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Published by BANG Showbiz English Paramount Pictures is working on a ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ spin-off. The 1986 teen movie written, co-produced, and directed by John Hughes and starring Matthew Broderick as a high school slacker who skips school, with two of his friends is set for an update, from the creators of ‘Cobra Kai’, according to Deadline. The upcoming film ‘Sam and Victor’s Day Off’ will follow two new characters on the same day that Ferris (Broderick) and his pals Cameron (Alan Ruck) and Sloane (Mia Sara) skipped school. ‘Cobra Kai’s Jon Hurwtiz, Hayden Schlossberg and Josh Heald are producing the film, while their head of development Dina Hillier executive produces. Bill Posley is set to write the screenplay, while a director has yet to be announced. Meanwhile, Matthew, 60, previously revealed he almost turned down the starring role in the classic movie. He said: “I thought [the script] was great, and I had a teeny hesitation because having just done [the plays] ‘Brighton Beach Memoirs’ and ‘Biloxi Blues’. “I was like, ‘Wow, I’m talking to the audience, just like in these plays’ … and even in [the 1985 movie] ‘Ladyhawke’ he talks to the camera a bit. “You know, when you’re young or starting out you think, “I have to do something different. ‘My memory is, before I had hung up the phone, my agent was like behind me in the room, saying, ‘Yes, you should do it.’ “He flew to New York. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow. Let’s just not talk about it anymore now, I’ll see you tomorrow,’ and he came and was suddenly in the room with me, saying, ‘Yeah, I do think you should do it.'” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Diane Keaton was “kind and gracious” about her ‘Mack Rita’ kissing scene with Dustin Milligan. Dustin, 37, revealed that Diane, 76, put him at ease for the kiss between their characters by acting as if she was as nervous as he was. He told Collider: “Usually, these things are somewhat technical. You have to figure out who’s gonna tilt on one side or the other, and how far you lean in. Those kinds of technical conversations always happen. And then, there’s this awkward thing where you have 40 to 50 people watching you do it, making sure you do it right, and judging whether or not you’re doing a good job. And then, you know that there’s an entire audience, in multiple theaters, that are gonna also be doing the exact same thing. That’s a lot of pressure sometimes. “This was good though because Diane was very kind and gracious about it, and she was acting as though she was as nervous as I was. I don’t know if she actually was, but she was giving off that vibe, which made it more relaxing for both of us.” In the movie, Diane plays the future version of Elizabeth Lail’s Mack Martin, with Dustin playing their love interest. Elizabeth previously played ‘Frozen’s Anna in the fantasy adventure series ‘Once Upon a Time’ and admitted that the pressure of portraying a character also played by Diane was much greater. She said: “I think that the pressure of embodying Diane is a little higher. Although, at the time, it felt like the pressure to embody Anna was extremely high because it was important to all 12-year-olds everywhere. “It’s so funny, it’s such a joy to get to do that. I love that aspect of the homework, to get to study someone and take on a rhythm, or a hand gesture, or whatever it is. That’s really fun for me. I love doing it. I didn’t even think about that. I watched ‘Frozen’ maybe a hundred times, and I watched all of Diane’s movies. It was maybe a tad more entertaining to watch Diane’s movies, but I love ‘Frozen’, don’t get me wrong.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has urged the 10 largest U.S. airlines to do more to help stranded and delayed passengers, calling the level of disruption travelers have faced this summer as “unacceptable.” Buttigieg, who has faced pressure from U.S. lawmakers who want airlines to offer better service or face stiff fines, has clashed with major U.S. airlines over who is to blame for tens of thousands of flight delays and cancellations this summer. In letters to major, regional and low-cost carrier chief executives made public Friday, Buttigieg said his department (USDOT) is “contemplating options” to write new rules “that would further expand the rights of airline passengers.” He urged airlines to ensure adequate services for passengers facing delays and cancellations, asking them “at a minimum” to provide meal vouchers for delays of 3 hours or more and lodging for those who must wait overnight because of disruptions within the carrier’s control. “Regardless of the cause of the delays or cancelations, the Department expects airlines to provide timely and responsive customer service during and after periods of flight disruptions,” Buttigieg wrote. Most U.S. airlines provide meals or hotel rooms if they cancel or delay flights if they are to blame for disruptions, but they are not legally required to do so. Passengers are often not aware of airline policies. Trade group Airlines for America said carriers would work with the department to provide transparency for travellers. “Airlines want travelers to have a safe, seamless and positive travel experience and are working toward that goal every day,” it said in a statement. In his letter, Buttigieg said he appreciated steps airlines had taken to improve service but that the level of disruption U.S. travellers have faced this summer is “unacceptable”. He said that in the first six months, roughly 24% of the domestic flights of U.S. airlines were delayed and 3.2% were canceled. Complaints to USDOT from airline passengers have soared this year. USDOT plans by Sept. 2 to create an “interactive dashboard” for air travelers to compare services or amenities that each of the large U.S. airlines provide when the cancellation or delay was due to circumstances within the airline’s control. Buttigieg met virtually with airline CEOs ahead of the busy July 4 travel weekend to pressure them to perform better, set more realistic schedules and said the airline industry is largely responsible for the travel woes. Airlines say they have voluntarily reduced flights to improve service, ramped up hiring and argue that inadequate air traffic control staffing has routinely impacted flights. The airline trade group cited data saying 63% of the cancelations for the first five months of 2022 were caused by weather or national airspace issues. On Monday, hundreds of flights were delayed at three major New York City area airports after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported staffing issues and said delays could “approach two hours”. USDOT is drafting a number of new airline consumer rules, including requiring refunds for delayed baggage. In June, the agency warned it may prohibit airlines from charging extra fees to allow young children to sit next to accompanying family members. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Mark Heinrich, Mike Harrison and Deepa Babington) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Brendan Pierson (Reuters) – A Utah judge on Friday blocked a state law banning transgender girls from participating in girls’ school sports from being enforced while he considers a lawsuit by three transgender students challenging the law. Utah’s state legislature passed the law earlier this year, arguing that it would help protect athletes and ensure women were not edged out of their sport. But Judge Keith Kelly of the Third Judicial District Court in Salt Lake City ruled that transgender girls did not necessarily have an automatic advantage over other girls, since puberty-blocking treatments can prevent them from developing the physical advantages for sports that boys can have. With the ban blocked for now, Utah law states that transgender girls’ eligibility to participate in girls’ sports will be decided by a state-created commission on a case-by-case basis. “The negative impact of the ban on these girls has been profound, and they are all breathing much easier now that it has been blocked,” said Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which represents the plaintiffs. “We are very grateful for the court’s decision and looking forward to putting an end to this law once and for all.” A spokesperson for Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes declined to comment on the ruling. Following a series of sporting victories by trans women athletes, including a collegiate swimmer, some conservatives and women’s sports advocates have called for more restrictive legislation. Utah’s ban was passed over the veto of Governor Spencer Cox, a Republican, in March, who argued that it applied to very few students. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated in 2019 that just 1.8% of high school students in the country are transgender, and the Human Rights Campaign has said that, according to surveys, only about 12% play on girls’ sports teams. (Reporting by Brendan Pierson and Tyler Clifford in New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Rosalba O’Brien) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Courtney Act was left sobbing writing about her first kiss with a boy for her autobiography. The ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ star put pen to paper to tell her life story in her memoir ‘Caught In The Act’. The tome features a retelling of a “cute little happy memory” of the 40-year-old Australian drag queen’s first same-sex snog – but she found herself breaking down in tears as she relived the emotional moment during the writing process. In an interview with new! magazine, Courtney said: “(Writing the book was) definitely cathartic. It was the most deep childhood regression therapy of my life. For example, my first kiss with a boy is like a cute little happy memory. “But as I was writing about it, I just started breaking down sobbing because for the 18 years that came before that, where I didn’t understand who I was, I didn’t understand anything about queer identity.” Penning the book was like therapy for her. Courtney went on: “There was such shame and such silence surrounding it. Writing my book was a real form of therapy.” Courtney lifted the lid on growing up in Australia in the 1990s, calling it a “completely desolate wasteland of heteronormativity” and insisting it took a long time to finally understand her sexuality. Courtney wrote: “No one ever explicitly explained anything about queerness; no one really even alluded to it, not directly at least. I could see trees blowing but no one told me what the wind was. There was no concept in my mind of what being gay, lesbian, bi or trans was … “ Courtney added: “If only someone had told me. Laid it out in simple terms. I wish there’d been honest and frank conversations going on as well as visible queer people in the world and on TV. I can’t explain what a significant difference that would have made.” View the full article

Published by AFP Writers gather in New York to read selected works of British author Salman Rushdie, one week after he was stabbed while on stage New York (AFP) – Prominent literary figures including Paul Auster and Gay Talese gathered Friday in Manhattan for a reading of Salman Rushdie’s works, in solidarity with the author seriously injured in a stabbing attack. More than a dozen acclaimed writers, including friends and colleagues of Rushdie, spoke at the steps of the New York Public Library for the event, which organizers said the novelist had been invited to watch from the hospital. One week ago Rushdie was about to be interviewed as part of a lecture series in upstate New York, when a man stormed the stage and stabbed the 75-year-old writer repeatedly in the neck and abdomen. In Rushdie’s honor the American literary journalist Talese, sporting his signature fedora and three-piece suit, read an excerpt from “The Golden House” novel, while Irish writer Colum McCann read from the 1992 New Yorker essay “Out of Kansas.” A.M. Homes — the American author whose own works including “The End of Alice” novel have triggered controversy over the years — read from Rushdie’s piece “On Censorship,” which was drawn from a lecture he gave in 2012. “No writer ever really wants to talk about censorship,” she read. “Writers want to talk about creation, and censorship is anti-creation, negative energy, uncreation, the bringing into being of non-being.” Rushdie spent years under police protection after Iranian leaders called for his killing over his portrayal of Islam and the Prophet Mohammed in his 1988 novel “The Satanic Verses.” Hari Kunzru, the British novelist and journalist, read the opening of that book. “Salman once wrote that the role of the writer is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it from going to sleep,” Kunzru said. “That’s why we’re here.” ‘A hero’ Rushdie’s suspected assailant, 24-year-old Hadi Matar from New Jersey, was wrestled to the ground by staff and audience members before being taken into police custody. Matar answered to a grand jury indictment Thursday, pleading not guilty to attempted murder and assault charges. Rushdie’s condition remains serious after emergency surgery but he has shown signs of improvement, and no longer requires assisted breathing. “Not even a blade to the throat could stifle the voice of Salman Rushdie,” said Suzanne Nossel, head of the US branch of PEN, an international organization that defends free speech and which hosted the rally. “Salman spoke for scores of writers who’ve been persecuted and tormented, and did not want their ordeals to subsume their identities or to drown out their imaginations.” Prior to her reading English writer Tina Brown addressed Rushdie directly, saying “you never asked for the role of a hero.” “You just wanted to be left alone to write,” she continued. “But in the tenacity with which you’ve defended free speech, you are a hero and have paid a terrible price.” ‘Hold up the sky’ Writer and historian Amanda Foreman said Friday’s turnout “shows people are not afraid.” “No matter what, we and they, we are all willing to stand up for what we are believing,” she told AFP. Among the attendees was Raymond Lotta, an author and spokesperson for the Harlem shop Revolution Books, who told AFP the stabbing of Rushdie was “an attack on critical thinking, on dissent, on creativity.” Rushdie, who was born in India in 1947, moved to New York two decades ago and became a US citizen in 2016. In an interview given to Germany’s Stern magazine days before last Friday’s attack, he had described how his life had resumed a degree of normality following his relocation from Britain. “Dearest Salman, and dearest family of Salman, this past week so many of us realized we’d been counting on you to hold up the sky,” said author Kiran Desai at the rally, before reading a passage of Rushdie’s “Quichotte.” “I hope you know that you can count on us too. We’re here for you, and we’re here for the long haul.” View the full article

Published by The Philadelphia Inquirer PHILADELPHIA — For the past two years, college and university administrators have welcomed the start of the fall semester with a mix of excitement and trepidation about the coronavirus pandemic. This year, even as COVID-19 continues to spread, colleges are confronting another public health threat: Monkeypox, which so far has predominantly afflicted men who have sex with men but can spread through skin-to-skin contact to anyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. It’s unclear whether the college social scene will hasten monekypox’s spread. Yet on several college campuses in Pe… Read More View the full article

Published by uInterview.com Linebacker Carl Nassib, who made history in 2021 as the first active NFL player to come out as gay publicly, is returning to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the 2022/2023 season. Nassib announced he was gay in June of last year and received an outpouring of support from NFL and college football organizations. Nassib’s announcement happened when he was playing for the Las Vegas Raiders, and he has previously played for the Bucs from 2018 until 2019 and the Cleveland Browns. He also donated $100,000 to the LGBTQ charity The Trevor Project at the same time as coming out. Nassib said in the video he … Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Dustin Lance Black reportedly called the police after getting into an altercation with an events promoter in London on Thursday (18.08.22). The 48-year-old screenwriter and director was enjoying a romantic date night with his husband, Olympic diver Tom Daley, 28, when he allegedly got into an argument with Teddy Edwardes, 32, and threw a drink on her. Lick events founder Teddy – who stars in BBC3 show ‘The Big Proud Party Agency’ – claims she responded with a “a little tap on the head” but Dustin called it a “targeted attack” and called the police. Tom and Dustin – who have son Robbie, four, together – had dinner at Avo Mario and watched a drag show at Chinatown’s Ku Bar before going to Freedom, a gay bar in Soho. According to Teddy, she invited them to sit with her but Dustin became upset after she asked a stranger who joined their table to leave. In a series of videos on her Instagram Stories, Teddy alleged: “I went out for a couple of quiet drinks with some friends last night, nothing crazy and I bumped into Tom Daley and his husband in Soho, who pretty much unprovoked he threw an entire drink over me in Freedom. “I didn’t have a drink to throw back so I did choose violence, but I wasn’t that violent he got a little tap on the head. “Tell me why he is crying outside saying it’s a targeted attack and he’s traumatised and called the police, so I have to wait for hours and now I have been cautioned and have to go in for interviews.” She added: “For everyone asking what happened, we basically invited them to where we were sitting and I bought them some drinks etc, everything was fine. “And then this random guy came and sat with us and my friend said they felt uncomfortable because they didn’t know who it was so I asked security if they could move them on. “The security came to move them on and Tom’s husband started going mad saying how unwelcome I’ve made him feel and that he was leaving, so I was like OK? If that’s what you want? Then got straight drink to the face. “I have to add that Tom Daley was lovely throughout he was just trying to diffuse the situation.” However, a source close to Tom and Lance claimed that Lance was “punched in the back of the head”. The insider told The Sun newspaper: “Tom and Lance were out on a date night without Robbie. They went to Freedom after dinner. “Someone punched Lance in the back of the head, the person who punched him was removed from Freedom by security who checked CCTV, it was reported to police who are looking into it.” A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police told The Sun that they were called to the venue just before 12.30am on Thursday, “following reports of an altercation involving a man in his 40s and a woman in her 30s”. They added that no arrests have been made. View the full article

[This post contains video, click to play] Randy addresses the obvious Trump meltdown and makes the case for Garland. okay everyone welcome back to the january 6th hearings which will finally determine the criminal culpability of former fake president donald jessica trump now let’s go to some behind-the-scenes dvd extras from his pre-recorded address to the nation on january 7th okay whenever you’re ready sweetie and we are rolling everyone please clear this up we’re rolling thank you okay mr president you’re on in five you got this three two i would like to begin by addressing the heinous attack yesterday sing out louise but this election is now over congress has certified the results i don’t want to say the election’s over i just want to say just say you’re a big fat loser my only goal was to ensure the integrity of the vote i would like to begin by addressing the heinous attack yesterday yesterday’s a hard word for me yesterday such a complicated word to say when his dentures start to slip away he’s not okay plain to see how he screwed with our democracy binging big macs while he watched tv this just stayed on our history when the lords came through they were blue instead of [Music] this guy does it really take the fbi to verify i’m joined now by the man everyone’s talking about attorney general garland judy seditious conspiracy espionage bad hair what the hell is it gonna take to nail this guy no pressure the justice department has been doing the most wide-ranging investigation in its history well step on it sis cause he’s getting ready to announce and we cannot let him be president again i’m running out of show tunes the justice department has from the beginning been moving urgently to bring to justice everybody who’s criminally responsible for interfering with the peaceful transfer of power [Music] [Music] grab the wheel and try to crash the country history on that awful january [Applause] when they broke into his property for [Music] this country down the toilet yesterday please don’t take us back to yesterday get your together dlj and prosecute like yesterday please we will have the evidence step on it Words of wisdom from Randy Rainbow’s Grandmother and Alan Menken View the full article

Published by Raw Story By Travis Gettys The Department of Justice must release a full copy of a March 2019 memo supporting then-attorney general William Barr’s conclusion that Donald Trump should not be prosecuted in the Russia investigation. The District of Columbia Circuit court affirmed a 2021 decision by U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordering the release of the Justice Department memo, which concluded the former president should not be prosecuted for obstruction of justice by special counsel Robert Mueller. “The court determined that the Department had failed to carry its burden to show the delibe… Read More View the full article

Published by AlterNet By David Badash Donald Trump has a long list more than 200 hand-picked candidates he’s endorsed, and he’s very proud of his record – for the most part. Dr. Oz is going to “fucking lose” his race for a U.S. Senate seat “unless something drastically changes, Trump has said privately of his chosen man in the Keystone State, according to two sources who’ve discussed the midterm election with the ex-president,” Rolling Stone reports. The magazine adds, “the former president is coming to the same conclusion that numerous party consultants and conservative bigwigs arrived at earlier this summer: Oz i… Read More View the full article

Published by Al-Araby The United Nations voiced outrage on Friday at a Saudi court decision to sentence a woman to 34 years behind bars for tweets critical of the government, demanding she be released. “We are appalled by the sentencing of Saudi doctoral student Salma Al-Shehab… in connection with a series of tweets and retweets on political and human rights issues in Saudi Arabia,” Liz Throssell, spokeswoman for the UN rights office, said in a statement. “We urge the Saudi authorities to quash her conviction and release her immediately and unconditionally,” she said. “She should never have been arrested and charge… Read More View the full article

Los Angeles County health officials found out Tuesday that the federal government slashed the county’s requested and expected monkeypox vaccine allotment by 60%. Last week, the FDA told health care providers to split a one-dose vial of the monkeypox vaccine into five doses. The shift was good news for vaccine-strapped cities throughout the country because it meant what little supply is available could be stretched much further. But then L.A. County and other cities and states were told that they would get significantly less vaccine than they’d requested. L.A. County expected to receive 14,000 vials of the vaccine this week, which would have yielded, when split, 70,000 doses for eligible residents. Instead, the county will receive 5,600 vials, which will yield only 28,000 doses. At a news conference last week, L.A. County health officials said they expected the full shipment and with it could fully vaccinate up to 90,000 people — about half of what it believes to be the at-risk population. Now with far fewer vaccine doses, that goal may take weeks to achieve. Monkeypox cases in L.A. County have climbed to more than 990. Most cases are among men who have sex with men. California has reported 2,358 cases statewide, ranking it second among states in case numbers after New York, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The vaccine, named Jynneos, is a smallpox vaccine that can also be used to prevent monkeypox amid the ongoing outbreak. The full-vial dose is injected into muscle tissue, but giving a smaller dose between layers of the skin — known as an intradermal injection — is also effective in preventing the painful viral infection. The shift by federal officials from allotting vials to allotting doses took local public health officials by surprise. The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response within the Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for vaccine distribution. Other places with active outbreaks also got word to expect significantly fewer vaccine vials in the next shipments. Philadelphia officials expected to receive 3,600 vials but will instead receive just over 700. “We have thousands of people who are at risk that should be vaccinated preventively before they get exposed,” Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Bettigole said Tuesday. “We are advocating to our federal partners to reconsider and restore Philadelphia’s allocation of vaccine, which is urgently needed.” L.A. County was an early adopter of the new dosing and injection strategy. “We communicated that Public Health would implement these changes when the next tranche of doses were received, but if providers felt ready to implement the new strategy, they could proceed,” said the department’s statement. The L.A. County Public Health department said it received assurances from federal leadership that more doses would be available in the coming weeks. But fewer doses means eligibility for the scarce vaccines will remain tight. L.A. County has a population of 10 million people, and public health officials estimate about 180,000 are at elevated risk for monkeypox. The virus causes painful skin lesions and is spread through skin-to-skin contact with someone who has the lesions. Although anyone can contract monkeypox, gay and bisexual men who have had multiple partners in the past two weeks are at the highest risk in this outbreak. The U.S. has more than 13,500 identified cases as of Aug. 17, according to the CDC. This story is part of a partnership that includes KPCC/LAist, NPR, and KHN. KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.Subscribe to KHN’s free Morning Briefing. View the full article

Published by AlterNet By David Badash Citing the Book of Leviticus a Florida K-12 private Christian school is telling parents any student found to be LGBTQ will be asked to leave “immediately.” NBC News reports it “obtained an email from the Grace Christian School in Valrico, about 20 miles east of Tampa, sent before the beginning of the school year by Administrator Barry McKeen.” The school’s email lumps being LGBTQ, or engaging in acts including “bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery and pornography” as “lifestyles.” “We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, transgender identity/lif… Read More View the full article

Published by DPA Buildings tower into the sky in Mexico City, which is home to more than 9 million people with a population density of 6,163.3 inhabitants per square kilometer. Axel Hid/dpa Mexico City — Fernando Bustos Gorozpe was sitting with friends in a cafe here when he realized that – once again – they were outnumbered. “We’re the only brown people,” said Bustos, a 38-year-old writer and university professor. “We’re the only people speaking Spanish except the waiters.” Mexico has long been the top foreign travel destination for Americans, its bountiful beaches and picturesque pueblos luring tens of millions of US visitors annually. But in recent years, a growing number of tourists and remote workers – hailing from Brooklyn, New York, Silicon Valley and points in between – have flooded the nation’s capital and left a scent of new-wave imperialism. The influx, which has accelerated since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and is likely to continue as inflation rises, is transforming some of the city’s most treasured neighbourhoods into expat enclaves. In leafy, walkable quarters such as Roma, Condesa, Centro and Juarez, rents are soaring as Americans and other foreigners snap up houses and landlords trade long-term renters for travellers willing to pay more on Airbnb. Taquerias, corner stores and fondas – small, family-run lunch spots – are being replaced by Pilates studios, co-working spaces and sleek cafes advertising oat-milk lattes and avocado toast. And English – well, it’s everywhere: ringing out at supermarkets, natural wine bars and fitness classes in the park. At Lardo, a Mediterranean restaurant where, on any given night, three-quarters of the tables are filled with foreigners, a Mexican man in a well-cut suit recently took a seat at the bar, gazed at the English-language menu before him and sighed as he handed it back: “A menu in Spanish, please.” Some chilangos, as locals are known, are fed up. Recently, expletive-laced posters appeared around town. “New to the city? Working remotely?” they read in English. “You’re a f—ing plague and the locals f—ing hate you. Leave.” That sentiment echoed the hundreds of responses that poured in after a young American posted this seemingly innocuous tweet: “Do yourself a favor and remote work in Mexico City – it is truly magical.” “Please don’t,” read one of the kinder replies. “This city is becoming more and more expensive every day in part because of people like you, and you don’t even realize or care about it.” Hugo Van der Merwe, 31 – a video game designer who grew up in Florida and Namibia and has spent the last several months working remotely from Mexico City, Montreal and Bogota, Colombia – said he understands why locals are vexed by the growing population of “digital nomads.” “There’s a distinction between people who want to learn about the place they are in and those who just like it because it’s cheap,” he said. “I’ve met a number of people who don’t really care that they’re in Mexico, they just care that it’s cheap.” Clear financial incentives are drawing Americans to Mexico City – where the average local salary is $450 a month. For the cost of a $2,000 one-bedroom in Koreatown, an Angeleno can rent a penthouse here. Despite growing tensions, Mexico City is not Paris, where an American stumbling over French in a boulangerie will get a dose of hostility along with her croissants. It’s not Berlin or Barcelona, where locals in recent years have mounted major protests over excessive tourism and the gobbling up of urban properties by global investment firms. The vast majority of people in this crowded, colourful metropolis are unwaveringly kind and patient with international visitors, who in the first four months of this year spent $851 million on hotels alone, according to tourism records. But there is friction beneath the surface, as more locals consider what gentrification means for the city’s economics, culture and even race relations. Over a weekend in July, a tenant advocacy group hosted a walking tour of “places we have lost to gentrification, touristification and forced displacement.” “Our homes,2 the event flier read, “now house digital nomads.” The dynamic playing out here is, in many ways, an old-world problem colliding with tech-age mobility, one that is forcing Mexico to confront its own history and traits. After his revelation at the cafe, Bustos uploaded a video to his popular TikTok account, complaining that the influx of foreigners in Mexico City “stinks of modern colonialism.” Nearly 2,000 people posted comments in agreement. His critique is multilayered and speaks to generations of injustices. There’s the problem of newcomers’ “indifference as to how their actions are affecting locals,” he said, but also the fact that Mexicans cannot migrate to the US with the same ease. He also believes that Americans, many of whom are white, are reinforcing the city’s pervasive – if infrequently discussed – caste system. Indigenous Mexicans are more likely to be poor than lighter-skinned Mexicans and are largely unrepresented in film, television and advertisements. A growing social movement called Poder Prieto (“Brown Power”) has demanded that Netflix, HBO and other streaming platforms feature dark-skinned actors. “Mexico is classist and racist,” Bustos said. “People with white skin are given preference. Now, if a local wants to go to a restaurant or a club, they don’t just have to compete with rich, white Mexicans but with foreigners too.” Greater Mexico City’s 3,000 square miles are ringed by mountains and home to 21 million people. Most Americans stick to a few neighbourhoods in the centre, some of which were first gentrified by Mexicans. After the 1985 earthquake devastated neighbourhoods in and around downtown, middle-class residents fled by the hundreds of thousands to areas on the city’s periphery that they deemed safer. In Roma and Condesa, artists lured by cheap rents moved in, turning the area into a creative and intellectual hub. The flood of American visitors began in earnest around 2016, when the New York Times named Mexico City the world’s top travel destination, and magazine writers wondered whether it was the “new Berlin.” International artists, chefs and designers arrived, scooping up inexpensive studio spaces, opening restaurants and integrating themselves into the city’s imaginative nightlife. The pandemic pushed it into overdrive. As much of Europe and Asia shut their doors to Americans in 2020, Mexico, which adopted few Covid-19 restrictions, was one of the few places where gringos were welcome. Making it easier: Americans have long been able to stay here up to six months without a visa. The State Department says there are 1.6 million US citizens living in Mexico, although it doesn’t know how many are based in the capital. Mexican census data track only foreigners who have applied for residency, and most remote workers don’t. But the anecdotal evidence is compelling. In the first four months of the year, 1.2 million foreigners arrived at Mexico City’s airport. Alexandra Demou, who runs the relocation company Welcome Home Mexico, said she gets 50 calls a week from people contemplating a move. “We’re just seeing Americans flooding in,” she said. “It’s people who maybe have their own business, or maybe they’re thinking of starting some consulting or freelance work. They don’t even know how long they’re going to stay. They’re completely picking up their entire lives and just moving down here.” There is plenty to love about Mexico City. Wide, tree-lined boulevards call to mind the capitals of Europe and each Sunday are closed to cars and filled with bicyclists. A hodgepodge of architecture – Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Modernist – stitch together in artful ways. And the food is superb: Street vendors sell spit-grilled al pastor pork tacos, delicate quesadillas stuffed with squash blossoms and stewed corn topped with mayonnaise and lime — sometimes all on the same block. Sarah Lupton, a 35-year-old from North Carolina who came to Mexico City last year, as soon as she got her second Covid-19 vaccine, said she fell in love with the “romantic yet gritty” aesthetic. She ended up selling her video production company and relocating here in January with her Shih Tzu. Now she’s learning Spanish, applying for residency and exploring a new path as a life and career coach. “I came for a new set of possibilities for how I experience my life and what I get to create in it,” she said. “I feel like this city has everything I need to build a life of creativity, connection, adventure and stability.” Lauren Rodwell, 40, also moved down in January after spending several months here last year. A marketer who works a tech job that is remote, she was tired of living in San Francisco, where every conversation began with, “What do you do?” “I like being in vibrant cities that have multiple cultures that mix well, where there’s good food and good energy and dancing and art,” she said. “It reminds me of being in a more friendly, more clean at times, Brooklyn.” Lupton and Rodwell both said they are sensitive to concerns about gentrification. In San Francisco, Rodwell lived in the Mission, a neighborhood that became emblematic of the sweeping change wrought by the tech industry there. “I try and frequent local businesses and not go with the big conglomerates,” said Rodwell. “I try to give money back to my community and be involved in my community.” Rodwell, who is Black, said she doesn’t feel guilty. “I kind of feel like, as a person of color from America, I’m so economically disadvantaged that wherever I go and experience some advantage or equity, I take it,” she said. In Mexico, which has a relatively small population of Afro-Mexicans and abolished slavery decades before its northern neighbor, Rodwell said she does not experience the same racism as she does in the U.S.. “Being Black in America,” she said, is exhausting. “It’s nice to take a break from it.” Much of the criticism in the growing debate about foreigners comes down to economic inequality. “Americans can come here, and they can afford everything and live like kings and queens,” said Dan Defossey, an American who moved to Mexico a dozen years ago and owns a popular barbecue joint. But they need to understand, he said, that “Mexico is not cheap for Mexicans.” Omar Euroza, a barista at a coffee shop in Roma, said rent for his apartment in the city’s historic center, another place where foreigners are flocking, has more than doubled over the last five years. Nearby, renters have been pushed out as entire buildings are turned into upscale apartments. A recent study showed that Mexico City residents spend an average of 60% of their income on housing, and nearly a third of residents moved during the pandemic, the majority because they couldn’t afford rent. Euroza said he was sick of feeling like an outsider in his city. Around 60%-70% of his clients are foreigners, he said. “Some people order in English and get mad when I don’t understand them.” A chef who had just taken a sheet of warm cookies out of the oven shook his head. “That’s unfair,” he said. “If we go to the U.S., we’re expected to speak English.” There is a growing movement to help newcomers understand the impact they’re having — such as a poster campaign that, during the peak of the pandemic, coaxed foreigners to mask up. “Dear guests, we are genuinely happy you’re vaccinated,” the posters read. “Please consider that many of us are not.” Some Mexicans aren’t unhappy about the American inundation, like Sandra Hernández, a real estate agent who said all of the recent deals she has closed have involved Americans. They mostly want houses or apartments in the Art Deco style, she said, and are all willing to pay the asking price. Ted Rossano Jr., whose parents two decades ago opened a taco stand in Centro, said income from foreigners has helped save the business, which suffered during the pandemic. Ricos Tacos Toluca is a stop on several of the “taco tours” that have emerged in recent years, and he said foreigners now supply about 15% of the stand’s revenue. “It’s cool. We’re proud of it,” Rossano said. “Who would have thought that a simple business like this would get international recognition?” On a recent afternoon, three Americans and a Brit were contentedly munching the stand’s famous green chorizo tacos as their guide, Tyler Hansbrough, explained the chef’s handiwork. “See, she has to render all that,” he said, as Rossano’s mom moved chorizo around a griddle. Hansbrough taught Spanish at a San Francisco high school before moving here in 2016. He married a Mexican man and opened Tyler’s Taco Tours to show visitors authentic Mexican food — not the upscale stuff they might find in restaurants in Roma or Condesa. He has been struck by the number of remote workers flooding in and worries that they are different. The nature of their jobs means they don’t necessarily have to learn Spanish or integrate into Mexican society, he said. It allows a certain aloofness that wasn’t possible a few years ago. “So many people come here and think, ‘Oh, Mexico City is so cheap. I could move here.’ And they are. They’re renting my Airbnb for months at a time,” he said. “But I’m starting to be worried. It’s great for business, but it’s also kind of scaring me.” As his group finished the tacos and ventured into the cacophonous city for their next meal, another taco tour sidled up to Rossano’s stand. View of the streets of Mexico City, which is home to more than 9 million people with a population density of 6,163.3 inhabitants per square kilometer. Axel Hid/dpa View the full article

Published by Reuters By Karen Freifeld NEW YORK (Reuters) -A longtime senior executive at Donald Trump’s family business pleaded guilty on Thursday to helping the company engineer a 15-year tax fraud, in an agreement that will require him to testify about its business practices at an upcoming trial. Allen Weisselberg, 75, the former chief financial officer at the Trump Organization, entered his plea to all 15 charges he faced in a New York state court in Manhattan. Weisselberg, who has worked for Trump for about a half-century, is not expected to cooperate with Manhattan prosecutors in a larger probe they are conducting into Trump. But his plea will likely strengthen their case against the former president’s company, which manages golf clubs, hotels and other real estate around the world. “This plea agreement directly implicates the Trump Organization in a wide range of criminal activity and requires Weisselberg to provide invaluable testimony in the upcoming trial,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement. “We look forward to proving our case in court.” In a statement, a Trump Organization spokeswoman called Weisselberg a “fine and honorable man” who has been “harassed, persecuted and threatened by law enforcement, particularly the Manhattan district attorney, in their never ending, politically motivated quest to get President Trump.” She also said the company did nothing wrong, and looked forward to its day in court. The Trump Organization has pleaded not guilty, and faces possible fines and other penalties if convicted. Donald Trump, who is embroiled in many legal battles, has not been charged or accused of wrongdoing in the case. Jury selection is scheduled to begin on Oct. 24, two weeks before the Nov. 8 midterm elections, where Trump’s Republican Party hopes to recapture both houses of Congress from Democrats. Trump has yet to say whether he plans another White House run in 2024. FIVE MONTHS AT RIKERS Prosecutors charged The Trump Organization and Weisselberg in July 2021 with scheming to defraud, tax fraud and falsifying business records for awarding “off-the-books” perks to senior executives. Weisselberg was accused of concealing and avoiding taxes on $1.76 million of income. This included rent for a Manhattan apartment, lease payments for two Mercedes-Benz vehicles, and tuition for relatives, with Trump signing the tuition checks. Weisselberg’s plea agreement calls for him to serve five months at the Rikers Island jail, though he could be freed after 100 days. It also include five years of probation, and the payment of $1.99 million in taxes, penalties and interest. The jail sentence would begin after the Trump Organization’s trial concludes. Weisselberg could have faced 15 years in prison if convicted at trial, including on a grand larceny charge. During Thursday’s hearing, Weisselberg removed his mask as Justice Juan Merchan described each count of the indictment. Weisselberg agreed that the accusations against him were true. Nicholas Gravante, a lawyer for Weisselberg, said in a statement: “In one of the most difficult decisions of his life, Mr. Weisselberg decided to enter a plea of guilty today to put an end to this case and the years-long legal and personal nightmares it has caused for him and his family.” Weisselberg gave up the CFO job after being indicted, but remains on Trump’s payroll as a senior adviser. Last Friday, Merchan denied defense motions to dismiss the indictment, rejecting arguments that the defendants had been “selectively prosecuted” and that Weisselberg was targeted because he would not turn on his longtime boss. PROBE ‘ONGOING’ The indictment arose from an investigation by former Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, but lost steam after Bragg became district attorney in January. Two prosecutors who had been leading the investigation resigned in February, with one saying felony charges should be brought against Trump, but that Bragg indicated he had doubts. In his statement on Thursday, Bragg said the investigation remained ongoing. His office declined to comment on the Trump Organization’s harassment accusation. Trump faces several probes into his business and political activities. Last week, FBI agents searched his home for classified and other documents from his time in the White House. Two days later, Trump was deposed in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ civil probe into whether he misled banks and tax authorities about his business’s assets. He repeatedly refused to answer questions, citing his Fifth Amendment U.S. Constitutional right against self-incrimination. James is assisting Bragg in his criminal probe. “Let this guilty plea send a loud and clear message: we will crack down on anyone who steals from the public for personal gain,” James said in a statement. (Reporting by Karen Freifeld in New York; Additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Alistair Bell and Daniel Wallis) View the full article

Published by Euronews (English) The World Health Organization (WHO) is looking to rename monkeypox after scientists criticised its current moniker as “discriminatory and stigmatising” which has resulted in reportedly vicious attacks on monkeys in Brazil last week. In a public call issued by 29 biologists and researchers on the website virological.org on June 10, scientists decried the fact that information around monkeypox has been spread on international media together with the perception that the virus is endemic in some African countries, despite the fact that before the 2022 outbreak there have been only a few reports of… Read More View the full article

Published by AFP US cases have quickly soared to 13,500 since May, when the current outbreak began in Europe Washington (AFP) – Monkeypox vaccines will be made available at Gay Pride and other events as part of a new pilot program to stem the fast spread of the virus, US health authorities said Thursday. US cases have quickly soared to 13,500 since May, when the current outbreak began in Europe. Latest official data shows 98 percent of cases have been among men, and 93 percent among men reporting recent sexual contact with other men. Hispanic and Black people are both disproportionately impacted. The federal government “is launching a pilot program that will provide up to 50,000 doses from the national stockpile to be made available for Pride and other events,” White House monkeypox response coordinator Bob Fenton told reporters. Notable upcoming events include Black Pride in Atlanta and Southern Decadence in New Orleans, both around Labor Day on September 5 and the preceding weekend. The reopening of colleges this fall is also expected to accelerate the spread. State health departments can put in orders based on the size of the event and its ability to reach attendees at highest risk, added Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Rochelle Walenksy. But she added that since the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine comes in two doses, recipients will be advised that they won’t receive instant protection at the event itself and must follow up on their second shot. Overall, the US has delivered around one million vaccine doses to state and other local jurisdictions, and will start to make available for order an additional 1.8 million doses from next week, said Fenton. The federal government will also be sending out 50,000 courses of antiviral treatment TPOXX. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration authorized a new procedure for injecting the vaccine — in between the upper layers of the skin rather than deeper, beneath it — to get five times more out of the same amount of substance. View the full article

Published by City AM By Adam Bloodworth Cruise is one of only a handful of West End openings this August, so thank goodness it’s a hit. A lucky few were already privy to how good Cruise is, with the show making headlines in July 2021 when it opened as the first post-pandemic West End production. “I knew that a solo show would be eminently fundable because the overheads are very low,” Holden told me when the show opened. He was right, but this second run, upgraded from the 494-seater Duchess Theatre to the 775-seater Apollo, proves this one-man show is worth funding not just in a crisis, but in ordinary times when … Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Lee Pace has revealed he’s married his longtime partner Matthew Foley. The ‘Bodies Bodies Bodies’ star not only confirmed he and the Thom Browne Vice President of Communications had tied the knot but that they are keen to start a family. In an interview with GQ Hype, the 43-year-old actor – who lives in New York with his now-husband and their pet pooch Gus – compared being married to “an endless sleepover with your weirdest friend”. He shared: “I said to my friend, Nick, ‘You know a lot of people, who do you have for me?’ And it luckily has worked out. “What I’ll say about being married, it was once described to me as an endless sleepover with your weirdest friend. In our experience, that is absolutely true.” He added: “If you’ve found one person you can be weird around, hold on tight.” When asked if the pair would like children, he replied: “I’d love to have kids. I think there’s nothing better than little kids running around.” It was reported in November last year that the couple – who were first known to be dating in 2017 – had secretly gotten hitched. No further details such as the venue or location of the ceremony are known. Lee previously opened up about his sexuality and revealed he has dated men and women. The ‘Hobbit’ star explained how he thinks it’s important that gay actors are cast in gay roles – but he doesn’t identify with any sexual orientation and doesn’t think anyone should care about his sexuality. Speaking to W magazine in 2018, he said: “Our understanding of what it means to be gay is just so different. It’s culturally different. It’s just so much further down the road. It’s an interesting thing for me to think about in this moment while working on this play ‘[Angels in America’]. I’ve dated men. I’ve dated women. “I don’t know why anyone would care. I’m an actor and I play roles. To be honest, I don’t know what to say – I find your question intrusive.” View the full article

Published by OK Magazine mega Not ready to give up. As Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt continue to fight tooth and nail against each other in their many legal battles, the Maleficent star is “desperately trying to find something new” to take down her A-List ex-husband, claimed an insider. This comes after the FBI failed to file charges against Pitt in connection with a physical altercation that allegedly occurred during a private flight in 2016. mega Earlier this year, Jolie filed an anonymous lawsuit against the FBI, asking to be given access to documents connected to their investigation surrounding the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actor’s alleged domestic violence. BRAD PITT PUSHING TO SEE KIDS ‘WHEREVER THEY ALL ARE IN THE WORLD’ DESPITE ‘HOSTILE’ SITUATION WITH EX ANGELINA JOLIE: SOURCE According to the suit, Pitt is said to have drunkenly lashed out at his then-wife while aboard a private plane with their brood. The actor “grabbed [Angelina] by the head, shaking her,” the FBI documents read. When their children asked if she was alright, Pitt yelled, “No, she’s not OK, she’s ruining this family, she’s crazy.” mega Jolie claimed she’s experienced other moments of domestic violence from her estranged ex, including him pushing her and pouring his beer on her. She also stated in the original court filing that Pitt hit their son Maddox. ANGELINA JOLIE IS HAPPY EX BRAD PITT ‘STEPPED UP’ TO MAKE TRIP TO ROME WHERE HE VISITED THE KIDS, SOURCE SHARES: ‘A HUGE WEIGHT OFF HER SHOULDERS’ Authorities reviewed the details of the case the following year in November 2017, eventually coming to the decision not to charge Pitt with a crime. mega This is only one of many legal spats between the volatile exes. Aside from their lengthy custody battle — the pair shares Maddox, 21, Pax, 18, Zahara, 17, Shiloh, 16, and 14-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne — the former spouses are also embroiled in a heated battle over their Château Miraval winery. Jolie and Pitt first bought the sprawling French winery in 2008. Prior to their 2016 split, Pitt claimed they agreed they would not sell off their interest in the property without both of them agreeing on the future buyer. However, theTroy actor is accusing Jolie of selling her cut in the business to Russian oligarch Yuri Sheffler in an attempt to “undermine Pitt’s investment in Miraval.” Page Six was first to report Jolie was “desperate” to dig up new dirt on Pitt. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Gwyneth Paltrow is joining the ‘Shark Tank’ panel. The ‘Shakespeare in Love’ star will be joining the ABC reality show – which sees business titans Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John and Kevin O’Leary hear about potential investments from eager entrepreneurs – as a guest shark. Gwyneth – who founded the upscale lifestyle brand GOOP – will not be the only guest shark as DoorDash founder Tony Xu will also be featured on the lineup, along with previous guest sharks like Emma Grede, co-founder of Kim Kardashian’s shapewear line Skims, Daniel Lubetzky, the co-creator of Kind and British import Peter Jones, who appears on the UK edition of the same programme, which goes by the name ‘Dragon’s Den’ on the BBC. The series is heading into its 14th season with a kick off live episode on September 23. Recently, the Academy Award winner – who is married to producer Brad Falchuk and has two kids, daughter Apple, 18, and son Moses, 16, with her ex Coldplay frontman Chris Martin – called her ex Ben Affleck’s recent marriage to his rekindled love, Jennifer Lopez “so romantic”. During an Instagram question and answering session, Gwyneth gushed about it, writing “Love!!! So romantic!!!”. The ‘Iron Man’ star also recently enthused she “found the Brad I was supposed to marry” during a Goop interview to promote her ex Brad Pitt’s new line of shirts. Brad – who dated ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’ star for three years until they called off their engagement in 1997 – gushed it was “lovely” to be on such good terms with Gwyneth, adding that “I do love you”, to which she replied “I love you so much”. View the full article

Published by AFP Strippers are not typically members of a union, but dancers at a club in Los Angeles are moving to change that Los Angeles (AFP) – Performers at a Los Angeles strip club took their first steps toward unionization Wednesday, becoming the latest US workers to seek collective bargaining power. Dancers at the Star Garden Topless Dive Bar submitted a petition with the federal government, beginning a process that could see them represented by performers union Actors’ Equity, in what officials described as a first. “We like what we do,” said Velveeta, a Star Garden dancer. “We would like our jobs even more if we had basic worker protections.” Equity already represents over 51,000 performers and stage managers across the United States, many of them in and around Los Angeles. “Strippers are live entertainers, and while some aspects of their job are unique, they have much in common with other Equity members who dance for a living,” said Actors’ Equity Association President Kate Shindle. “These dancers reported consistent compensation issues — including significant wage theft — along with health and safety risks and violations. “They want health insurance and other benefits, like workers’ compensation. They need protection from sexual harassment, discrimination and unjust terminations.” The petition was filed with the National Labor Relations Board, who will now need to schedule a vote for the 30 or so eligible strippers. If a majority votes to unionize, Equity will begin negotiating a new contract with Star Garden on their behalf. In the meantime, the exotic dancers say they will picket the club in the North Hollywood area of the city, with what Equity called “a public information campaign to engage Star Garden’s patrons.” The campaign is being supported by Strippers United, a non-profit group advocating for dancers’ rights. No one at Star Garden, which has an average four stars on Yelp, picked up the phone when AFP called on Wednesday. While Equity has never had stripper members before, this is not the first time ecdysiasts have organized in the United States. Dancers working at San Francisco’s Lusty Lady formed the Exotic Dancers Union in 1996, Equity noted. That club shut its doors in 2013. Wednesday’s move comes amid an uptick in interest among workers across the United States in unionization, with staff at several branches of Starbucks among the most high profile. Through the first three quarters of fiscal year 2022 — from October 1 to June 30 — there were 1,935 unionization campaigns filed with the National Labor Relations Board, up 56 percent from the prior year. View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Ellen DeGeneres has opted to celebrate the love in front of her instead of sulking over the one she lost. The 64-year-old former talk show host paid tribute to her wife Portia de Rossion their 14th wedding anniversary, which fell just days after her ex-girlfriend Anne Heche‘s death. DeGeneres didn’t hold back, posting a lovely video montage of her life with de Rossi and revealing how nice it feels to be in love. “‘It’s good to be loved. It’s profound to be understood.’ I love you, @portiaderossi. Happy 14!” she captioned the clip on Tuesday. Mega DeGeneres’ anniversary and post come on the heels of Radar’s exclusive story that she won’t be at Heche’s funeral. “Anne’s funeral will be this week and Ellen will not be invited. It’s just close family and friends. It will be small and private,” sources told us. Heche was taken off life support on Friday after she fell into a coma following an accident in which her car imploded into a home and burst into flames on August 5. The 911 call revealed horrific details of the incident, including that several neighbors tried to rescue the actress from her burning car — but she was trapped inside. Mega Heche had severe burns, an anoxic brain injury, and never came out of her coma. Her family let her die peacefully by taking her off machines after she was paired with an organ-donation recipient. DeGeneres released a statement about her death. Peaks & Pitfalls: Anne Heche Reflects On Romance With Ellen DeGeneres & Being ‘Blacklisted’ From Hollywood “This is a sad day,” the ex-professional gabber tweeted. “I’m sending Anne’s children, family and friends all of my love.” Heche dated DeGeneres from 1997-2000. Mega “Ellen felt the need to say something after Anne died. They hadn’t spoken in years but given what their relationship meant to so many people around the world, she understands why she had to speak out,” sources spilled to RadarOnline.com at the time. Heche left behind two sons — Homer, 20, and Atlas, 13. She was only 53 years old. View the full article