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Published by Reuters By Abinaya V and Nivedita Balu (Reuters) -Elon Musk rejected Twitter Inc’s offer to join its board, a dramatic turn in a week when the billionaire became its biggest shareholder, with the social media company warning of “distractions ahead”. The company’s board held many discussions with Musk, Twitter Chief Executive Officer Parag Agrawal said in a note posted to the site on Sunday, but did not disclose the reason for the Tesla chief’s decision. Twitter shares were down about 2% at $45.31 in premarket trading on Monday. They soared 27% on April 4, when Musk made his stake public, but have since shed 7.5% of those gains. The planned appointment was due to become effective on Saturday, Agrawal said, virtually preventing the world’s wealthiest person from becoming a beneficial owner of more than 14.9% of Twitter’s common stock. “I believe this is for the best,” Agrawal said in the note. “There will be distractions ahead, but our goals and priorities remain unchanged.” (https://bit.ly/3usFqhe) The announcement was so abrupt that the company’s website still showed Musk as a member of Twitter’s board. Musk, whose net worth is pegged at $274 billion by Forbes, responded only with a face-with-hand-over-mouth emoticon on Twitter. Tesla did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment from its CEO. Musk, who calls himself a free-speech absolutist and has been critical of Twitter, disclosed a 9.1% stake on April 4 and said he planned to bring about significant improvements at the social media platform. The disclosure of the stake has stoked widespread speculation on his intentions, ranging from a full takeover of the platform to taking an active role in corporate decisions. Musk’s latest decision opens the possibility for him to take a larger position and potentially make an all-out bid, CFRA Research analyst Angelo Zino wrote in a client note. “We had thought the equity cap and board seat was originally intended to handcuff Musk in many respects and think he is unlikely the type of individual who will now just sell his stake and walk away,” Zino added. News of Musk taking a board seat had some Twitter employees panicking over the future of the social media company’s ability to moderate content, company sources told Reuters. Before taking a stake, Musk ran a Twitter poll asking users if they believed Twitter sticks to the principle of free speech. A day after becoming the largest shareholder, he launched another poll asking users if they wanted an edit button, a long-awaited feature on which Twitter has been working. The Tesla boss also asked users in a poll if Twitter’s headquarters should be converted into a homeless shelter, a plan backed by Amazon.com Inc’s founder Jeff Bezos. On Saturday, Musk suggested changes to the Twitter Blue premium subscription service, including slashing its price, banning advertising and giving an option to pay in the cryptocurrency dogecoin. “It’s clear Musk wants to retain the full freedom to criticise company policy, to steer it in his desired direction of travel,” Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Susannah Streeter said in a note. “He still has a ringside seat, remaining the biggest shareholder, and also has the power of his 81 million twitter followers to do just that.” (Reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan, Nivedita Balu and Juby Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur, Miyoung Kim, Edmund Klamann and Anil D’Silva) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Gloria Dickie and Dasha Afanasieva LONDON (Reuters) – Dozens of international scientists have arrived each year since 2000 at Russia’s remote Northeast Science Station on the Kolyma River in Siberia to study climate change in the Arctic environment. Not this year, though. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry froze the funding used to pay personnel at the research station and to maintain instruments that measure how quickly climate change is thawing Arctic permafrost and how much methane – a potent planet-warming gas – is being released. The funding freeze will probably lead to an interruption of the continuous measurements at the station dating back to 2013, compromising scientists’ understanding of the warming trend, said Peter Hergersberg, a spokesperson for the Max Planck Society, which is funded by the German state. “(Russian) colleagues at the Northeast Science Station try to keep the station running,” Hergersberg said. He declined to say how much funding was withheld. Reuters spoke with more than two dozen scientists about the impact of the Ukraine conflict on Russian science. Many expressed concern about its future after tens of millions of dollars in Western funding for Russian science has been suspended in the wake of European sanctions on Moscow. Hundreds of partnerships between Russian and Western institutions have been paused if not canceled altogether, the scientists said, as the invasion has unraveled years spent building international cooperation following the Soviet Union’s 1991 collapse. Many communication channels are closed and research trips have been postponed indefinitely. The projects affected by the suspension of Western assistance include the construction of high-tech research facilities in Russia, such as an ion collider and a neutron reactor for which Europe had pledged 25 million euros ($27.4 million). Such technology would unlock a generation of research that could contribute to everything from fundamental physics to the development of new materials, fuels and pharmaceuticals, scientists said. Another 15 million-euro ($16.7 million) contribution toward designing low-carbon materials and battery technologies needed in the energy transition to combat climate change has also been frozen, after the European Union halted all cooperation with Russian entities last month. “Emotionally, I can understand this suspension,” said Dmitry Shchepashchenko, a Russian environmental scientist who studies global forest cover and has been affiliated with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria since 2007. But for science overall, he said: “This is a lose-lose solution. Global issues like climate change and biodiversity … can hardly be solved without Russian territory [and] the expertise of Russian scientists.” FROZEN FINANCES When the Soviet Union broke apart, Russian spending on science plummeted, and thousands of scientists moved abroad or abandoned their fields altogether. “We felt as scientists that our work was not appreciated,” said permafrost scientist Vladimir Romanovksy, who moved his work to Fairbanks, Alaska, in the 1990s. “There was practically no funding, especially for field work.” Russian funding has since improved, but remains far below that of the West. In 2019, Russia spent 1% of its GDP on research and development — or about $39 billion, adjusted for currency and price variation — according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Most of that money has been spent in physical science fields, such as space technology and nuclear energy. By comparison, Germany, Japan and the United States each spend around 3% of their respective GDPs. For the United States, that amounted to $612 billion in 2019. Russian science got a boost, though, from partnerships on projects with scientists abroad. Russia and the United States, for example, led the international consortium that launched the International Space Station in 1998. The head of Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, said this month it would suspend its participation in the space station until sanctions tied to the Ukraine invasion are lifted. Russian scientists also helped build the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, at the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Switzerland, known as CERN. In 2012, the collider made the breakthrough discovery of the elusive Higgs boson, which until then had only been theorized. Scientific camaraderie with Europe continued uninterrupted after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. But CERN’s governing council announced last month it was suspending any new collaboration with Russia. Germany alone has given some 110 million euros ($122 million) toward more than 300 German-Russian projects over the last three years. A further 12.6 million euros ($14 million) in EU funding was awarded to Russian organisations for another 18 projects focusing on everything from Arctic climate monitoring to infectious animal diseases. Chemist Pavel Troshin recently won Russian state funding for his part in a Russian-German effort to develop next-generation solar cells to power communication satellites. But, with the German side now suspended, the project is up in the air. Joint projects “are supposed to be done for the benefit of all the world, and cutting out Russian scientists … is really counter-productive,” said Troshin, who works at Russia’s Institute for Problems of Chemical Physics. “I would never expect something like this. It’s shocking to me. I’m upset very much.” ARCTIC BLACKOUT Among the more urgent research efforts on hold are projects to study climate change in the Russian Arctic. “Two-thirds of the permafrost region is in Russia, so data from there is critical,” said Northern Arizona University ecologist Ted Schuur of the Permafrost Carbon Network. “If you cut off your view of changing permafrost in Russia, you’re really cutting off our understanding of global changes to permafrost.” That’s alarming for scientists as global warming thaws the long-frozen ground that holds an estimated 1.5 trillion metric tons of organic carbon – twice the amount already in the atmosphere today. As permafrost thaws, organic material locked within the ice decays and releases more planet-warming gases like methane and carbon dioxide. Scientists fear that such emissions could cause climate change to spiral out of control. Scientists can use satellites to monitor landscape changes due to thaw, but can’t pick up what’s happening below ground, which requires on-site research, Schuur said. Russian scientists have collected and shared permafrost field data for years, but Western researchers aren’t sure if those communication channels will remain open. Those datasets were also patchy, due to limited funding to cover the vast region. Arctic ecologist Sue Natali, at U.S. Woodwell Climate Research Center, said her project’s plans for boosting Russian monitoring capability is on hold. “Instrumentation that was supposed to go out this year has been halted,” she said, as her colleagues’ travel plans have been canceled. The U.S. government has issued no clear directive on interacting with Russian institutions, contrary to the European stance. A State Department spokesperson told Reuters: “We do not hold the people of Russia responsible [for the conflict], and believe that continued direct engagement with the Russian people is essential – including in science and technology fields.” SCIENCE AS COLLATERAL DAMAGE Projects under the Russian Science Foundation’s state-funded 2021 budget of 22.9 billion rubles ($213 million) had relied on partnerships with India, China, Japan, France, Austria, and Germany, among others. A spokesperson did not answer Reuters questions about how the halt in European collaboration would affect its work, saying only that the foundation would “continue to support leading teams of researchers and their research projects.” European scientists had been helping to build Russian research sites including the neutron reactor and the ion collider near St. Petersburg, said Martin Sandhop, a coordinator on this EU-funded effort called CremlinPlus. The facilities would help to drive research in fields like high-energy physics, biochemistry and materials science. But plans for a 25-million-euro project extension are now suspended and Sandhop’s team is redirecting experts and equipment toward European institutions. Cremlin’s neutron detectors needed for the planned reactor, for example, are now going to a facility in Lund, Sweden. Even if Russia manages to complete the expansion works, it’s unclear how valuable the work will be without the suite of tools at Western institutions to analyse the data. Physicist Efim Khazanov at the Institute of Applied Physics in Nizhny Novgorod, near Moscow, said not having access to European equipment would hurt his work using a high-energy laser to study topics such as the structure of spacetime in a vacuum, which could expand our understanding of the universe. Khazanov was among thousands of Russian scientists who signed an open letter, posted on the independent online science publication Troitskiy Variant, saying Russia had “doomed itself to international isolation” with its invasion of Ukraine. Many Russian scientists also fled the country https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Facademia.interfax.ru%2Fru%2Fnews%2Farticles%2F8241%2F&data=04%7C01%7CKaty.Daigle%40thomsonreuters.com%7C3496e75332214187562d08da166a1deb%7C62ccb8646a1a4b5d8e1c397dec1a8258%7C0%7C0%7C637846942271472634%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=%2FPsx1Vt6cZZmma1wkypEgajrN3PTax5p%2FZtecupKyo8%3D&reserved=0, said Alexander Sergeev, head of the Russian Academy of Sciences, according to Interfax state news agency. The protest letter https://t-invariant.org/2022/02/we-are-against-war was temporarily removed from the site after Russia passed a law March 4 criminalizing “fake news” on the Ukraine campaign. That day, a letter was published on the state Russian Rectors’ Union website in support https://www.rsr-online.ru/news/2022-god/obrashchenie-rossiyskogo-soyuza-rektorov1 of Russia’s invasion and signed by more than 300 leading scientists, who have since been suspended from European University Association membership. While foreign funding represents just a small part of Russia’s scientific spending, its scientists relied on that money to keep projects and careers afloat. “Those joint research grants were helping a lot of Russians,” lamented Russian geographer Dmitry Streletskiy, at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. “I’m just surprised the EU is targeting scientists, which is not the right crowd to target.” (Reporting by Gloria Dickie and Dasha Afanasieva; Editing by Katy Daigle and Daniel Flynn) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) – U.S. officials now say that people 50 and older can get a second COVID-19 booster shot to fortify their immune defenses against COVID-19. But for individuals in that group, the decision is complicated. Here are considerations health experts say people should weigh. WHAT IS THE RECOMMENDATION? Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said any person aged 50 and older can get a second COVID-19 booster of an mRNA vaccine from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech at least four months following their last shot. The same goes for people who are severely immunocompromised aged 12 and up as well as those who have received two doses of Johnson & Johnson’s shot. Dr. Peter Marks, director of FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said the aim is to give older adults the option to top up waning vaccine protection against severe disease as the virus continues to circulate. The highly transmissible Omicron BA.2 subvariant has fueled cases in other countries and is now sweeping the United States, accounting for the majority of all coronavirus infections here. WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE? Data presented to a panel of FDA advisers last week showed that current vaccines lose much of their effectiveness in staving off infections from the Omicron variant but still do a good job at preventing severe disease, especially in people with healthy immune systems. Concerns about the variant’s ability to evade the vaccine as well as data showing the shots become less protective over time prompted U.S. health officials to authorize a second booster. Evidence in favor of a second booster comes from an Israeli study of more than 1.2 million adults published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine. It showed that a fourth dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine lowered rates of severe COVID-19 among those age 60 and older but offered only short-lived additional protection against infection. WEIGHING THE RISK The decision to get a fourth dose should take into account a person’s individual risk factors, experts say. For people 65 and older, the immune compromised, or those 50 and older with serious medical conditions, the answer is “pretty easy,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. They should get a second booster. But for healthy people over 50, experts are unsure available data makes a clear case for them to get another booster. “There’s no clear evidence that vaccine protection against severe illness is waning in healthy adults with functioning immune systems,” said Dr. Michael Daignault, and emergency physician and chief medical advisor to Reliant Health Services, an Atlanta-based testing company. Daignault said the Israeli study may have been flawed by confounding factors such as other preexisting health conditions and behavior. “I’m not convinced that most people need a fourth dose – or second booster – at this time,” he said. Dr. Gregory Poland, a former FDA vaccine advisory panel member and head of Mayo Clinic’s Vaccine Research Group, said the decision is challenging for many. “I get many, many calls from my physician colleagues at the clinic and around the United States, wondering what to do,” he said. For people who have had a third shot, the risk of severe disease is already pretty low, said Dr. Jesse Goodman, an infectious disease expert at Georgetown University and a former FDA chief scientist. Goodman said a fourth dose “may reduce it further, but we don’t know for how long. That’s why this is such a difficult call,” he said. Goodman, who is 70, and Poland, who is 66, both said they are holding off on a fourth dose based on their current health. Because protection from a second booster is likely short-lived, Poland suggested people may want to time their shot for a trip, a high-risk event, or a new surge in cases. (Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; editing by Caroline Humer and Bill Berkrot) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Sam Elliott has apologised for calling ‘The Power of the Dog’ a “piece of s***”. The 77-year-old actor – who is known for having starred in a string of Western films himself – was not impressed when he saw the Oscar-winning Netflix drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch as a closeted ranch owner in the 1920s alongside Kodi Smit-McPhee and Kirsten Dunst. He said: “You wanna talk about that piece of s***. I didn’t like it. This is is the guy who has done Westerns forever. It was the evisceration of the American West. Remember those guys from back in the day? They wear bow ties and not much else.[The Chippendales] That’s what all these f****** cowboys in that movie looked like. They’re running around in chaps and no shirts There’s all these allusions of homosexuality throughout the movie.” Sam then took aim at Benedict for “never getting out of his chaps” in the flick and questioned, “where the Western” was in the movie. He said: “Where’s the Western in this Western? I mean, Cumberbatch never got out of his f****** chaps. He had two pairs of chaps — a woolly pair and a leather pair. And every f****** time he would walk in from somewhere — he never was on a horse, maybe once — he’d walk into the f****** house, storm up the fucking stairs, go lay in his bed in his chaps and play his banjo. It’s like, what the f***!” The ‘Tombstone’ star went on to blast the film’s director Jane Campion – who won Best Director at the 2022 Academy Awards – for choosing to shoot the Montana-based story in her home country of New Zealand and questioned her suitability to helm the project in the first place. Speaking on the ‘WTF with Marc Maron’ podcast, he added: “What the f*** does this woman from down there know about the American West? Why the f*** did she shoot this movie in New Zealand and call it Montana? And say this is the way it was? That f****** rubbed me the wrong way!” Now, the ‘A Star is Born’ actor has admitted he feels “terrible” for the “hurt” his comments may have caused. He told Deadline: “I wasn’t very articulate about it. I didn’t articulate it very well. “I said some things that hurt people, and I feel terrible about that. “I (said) that I thought Jane Campion was a brilliant director. “I want to apologise to the cast of ‘The Power Of The Dog’ – brilliant actors all, in particular Benedict Cumberbatch. “I can only say that I’m sorry, and I am. I am.” He then directed his apology toward the gay community. Sam added: “The gay community has been incredible to me my entire career. And I mean by entire career, from before I got started in this town. “Friends on every level, in every job description – up until today, with my agent, my dear friend of a number of years. “I’m sorry that I hurt any of those friends and someone I loved and anyone else by the words that I used.” View the full article

Published by Radar Online MEGA Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s “secret daughter” is living in luxury. 19-year-old Luiza Rozova is “rumored” to be the child of Putin and his “former lover” Svetlana Krivonogikh, a cleaning lady turned millionaire who came into possession of some serious stakes in one of Russia’s major banks. Rozova has not been sanctioned like Putin’s other daughters and now, the world has been given a peek inside of her opulent St. Petersburg apartment, said to cost £7,700 a month. MEGA The massive 447-square meter luxury penthouse is currently valued at around £1.7 million. Photos reveal the “luxury palace” to be primarily gold and white decorated with ceiling paintings, multiple layered balconies as well as a large dazzling chandelier hanging down in one room. An anonymous design and style editor spoke with BBC Russia calling out the estate’s interior decoration. “Of course, there is no need to talk about any style in relation to this interior. This is a very immature understanding of luxury,” they said, per Daily Star. MEGA “It can be seen that the designer has mastered a good budget to the satisfaction of the customer, whose vanity is certainly flattered,” they continued. “Expensive finishes, good brands, but the interpretation of architectural elements and details of the decoration evokes memories of last-1990s interiors.” Putin has many “secret children” reportedly living across Europe, but the Russian president himself is rumored to be staying in underground bunkers and hiding out from his known residencies, also likely utilizing his bulletproof “monster” limos to remain safe. MEGA He’s even gone as far as to reportedly use body doubles for most of his public appearances and meetings at the Kremlin. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he witnessed only “death, just death” when touring the city of Bucha earlier this week. In an interview with CBS News, Zelensky stated that Ukraine is doing whatever it takes to “defend the ability of a person to live in the modern world” in their fight against Russia. “They say we’re defending Western values,” he continued, arguing, “I never thought this right was so costly. These are human values. So that Russia doesn’t choose what we should do and how I’m using my rights. That right was given to me by God and my parents.” View the full article

Published by Radar Online AXELLE/BAUER-GRIFFIN / MEGA The man accused of shooting Lady Gaga‘s dog walker, Ryan Fischer, has mistakenly been freed from jail and “deputies are now on an all-out manhunt” to bring him back into police custody. James Howard Jackson, 18, was released Wednesday “due to a clerical error,” a statement from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department confirmed. Courtesy @valleyofthedogs/Instagram “The investigation is continuing and the LASD Major Crimes Bureau is actively working to get Mr. Jackson back in custody,” it continued, describing Jackson’s release as “inadvertent.” Fischer was shot in the chest by dognappers who stole the A Star Is Born actress’ beloved French Bulldogs in February 2021. One of her pets ran away during the attack and was later retrieved and her other dogs were returned two days after the incident. AXELLE/BAUER-GRIFFIN / MEGA Last April, Jackson, along with Jaylin White, 19, and Lafayette Whaley, 27, were each charged with one count of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit robbery and second-degree robbery. Jackson was also charged with assault with a semiautomatic firearm and a felon carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle. The three men were among five initially charged for their alleged roles in the shooting of Fischer. All suspects pleaded not guilty. Fischer later underwent multiple surgeries to repair a collapsed lung after being shot in the chest. News Licensing / MEGA During a follow-up interview on CBS Mornings, he revealed how events unfolded that scary evening and thanked Gaga for helping him throughout his healing process. “I was scared, I was in pain. I had a feeling, when they came up [and] pulled the gun on me that I was going to end up being shot, cause in my mind I was like, ‘There’s no way that I’m not going to fight for these dogs,'” the dog walker explained, adding, “Some days are great, some weeks are not. And that’s been the big up and down the last couple of months.” Fischer then gushed over Gaga, stating, “She’s been a friend for me and after I was attacked, my family was flown out and I had trauma therapists flown to me and I stayed at her house for months while friends comforted me and security was around me.” View the full article

Published by The Spun By Andrew Holleran Former Missouri Tigers standout Michael Sam, who came out before the 2014 NFL Draft, has landed a new coaching job. Sam, a standout pass rusher for Missouri, came out as gay following the conclusion of his collegiate career. The 2013 SEC Defensive Player of the Year was a 7th round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft by the then-St. Louis Rams. The former Missouri star spent time with the Rams and Cowboys in 2014. He played for the Montreal Alouettes in 2015. Now, Sam has landed a coaching job. It’s pretty cool to see Sam getting into coaching. Sam became the NFL’s first openly-gay d… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Emeli Sande wishes she had come out sooner. The 35-year-old singer revealed in an interview last month that she is in a same-sex relationship with pianist Yoana Karemova and feels as if a weight has come off her shoulders since she revealed her sexuality. Speaking at a National Student Pride event, Emeli said: “I wish I would maybe have done this sooner. “Even in the interview, as soon as I said ‘I’m in love with Yoana’, he was like ‘So what does that make you?’ and I hadn’t really thought about it, I was just enjoying being in love. “I just feel that I can fall in love with anybody at any time, and right now I’m in love with Yoana and that’s it for life.” Emeli – who was previously married to the marine biologist Adam Gouraguine – continued: “It’s all new as in like being out and being proud, that’s new to me, but I’ve always felt that I never have rules of who I fall in love with and I’ve always felt so much support from the community. “So it’s not something that feels like my life has changed that much. It’s just who knows about it and being open, that’s the main part.” Emeli previously revealed that she was “happier than ever” after confirming that she was in a relationship with Yoana. The ‘Next to Me’ singer said: “We met through music. And I definitely feel happier than ever. It feels great. “For me, true love and having love in your life makes everything fit into place.” When asked if this means she is bisexual, Emeli replied: “I’m not sure what I identify as but I guess so. I just feel like I should fall in love with whoever I fall in love with.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Moira Warburton and Jan Wolfe WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday said he is endorsing celebrity surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz, who is running as a Republican in a closely watched U.S. Senate contest in Pennsylvania. “Dr. Oz is smart, tough, and will never let you down, therefore, he has my Complete and Total Endorsement,” Trump said in a statement. The Senate race in Pennsylvania could determine control of the Senate and the fate of Democratic President Joe Biden’s agenda. A crowded field of candidates are vying to replace the retiring Republican Senator Pat Toomey. Trump “knows how critical it is to change the kinds of people we send to Washington. I’m ready to fight,” Oz said in a statement. “I thank him for that, and I am proud to receive his endorsement.” The top Republicans in the race are Oz and David McCormick, a former hedge fund CEO. Recent polls had Oz and McCormick neck and neck in the Republican primary contest to be held on May 17. On the Democratic side, Pennsylvania’s progressive lieutenant governor, John Fetterman, is locked in a race against Congressman Conor Lamb, a moderate representing the northwestern suburbs of Pittsburgh. Toomey was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump in February 2021 following Trump’s impeachment on a charge that he incited last year’s attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters. The Senate vote of 57-43 fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to convict Trump. Oz, known for the syndicated “The Dr. Oz Show,” brings substantial name recognition to the wide-open Nov. 8, 2022, contest. Oz rose to fame shocking audiences with show-and-tell displays of decaying lungs and rotting livers, telling viewers they should take care of themselves. His public image took a blow in 2014, however, when he told lawmakers probing bogus diet product ads that some of the products promoted on his show lacked “scientific muster.” Senators at the hearing focused on green coffee bean extract, a dietary supplement Oz touted in 2012 as a “miracle.” Trump in September 2021 endorsed Sean Parnell for the open Pennsylvania seat Oz is vying for. But Parnell suspended his campaign in November 2021 after his estranged wife alleged physical abuse and he lost a battle over the custody of his three children. (Reporting by Jan Wolfe and Moira Warburton; Additional reporting by Jason LangeEditing by Nick Zieminski) View the full article

Published by The Spun By Andrew Gould Michael Sam will return to the gridiron for his first coaching job. The former Missouri pass-rushing standout, who became the NFL’s first openly gay player when drafted by the Rams in 2014, is going overseas to the European Football League. As relayed by Dave Matter of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Barcelona Dragons hired Sam as a defensive line coach. “I hope to contribute however I can to help the defensive line to be the pass rushers in the European league,” Sam said, per the team’s official statement. Sam earned All-American and SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors by…Read More NFL’s First Openly Gay Player Michael Sam Has Landed A Coaching Job: NFL World Reacts Published by The Spun By Andrew Holleran Former Missouri Tigers standout Michael Sam, who came out before the 2014 NFL Draft, has landed a new coaching job. Sam, a standout pass rusher for Missouri, came out as gay following the conclusion of his collegiate career. The 2013 SEC Defensive Player of the Year was a 7th round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft by the then-St. Louis Rams. The former Missouri star spent time with the Rams and Cowboys in 2014. He played for the Montreal Alouettes in 2015. Now, Sam has landed a coaching job. It’s pretty cool to see Sam getting into coaching. Sam became the NFL’s first openly-gay d…Read More What Is Michael Sam Doing Now on Towleroad Pro-Russian rallies spread unease in Germany, rage in Ukraine More Explainer-Macron or Le Pen: why it matters for France, the EU and the West More France’s Macron and Le Pen head to April 24 election runoff More JoJo Siwa Claims She ‘Wasn’t Invited’ to the Kids’ Choice Awards, Spills Awards Show Still Played Her Music More ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Plays a Game of “Catwalk” and Mouse with Willow Pill More ‘We’ve made it’: historic Supreme Court pick Jackson lauded at White House More Idris Elba sold weed to Dave Chappelle to support himself during the early days of his acting career More New York AG seeks to compel real estate firm to comply with Trump probe subpoenas More Simon Cowell ‘leaves millions to animal charities’ More Jennifer Lopez announces engagement to Ben Affleck (again) More Russian abuses complicate US balancing act on Ukraine More Warsaw donor conference raises billions in aid for Ukraine refugees More Jussie Smollett Song Drops; Produced Since Prison Release Pending Appeal, ‘Thank You God’: LISTEN More Load More View the full article

Published by DPA Demonstrators stand with Russian flags at the Taenzelfest square, the starting point of a pro-Russian motorcade. Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa About 2,500 people were expected at a pair of pro-Russian events in Germany on Sunday, with organizers saying they are fighting against Russophobia, while onlookers worry about overt signs of support for the invasion of Ukraine. About 2,000 people were expected at Frankfurt for a rally billed as being “against harassment and discrimination of Russian-speaking residents” and “against war – for peace.” Organizers had hoped to be accompanied by a convoy of 700 cars, but the city had ruled that out of order. Further north, in Hanover, about 600 people with 350 cars gathered for a separate pro-Russia convoy. Many participants were waving both German and Russian flags. However, the start was delayed because police had decided that the cars’ bonnets were not allowed to be covered by flags. Germany has a large Russian-speaking population and several incidents of anti-Russian harassment have been reported since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on February 24. However, the recent move towards pro-Russia convoys has left Germans feeling uneasy, with many questioning whether they are not thinly disguised shows of support for the war. A similar convoy in Berlin on April 3 upset many, coming as it did on the same day as allegations of Russian war crimes in Bucha, Ukraine, were released. Already, about 850 people had gathered for a counterdemonstration in Hanover. In Frankfurt, multiple smaller groups had gathered to protest the Russian invasion. Many participants were waving banners urging for Russia to be stopped and for an end to imports of Russian gas. “We’re not going to leave Frankfurt to the war supporters,” urged one group of counterdemonstrators. City organizers also set ground rules for the pro-Russia protests. Participants have been ordered not to display the letters V and Z, which have become associated with support for the invasion. A similar ban has been put on the black-and-orange ribbon of Saint George. Participants have also been ordered not to publicly support the war or to denounce Ukraine, its people or victims of the Russian invasion. The display of Russian paraphernalia at the events is drawing criticism from Ukraine. The country’s ambassador to Berlin, Andriy Melnyk, says he has called for a ban on the display of the Russian flag and other such symbols at the demonstrations. Allowing them to be shown is a “glamourization of barbaric aggression,” he told dpa, saying that their display had little to do with freedom of expression. “I simply can’t understand how the German polity is turning a blind eye to this,” he said. “If you’re demonstrating with a Russian flag, then you are automatically supporting that state, which is carrying out a war of destruction against Ukraine and our civilian population.” He said he was in the midst of “very concrete discussions” with the German government about his request. Counter-demonstrators face a car of the pro-Russian motorcade on Friedrichswall. Michael Matthey/dpa A car with a Russian flag drives past a pro-Ukraine demonstration. The route of a pro-Russian motorcade with about 120 cars and 500 passengers passed a pro-Ukraine counter-demonstration under a highway bridge. Philipp von Ditfurth/dpa View the full article

Published by Reuters By Michel Rose PARIS (Reuters) – The French will decide on April 24 whether to re-elect pro-business centrist President Emmanuel Macron or blow up decades of mainstream consensus in favour of far-right Marine Le Pen. Here’s what to expect from them on major issues: – THE ECONOMY: LE PEN: The far-right heiress has transformed the former National Front, turning her father’s free-market, small-government party into a big-spending, protectionist one. She wants to implement a “Buy French” policy for public tenders, cut the minimum retirement age to 60 for those who started work before 20, scrap income tax for those aged under 30, and cut VAT on energy to 5.5% from 20%. She would also spend 2 billion euros ($2.18 billion) over 5 years raising hospital workers’ salaries and recruiting an extra 10,000 of them. Teachers’ salaries would rise 15% over 5 years. Gilles Ivaldi, political scientist at Sciences-Po, says her party’s economic programme is further to the left than it has been for decades. MACRON : The French leader plans to double down on supply-side reforms he has implemented during his first mandate, with the main plank of his manifesto being an increase in the minimum pension age to 65 from 62. Macron is also promising to make some welfare benefits conditional on 15-20 hours of training, similar to policies in countries such as the United States or Britain. Unemployment insurance, which currently guarantees workers up to two thirds of their salary for two years if they lose their job, would be linked to the strength of the economy. In his attempt to stay true to his “neither left nor right” motto, he has also promised to make benefits automatic for those who qualify instead of requiring would-be recipients to apply. – EUROPE : LE PEN : Although she has abandoned earlier plans to leave the euro and pay France’s debt in newly created francs, Le Pen has nonetheless pledged to cut contributions to European Union coffers. Such a move would put Paris on a collision course with the European Commission and other EU members. She insists French law should prevail over EU rules, in a challenge to the bloc’s top court, and says she wants eventually to replace the EU with a “Europe of nations”, though she has yet to spell out what that would look like. Le Pen would also employ thousands more customs agents to check goods entering France, including from other EU countries, purportedly to fight fraud. Analysts say that would undermine the single market. MACRON : The ardent Europhile would continue his push to develop what he calls Europe’s “strategic autonomy” in defence, technology, agriculture and energy and reduce the bloc’s dependence on other powers. Over the past five years, Macron has sought to re-orient the EU towards a more protectionist stance, blocking some free-trade deals with other blocs such as Mercosur and creating a mechanism that increases scrutiny of outside takeovers of strategic EU companies. Macron is also likely to push for more regulation of U.S. tech giants and has said he wanted to create a “European metaverse” to compete with Facebook’s. – THE WESTERN ALLIANCE: LE PEN : Le Pen wants to pull France out of transatlantic military alliance NATO’s integrated command, in a challenge to the West’s post-Cold War security architecture. Opponents accuse her of being too close to Moscow. Her party received a bank loan from a Russian bank in 2014 and she was hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin shortly before the 2017 presidential election. She has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but says Moscow could be an ally again post-war. In an interview with Reuters, she called herself a “Gaullist”, after wartime leader Charles de Gaulle, and said she would pursue a foreign policy at equal distance from Washington and Moscow. Asked if she had a message to France’s traditional allies, Britain and the United States, she said: “Drop the preconceived ideas you have about me.” MACRON : Although Macron ruffled feathers across the trans-Atlantic allieance, notably in in eastern Europe and Germany, when he called NATO “brain-dead” in 2019, he has since said the Russian invasion of Ukraine had “jolted it back to life”. He would nonetheless seek to make Europeans less dependent on the U.S. military for security. Macron has pushed the EU to focus more on the Indo-Pacific and China’s rising influence in the region. However, he clashed with Washington, London and Canberra after Australia ditched a massive submarine deal with France. He has been guarded over whether he would seek to cooperate with the new U.S.-UK-Australia security alliance – dubbed AUKUS – against China or try and persuade the EU to pursue its own independent policy towards Beijing. ($1 = 0.9195 euros) (Reporting by Michel Rose; editing by Richard Lough and Andrew Cawthorne) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Mimosa Spencer, Tassilo Hummel and Ingrid Melander PARIS (Reuters) -French leader Emmanuel Macron and challenger Marine Le Pen qualified on Sunday for what promises to be a very tightly fought presidential election runoff on April 24, pitting a pro-European economic liberal against a far-right nationalist. With projections putting Macron in first place ahead of Le Pen after Sunday’s first-round voting, other major candidates admitted defeat. Except for another far-right candidate, Eric Zemmour, they all urged voters to back the incumbent in two weeks’ time in order to block the far-right. Ifop pollsters predicted a tight runoff, with 51% for Macron and 49% for Le Pen. The gap is so tight that victory either way is within the margin of error. In 2017, Macron won with 66.1% of the votes. Le Pen, who had eaten into the president’s once-commanding 10-point poll lead in recent weeks thanks to a campaign focused on cost-of-living issues said she was the one to protect the weak and unite a nation tired of its elite. “What will be at stake on April 24 is a choice of society, a choice of civilisation,” she told supporters, who chanted “We will win!” as she told them: “I will bring order back to France.” Macron, meanwhile, told supporters waving French and EU flags: “The only project that is credible to help purchasing power is ours.” “DISASTROUS?” Macron garnered 28.1-29.5% of votes in the first round while Le Pen won 23.3-24.4%, according to estimates by pollsters Ifop, OpinionWay, Elabe and Ipsos. Official confirmation was expected later on Sunday. Conservative candidate Valerie Pecresse warned of “disastrous consequences” if Macron lost, while the Socialists’ Anne Hidalgo urged supporters to vote for him “so that France does not fall into hatred.” “Not one vote for Le Pen!” added hard-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, who, according to the estimates, placed third with around 20% of the votes. But they all also had very harsh words for Macron and some of the very unpopular policies of his first mandate as well as an abrasive style that has put off many voters. “Emmanuel Macron played with fire,” Pecresse told supporters. And in a sign of potential troubles for the right, Eric Ciotti, from Pecresse’s party, said he would not back Macron. Zemmour acknowledged disagreements with Le Pen, but said Macron was a worse choice. MACRON WANTS RARE SECOND TERM Not for two decades has a French president won a second term. Barely a month ago, Macron was on course to comfortably reverse that, riding high in polls thanks to strong economic growth, a fragmented opposition and his statesman role in trying to avert war in Ukraine on Europe’s eastern flank. But he paid a price for late entry into the campaign during which he eschewed market walkabouts in provincial France in favour of a single big rally outside Paris. A plan to make people work longer also proved unpopular, enabling Le Pen to narrow the gap. Le Pen, an open admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin until his invasion of Ukraine, had for months toured towns and villages across France. She focused on cost-of-living issues troubling millions and tapped into anger toward rulers. “Marine Le Pen knew how to talk to people about their more concrete problems. During the next two weeks he (Macron) will have to pay more attention to what is happening in France, take a diplomatic break,” said Adrien Thierry, a 23-year old Macron supporter. A Le Pen victory on April 24 would be a similar jolt to the establishment as Britain’s Brexit vote to leave the European Union (EU) or Donald Trump’s 2017 entry into the White House. The EU’s second-largest economy would lurch from being a driving force for European integration to being led by a euro-sceptic who is also suspicious of the NATO military alliance. While Le Pen has ditched past ambitions for a “Frexit” or to haul France out of the euro zone’s single currency, she envisages the EU as a mere alliance of sovereign states. (Reporting by Makini Brice, Tassilo Hummel, Sybille de La Hamaide, Michel Rose, Leigh Thomas, Hedy Beloucif, Gus Trompiz in Paris, Juliette Jabkhiro in La Villetelle, Mimosa Spencer in Sevres, Michaela Cabrera in Henin-Beaumont and Layli Faroudi in Bobigny; Writing by Ingrid Melander and Richard Lough; Editing by Jane Merriman, Andrew Cawthorne and Mark Porter) View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Singer and dancer JoJo Siwa was a no show for Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards which aired Saturday night. Viewers at home wondered why the 18-year-old pop star was nowhere to be seen, especially since her songs played at various points throughout the broadcast. Siwa’s explanation … she wasn’t even invited. Mega Siwa, who has had a complicated relationship with Nickelodeon in recent months, addressed her absence in an Instagram video she shared late Saturday night. She revealed, “I’m not sure why, but I just didn’t getan invite.” The internet sensation followed up her video showing her song One Chance also being played as the awards ceremony with the caption, “So my song made it, but I didn’t.” Fans have been speculating online as to why the Dancing With the Stars alum didn’t even get a chance to be slimed this year. One of the leading theories on Twitter are fans believing Nickelodeon are trying to distance themselves from Siwa, who came out as part of the LGBTQ+ community last year, appearing at recent events with her ex girlfriend, Kylie Prew. Mega A lot of changes have been happening to the young pop star. As Radar recently reported, the Boomerang singer chopped off her signature ponytail earlier this week and is now sporting a spunky pixie cut. Siwa’s fans think the recent changes were maybe considered too risky for Nickelodeon’s young audience, but the haircut debuted long after invites for the event would have gone out. “Being connected to a kids channel shouldn’t mean you have to stop being yourself,” one Twitter user wrote. Another chimed in saying that they were “obsessed” with teenage celebrities who “don’t take sh*t from their network of employment and refuse to be anything but themselves.” Mega This isn’t the first transgression between Nickelodeon and the young pop star. Back in September 2021, Siwa claimed the network wouldn’t let her perform several songs she had previously recorded for the Paramount+ movie The J Team. The singer wrote a series of tweets which declared, “These are MY songs, MY voice, MY writing. Does this seem fair???” She continued calling out the kid’s network, “Working for a company as a real human being treated as only a brand is fun until it’s not.” The tweets have since been deleted. View the full article

Daya Betty takes a Paige out of Bosco’s book for “Catwalk” on RuPaul’s Drag Race. Out of 14 episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 14, there have been FIVE episodes with no elimination and two episodes whose eliminations were later undone. That means HALF of this season has been spent treading water, which is why tonight’s latest twist in a seemingly neverending series of attempts to prolong the season just didn’t have the zing it should have. I simply have nothing left to give, RuPaul! The penultimate episode of the season (reunions don’t count) usually feels as if the stakes are at their highest, but the bizarre pacing has left me deflated. Despite the drawn out season, it still felt too early for all this. Too early for the Tic-Tacs, too early for the music video (or “Rusic Rideo,” if you’re RuPaul/Scooby-Doo). It’s just too much content to allow all five queens ample screentime while they chat with Ru and Michelle, design a custom lewk for the shoot, write lyrics to a verse, learn choreo, film a music video and give advice to their younger selves. On top of all that, they’re trying to cram in a ton of major storylines: Daya’s and Bosco’s roads to redemption, Lady Camden’s late-season surge, Willow and Angeria’s friendship. There’s a lot! A formidable final five on RuPaul’s Drag Race. In some ways, having such a competitive final five doesn’t help. It’s much more satisfying to see if the frontrunner will hold onto their top spot, or who will just barely make the cut for the final four. I have been ranking these queens weekly all season, and I don’t have a strong sense of who’s in the lead or a specific outcome I’m rooting for anymore. The episode feels like CliffsNotes, so consider this a recap of a recap as we take a whirlwind journey back to Making the Video! The Tic-Tac chats are what we’ve come to expect. (And putting them in the same episode as the advice to your younger self feels particularly heavy-handed.) Bosco talks about being reborn after being nearly eliminated. (Cue Ru’s psychobabble about how we must die to really live, or whatever.) Daya discusses living with diabetes; Angeria has eight drag kids back home; Camden overcame losing her brother to suicide; and Willow reflects on how her experience with cystinosis shaped her. If it wasn’t already hard not to fall in love with these queens, this certainly sealed the deal. Even Daya is making an unexpected pivot from this season’s established villain to comeback kid. In advance of starring in Ru’s new video for “Catwalk,” the ladies all design a custom outfit that arrives like magic in the werk room, as if cobbled together by little drag elves. They’re quickly ushered into rehearsal with Michelle and Miguel Zarate, but they’re in full camera-ready drag. Strange, no? The concept is an homage to George Michael’s video for “Too Funky,” and in that regard, it’s spot-on. In terms of the gals a super models, well, let’s just say for Angeria at least, the struggle bus is indeed still running. The queens sport their custom outfits for the “Catwalk” video on RuPaul’s Drag Race. Angeria’s struggle with choreo is the driving thrust of rehearsal, while the rest of the gals seem to pick it up pretty quickly. I am always curious how the queens rehearse or continue working on a garment overnight/when the cameras aren’t rolling, but in this instance, there is no additional time. They go right from rehearsing to filming. As with most of the episode, the shoot flies by in a flash. Angeria barely has any time to pull herself together, but she manages to Mariah Carey her way through the combos. Michelle encourages her to crawl on the runway, which Angeria does not. Next up, Daya Betty seizes the opportunity to brown-nose Michelle by doing an extended feline crawl down the runway for her solo moment. Camden slays the whole thing with perfect choreo, a smartly constructed verse and an exciting, raver fairy-inspired custom outfit. Willow thinks Bosco looks like an “intergalactic mom ready to pickup her kids,” while Bosco calls Willow “the sleepiest super model of all time.” Both are spot on. The final runway is themed “You’re A Winner Baby,” and every queen knocks it out of the park. The finished video is one of Ru’s better products, and a savvy edit makes any weak performances tough to spot. The judges find fault with Angeria’s dancing and Willow’s distracted performance, but I don’t think I’d pick up on either if it weren’t spoonfed to me by the show. In the end, another fierce, fully-realized performance from Daya Betty snatches one last important win. Lady Camden’s expertise nets her a spot in the finals as well. Ru ultimately overlooks Bosco’s catsuit from the Kohl’s Jetsons collection and leaves besties Angeria and Willow to duke it out in the bottom two. Now, here’s the thing. The episode went out of its way to highlight the close relationship between Angeria and Willow, adding emotional gravitas to this lip sync battle. Jujubee and Raven birthed the “besties lip sync in an emotional moment” trope, and it usually doesn’t disappoint. Willow is a mighty mouse (or rat) on RuPaul’s Drag Race. Angeria and Willow absolutely slay Gaga and Beyoncé’s “Telephone” in one of those great lip syncs that feels like two performers putting on a show, not trying to destroy the each other. It’s a crowd-pleaser! And, OF COURSE, neither Angeria nor Willow should be sent home — especially when they’ve managed to stay on top of the competition (and two other queens have already technically been eliminated). But it’s hard to cheer on yet another double-save. What should have been a well-earned and emotionally-satisfying shantay for two top queens feels like just another kink in the winding road to this season’s finale. Yes, it’s frustrating as a viewer, but it’s a bummer it sapped all the oomph out of this performance. It’s not fair to Willow and Angeria, who are much more deserving of another chance than, with respect and all due, Orion Story. This should’ve felt like a bigger moment. So, yeah, Ru saves both, and now we have a final five. The finale would not be complete without Willow or Angeria, but I hope the show learns some lessons for next season. (My pitch: Start with a bigger cast — stay with me — but eliminate people at any point, including rehearsals, in the werk room, after a mini-challenge, etc. It’ll keep everyone on their toes. They could even frame the season inspired by Squid Game, which will be just out-of-date enough for this show to reference by the time next season rolls around. You’re welcome, World of Wonder!) However, this leaves the rankings as wild as ever before. I’ve never gone into a finale less confident in the outcome. It’s tempting to think that makes it more exciting, but it really means I have little personal stake. So, although I do think it truly could be any of the five remaining queens, I’m going to put a stake in the ground on my final rankings: She may have almost been eliminated tonight, but Willow also received heaps of heavy praise from RuPaul, not just on her art, but also on her life. I adored her custom outfit for the video, which included a silhouette of the profile of her face. Plus, her little rat princess (she don’t want no BIG rat princess … ) was adorable (even if it was more mouse than rat). She’s so creative and smart. She ticks every box for RuPaul. I’d have to say the crown is most likely hers to lose.If not Willow, Camden is a safe bet. She’s outperformed all the other queens, even if her momentum didn’t pick up until the back half of this interminable season. She has excelled in every performance-based challenge, often easily outshining her competition. We don’t yet know how the finale will play out with five queens, but it’ll probably be lip sync-based, which favors Camden’s dance background.What a great time for Daya to soar. Returning eliminated queens don’t have the best history in terms of winners, but Daya made good on Ru’s theory she had more to show than what we saw in her debut episode. It was such a savvy move to pick up on Michelle’s not-so-subtle hint to crawl on the stage, and her looks on the runway tonight — both in the video and in front of the judges — were 10s. It’s tough to root for Betty after she got the villain edit, but it also wouldn’t feel unearned if she wins it all.This was a rough episode for Angeria, but don’t count her out. Choreo may be a struggle, but she can PERFORM. So, if the finale is about lip syncing, she’s still got a chance. The judges obviously can see her starpower, and she always delivers on the runway. Her final black gown with asymmetrical ruffles was truly a showstopper without feeling like just another glamour gown. Just because she’s not the most likely winner, doesn’t mean should wouldn’t be deserving.I’ve been a big fan of Bosco all season. I thought she was more commanding during her video performance than she got credit for, though that outfit was indeed hideous. Surviving the LollaPaRuZa and the chocolate bar fiasco is already an achievement. It’s not impossible for her to bring out a big winning swing in the end, but it does feel like she’s already gotten every opportunity to show the world what she can do.How would you rank the queens? Are we heading to a five-way tie in next week’s finale? I wouldn’t count it out! Catch up on our RuPaul’s Drag Race coverage. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Nandita Bose and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on Friday celebrated her historic confirmation as the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court with a declaration that “anything is possible” in America and a reference to fulfilling the dreams of slaves. Jackson, a federal appellate judge, was confirmed to the lifetime post by the Senate on Thursday on a 53-47 vote in a milestone for the United States and a political victory for Democratic President Joe Biden, who nominated her in February. Jackson, 51, will replace the retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, 83, later in the year on the liberal bloc of a court with a 6-3 conservative majority. “It has taken 232 years and 115 prior appointments for a Black woman to be selected to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States,” Jackson said at an event on the White House South Lawn, American flags fluttering in the background. “But we’ve made it – we’ve made it – all of us, all of us,” she said. Biden pledged as a presidential candidate to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court if given the chance. “We’re going to look back and see this as a moment of real change in American history,” Biden said, with Jackson and Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black and Asian American woman to hold that job, flanking him at the podium. Black women are a key Democratic constituency and helped propel Biden to the party’s presidential nomination in 2020 with a victory in its pivotal South Carolina primary. Jackson quoted another famous Black woman, the late poet Maya Angelou, in describing her own historic ascent to the nation’s top judicial body. “‘Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave,'” Jackson said, alluding to America’s legacy of slavery. “In my family, it took just one generation to go from segregation to the Supreme Court of the United States.” Harris noted that Jackson’s confirmation also means that four women will be serve together on the Supreme Court for the first time. The outdoor setting was chosen in part as a nod to COVID-19 safety amid a rise in cases in the Washington region and a raft of top Democrats becoming infected. Given a standing ovation by the audience, Jackson thanked Biden and vowed to rule independently as a justice “without fear or favor” while aiming to uphold the rule of law. Jackson is due to replace Breyer after he departs at the end of the court’s current term, usually in late June. All but three of the 115 justices who have served on the high court have been white, with two Black members, including current Justice Clarence Thomas, and one Hispanic, current Justice Sonia Sotomayor. PAINFUL PROCESS Biden said he knew that his Supreme Court nominee would face a painful and difficult confirmation process. “What Judge Jackson was put through was well beyond that – there was verbal abuse, the anger, the constant interruptions, the most vile, baseless assertions and accusations. In the face of it all, Judge Jackson showed the incredible character and integrity she possesses – poise,” Biden added. During her March confirmation hearings, some Republican senators pursued hostile lines of questioning including accusing her of being too lenient as a trial judge in sentencing child pornography offenders. Jackson said she has received notes of support, including from children. “And our children are telling me that they see now more than ever that here in America anything is possible,” Jackson said. Biden has been suffering in opinion polls, with high inflation and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushing geopolitical concerns to the fore. Jackson’s confirmation could be a needed jolt to excite Black voters and other left-leaning constituents ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm elections in which Democrats risk losing control of one or both chambers of Congress. A Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll completed on Tuesday showed that Biden’s public approval rating inched higher this week to 45%, up 3 percentage points amid stronger support from within his Democratic Party. In the poll, Biden’s job approval among minorities was 53%. Among those invited to the event were members of Jackson’s family, various Democratic lawmakers, labor figures and advocacy groups. Biden thanked the three Republican senators who broke with their party to vote for Jackson: Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney. They did not attend the ceremony. The decision to hold the event outdoors comes after former President Donald Trump’s 2020 nomination ceremony for his Supreme Court appointee Amy Coney Barrett turned into a COVID-19 super-spreader event, affecting many top Republicans who attended. During his four years in office Trump was able to appoint three justices, who together moved the court rightward. (Reporting by Nandita Bose, Alexandra Alper and Jeff Mason; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu and Jason Lange; Editing by Will Dunham, Richard Pullin and Andrea Ricci) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Idris Elba sold weed to Dave Chappelle to support himself during the early days of his acting career in Hollywood. The ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’ star is “not proud of” helping himself learn a living by selling the drug to certain high profile clients after relocating to Hollywood. While on the ‘The Jess Cagle Show’ on Sirius XM, the 49-year-old told hosts Jess Cagle and Julie Cunningham: “It just all fell flat on its face very quickly for about four years. In that time period, I did a lot of things that I’m not proud of. But I did a lot of the things. I used to sell weed. It wasn’t [legal] back then. I did that for a little bit just to pay the way.” In addition, ‘The Wire’ star – who has a 20-year-old daughter Isan with his ex Kim Norgaard and a seven-year-old son Winston with his ex Naiyana Garth- worked as a doorman at a comedy club and as a DJ, jobs he labelled “fascinating” because of all the people who he met. Of his jobs, he said it“is fascinating now. When I meet the comedians you kind of remember the cool English guy with the funny accent and the little hair.” “Dave Chappelle remembers me ’cause he used to buy weed from me. Idris – who is now married to his wife Sabrina Elba – admitted after coming out of drama school in London he “basically went straight into work. Anyway, moving on. But yeah, I did all kinds of things, to be honest.” He said: “I went to a performing arts college and did two years of everything –– scene painting, a little ballet, a little contemporary dance. “I came out and basically went straight into work.” Earlier this year, the ‘Beasts of No Nation’ star shared that he wanted to “lean away from the acting work” to move into making music. Idris said: “Some may think, ‘Well, it will be the death of your acting if your music’s s—.’ I’ve dealt with the internal struggle of that over the years. So now I’m at peace and I’ve chosen: This is what I’m doing, and I’m going to do it. Some will love it and some will hate it.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Karen Freifeld and Luc Cohen NEW YORK (Reuters) -New York state’s attorney general is seeking to compel real estate company Cushman & Wakefield to comply with subpoenas in connection with its civil probe into the Trump Organization, according to court filings on Friday. Attorney General Letitia James has been investigating former U.S. President Donald Trump’s business practices for three-and-a-half years, with a focus on whether his company misstated the values of its real estate properties to obtain favorable loans and tax deductions. James said on Friday that Cushman had conducted appraisals for several Trump Organization properties, including the Seven Springs estate in New York’s Westchester County, the Trump National Golf Course in Los Angeles, and 40 Wall Street in downtown Manhattan. James’ office is seeking to determine whether the appraisals prepared by Cushman were fraudulent or misleading, but Cushman has refused to comply with a subpoena issued in February 2022 and has only partially complied with an earlier subpoena, according to a filing. “While Cushman initially expressed its desire to comply with OAG’s subpoenas, the company nonetheless withheld hundreds of responsive documents and instructed four witnesses not to answer numerous questions based on meritless privilege assertions by the Trump Organization,” the filing from James’ office read. A Cushman spokesperson said the filings did not accurately characterize the company’s responses. “Any suggestion that Cushman & Wakefield has not responded in good faith to the Attorney General’s investigation is fundamentally untrue,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We stand behind our appraisers and our work.” Cushman said in January 2021 that it had cut ties with the Trump Organization. Trump, a Republican who lost his bid for re-election in November 2020, denies wrongdoing and has dismissed James’ probe as a politically motivated witch hunt. James, a Democrat, is running for re-election for her post. James’ pursuit of Cushman’s records comes after she asked a New York judge to hold Trump in contempt of court for not turning over documents she subpoenaed, and to fine him $10,000 for each day he does not comply. On Friday, New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron said he would hold a hearing on April 25 on whether Trump should be held in contempt. (Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler and Richard Pullin) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Simon Cowell is leaving a “substantial amount” of his fortune to animal charities. The 62-year-old TV star recently made a will for the very first time, and Simon has admitted to leaving a significant sum – thought to be in the region of £20 million – to various animal charities, such as the Dogs Trust and London’s Battersea Dogs Home. He said: “The will covers everything I care about – the charities I support. “Look, I hadn’t made a will until recently as I never thought I was going to die. At one point, as you know, I was thinking about being frozen, until I realised they actually chop your head off. “So when I realised I was just going to be a floating head, it was like, ‘Well, that doesn’t sound like a lot of fun’. So that idea went out the window. “Finally, I realised I was gonna die and that I had made absolutely no provisions whatsoever.” Simon – who has an eight-year-old son called Eric with his partner Lauren Silverman – found writing his will to be a depressing experience. But it’s also given the outspoken star some “peace of mind”. Simon – who has worked with the likes of One Direction, Little Mix and Fifth Harmony during his career – told The Sun newspaper: “It was one of the most depressing things I’ve ever done, and one of the hardest. “Unfortunately, you have to – and that day, when it comes, is like, ‘Christ, I’ve now got to sit and talk about my death for the next few hours’. It was dreadful. But the fact that I’ve done it now has given me peace of mind.” View the full article

Published by AFP US actress Jennifer Lopez and actor Ben Affleck, seen at a special screening of Washington (AFP) – Singer and actress Jennifer Lopez has announced her engagement to Ben Affleck, 18 years after they ended their relationship for the first time. The 52-year-old posted video of herself appearing emotional and admiring a green ring in her newsletter, “On The JLo.” Her representatives then confirmed the engagement announcement to People magazine. US media reported that the ring was an emerald-cut pale green diamond. “Bennifer” — the couple’s nickname from their first highly publicized relationship — set the internet alight last year when photos of them together again began circulating. The pair first met on the set of the widely panned movie “Gigli” in 2002. They postponed their planned 2003 nuptials, then announced their relationship was over in early 2004. It will be the fourth marriage for Lopez and the second for actor and director Affleck, who is 49. Lopez was previously married to actor Ojani Noa, dancer Cris Judd and singer Marc Anthony, with whom she shares 14-year-old twins Max and Emme. Affleck was married to actress Jennifer Garner and they are the parents of Violet, 16, Seraphina, 13, and Samuel, 10. Lopez discussed her renewed relationship with Affleck in an interview with People in February. “It’s a beautiful love story that we got a second chance,” she said. View the full article

Published by AFP Ukrainian soldiers sit on an armoured military vehicule in the city of Severodonetsk, Donbas region, on April 7, 2022 Washington (AFP) – The US balancing act in providing substantial military aid to Kiev without provoking nuclear-armed Moscow into a dangerous reaction has grown far more difficult as allegations mount of abuses and atrocities by Russian troops. Since the Russian invasion on February 24, the United States has provided Ukraine with a flood of light arms, like the shoulder-fired Javelin anti-tank missiles that have become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance. But it has also refused to provide heavy weaponry like combat aircraft which could be seen as escalating the conflict and increasing the risk of a nuclear confrontation with Russia — a prospect US President Joe Biden has likened to a potential “World War Three.” American officials justifying the limited range of weapons point out that the Ukrainians are not trained to use many US technologies. Instead they have urged former Soviet-bloc countries to send more familiar Russian-made weaponry to Ukraine. But as haunting reports emerge of alleged war crimes by a frustrated Russian army, the Pentagon has come under growing pressure from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers to do more to help Kyiv repel the invaders. “It seems to me that often our strategy seems to be somewhat schizophrenic -– we want the Ukrainians to defeat Russia, but we’re afraid that pushing Putin into defeat may provoke escalation,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal, an influential Democrat, during a hearing with top Pentagon officials. And Republican senator Kevin Cramer, questioning why the Pentagon failed to back a Polish proposal to provide MiG-29 combat jets to Kiev, asked, “Do you have any evidence Vladimir Putin has ever worried that his massacre of women and children civilians would be escalatory?” Training and logistics Outside a NATO-enforced closure of Ukrainian airspace, raising the risk of direct confrontation with Russian planes, the Pentagon’s options are limited. Heavy US weaponry is not compatible with that used by the Ukrainian army, and training Ukrainian troops in their use would take them off the battlefield for weeks just as Moscow is planning a major assault in the southeastern Donbas region. US Abrams tanks, for example, have turbo engines that consume huge amounts of fuel, requiring enormous logistics support, and their laser-guided targeting systems require extensive training, Pentagon officials say. Similarly, the A-10 “Warthog” combat aircraft, mentioned by Blumenthal as a possible major addition to US military aid to Ukraine, is known for its reliability and durability. But pilots would require weeks of training, and an entire logistical chain would be needed to maintain the aircraft. In response to the criticism, the White House has published an exhaustive list of the military material furnished so far to Ukraine. It includes: 1,400 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, 5,000 Javelin anti-tank missiles, 7,000 anti-tank weapons of other models, several hundred Switchblade drones, 7,000 assault rifles, 50 million rounds of various ammunition, 45,000 sets of bullet-proof vests and helmets, laser-guided rockets, Puma drones, anti-artillery and anti-drone radars, light armored vehicles, secure communication systems and anti-mine systems. On Friday, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby angrily rebuffed the criticism, saying, “We just fundamentally bristle at the notion that we’re not doing enough.” Biden has released $2.4 billion in military aid to Kiev, “which is almost as much as Ukraine’s defense budget,” the spokesman said. Pointing out that the US had also increased its military manpower in Europe from 80,000 to 100,000 and had sent a Patriot air defense battery to Slovakia to compensate for its having sent a Russian-made S-300 system to Kiev, Kirby described the effort as “unprecedented.” “No other country can do that,” in terms of logistics and supplies, he said. “At the same time,” he added, “we are mindful that Russia is a nuclear power.” View the full article

Published by DPA (L-R) Polish President Andrzej Duda, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Australian humanitarian Hugh Evans attend the Stand Up For Ukraine donor conference. Christophe Licoppe/European Commission/dpa An international donor conference for Ukraine refugee aid in Warsaw has brought in donation and loan pledges totalling €9.1 billion ($9.9 billion). “Our courage must be shared by all in the world,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged in a video message on Saturday. “We want to rally the whole world to be able to help the refugees inside and outside Ukraine,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in the Polish capital as she announced the commission’s pledge of €1 billion. In addition to the billions in donations, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) would provide €1 billion in loans for displaced people, she said. This brings the total to €10.1 billion, said von der Leyen. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a video message that Germany would provide an additional €425 million in humanitarian and development aid for Ukraine and its neighbouring states. In addition, there would be €70 million in medical support. “Germany stands by Ukraine,” Scholz said. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war has triggered a humanitarian crisis that is getting worse, noted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who joined the conference. On her way to Poland early on Saturday, von der Leyen expressed shock at the Russian army’s actions in the town of Bucha, where hundreds of bodies of civilians were found following the withdrawal of Moscow troops. “My instinct says: If this is not a war crime, what is a war crime, but I am a medical doctor by training and lawyers have to investigate carefully,” she told journalists. She said she also saw first hand how the Russian military was targeting civilians. “Residential buildings are no military target.” She said the European Commission offered Ukraine a joint investigation team. “Because it is extremely important, that it is well documented, to prevent defeats in court because the evidence is not good enough,” added von der Leyen, who visited Bucha while in Ukraine. The donor conference was convened by the non-governmental organization Global Citizen, the European Commission and the Canadian government. The money is intended for projects run by the United Nations and local aid organizations, for example. The conference was preceded by a social media campaign in which musicians, actors and athletes participated. The motto was “Stand Up for Ukraine.” Pop stars from Elton John to Céline Dion called for donations. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24, more than 2.5 million Ukrainians have already crossed the border into Poland. According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, a total of around 4.4 million people have already left Ukraine. The UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) said this week that 7.1 million people have been forced to leave their homes but remain within the war-torn country’s borders. Before the Russian war of aggression began, 44 million people lived in the country. (L-R) Polish President Andrzej Duda, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Australian humanitarian Hugh Evans attend the Stand Up For Ukraine donor conference. Christophe Licoppe/European Commission/dpa View the full article

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