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Published by OK Magazine mega Harry Potter and the Vocal Ally! Harry Potter alum Daniel Radcliffe got candid about his continued support for the trans community this week, detailing how the wizarding franchise partially inspired him to speak out against author J.K. Rowling ’s inflammatory comments targeting transgender people. “The reason I was felt very, very much as though I needed to say something when I did was because, particularly since finishing Potter, I’ve met so many queer and trans kids and young people who had a huge amount of identification with Potter on that,” the actor explained in an interview published earlier this week. mega Upon seeing how “hurt” many LGBTQAI+ fans felt due to Rowling’s remarks, Radcliffe said he decided to take a stand, reiterating his support. J.K. ROWLING NOTICEABLY ABSENT FROM ‘HARRY POTTER’ 20-YEAR REUNION SPECIAL FOLLOWING AUTHOR’S TRANSPHOBIC REMARKS “I was like, I wanted them to know that not everybody in the franchise felt that way,” the star recalled. “And that was really important.” mega In June 2020, Rowling, who penned the Harry Potter books, received major backlash after sharing a tweet slamming the gender-inclusive phrase: “people who menstruate.” WATCH PETE DAVIDSON BLAST J.K. ROWLING’S ‘DISAPPOINTING’ TRANSPHOBIC REMARKS Despite sparking ire among fans and celebrities alike, Rowling doubled down on her inciting remarks, a move that prompted Radcliffe to issue a statement rebutting the writer’s apparent beliefs. mega “Transgender women are women,” the now 33-year-old star wrote in a response to Rowling’s remarks. “Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I.” Beyond showing solidarity with Harry Potter fans, Radcliffe also cited his long-running work with The Trevor Project — a non-profit suicide prevention organization aimed at aiding members of the LGBTQAI+ community — as another factor that provoked him to speak out. “It was really important as I’ve worked with the Trevor Project for more than 10 years, and so I don’t think I would’ve been able to look myself in the mirror had I not said anything,” Radcliffe recalled. “But it’s not mine to guess what’s going on in someone else’s head.” Radcliffe’s comments first appeared in IndieWire. View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Ice queen Reese Witherspoon is freezing out her ex-husband Ryan Phillippe because the successful Morning Show star refuses to be dragged down by his personal drama, RadarOnline.com has learned. The Cruel intentions co-stars cordially co-parented their kids following their 2008 divorce. But tipsters dished they now rarely speak as their daughter Ava, 23, and son Deacon, 19, are on their own. “Reese and Ryan maintained a civil relationship when they were making decisions about their children — but that’s gone now,” an insider squealed. Reese Witherspoon’s Daughter Ava Spotted Out With Boyfriend Who Is A Dead Ringer For Her Dad Ryan Phillippe Mega The spy added that Reese, 46, is still peeved about being subpoenaed to testify in 2019 when Ryan’s ex-girlfriend, model Elsie Hewitt, 26, accused him of battering her and slapped the actor with a $1 million lawsuit. The movie hunk, 48, denied abusing Elsie but settled the case out of court. “Reese still sees Ryan’s life is messy, and she doesn’t want to be drawn into it,” the source said. “She doesn’t care for him — or see the need to be buddies.” As RadarOnline.com reported, Elsie sued Ryan for $1 million in 2017 after accusing him of assaulting her at his Los Angeles home. According to her, the I Know What You Did Last Summer star “braced his body and violently threw her down his staircase as hard as he could” after the two got into a fight. She also provided bruises of her injuries. Mega In the lawsuit, Elsie accused the actor of abusing “cocaine, ecstasy, psychedelic mushrooms, and steroids.” She even added Ryan’s ex-wife to her witness list — which didn’t sit well with the actor. Ryan desperately tried to keep Reese out of it. He ended up settling with Elsie in 2019, just days before they were set to face off in court. He denied all allegations of assault and accused Elsie of trying to extort him. Mega Reese and Ryan said “I do” in 1999 on the heels of their Cruel Intensions success. Despite being one of America’s sweetheart couples, the duo called it quits nearly two decades ago, with Reese filing for divorce in November 2006 after 7 years of marriage. She remarried in 2011, exchanging nuptials with talent agent Jim Toth. They have one son, Tennessee, 10. View the full article

Published by Radar Online @marianajvarela/Instagram Two Miss Universe contestants revealed they were both crowned winners when they exchanged vows in secrecy. Miss Argentina and Miss Puerto Rico confirmed they are married after meeting at a pageant in 2020, RadarOnline.com has learned. The global beauty pageant featuring winners from around the world to compete for the ultimate title, welcomed its first openly gay contestant in 2019. The pageant was formed in 1952 and has received criticism before for archaic portrayal of stereotypes and gender roles. @marianajvarela/Instagram Mariana Varela, 26, of Argentina and Fabiola Valentín, 22, of Puerto Rico shared the news of their secret nuptials on Instagram. The announcement effectively ended their future chances of competing for the Miss Universe title, as contestants must not be married or have ever been married prior to competing in the pageant. Miss Universe also restricts pregnant women and mothers from competing, even if they are within the 18 to 27 age requirement. “Mrs” is the ultimate title, however, for Varela and Valentín, who revealed they had to keep their relationship a secret for two years in a post on Instagram. “After deciding to keep our relationship private, we opened the doors to them on a special day,” read the caption of the Instagram post that was shared by the couple. The announcement shared details on their romance and its pageant origin. @marianajvarela/Instagram The duo revealed that their love story began after meeting at the Miss Grand International competition in 2020, where they were both representing their home countries. Few could have predicted the two were more than friends, due to the couple never before confirming their relationship. Nonetheless, an Instagram reel shared by both beauty queens gave an intimate look into their life as a couple, including travels together, cozy moments cuddling and lots of smiles from each woman. The reel racked up more than 1.8 million views within the first three days of being shared by the newlyweds. It also showed the night of their engagement in a rose and candled-filled moment at home. @marianajvarela/Instagram Fairy string lights and rose petals adorn the couple’s apartment that’s seen in the reel. Red and white balloons, along with several gold balloons spelling out the big question, “Will You Marry Me?” can also be seen in the sweet clip. Miss Puerto Rico then slips an engagement ring on the finger of Miss Argentina. The newlyweds wore almost identical rings both set in silver and featuring diamond-encrusted bands cushion-cut setting with an additional halo of diamonds wrapped around the center. The reel concluded with a quick shot of the couple on the steps of a building, both dressed in white. One beauty queen wore a chic belted mini dress featuring whimsical feather accents. The other bride matched her significant other in a sophisticated white suit set. View the full article

Published by The Sacramento Bee What you think you know about how rape victims act is probably wrong, and there’s a reason for that: It seems intuitive that anyone violated in that way would scream, run and only ever see the perp again in court. Only, not one of those responses is common. In the decade that I’ve been writing about rape and sexual assault, I’m not sure I’ve covered a single victim who either screamed or ran. The only one who never saw the perp again completed suicide 10 days later. Dr. Barbara Ziv, a forensic psychiatrist in Pennsylvania since 1997, testified on Tuesday at Harvey Weinstein’s Los Angeles rape … Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Julie Bowen fell in love with a gay woman who didn’t like her “in that way”. Opening up about her sexuality, the mum-of-three ‘Modern Family’ actress, 52, added she identifies as straight despite being once interested in a female. She told Becca Tilley, 34, on the latest episode of her ‘Quitters’ podcast, released on 1 November: “I’m straight. I’ve always been straight. I was in love with a woman for a while but she didn’t love me back. “She liked women, but she didn’t like me in that way. “It never really took off so I never really had to challenge my concept of my sexuality.” Julie – who shares sons Oliver, 15, and 13-year-old twins John and Gus with her ex-husband Scott Phillips – added to the former ‘The Bachelor’ competitor about keeping sexuality private: “I hope people don’t always have to come out. What you do with your body should not be the first thing we know about people, or care about – that’s your business. Becca responded she has “never thought about a label” when it came to defining her sexuality. Julie said in January on ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ she has “retired” from dating and is “very single” – though admitted she would come out of retirement for Harry Styles. Guest host Adam DeVine said while mentioning Julie was at the former One Direction singer’s ‘Fine Line’ tour in 2021: “Word on the street is that you have a little bit of a crush, girl.” Julie replied: “You’re asking me if I’d come out of (dating) retirement for Harry Styles? Oh, hell yeah. Him? Look at him!” Julie added during the show’s ‘Five Second Rule’ game her three celebrity crushes were Harry, 28, Timothée Chalamet, 26, and guest host Adam DeVine, 38. The actress’ marriage to real estate developer Scott lasted 13 years before they split, with Julie ending her divorce filing in February 2018, before it was finalised in September that year. View the full article

Published by Radar Online ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA An anonymous woman is standing by her claims that GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker pressured her to have an abortion during their alleged six-year affair, RadarOnline.com has discovered. The accuser, whose name is being withheld for privacy concerns, came forward on Tuesday with bombshell new allegations while appearing on Good Morning America following her headline-making news conference last week. ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA “He was very clear that he did not want me to have the child and he said that — because of his wife’s family and powerful people around him, that I would not be safe and that the child would not be safe,” she, using the pseudonym Jane Doe, claimed. “It is very menacing, and I felt threatened, and I thought I had no choice,” Doe alleged, stating she had been on birth control before finding out she was expecting. After having second thoughts about getting rid of her child, she claimed Walker drove her to the clinic and paid for the procedure with cash back in April 1993, alleging their tryst began while he was a married man. Doe unveiled her face in the television interview, claiming she kept the secret withheld for 30 years to protect the former football player. She said they met in the late 80s and saw each other several times a week — usually in the mornings as well as before games. Doe shared hotel receipts from that era, in addition to an alleged voicemail from Walker, claiming he showered her with love notes when their romance was at its peak. After the abortion, she said he “distanced himself from me almost immediately,” claiming he only reached out occasionally over the years. Doe said she has no political motivation for coming forward, noting that she voted for Donald Trump twice and wanted to give the “truth” to the American people. Walker, known for being an avowed abortion opponent, denied the claims. “This was a lie a week ago and it is a lie today,” he said in a statement on Tuesday. ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA Doe came forward months after another woman said Walker had paid for her to have an abortion in 2009 and urged her to terminate a second pregnancy two years later. He shut down the allegations as “a flat-out lie.” View the full article

Published by OK Magazine mega It seems Billie Eilish and her newly Instagram official flame, The Neighbourhood frontman Jesse Rutherford, have been made out to be the “bad guy” this week, facing backlash for their Halloween costumes: a baby and an old man. On Tuesday, November 1, the 20-year-old artist took to social media, sharing several photos depicting her Halloween celebrations, including one showing her and Rutherford, 30, posing side-by-side in their holiday getup. “Life is craaaaaaaaaaaaaaazy,” Eilish captioned the carousel, which also included a snap of the “Sweater Weather” artist sporting a clown getup. “Happy halloween.” @billieeilish/instagram With Eilish sporting a bright pink bonnet and a matching bib and Rutherford rocking seemingly complex age makeup, the pair’s joint costume and subsequent post appears to be a dig at critics who have condemned their 10-year age gap. Yet it seems several fans were less than amused with Eilish’s seemingly tongue-in-cheek approach to the late October holiday, flooding the post’s comments section with pointed and concerned messages about the “Ocean Eyes” songstress’ new romance. “Girl do yourself a favor and delete the last photo,” wrote one fan. “That last slide is gonna haunt her in a few years when she’s older and realizes that a 31 year old has no business with someone that young,” quipped another. “Honestly yikes on the last photo,” added a third. mega First spotted smooching last month, the pair seemingly go way back, allegedly first meeting in 2017 when Eilish would have been 15 or 16 years old, perElle, a sentiment that has sparked alarm among fans. BILLIE EILISH & MATTHEW TYLER VORCE SPLIT, ACTOR ADDRESSES CHEATING ACCUSATIONS Yet this isn’t the only instance in which Eilish has dated someone a decade her senior. Earlier this year, the star made headlines after calling it quits with former flame Matthew Tyler Vorce. @billieeilish/instagram Despite rumors that Vorce had cheated on Eilish, the actor took to social media to set the record straight following their split. “The fact that thousands of people take time out of their day to write the most heinous things on someone they will never know posts is the most cowardly thing you can do. Live your own life,” he wrote in an Instagram Story at the time. “Nobody cheated on anyone. Relationships end. Simple as that. Creating rumors and LYING on the internet is dangerous.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jason Lange WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden’s approval rating edged higher with just a week to go before U.S. midterm elections when his Democratic Party is expected to lose control of the House of Representatives, a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll completed on Tuesday found. The two-day national poll found that 40% of Americans approve of Biden’s job performance, a percentage point higher than a week earlier. Despite the increase, Biden’s approval rating remains near the lowest levels of his presidency, and his unpopularity is helping drive the view that Republicans will win control of the House and possibly also the Senate on Nov. 8. Control of even one chamber of Congress would give Republicans the power to bring Biden’s legislative agenda to a halt. Taking office in January 2021 in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, Biden’s term has been marked by the economic scars of the global health crisis, including soaring inflation. This year, his approval rating drifted as low as 36% in May and June. In this week’s Reuters/Ipsos poll, about a third of respondents picked the economy as the country’s biggest problem, a much larger share than the one in 10 who picked crime or the end of national abortion rights following the Supreme Court’s June decision. The poll, conducted online in English throughout the United States, gathered responses from 1,004 adults, including 455 Democrats and 355 Republicans. It has a credibility interval – a measure of precision – of 4 percentage points either way. (Reporting by Jason Lange; editing by Jonathan Oatis) View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mirrorpix / MEGA Leslie Jordan‘s legacy lives on. A photo of the beloved actor and comedian has been placed in the front lobby of the picturesque Los Angeles condo he purchased just weeks before his death, RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned. “As far as I’m concerned Leslie Jordan still lives in our building,” read a Facebook post from Vintage Los Angeles, showing a portrait of the star smiling as a greeting for residents in the iconic building overlooking Sunset Plaza and Hollywood Hills. Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency / MEGA “Leslie had just moved to a condo in the same building I live in,” wrote the author, revealing they heard he was “moving in his furniture the day he passed.” As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Jordan had spent $1.75 million for the place at the beginning of August. “We were so looking forward to knowing him better and just seeing his smiling face in the elevator,” the author gushed about Jordan via social media. “What an incredibly talented, unique, positive individual that can never be replaced.” Fans were devastated to learn that Jordan died on October 24. He was 67. The cherished performer was tragically involved in a car accident in Hollywood and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Los Angeles County coroner. At this time, it’s unknown if Jordan suffered some sort of medical emergency beforehand. Rod Lamkey – CNP / MEGA Prior to his death, Jordan made a name for himself in Tinseltown thanks to his work on popular TV shows including Will & Grace, Hearts Afire, and American Horror Story. He also garnered a large following on social media during the pandemic. RadarOnline.com has since learned that Jordan’s life was celebrated by those near and dear to him during a recent event. Over the weekend, the Chattanooga, Tennessee, native had been scheduled to join his costars in Palm Springs, California, to ring in the 22nd anniversary of the cult-favorite film Sordid Lives, and they used the opportunity to pay homage to his memory. MEGA “We’re not so great,” writer and director Del Shores said. “But we’re here, and y’all make everything better. It’s been a sad week for us.” “There was a discussion for a while that we were gonna cancel because I was just so ‘tore up,’ as we say in the South, over Leslie’s death,” Shores added. “As this became an impromptu memorial service of sorts, we figured there was no better way than to kick it off than with a special message in song by Rosemary and Newell Alexander.” View the full article

Published by AFP After the US Supreme Court's controversial decision to overturn the nationwide right to abortion, more women have sought out abortion pills online Washington (AFP) – Requests by Americans for abortion pills from outside the United States have surged since the US Supreme Court’s explosive decision last summer to overturn the nationwide right to the procedure, according to a study published Tuesday. Researchers, whose work was published in the medical journal JAMA, analyzed the number of requests submitted to telemedicine service Aid Access, which delivers abortion pills from abroad to 30 US states. Aid Access was purposefully set up to help women “self-manage” their abortions at home, circumventing local bans or other barriers. After the Supreme Court’s controversial decision in late June, many Republican-led states severely restricted or outright banned abortions. According to the study, Aid Access received an average of 83 requests per day before the Supreme Court’s decision from the 30 states in which it operates. But in the two months after, that number jumped to 213 per day — an increase of about 160 percent. Proportional to the number of women in each state, the increase in Aid Access requests were highest in Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama and Oklahoma — all of which completely banned abortions. In the states that outlawed abortions, “current legal restrictions” was cited as women’s motivation for using the service in about 62 percent of cases after the Supreme Court decision, compared to 31 percent before. The study did analyze requests for the pills on other sites, where they are easily available for a few hundred dollars — but without medical supervision. Another study, also published Tuesday in the journal JAMA, looked at the average travel time for women to reach an abortion clinic in the United States. The average time was 28 minutes before the Supreme Court’s decision, and it increased significantly to 1 hour and 40 minutes afterward. The national average however masks wide local disparities. In states that implemented a total abortion ban or limits after six weeks of pregnancy, the average travel time increase was four hours, according to the study, which added that the lack of access was especially a problem for those with fewer resources. In the 100 days following the Supreme Court ruling, at least 66 clinics stopped performing abortions, according to a report in early October by the Guttmacher Institute. View the full article

Published by AFP A rare original copy of the 1787 U.S. Constitution, photographed at Sotheby's in New York on October 31, 2022 prior to its auction on December 13 for an estimated $20 million to $30 million New York (AFP) – An original copy of the US Constitution — one of only two known to be in private hands — will be auctioned off in December with bidding estimated to go as high as $30 million, Sotheby’s announced Tuesday. Five hundred first printings were made of the US Constitution’s final text and provided to participants at the 1787 Constitutional Convention, including George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and Ben Franklin, but almost all have been lost to history. Of the 13 that are known to have remained, 11 are owned by governments and institutions. Last year, one of the two privately held copies was bought for $43.2 million by US hedge fund manager Ken Griffin, who outbid a group of 17,000 cryptocurrency investors who had raised $40 million to try to buy the document, vowing to exhibit it in the public digital domain. Griffin’s purchase, which he has since lent for display at a free public museum, set a record for the highest price ever paid for a historical document at auction, according to Sotheby’s. The second copy will be auctioned off on December 13 for up to $30 million dollars, but bidding could soar even higher, according to Richard Austin, an expert in manuscripts and old books at Sotheby’s New York auction house. Austin told AFP he would “like to see another private individual or perhaps a group being responsible for the care of this very important document.” The artifact will be on public display at Sotheby’s New York starting on November 4. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Brendan Pierson (Reuters) -CVS Health Corp, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc and Walmart Inc have agreed to pay about $13.8 billion to resolve thousands of U.S. state, local and tribal government lawsuits accusing the pharmacy chains of mishandling opioid painkillers. CVS said Wednesday it had agreed to pay about $5 billion over 10 years, and Walgreens disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it had agreed to pay about $5.7 billion over 15 years. Neither company admitted wrongdoing. Walmart has agreed to pay $3.1 billion, mostly up front, according to two people familiar with the matter. Paul Geller, one of the lawyers who negotiated for the governments, said that settlements with pharmacies “will bring billions of additional dollars to communities that are desperate for funds to combat the epidemic” of opioid addiction. “We know that reckless, profit-driven dispensing practices fueled the crisis; but we know just as surely that with better systems in place and proper heeding of red flag warnings, pharmacies can play a direct role in reducing opioid abuse and in saving lives,” Geller said. CVS general counsel Thomas Moriarty said in a statement the company was pleased to resolve the claims and the deal was “in the best interest of all parties, as well as our customers, colleagues and shareholders.” Walgreens said in its SEC filing that it “continues to believe it has strong legal defenses” and will defend itself vigorously against any future lawsuits not covered by the settlement. Both CVS and Walgreens said their agreements would not be final until certain non-monetary terms were worked out, and that the total amount could be reduced if not enough government plaintiffs sign on. Walmart did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The proposed settlement, which would be the first nationwide deal with retail pharmacy companies, follows nationwide opioid settlements with drugmakers and distributors totaling more than $33 billion. In more than 3,300 lawsuits, beginning in 2017, state and local governments accused drugmakers of downplaying the risks of their opioid pain medicines, and distributors and pharmacies of ignoring red flags that prescriptions were being diverted into illegal trafficking. They said the resulting human toll, as well as strain on public health services and law enforcement, was a public nuisance that the companies must pay to fix. CVS, Walgreens and Walmart are the three largest retail pharmacies in the country by market share. If their settlement becomes final, it will put much of the sprawling, years-long litigation over opioids to rest, though cases are still pending against smaller, more regionally focused pharmacy operators including Rite Aid Corp and Kroger Co. Plaintiffs had scored some significant trial victories against pharmacy chains, including a $650.6 million judgment in favor of two Ohio counties against CVS, Walgreens and Walmart, and a ruling that Walgreens contributed to the opioid epidemic in San Francisco. Previous settlements netted $21 billion from the three largest U.S. drug distributors, $5 billion from Johnson & Johnson, $4.35 billion from Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, $2.37 billion from AbbVie Inc and $450 million from Endo International Plc. Purdue Pharma LP, whose prescription pill OxyContin is widely blamed for sparking the addiction and overdose crisis, and its Sackler family owners are seeking to resolve opioid claims against them through a $6 billion settlement in bankruptcy court. State and local authorities have said they will use the money from the settlements to combat the opioid crisis, which according to federal government data has caused nearly 650,000 overdose deaths since 1999 and is continuing to worsen. Prescriptions for opioids rose sharply in the 1990s as companies aggressively promoted the drugs, long used primarily in cancer patients, as a safe way to treat all kinds of chronic pain. Overdoses involving opioids, including prescription pills and heroin, surged further during the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing 38% in 2020 over the previous year and another 15% in 2021, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency has attributed much of the recent rise in overdose cases to illegally manufactured fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid. A congressional report last month put the economic toll of the opioid crisis in 2020 alone at $1.5 trillion. (Reporting by Baranjot Kaur in Bengaluru, Brendan Pierson in New York and Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi, Kenneth Maxwell and Mark Potter) View the full article

Published by AFP White House national security spokesman John Kirby says Washington has grown increasingly concerned by Moscow's repeated mention of the possibility of using nuclear arms in Ukraine Washington (AFP) – The White House said Wednesday it was increasingly concerned over Moscow’s talk of using a nuclear weapon in Ukraine, after a media report said top Russian military officials had discussed how and when to use such a weapon. “We have grown increasingly concerned about the potential as these months have gone on,” said White House national security spokesman John Kirby. Kirby did not confirm a New York Times report that said high-level Russian military officials recently discussed when and how they might use tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield. The report, which cited unnamed US officials, said Russian President Vladimir Putin did not take part in the discussions, and there was no indication that the Russian military had decided to deploy the weapons. But Kirby said any comments on the use of nuclear weapons by Russia are “deeply concerning,” and said the United States takes them seriously. He pointed to recent Putin comments talking about nuclear weapons and referencing the bombs US forces dropped on the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki near the end of World War II. “We take note of that,” Kirby said. “It increasingly is unsettling in terms of the degree to which he feels he has to continue to stretch to prosecute this war,” he said. At the same time, Kirby reiterated, Washington sees no indications that Russia is making preparations to use nuclear weapons, adding that US intelligence does not necessarily see or know everything. The United States has been warning Moscow for weeks over public comments from top Russian officials that they could use nuclear weapons in Ukraine in certain cases, particularly if they felt there was a threat to Russian territorial integrity. The most recent threat came from former Russian president and senior security council official Dmitry Medvedev. Medvedev said on Tuesday that Ukraine’s objective to reclaim all its territories occupied by Russia, which include the Donbas region and Crimea, would be a “threat to the existence of our state.” That, Medvedev said, would be “a direct reason” to invoke nuclear deterrence. However, early Wednesday Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Western media was “deliberately pumping up the topic of the use of nuclear weapons.” Moscow does “not have the slightest intention to take part in this,” he said, calling the Times report “very irresponsible.” In September, Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s national security advisor, said that the United States has warned Russia at “very high levels” of “catastrophic consequences” for using nuclear arms. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned on October 13 that Russian forces would be “annihilated” by the West if Putin uses nuclear weapons against Ukraine. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Sheila Dang (Reuters) – Banned accounts will not be allowed back onto Twitter until the social media platform has “a clear process for doing so,” Elon Musk tweeted in the early hours on Wednesday, giving more clarity about the potential return of Twitter’s most famous banned user, former U.S. President Donald Trump. Creating such a process would take at least a few more weeks, Musk tweeted. The new timeline implies Trump will not return in time for the midterm elections on Nov. 8. Twitter users, advertisers and its own employees have been watching closely for signs of what Musk will do in his first week as Twitter’s owner. The Tesla chief executive has previously said Twitter should not permanently ban users and that he would reverse the ban on Trump, who was suspended for risk of further incitement of violence after the U.S. Capitol riot last year. Musk’s tweets came after he held a call with several civil rights organizations including Color of Change, the Anti-Defamation League and the NAACP on Tuesday. During the call, Musk committed to uphold Twitter’s content moderation policies and enforcement around election integrity, said Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change, in an interview. Musk also reiterated in his tweet on Wednesday that Twitter will create a content moderation council composed of representatives with “widely divergent views.” The billionaire expressed during the call that he would like the civil society groups to join the council, Robinson said, adding the discussions were still at an early stage. “Actions will speak louder than words,” he said. “The issues that were addressed in this meeting were just the tip of the iceberg.” (Reporting by Sheila Dang in Dallas; Editing by Nick Zieminski) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Deena Beasley (Reuters) – The annual price of a newly-launched cancer drug in the United States averaged $283,000 last year, a 53% increase from 2017, according to a new report from U.S. Democratic Representative Katie Porter, a consumer bankruptcy law professor running for re-election in California. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, oncology treatments are nearly four times as costly as other therapies and are largely paid for by taxpayer-funded programs like the government’s Medicare plan for people over age 65, the report notes. Reuters reported in August on the record-high launch prices of new drugs in 2022 versus 2021 – an area that has driven drugmaker profits as they limited year-over-year price increases on existing drugs due to pressure from lawmakers and the public. This new analysis is a first look at the degree to which cancer drugmakers rely on high launch prices, an area left out of the Medicare pricing limits set out in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) signed by U.S. President Joe Biden in August. The IRA focuses on Medicare price negotiation for older drugs and caps on price increases. It also limits annual out-of-pocket drug costs for beneficiaries to $2,000, which means the Medicare plan will be responsible for costs over that amount. By law, Medicare is required to cover all cancer medications. “Launch prices are an important issue and one that is not touched by the IRA,” Stacie Dusetzina, an associate professor of health policy at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center who studies drug costs told Reuters. “I do think there is a possibility we see launch prices go up,” she said. Cancer drugs set to get costlier https://graphics.reuters.com/US-DRUGS/xmpjkgqnrvr/chart.png Porter, who championed inflation-based caps on drug prices, is calling for additional national legislation to link launch prices to how well a drug works. And, in the case of drugs approved under the Food and Drug Administration’s accelerated pathway, limiting prices until there is sufficient data to show the drugs are effective. “The trend toward ever higher launch prices is ongoing and accelerating. And I think we should expect it to continue unless we do something about it,” Porter told Reuters. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the drug industry’s main trade group, has maintained that “government price setting has a devastating impact on biopharmaceutical research and development and places an additional barrier between patients and innovative medicines.” CANCER PILLS ROSE NEARLY 26% IN FIVE YEARS Many of the newer cancer drugs are biologics that need to be given as an infusion by a healthcare professional, but an increasing number are self-administered pills or tablets. The report found that the average launch price of a self-administered cancer drug, after adjusting for inflation, rose by nearly 26% to $238,000 between 2017 and 2021. U.S. cancer drug launch prices in 2017 https://graphics.reuters.com/US-DRUGS2017/akpeqgygjpr/chart.png U.S. cancer drug launch prices in 2021 https://graphics.reuters.com/US-DRUGS2021/lbpggryrdpq/chart.png The analysis excluded an ultra-expensive class of treatments called CAR-T, which involve drawing white blood cells from a patient, processing them in the lab to target cancer and infusing the cells back into the patient. In 2017, the most expensive new cancer tablet was Celgene’s Idhifa at $298,465 a year. Celgene was later acquired by Bristol Myers, which said in 2020 that a study of Idhifa, approved to treat a subset of leukemia patients, failed to show that it improved survival compared to standard care. No other new drug launched in 2017 had an annual price over $200,000. By 2022, six out of the eight newly-launched oral cancer drugs had prices over $200,000 per year. These included lung cancer pills such as Takeda Pharmaceutical’s Exkivity at $299,995, Merck KGaA’s Tepmetko at $250,775 and Amgen Inc’s Lumakras at $214,800. Based on current trends, the report calculated that by 2026, when Medicare will first be able to negotiate drug prices, the average self-administered cancer drug launch price will be nearly $325,000 per year and over $525,000 for pills and biologics. (Reporting By Deena Beasley; Editing by Caroline Humer and Josie Kao) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Mariah Carey says writing “saved” her as she used poetry and music as an escape. The 52-year-old star has penned new children’s book ‘The Christmas Princess’ about a 12-year-old girl called Mariah who is rescued by her music, and she has noted some parallels with her own life. The ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ hitmaker explained while the story is “a fairy tale”, there are some similarities. As well as the character’s “shack”, her mum is called Diva, while Mariah’s actual mother Patricia was an opera singer. The age of the protagonist is also relevant, as the singer told PEOPLE magazine: “That’s the age when I learned I was definitely ‘other.’ “ She added: “It would’ve been great to actually be a chameleon, but I didn’t have the tools for it. Meaning we didn’t have money.” Instead, Mariah turned to poetry and music as an excape, with her childhood inspiring the lyrics for tracks like 1997’s ‘Outside’. She said: “Writing saved me.” Referencing the book’s character, she noted: “Her music rescues her. It’s not a Prince Charming who comes in. She saves her own day.” Meanwhile, Mariah – the self-professed Queen of Christmas – admitted another festive holiday gave her the spark to start writing the book. She explained: “It was two years ago at Thanksgiving, and I was making a pot of greens. They were so good we named them the Anointed Greens. “Cooking for my friends and family, everything that I was doing at the time, I thought, ‘Wow, this is so different from when I was little.’ “ Mariah previously suggested diamonds really might be a girl’s best friends as she reflected on her butterfly-themed jewellery collections with Chopard and insitsed most people “let you down”. She said: “I hate to say it, but for the most part, people let you down. So I might have to go with it. With very few exceptions, but for the most part, yeah.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Robbie Williams thinks Tom Hanks and Noel Gallagher are the only people unaffected by fame. The ‘Let Me Entertain You’ hitmaker – who has been honest about his battles with addiction and the difficulties of life in the spotlight – suggested the Hollywood actor and Oasis legend appear to have come through relatively unscathed. Speaking to Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, he said: “I play this game, that who has got through that [fame], come through the other side and gone, ‘I enjoyed every bit about it, and I’m totally mentally really well and I’m happy to continue. Let’s do more of it.’ “Do you know, here’s the thing. The first person that jumps to my head is Tom Hanks. But, we don’t know the real Tom Hanks. So we don’t know what went on with his life. “The other one who I think… Noel Gallagher seems to have handled extreme fame really, really well. They still achieved what they achieved, and he’s still Noel Gallagher.” Of course, the challenges of fame are well known, and the former Take That singer himself thinks it can be particularly tough for members of boybands and girlbands. He explained: “If you run through every boyband and girlband that’s ever existed. With Take That, Gary Barlow leaves the band, his career’s supposed to do that and it didn’t. “He suffered with bulimia, didn’t leave his house, went to sleep underneath his piano because he’d forgotten how to write songs. Incredibly depressed. “Changed his name on his credit card because he didn’t want people to see Barlow. “Howard Donald wanted to commit suicide after he left Take That. Mark Owen’s been to rehab and Jason Orange just can’t do it.” As well as his former bandmates, the 48-year-old star has battled his own issues, and he thinks a lot of that can be blamed on “this machine”. He explained: “And then there’s me, the mental health, the rehabs, the addiction, there’s all of that. So that’s what being in a boyband really does. “And I’m sure that in five or 10 years’ time if you sit down with One Direction to a man, they’re all going to have their isms that have been caused by this machine. “I want to do a documentary about it. Maybe we should do it together. About boybands and girlbands and what really happens. Why fame does that to you.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Daniel Trotta (Reuters) – Democratic former President Barack Obama on Tuesday warned that “more people are going to get hurt” unless the U.S. political climate changes, after the husband of the Speaker of the House was attacked by a man wielding a hammer. A 42-year-old man has been charged with breaking into the home of Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday and, in her absence, attacking her 82-year-old husband, Paul Pelosi, fracturing his skull and causing other injuries. The suspect pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and a host of other state charges. Campaigning at a rally for Democratic candidates in Nevada, the former president said he had spoken to Paul Pelosi recently and “he’s going to be OK.” But Obama expressed grave concern about “this erosion of just basic civility and democratic norms,” in a country where supporters of Republican former President Donald Trump violently attacked the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election results. “This increasing habit of demonizing political opponents creates a dangerous climate,” Obama said, faulting elected officials who fail to reject the violence, make light of it, or inflame the situation with heated rhetoric. “If that’s the environment that we create, more people are going to get hurt.” Obama was in Las Vegas to lend his star power to candidates who are in extremely close races for U.S. Senate and governor ahead of the Nov. 8 election. He also backed candidates further down the ballot in races for the U.S. Congress, state attorney general and secretary of state. The two-term president, who left office in 2017, remains the Democratic Party’s most popular figure and has already made campaign stops in Wisconsin, Michigan and Georgia. The Obama tour will continue on Wednesday in Arizona and Saturday in Pennsylvania, two more states with tight races for governor and senator. In Nevada, incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto is facing a fierce challenge from Republican Adam Laxalt, a former attorney general who supported Trump’s false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen by fraud. The Nevada race could determine which party controls the Senate, which is split 50-50 and in Democratic hands only because Vice Present Kamala Harris can break any ties. In the race for governor, Democratic incumbent Steve Sisolak is locked in a close race with Republican challenger Joe Lombardo, the Clark County sheriff. (Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Kim Coghill) View the full article

Published by Raw Story By Sky Palma A TikTok creator posted a video showing a woman harassing her in a public bathroom because the woman thought she was trans. Jay, who uses the TikTok handle @creatingjayrose, shared the video which shows the woman questioning her identity. “I knew she was talking about me so I started recording… Today a woman thought I was trans and harassed me for using the bathroom,” Jay stated in the video. When Jay stepped out of the bathroom, the woman immediately approached her and said: “Stay right there, yeah, figure out your identity in your bedroom. I am pissed right now.” IN OTHER NEWS… Read More View the full article

Published by The Detroit News It only makes sense that Al Yankovic’s biopic would be a parody of biopics. So “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” is anything but the A-Z story of the song parodist who is perhaps not technically the best but arguably went on to become the most famous accordion player in an extremely specific genre of music. Take any music biopic, whether it’s “Walk the Line,” “Bohemian Rhapsody” or “Ray,” and give it the “Weird” Al treatment, and you’ve got this absurdist, playful, self-aware send-up of the man who took a gamble and risked it all to turn “Like a Virgin” into “Like a Surgeon.” Yankovic, who co-wro… Read More View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Sappy William Shatner‘s got a new outlook on life after boldly going into outer space last year — and now, he hopes to launch a truce with Star Trek castmate George Takei, RadarOnline.com has learned. The sci-fi legends have bickered with each other for decades — but Shatner, 91, is eager to make peace with Takei, 85, while they still can, tipsters snitched. Mega “Bill has been reaching out to try and mend fences,” spilled an insider. “He doesn’t want the bad blood anymore, and word is George is open to it. “Bill’s the first to admit he’s been stubborn, big-headed, and ego-driven. It’s taken years, but Bill’s come a long way — and better late than never.” Star Trek‘s Nichelle Nichols died of natural causes in July at the age of 89 while fellow franchise icon Leonard Nimoy, 83, succumbed to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 2015 — without ever responding to Shatner’s calls and texts. Nichelle Nichols Hand-Wrote Will CUT HER SON OUT Of $10 Million Estate Mega “Bill was devastated when Leonard died. He never did get a chance to say goodbye,” confided the source. “And he was so sad over Nichelle’s passing. He’ll always remember her as a great lady.” According to the mole, Shatner “seems to be getting a little lonely,” and “everyone would like to see Bill and George be on friendly terms.” Shatner’s epiphany comes just one week after he revealed he felt profound grief after launching into space, detailing his experience in his memoir, Boldly Go. “I was crying,” the actor told NPR. “I didn’t know what I was crying about. I had to go off some place and sit down and think, what’s the matter with me? And I realized I was in grief.” Mega Shatner said space gave him “the strongest feelings of grief” he had ever felt in his life. “I wept for the Earth because I realized it’s dying,” the star said. “I dedicated my book, Boldly Go, to my great-grandchild, who’s three now — coming three — and in the dedication, say it’s them, those youngsters, who are going to reap what we have sown in terms of the destruction of the Earth.” View the full article

Published by AFP The 'Big Five' publishing companies are Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group USA and Macmillan Publishers New York (AFP) – A federal judge on Monday blocked publishing giant Penguin Random House from acquiring its competitor Simon & Schuster, siding with the US Justice Department which had argued against the mega-merger. The deal, worth $2.2 billion, had been announced in November 2020 and would have brought together two of the five largest American publishers. US District Court Judge Florence Pan, in her ruling, said the government had convincingly shown that the merger would substantially lessen competition “in the market for the US publishing rights to anticipated top-selling books.” Pan said her full reasoning for the decision would be issued under seal, as it relied on confidential business information. The Justice Department hailed the decision, which comes only a week before crucial midterm elections in which Democratic President Joe Biden has tried to paint his party as defending consumers’ interests. The Justice Department under Biden has been more aggressive than his predecessors in attempting to block mergers, with mixed success so far. “Today’s decision protects vital competition for books and is a victory for authors, readers, and the free exchange of ideas,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter in a statement. With 10,000 employees worldwide and nearly 15,000 books published per year, Penguin Random House — a subsidiary of the German Bertelsmann Group — dominates the industry in the United States. Simon & Schuster, owned by Paramount, is the fourth largest of America’s “Big Five” publishing companies, which also include HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group USA and Macmillan Publishers. Stephen King ‘delighted’ Big-name writers on the roster at Simon & Schuster include Stephen King and Doris Kearns Goodwin, while Barack and Michelle Obama and John Grisham have books published by Penguin Random House. It is also preparing to release Prince Harry’s memoir, in early 2023. Penguin Random House said it strongly disagreed with the judge’s ruling and announced it will request an expedited appeal. “We believe this merger will be pro-competitive, and we will continue to work closely with Paramount and Simon & Schuster on next steps,” it said in a statement. But best-selling author King praised Pan’s decision, in a statement going against his own publisher. “I am delighted that Judge Florence Pan has blocked the merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster,” the “King of Horror” said in a tweet. “The proposed merger was never about readers and writers; it was about preserving (and growing) PRH’s market share. In other words: $$$,” he said. Paramount said it was disappointed by the ruling. “We are reviewing the decision and discussing next steps with Bertelsmann and Penguin Random House, including seeking an expedited appeal,” it said. Prior to the US action against the takeover, the UK’s competition authority had also taken a close look at the merger, as both groups have British divisions. It issued a favorable opinion in May 2021. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Julia Harte (Reuters) – U.S. states have enacted more than 30 new voting restrictions since 2020, from voter ID requirements to limits on mail-in voting, fueling tensions between Republicans and Democrats ahead of November’s general election. Republicans, who have largely embraced former President Donald Trump’s false claims of fraud in the 2020 election, say the measures are necessary to ensure election integrity. Democrats say they are aimed at making it harder for voters who traditionally back the Democratic Party to cast their votes. Most of the measures were backed by Republican state legislators and opposed by Democrats, but the divide is not purely red and blue. Sometimes the debate over each law comes down to the fine print of the details. VOTER ID Eleven U.S. states have imposed stricter voter identification requirements since 2020, according to the Brennan Center for Justice and the Voting Rights Lab, which track voting legislation across the country. Opponents of voter ID measures do not object to the requirement that voters verify their identity when voting – which is already standard in every state – but rather the means used to verify them. Unlike many European democracies, where government-issued IDs are more ubiquitous, studies have found that millions of U.S. voters lack photo ID. Two of the most controversial 2021 laws changed the ID rules for absentee or mail-in ballots. Georgia now requires voters who lack driver’s licenses or state ID cards to include in their absentee ballot application a photocopy of another government-issued ID, which many voters may not be able to easily produce. Previously, absentee voters’ identities were verified by signature-matching. Texas’ law permits voters to use a broader set of IDs when applying for and casting mail-in ballots. However, it automatically rejects them if the voter uses an ID number different from the one they provided when they registered to vote. In Texas’ March primary, election officials rejected one out of every eight mail-in ballots, according to data from the secretary of state’s office. That rate – 12.4% – vastly exceeded Texas’ 0.8% mail ballot rejection rate during the 2020 presidential election. Officials blamed most of the increase on the new law, according to local news reports. Advocates of the Georgia and Texas measures say they are necessary to ensure that voters are who they claim to be, and cite studies that show some voter ID laws have not depressed turnout. Opponents say there is no need for stricter ID rules because voter fraud is already vanishingly rare, and point to studies showing that voter ID laws in states such as North Carolina reduced turnout by voters of color. MAIL-IN VOTING Mail-in voting laws are especially complex in the United States. Only 11 countries in the world do not require voters to provide an excuse to vote by mail, according to the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA). Two-thirds of U.S. states are in this category. Since 2020, 19 states have enacted laws making it harder for voters to apply for, receive, or cast mail-in ballots, according to the Brennan Center and the Voting Rights Lab. Some states’ laws restricted mail-in voting one way while easing it other ways. Kentucky’s Republican-controlled legislature passed a law that allowed voters to fix absentee ballots if they made errors, but also limited the application period for absentee ballots. Proponents of limiting mail-in voting say it adds to the cost of running elections and creates more opportunities for ballots to be intercepted by unintended recipients who might fraudulently cast them. Advocates of expanding mail-in voting say limiting it hinders voters who cannot go to a polling place. VOTER LIST MAINTENANCE Unlike many democratic countries, the United States does not have compulsory voter registration through a centralized system. As a result, states must periodically review their lists of registered voters to ensure they are up to date. Since 2020, seven states have enacted laws that facilitated the delisting of voters. Advocates of the laws say they are necessary for ensuring only eligible voters are kept on the list, whereas opponents say the laws make it harder for voters to know they have been removed or remedy wrongful removals. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in April enacted a law he said would improve election security by requiring election supervisors to clean up voter rolls every year rather than every two years, and establishing a statewide Office of Election Crimes and Security to investigate election “irregularities.” Voter advocates criticized the law, saying it created more opportunities for voters to be wrongly purged from the rolls and intimidated by investigators from the new office. PARTISAN VS. NONPARTISAN ELECTION ADMINISTRATION The United States has one of the world’s most fractured election administration systems. In most U.S. states, elections are overseen by elected or appointed state officials. Within each county, elections are run by local officials such as clerks and judges, sometimes in conjunction with nonpartisan or bipartisan election boards. Few state-level voting laws sought to change election management authority before the hotly contested 2020 election, in which Trump falsely blamed his loss on voter fraud. But since that election, 25 states have enacted laws that shifted power away from traditional election managers and, in many cases, ceded control to partisan actors, according to the Voting Rights Lab. Advocates of the laws, who were overwhelmingly Republican, argued they would bolster oversight of local election officials. Such laws are unusual in other democracies. The human rights body Council of Europe adopted guidelines in 2010 that called for high-level positions within election-management bodies to be “dispersed among parties” to ensure balance. (Reporting by Julia Harte; editing by Ross Colvin and Jonathan Oatis) View the full article