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Alison Williams) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Nate Raymond and Andrew Chung WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday paved the way for a congressional panel to obtain phone records from Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward, rejecting her request to block a subpoena issued in the investigation into the 2021 U.S. Capitol attack by former President Donald Trump’s supporters. Ward, a Trump ally, had asked the Supreme Court to intervene after lower courts declined to bar telephone carrier T-Mobile from complying with the subpoena from the Democratic-led House of Representatives select committee seeking three months of her telephone records. The committee sought Ward’s records as part of its probe into events surrounding the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol by Trump supporters who sought to block Congress from certifying his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. The committee on Oct. 22 sent Trump himself a subpoena to testify under oath and provide documents. Trump filed a lawsuit on Friday in a bid to block the subpoena. Trump, who is considering another run for the presidency in 2024, has accused the panel of waging unfair political attacks on him. The panel has said Ward participated in multiple aspects of the attempts to interfere with the 2020 electoral count as Trump allies acted on his false claims that the election was stolen from him through widespread voting fraud. The records of the calls and text exchanges sought by the lawmakers spanned from Nov. 1, 2020, to Jan. 30, 2021, and covered a period when Ward was part of a group of Republicans who falsely presented themselves as Arizona’s presidential electors. The potential use of false electors was part of a scheme to foil congressional certification of the election results. Ward’s lawyers argued that providing the committee with access to her telephone and text message records would violate the constitutional right to free association by giving the lawmakers access to names of Republican party members who spoke with her. U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa in Arizona on Sept. 22 backed the subpoena, finding that Ward provided no evidence to support her claims that producing the records would chill such rights or result in harassment of those who interacted with her. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Oct. 22 declined to put the subpoena on hold while Ward appealed. The House committee also has subpoenaed Ward herself as one in a group of people who it said had knowledge of or participated in efforts to send false “alternate electors” to Washington for Trump as Congress prepared to certify the election results. Ward and her husband, Michael Ward, both signed their names on one of the slates of alternate electors for Trump. Congress certified the election results in the hours after the pro-Trump rioters attacked police with a variety of weapons and stormed the Capitol. The future of the committee after the Nov. 8 midterm elections is uncertain. If Republicans gain control of the House, they are expected to shut down the committee’s work. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan had temporarily put the subpoena on hold on Oct. 28 while the full court decided how to proceed. Kagan is the justice assigned to handle certain emergency requests from a group of states including Arizona. (Reporting by Andrew Chung in Washington and Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Will Dunham) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Tom Hals WILMINGTON, Del (Reuters) -A trial over shareholder allegations that Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk’s $56 billion pay package was based on easy to achieve performance targets and that investors were duped into approving it began on Monday, with Musk slated to take the stand later this week. A Tesla shareholder hopes to prove during the five-day trial that Musk used his dominance over the electric vehicle maker’s board to dictate terms of the 2018 package, which did not require him to work at Tesla full-time. Musk, the world’s richest person, will testify on Wednesday, Greg Varallo, an attorney for shareholder Richard Tornetta, told a court in Wilmington, Delaware, on Monday. The trial began with Ira Ehrenpreis, a Tesla board member since 2007 and chair of the committee that oversaw the pay package, describing the thinking behind the record-breaking compensation deal. “I wanted to make sure that Elon remained as the leader of Tesla over a longer period of time,” Ehrenpreis testified, adding that he had been leading other ventures from rocket company SpaceX to tunneling firm The Boring Company. The court was shown a brief video clip of Musk’s deposition in the case. He described how Ehrenpreis called him to discuss creating a pay package to replace his 2012 pay deal. Musk said he suggested to Ehrenpreis “a larger amount but with much harder milestones” than the 2012 deal. Tornetta has asked the court to rescind the pay package, which is six times larger than the top 200 CEO salaries combined in 2021, according to Amit Batish of research firm Equilar. Musk and Tesla’s directors, who are also defendants, have denied the allegations, arguing that the pay package ensured the entrepreneur would guide Tesla through a critical period, which helped drive the stock tenfold higher. The lawsuit argues that the pay package should have required Musk to work full-time at Tesla. The company’s shareholders have become concerned that Musk is distracted by Twitter, which he bought for $44 billion last month. Musk told a business conference on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, on Monday that he had too much on his plate at the moment. The case will be decided by Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick of Delaware’s Court of Chancery, who also oversaw the legal dispute between Twitter Inc and Musk. WIDE LATITUDE TO SET PAY Legal experts said Musk is in a better legal position in the pay case than he was in Twitter’s lawsuit, which prevented him from walking away from the takeover. Boards have wide latitude to set executive compensation, according to legal experts. However, directors must meet more stringent legal tests if the pay involves a controlling shareholder. Part of this trial is likely to focus on whether that description fits Musk. While he owned 21.9% of Tesla in 2018, plaintiffs are likely to cite what is seen as his domineering personality and ties to directors. “There is no case in which a 21.9% shareholder who is also the chief executive has received a structured payout plan of this magnitude,” Lawrence Cunningham, a corporate law professor at George Washington University, said of the lack of precedent. A pay battle between The Walt Disney Co and a shareholder shows how much deference Delaware courts give boards in setting compensation. A Disney shareholder sued in 1997 over a $130 million severance payment to former president Michael Ovitz, who was with the company less than two years. The shareholder lost at trial in 2005, and the Delaware Supreme Court upheld the ruling in 2006. The disputed Tesla package allows Musk to buy 1% of Tesla’s stock at a deep discount each time escalating performance and financial targets are met. Otherwise, Musk gets nothing. Tesla has hit 11 of the 12 targets as its value ballooned briefly to more than $1 trillion from $50 billion, according to court papers. A decision will likely take around three months after the trial and could be appealed to the Delaware Supreme Court. (Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; additional reporting by Hyunjoo Jin in San Francisco and Jody Godoy in New York; Editing by Jonathan Oatis, Noeleen Walder and Bill Berkrot) View the full article

Published by AlterNet By David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement Political experts are warning about a group of nearly 60 far-right wing politicos including Ginni Thomas, Matt Schlapp, and Cleta Mitchell who reportedly will issue a letter calling for the House and Senate to delay votes on leadership positions including Speaker of the House and Senate Majority Leader. Axios’ Jonathan first reported the news, posting at least part of the letter and the list of signatories (below). Some of the other more recognizable names on the letter include Mark Meadows, the former Trump White House chief of staff; Cleta Mitch… Read More View the full article

Published by Raw Story Kari Lake, the Republican candidate in the unresolved race for governor in Arizona, has issued a steady drumbeat of accusations that the Maricopa County elections office is “slow-rolling” the ballot count since Election Day. Lake and her allies are also weaving in a claim that local election administrators are somehow manipulating the count to ensure front-load Democratic ballots to make her campaign look bad. The claim ignores the fact that since Donald Trump attacked mail-in voting in 2020, Republican voters have traditionally favored voting in person on Election Day — a pattern reinforced b… Read More View the full article