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Published by Reuters By Michel Rose PARIS (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron refused a Kremlin request that he take a Russian COVID-19 test when he arrived to see President Vladimir Putin this week, to prevent Russia getting hold of Macron’s DNA, two sources in Macron’s entourage told Reuters. As a result, the visiting French head of state was kept at a distance from the Russian leader during lengthy talks on the Ukraine crisis in Moscow. They were photographed at opposite ends of a table so long that it provoked satirical comment on social media and speculation, including by diplomats, that Putin might be using it to send a message. But two sources who have knowledge of the French president’s health protocol told Reuters Macron had been given a choice: either accept a PCR test done by the Russian authorities and be allowed to get close to Putin, or refuse and have to abide by more stringent social distancing. “We knew very well that meant no handshake and that long table. But we could not accept that they get their hands on the president’s DNA,” one of the sources told Reuters, referring to security concerns if the French leader was tested by Russian doctors. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Macron had declined the test and said Russia had no problem with this, but it meant that a 6-metre (20 feet) distance from Putin was required in order to protect the Kremlin leader’s health. “There is no politics in this, it does not interfere with negotiations in any way,” he said. A second source in Macron’s entourage said he instead took a French PCR test before departure and an antigen test done by his own doctor once in Russia. “The Russians told us Putin needed to be kept in a strict health bubble,” the second source said. Macron’s office said the Russian health protocol “did not seem to us to be either acceptable or compatible with our diary constraints”, referring to the length of time that would have been required to wait for the results. When asked specifically about DNA theft, Macron’s office said: “The president has doctors who define with him the rules that are acceptable or not in terms of his own health protocol.” On Thursday, three days after Macron and Putin had their socially-distanced meeting, the Russian leader received Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The two men shook hands, and sat close to each other, divided only by a small coffee table. (Additional reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Editing by Catherine Evans) View the full article

Published by AFP A quarter million gray wolves — long a symbol of the free spirit of the American wilderness — once roamed from coast to coast before European settlers embarked on campaigns of eradication that endured into the 20th Century Washington (AFP) – A US court has struck down a Trump-era decision to remove federal protections for gray wolves across much of the country, in a move hailed by conservationists who said the listing was vital for the species’ recovery. A 26-page ruling issued Thursday by Judge Jeffrey White in a case brought by wildlife groups found the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) had erred in its October 2020 decision to remove the apex predators from the Endangered Species Act (ESA), where they were first listed in the 1970s. Though the decision to delist gray wolves across most of the lower-48 states was taken by the administration of former president Donald Trump, Joe Biden’s government had continued to defend the move in court. “It really is a win for wolves across the country,” Collette Adkins of the Center for Biological Diversity, told AFP. “And I hope it finally convinces the Fish and Wildlife Service to really focus on recovering wolves instead of prematurely removing their protections.” A quarter million gray wolves — long a symbol of the free spirit of the American wilderness — once roamed from coast to coast before the arrival of European settlers and eradication campaigns that endured into the 20th Century. At the time of the decision to de-list them, the wolves had recovered from a low of 1,000 to around 6,000 — but hundreds were subsequently legally killed, either through hunting or conflicts with livestock operators. In one egregious example, hunters in Wisconsin killed over 218 wolves in less than three days in February 2021, using packs of dogs, snares and leg-hold traps — well beyond the state’s own limit of killing 119 wolves. The 2020 decision to remove the species’ protections had been opposed by 1.8 million Americans in public comments, as well as hundreds of scientists, veterinary professionals, and the iconic conservationist Jane Goodall. Even the researchers commissioned by the FWS to carry out a review of the science found it did not support de-listing. “Both under Democratic and Republican administrations, there has been this year-to-year desire to just be done recovering wolves,” said Adkins. “It’s been frustrating because the Endangered Species Act envisions a recovery of these animals so that they can fulfill their ecosystem role,” she added. Research has confirmed the wolf’s importance in thinning over-browsing herds of elk, which in turn prevents destruction of habitat, for example. And a recent study from Wisconsin found that wolves kept deer away from roads, reducing collisions between deer and cars. Adkins said she was hopeful of a change in policy after interior secretary Deb Haaland this week penned an op-ed in USA Today criticizing some western States in the northern Rocky mountain range, which have stepped up hunting campaigns in recent months. The gray wolves of the northern Rockies haven’t been covered by the Endangered Species Act since a 2011 Congressional act, but Halaand wrote she could reinstate federal protections specifically for them if necessary. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Julien Pretot, Karolos Grohmann and Iain Axon BEIJING (Reuters) – Russian skating prodigy Kamila Valieva’s failed drug test prior to her dazzling Winter Games team gold threw the 15-year-old’s Olympic future into doubt and reawakened global anger over Moscow’s doping history on Friday. But the Kremlin – already facing Western diplomatic wrath over a troop buildup near Ukraine – was also defiant in the sporting terrain, calling Valieva’s case a “misunderstanding”. “Hold your head up, you’re a Russian,” government spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged her. “Go proudly and beat everyone.” The teenager became the first woman to land a quadruple jump at the Olympics on Monday, winning a team figure skating gold with the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC). However, the International Testing Agency (ITA) said she had tested positive for banned heart drug Trimetazidine in a urine sample collected by Russian authorities back on Dec. 25 – though confirmation of that only came this week. Valieva is due to compete again on Tuesday in the women’s individual event. By then, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) should have ruled on her case from a closed boardroom on the second floor of a Beijing hotel. She is one of the youngest Olympians ever to test positive. Many fans and fellow athletes were furious at how Valieva came to have a prohibited drug in her system, blaming coaches, medics and authorities rather than her. “It is a shame, and the responsible adults should be banned from the sport forever!!!” said German figure-skating great Katarina Witt. “What they knowingly did to her, if true, cannot be surpassed in inhumanity and makes my athlete’s heart cry infinitely.” One Twitter user under the name “Fran” said despite widespread sympathy towards Valieva, she had to be banned. “Kamila Valieva is absolutely a victim in this scenario. However now that we know she really did test positive to TMZ, they absolutely can NOT let her compete,” the post said. ‘HONEST’ MEDAL? Russian athletes are already competing in Beijing as the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) – without their national flag and anthem – due to past sanctions for state-sponsored doping. The latest controversy blew up after a testing lab in Sweden reported on Tuesday that Valieva’s sample had been positive – the day after she wowed the world at the Capital Indoor Stadium. Questions hang over why there was such a delay between her test and the result, which allowed her to travel to Beijing. Russian Olympic Committee president Stanislav Pozdnyakov said Valieva’s test may have been deliberately held back to coincide with the end of the team competition. The ROC said it was taking comprehensive measures to protect its athletes and to keep an “honestly” won gold. It said Valieva’s tests were negative before and after Dec. 25. In an Instagram post featuring Valieva as an angel, the ROC urged fans to show their support to “a very young, fragile, charming girl” as she “faced the hardest test” of her life. Russia’s own anti-doping agency RUSADA imposed a provisional suspension on Valieva after Tuesday’s result then lifted it a day after on appeal. On Friday, RUSADA said it was investigating her support team and attributed the delay in results to COVID-19 cases at the Swedish laboratory, TASS news agency reported. With their reputations for fairness on the line, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Skating Union (ISU) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have said they will ask CAS to reinstate the suspension. “We have a 100% policy against doping,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said. STILL SKATING Valieva, wearing a navy hoodie and black tights under padded shorts, skated again in practice on Friday afternoon. The controversy over her has delayed the medal ceremony for the team event, with the United States and Japan waiting in the wings after taking silver and bronze positions. Canada finished fourth. Travis Tygart, head of the U.S. Anti Doping Agency (USADA), expressed sympathy for Valieva, but said the U.S. could use new laws to prosecute those around her. “Clean athletes deserve better, and this poor young woman deserves better,” he told Reuters. “She’s getting chewed up (for doping) on top of being abused by the Russian state system.” The United States could prosecute the Russians involved in Valieva’s case under the American Rodchenkov Act (RADA). It was signed into law in 2020 and empowers American prosecutors to seek fines of up to $1 million and jail terms of up to 10 years, even for non-Americans, if actions have affected American athletes’ results. Former WADA deputy head Rob Koehler said the global bodies in charge of eradicating doping were to blame for being too lenient on Russia in the past. “By not banning Russia for four years, there was no need or desire for cultural change by Russian authorities,” he said. “WADA, IOC and CAS favoured the power and influence of Russian sport over clean sport.” (Reporting by Julien Prétot, Iain Axon, Karolos Grohmann, Gabrielle Tetrault Farber and Parniyan Zemaryalai in Beijing and Maria Kiselyova in Moscow; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Leela de Kretser, Ken Ferris, Christian Radnedge and Pritha Sarkar) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jonathan Stempel and Jody Godoy NEW YORK (Reuters) – Sarah Palin fell victim to the New York Times’ power when it published a 2017 editorial linking her to a mass shooting six years earlier, a lawyer for Palin said on Friday at her defamation trial against the newspaper. In his closing argument in federal court in Manhattan, Palin’s lawyer Kenneth Turkel urged jurors to ignore politics and find that the Times and its former editorial page editor, James Bennet, harmed the reputation of Palin, a former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican U.S. vice presidential candidate. Alluding to Palin’s testimony about being a mother and grandmother still living in her Wasilla, Alaska, hometown, Turkel accused the newspaper of being “keen” on “turning a blind eye” to the facts. The crux of the dispute “is power, and lack of power,” Turkel said. “The Times resurrected a horrific, false accusation (that) in its simplest form accused Governor Palin of inciting the murder of six people.” A lawyer for the Times is expected to deliver a closing argument later on Friday. The trial is in its seventh day. Palin has signaled that if she lost, she would use the case to challenge New York Times v. Sullivan, the landmark 1964 U.S. Supreme Court decision that established strong legal protection for American news media organizations against defamation claims by public figures. Palin’s lawsuit concerns “America’s Lethal Politics,” a June 14, 2017, editorial addressing gun control and lamenting the increase in incendiary political rhetoric. It incorrectly linked Palin to the January 2011 shooting in a Tucson, Arizona, parking lot where six people were killed and then-Democratic U.S. congresswoman Gabby Giffords was wounded. The editorial was written after a shooting at a congressional baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia where Republican U.S. congressman Steve Scalise was wounded. Bennet inserted language that drew an incorrect connection between the Giffords shooting and a map from Palin’s political action committee that the editorial said put 20 Democrats, including Giffords, under crosshairs. “The link to political incitement was clear,” the editorial said. It was corrected the next morning. In 3-1/2 hours of testimony over two days, Palin, 58, likened herself to the biblical underdog David to the Times’ Goliath, saying the editorial left her feeling “powerless” and “mortified,” upset her sleep, and caused people to think less of her. But while Palin has for many years had a lower public profile than in 2008, she failed under questioning from Times lawyer David Axelrod to offer specific examples of how the editorial hurt her reputation or caused her harm. Axelrod also focused on various TV appearances that Palin has made. Jurors will decide whether Palin offered clear and convincing evidence that the Times and Bennet acted with “actual malice,” meaning they knew the editorial was false or had reckless disregard for the truth. Palin cannot obtain punitive damages. (Reporting by Jody Godoy and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Jonathan Oatis) View the full article

Published by AFP US woman Denyse Holt always shared her daily Wordle score, so when she missed a day, her daughter immediately knew something was wrong Washington (AFP) – A woman in the US city of Chicago was rescued from being held hostage for hours, after her failure to share her daily Wordle score alerted her family something was wrong. Denyse Holt, 80, was alone at home on the night of February 5 when a man broke into her house and pointed a pair of scissors at her. The man — identified as James H Davis III, aged 32 — was naked and covered with cuts and blood after he broke a window to gain entrance. Police suspect Davis suffers from a mental illness. Holt said Davis assured her he wouldn’t harm her, but he did force her, fully clothed, to take a bath with him before locking her in the basement. “I didn’t think I was going to live,” she told the local CBS station. Holt’s eldest daughter Meredith Holt-Caldwell, who lives in Seattle, first twigged that something was amiss when her mother did not send her daily Wordle score. The game consists of guessing one five-letter word per day in just six tries. Its popularity has skyrocketed since the start of the year, with millions of people playing it daily. Holt said her missing score was “disconcerting” to Holt-Caldwell, who knew her mother never missed this part of their daily routine. Holt-Caldwell called the Chicago police, who conducted a wellbeing check on her mother on February 6, only to discover she was being held hostage in her own home. An hours long standoff between police and Davis ensued. SWAT officers eventually used a stun gun to incapacitate him and rescue Holt. Police say Davis faces a range of charges including home invasion with a deadly weapon and aggravated kidnapping. Holt was in shock after her rescue but otherwise unharmed. “I never thought in a million years this is what was happening, but it was,” she told CBS. “I’m very lucky.” The New York Times announced at the end of January it had bought Wordle for an “undisclosed price in the low seven figures.” Other versions of the game have sprung up around the globe, in languages ranging from German to Urdu. View the full article

Published by Radar Online @brandonbills_/Instagram; Mega Hope it was worth it! DaBaby is now reportedly under police investigation over that bloody brawl with estranged baby mama DaniLeigh‘s brother, Brandon Bills. As Radar reported, a fight broke out at a California bowling alley involving the rapper, his crew and Brandon, who was alone and claimed he had approached the rapper to talk. Soon enough, he was pummeled to the ground and dragged by his hair. Videos showing different angles of the altercation – which spilled out into the actual lanes – confirm that DaBaby threw the first punch, which was followed by incessant kicks and blows from about five or six of his men. It was difficult for anyone to stay on their feet during the ordeal due to the slippery floors, but Bills was also clearly outnumbered. Because evidence shows that he was kicked in the head after he was already on the ground, law enforcement sources say cops are considering the case a potential assault with a deadly weapon. @brandonbills_/Instagram; Mega Though the fight didn’t last long, Brandon did sustain a bloody face. He reportedly refused medical treatment on the scene. As for the apparent aggressor, he fled before cops arrived. Bills later took to his Instagram Story to call out what he deemed an unfair fight, claiming he was “jumped.” “I spoke to you like a man. I said, ‘Come on, let’s talk, me and you, on the side,'” he said, adding that the rapper got no “brownie points” for the supposed victory. Had the floor not been so slippery, insisted Brandon, things would have ended differently. DaniLeigh expressed disgust with the incident, taking to her own Instagram Story to write, “Lame as hell!!!! Running up on my brother on some slippery ass floors with 5/6 of ya boys while he’s by himself and not even touching him!!! Lame and soooo sad!!! I pray this stops now!!! BC this is my family! and I got a daughter to raise. Sad.” The Story – as well as DaniLeigh’s page – are now gone. Mega Bills has been promising to confront the rapper since November, when DaniLeigh was hit with two simple assault charges. At the time, DaBaby had been trying to kick her and their then-3-month-old baby out of his condo following a fight over Plan B. She refused to leave, saying she had nowhere else to go. During the ordeal, the rapper called the cops, who interviewed DaniLeigh and decided to charge her. After the fact, Brandon took to his IG Story to publicly warn DaBaby. “This n—a wanna call the cops on my sis. This n—a wanna disrespect my sis online for the world to see, disrespect my family. This don’t even got nothing to do with my sister no more, bro. This gotta do with me and you.” “When you come to the West Coast, bro, which I know you be out here, you’re going to catch this one-on-one fade, bro,” said Bills. “One-on-one fade to see what happens between me and you. I wanna see how gangsta you are, to see how much of a real man you are.” View the full article

Published by Sports Illustrated By Julie Kliegman The letter calls on the NCAA to not adopt USA Swimming’s policy midseason. View the original article to see embedded media. More than 300 current and former NCAA, Team USA and international swimmers and divers signed on to an open letter sent to the NCAA on Thursday in support of Lia Thomas, an openly transgender swimmer competing on Penn’s women’s team. Athlete Ally, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, and Schuyler Bailar, who swam for Harvard as the first openly transgender person to compete in the men’s category in Division I across all sports, organized the effort and sent the lett… Read More View the full article

Published by Radar Online REELZ Before they were the fully made-up rock stars who co-led KISS into international superstardom, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley were very different people. In fact, one could argue the two had nothing in common except for their shared characteristic of having almost no makings of heavy metal legends. But they proved everybody wrong. REELZ In Radar‘s exclusive sneak peek of REELZ’s upcoming documentary, KISS Frontmen: Gene Simmons & Paul Stanley, the project’s creators peel back the curtain – and the heavy face paint – to explore how Simmons, an Israeli immigrant, and Stanley, the son of Holocaust survivors, managed to reinvent themselves and transform into rock ‘n’ roll characters with out-of-this-world names like Starchild (Stanley) and Demon (Simmons), which were necessary to match their out-of-this-world personas. The original masked singers (not to be confused with the big names competing anonymously on Fox’s singing competition) went on to take the world by storm with spectacular stagecraft that included pyrotechnics, smoking guitars and fire-spitting antics. REELZ “I don’t think they sat down and said, ‘Let’s be dual frontmen.’ It was just like, ‘Hey, you’re doing that, I’m doing this, I guess we’ll [be] frontmen,'” recalls Binky Philips, a high school friend of Stanley. “It was just, ‘I’ll do my thing, you do your thing, and it’ll work.'” Larry Mazer, who managed the group from 1989 to 1994, adds, “I think people accepted right away that this is what this band is: there’s two lead singers.” Mazer goes on to describe how they differed. “Gene Simmons, he’s the one who spit fire during the song, Firehouse. And Paul did all the talking, Paul did all the raps between songs. So he was more of the typical frontman, whereas Gene was the ‘demon.'” The documentary even includes decades-old footage of the bandmates. “Everybody’s got a very vivid imagination,” a much-younger Simmons tells a reporter outside a concert venue. “You kind of get what you see; you see what you get. But it really doesn’t mean anything.” The statement prompts the perplexed man to ask, “But what are you?” “What am I? I don’t know. What am I?” ponders the musician, before sticking out his famously long tongue. Mega Panning over to a glossy-eyed Stanely, the rocker smiles and tells the reporter, “Yeah, you know, I like stars. And I like dressing up. This is kind of, like, something I picked off the racks in the local store.” KISS Frontmen: Gene Simmons & Paul Stanley debuts Saturday, February 12 at 8 PM ET/PT on REELZ. Watch REELZ on DIRECTV 238, Dish Network 299, Verizon FiOS 692, AT&T U-verse 1799 and in HD on cable systems and streaming services nationwide. Find REELZ on your local cable or satellite provider at reelz.com/get-reelz/. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Britney Spears has teased that new music could be on the way. The 40-year-old popstar took to Instagram to share a throwback clip of herself dancing in high heels to her 2007 song ‘Get Naked (I Got a Plan)’, which she called a “tease of what’s to come.” Alongside the clip, she wrote: “This is 13 seconds of me in heels before I dyed my hair purple. This is a tease of what’s to come !!!! My song “Get Naked” !!! Hope you guys are having a great day !!!!! Pss No hair and make up !!! Just PLAYING around folks !!!!”(sic) The iconic popstar has released nine studio albums over the course of her career but has not dropped a record since 2016’s ‘Glory.’ It comes just days after the ‘…Baby One More Time’ hitmaker – who regained control of her multimillion dollar fortune back in November 2021 when the conservatorship governed by her family was terminated – publicly thanked her lawyer Mathew Rosengart for “turning [her] life around” and teased that there are “so many exciting projects ahead.” Alongside a photo of the pair wearing pink outfits for a lunch date, she wrote: “This man has turned my life around … So many exciting projects ahead. We accidentally matched for lunch !!!! Thank you for being so kind and respectful to me always!!!!! Pssss Mathew Rosengart … I simply adore you!!!!”(sic) Back in December, insider told of how the ‘Womanizer’ hitmaker is also looking forward to shaping her own career in 2022. The source told ‘Entertainment Tonight’: “Britney is her own decisionmaker now and she wants to expand her professional horizons. She’s just waiting for the right time for everything.” View the full article

Published by AFP President Joe Biden is under pressure to back an end to mask mandates, but he says he is waiting for his scientific advisors to agree Washington (AFP) – President Joe Biden declared victory too early the last time that Covid seemed to be ending in the United States. This time, he risks being late. The Democrat, elected on a promise to defeat the pandemic, finds himself in an increasingly tricky position as the receding Omicron virus spurs Americans into dreaming of a return to normal life. Many leaders in Republican-controlled states have long tried to act as if Covid-19 was already over, even as their hospitals filled with sick and dying voters. Now, though, with cases truly plummeting, Biden allies are joining in. California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island: in just a few days, the list of Democratic-led states declaring an end or relaxation to two years of mask rules has flipped from a trickle to a flood. Biden? He’s still waiting for the word from the Centers for Disease Control — and the CDC wants Americans to stay masked. “At this time, we continue to recommend masking in areas of high and substantial transmission — that’s much of the country right now in public indoor settings,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky told reporters Wednesday. Biden’s chief spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, defended the president’s caution. “As a federal government we have a responsibility to rely on data, on science,” the press secretary told reporters. “He will make the decision based on what the CDC advises.” Burned by premature declaration The White House insists that Biden is led by medical facts, in contrast to his Republican predecessor Donald Trump’s repeated attempts early on in the pandemic to downplay the global crisis and to ignore warnings from science staff. “He has made the commitment to the American people… (to) listen to the data, listen to the science,” Psaki said. But Biden is also haunted by a premature declaration of victory last summer. Back then, the coronavirus seemed to be under control, with the virus retreating and vaccination drives going strong. He even declared the July 4th national holiday a day of “independence from Covid-19” and held a White House barbecue for 1,000 guests. However, a frightening new variant, Delta, was just taking hold and the even more transmissible Omicron variant had yet to come. Hundreds of thousands more Americans would still die from the disease. Today, the positive trends appear undeniable. The seven day average of daily cases is down 44 percent from a week ago, according to the CDC. Average daily hospital admissions are down nearly 25 percent. Those kinds of figures have many politicians saying it’s time to listen to voters, not just scientists. “We have to learn how to live with Covid as we move from a pandemic to an endemic phase,” New Jersey Governor Philip Murphy, a Democrat, said Monday when he announced the imminent end to mask mandates for school children. Psaki said the White House understands the competing demands. “We recognize that people are tired of the pandemic. I bet all of you are. I certainly know I am,” she said. But “our focus continues to be that everyone follow CDC guidance… and we know that wearing masks effectively reduces transmission.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas were invited to the White House by “long-time fan” President Joe Biden on Tuesday (09.02.22). The ‘Lost Cause’ singer and her sibling – who co-writes and produces his sister’s songs – were joined by their parents Maggie Baird and Patrick O’Connell when they met the world leader while in Washington D.C. for Billie’s ‘Happier Than Ever’ concert at the Capital One Arena. Alongside a photograph with the music stars, Biden tweeted: “When I heard my friends @billieeilish and @finneas were in town for a show, I knew I had to invite them over to the White House. “Great to see you and your family — and I’m glad you got to meet Commander.” An official told People: “Billie Eilish, Finneas and their parents Maggie and Patrick were invited to pay a visit to the White House today to meet President Biden. “Billie and Finneas were supporters during Biden’s campaign and the Biden family have been long time fans of their music. Billie is in D.C. for her world tour, playing at the Capital One Arena tonight.” In November, Biden supporter Billie signed a petition requesting the 79-year-old president send a pardoned turkey to stay at Farm Sanctuary for Thanksgiving. The 20-year-old Grammy-winner joined celebrities, including Joaquin Phoenix, Ricky Gervais and Dave Bautista – in asking others to step away from the tradition of eating turkey for the traditional dinner in favour of trying a vegetarian alternative. She wrote on Instagram: “turkeys are some of the most gentle creatures in the world. and 46 million of them are killed every thanksgiving. “I know it’s hard to change traditions but just keep it in mind (sic)” Farm Sanctuary said in a letter: “As we approach the holiday season — meant to be a time of gratitude and goodwill — we hope you’ll accept our offer to provide sanctuary and the best life possible for pardoned turkeys.” Billie also shared her recipe for vegan and gluten-free peanut butter chocolate chip cookies with fans on Instagram shortly before the holiday season kicked off. She captioned a video tutorial: “These cookies are fully vegan and GF and AMAZING. The flour is literally just oats blended up and they work perfectly. (sic)” Meanwhile, the ‘when the party’s over’ singer recently called for “urgent action” to save the planet amid a “critical decade for our planet”. In a video message, Billie called on world leaders and everyone on Earth to do their bit to limit climate change. She said: “This year our leaders are deciding the global actions required on the environment climate emergency in a critical decade for our planet. “We must stand together and speak up to save our planet, not just for us, but for our future generations and we need urgent, urgent action now and to work together as one.” View the full article

Published by AFP Supporters of a truckers' convoy against the Covid-19 vaccine mandate block traffic in the Canada-bound lanes of the Ambassador Bridge border crossing Ottawa (AFP) – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lambasted trucker-led protests that have shut down central Ottawa in anger at Covid-19 health rules, as France and New Zealand moved Thursday to stop their own copycat convoys. Police in Canada have threatened to arrest protesters who have joined the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge that links Windsor and the US city of Detroit in solidarity with the two-week-long truckers’ protest in the capital. Trudeau told parliament the convoys threaten the country’s economic recovery. “Blockades, illegal demonstrations are unacceptable and are negatively impacting businesses and manufacturers,” Trudeau said in the House of Commons on Wednesday. “We must do everything to bring them to an end.” To the protesters, he said: “You can’t end a pandemic with blockades… You need to end it with science. You need to end it with public health measures.” Earlier, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said US officials were “in very close contact” with Canadian border agencies about the bridge blockade. Psaki also expressed concern about the impact of the protests on the US economy, saying the action “poses a risk to supply chains, to the auto industry.” The suspension bridge is a key trade corridor, used daily by more than 40,000 commuters and tourists, and trucks carrying US$323 million worth of goods on average. Several Canadian and American chambers of commerce and industry associations demanded the bridge be cleared. “As our economies emerge from the impacts of the pandemic we cannot allow any group to undermine the cross-border trade,” the groups said in a joint statement. ‘Freedom Convoy’ A Canadian court on Monday ordered the truckers to stop incessant honking that has upset residents and made sleep difficult. But the noise is spreading. Similar movements have hatched everywhere from New York to New Zealand. On Thursday, police and anti-vaccine protesters clashed on the grounds of Wellington’s parliament, with dozens arrested. In France, thousands of protesters inspired by the Canadian truckers plan to converge Friday evening on Paris, with some aiming to move onwards to Brussels on Monday. Paris police on Thursday moved to prevent the protest from taking place, saying they would ban the so-called “freedom convoys” by deploying to prevent major roads from being blocked and threatening anyone who does so with a hefty fine or jail sentence. The night before, the atmosphere on the streets of downtown Ottawa was one of defiance and celebration. “We’re not going anywhere,” said trucker John Deelstra, smiling from behind the wheel of his big rig, which has been at the demonstration since day one. Planted not far away, Ontario trucker Lloyd Brubacher offered up the same steely resolve. “I’m not going anywhere,” he told AFP, adding that he planned “to fight to the bitter end.” Some 400 vehicles are still camped on Parliament Hill below Trudeau’s offices, against a backdrop of barbecues, campfires and music. “This is a dramatic situation that is impacting the well-being of Canada’s relationship with the United States and impacts immensely how business is able to conduct its operations,” University of Ottawa professor Gilles LeVasseur told AFP. ‘Illegal economic blockade’ The so-called Freedom Convoy began last month in western Canada — launched in anger at requirements that truckers either be vaccinated, or test and isolate, when crossing the US-Canada border. Having snowballed into an occupation of Canada’s capital, the protest has sparked solidarity rallies across the nation and abroad. On Wednesday, Ottawa police warned protesters they could face criminal charges and their trucks could be seized if they continue their “unlawful” clogging of downtown streets. Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association president Brian Kingston said the Ambassador Bridge blockade was “threatening fragile supply chains already under pressure due to pandemic-related shortages and backlogs.” Officials pointed to 5,000 factory workers in Windsor, Ontario being sent home early Tuesday because of the blockade, and several auto assembly plants preparing to close, as Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens expressed fears about the lasting impact on Canadian businesses. Michelle Krebs, a senior analyst with Autotrader in Detroit, said North American assembly plants rely on timely parts deliveries across the bridge. The auto sector “is a significant portion of the economy and an important portion of consumer spending” that has been hard hit over the past year, she said. Canadian Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino warned of “serious dangers for the economy” and called on protesters to “go home!” “This is an illegal economic blockade… against all Canadians,” added Transport Minister Omar Alghabra. Several provinces including Alberta, Quebec and Saskatchewan this week announced a gradual lifting or loosening of Covid-19 restrictions. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Prince Harry has vowed to continue his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales’ “unfinished” work to help end the HIV crisis. The Duke of Sussex was joined by his friend, former rugby captain Gareth Thomas, 47, for a discussion to raise awareness this National HIV Testing Week. The 37-year-old royal urged that getting tested for the viral infection that causes AIDS will play a vital role in the UK’s goal to end HIV cases by 2030. He said: “Every single one of us has a duty, or at least an opportunity, to get tested ourselves or to make it easier for everybody else to get tested. And then it just becomes a regular thing like anything else. “This testing week, especially in the UK, or wherever you are in the world, go and get a test. Let people know that you know your status. Do it!” Harry insisted he could never “fill” his mother’s shoes, but he feels “obligated” to do his best to help “fix things”. He added: “Once you get to meet people and you see the suffering around the world, I certainly can’t turn my back on that. “Then add in the fact that my mum’s work was unfinished, I feel obligated to try and continue that as much as possible. “I could never fill her shoes, especially in this particular space, but because of what she did and what she stood for and how vocal she was about this issue … it’s a converging of all these different pieces. “There’s a way out of it, and if there’s a way out of it and we know there’s a solution, I’m like a typical guy. I just want to help fix things.” Diana worked for years working to change perceptions of HIV/AIDS through her activism. The late princess’ close friend, Sir Elton John – who founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation in the 1990s – recently hailed Diana for her efforts. The 74-year-old music legend said: “She did not distinguish between ‘us’ and ‘them.'” Diana – who tragically died in a car crash in Paris, France aged 36 in 1997 – began her work with AIDS patients in the 1980s, and would make physical contact with those with the disease in order to de-stigmatise the condition. She once said: “HIV does not make people dangerous to know. You can shake their hands and give them a hug. Heaven knows they need it. What’s more, you can share their homes, their workplaces, and their playgrounds and toys.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Dolly Parton has offered to cover 100 per cent of Dollywood employees’ college fees. The 76-year-old country music legend and humanitarian has been praised after her Dollywood Parks & Resorts in Tennessee announced that from February 24, it will foot the bill for the tuition and book expenses “for any employee who chooses to pursue further education.” Dollywood has 11,000 full and part-time and seasonal workers of all ages at their 25 attractions in the US. President Eugene Naughton said: “When our hosts strive to grow themselves, it makes our business and our community a truly better place.” Dollywood is co-owned by Herschend Enterprises and CEO Andrew Wexler insisted: “We care about our hosts’ development and we want their future to grow because of love, not loans.” In 2018, Dollywood announced a $37 million expansion. The ‘9 to 5’ hitmaker’s theme park near Knoxville opened a new nature-themed land, Wildwood Grove, in 2019, which cost more than the whole park did when it was first built three decades ago. Wildwood Grove was the first new area to be added to Dollywood since Wilderness Pass in 2008, and was part of the $300 million investment commitment the Dollywood Company made in 2013. Dollywood President Craig Ross said at the time: “We’ve been investing heavily. This will be one of the final pieces to the $300 million commitment we made over 10 years’ time. We’re actually a few years ahead of schedule.” And Dolly jokingly added: “Yeah we are, and I’m going to have to get out there and make some more money.” The recent addition was heavily influenced by Dolly herself. She said: “I’m not in every meeting of course, and they work without me, but they also like to draw on my childhood, my background and talk about what was important to me as a kid, the kind of things we did as children living in the mountains. “And this is about like kids just exploring nature, and we were part of that because we didn’t have a lot of things like Dollywood and places like that to go then, so we really were part of nature and all the things that this area is all about, so it’s fun to actually sit and throw my ideas out and get excited about theirs. “We were talking about the fact that kids don’t get out in nature enough anymore. Everybody’s so caught up in all their gadgets, all the social media, all the things that they do in their games, their video games and all the stuff that they do that they don’t actually even know there’s an outdoors hardly anymore. “So we felt like this was a great thing that we could do for kids to really explore and to be adventurous and to find their own little true self, their own little natural selves, rather than all the technical stuff.” The generous gesture comes after the Hollywood star made a $1 million donation to help fund the Modena COVID-19 vaccine. View the full article

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Former U.S. President Donald Trump has told associates he has remained in contact with North Korea’s reclusive leader Kim Jong Un since leaving the White House, according to a report on Thursday, as Pyongyang’s recent ballistic missile tests have raised international tensions. “As we know, he had a fixation on this relationship,” New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman told CNN. The revelation is contained in her upcoming book on Trump, “The Confidence Man.” Trump famously declared in 2018 that he and Kim “fell in love” after exchanging letters, but two meetings with the North Korean leader aimed at denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula failed to stem the country’s missile testing and harsh rhetoric. Trump’s claims could not be verified and may not be true, Haberman said. “What he says and what’s actually happening are not always in concert, but he has been telling people that he has maintained some kind of a correspondence or discussion with Kim Jong Un,” she said. It is the only foreign leader Trump has said he remains in contact with, she added. Correspondences with Kim were among the presidential records in 15 boxes the National Archives said it retrieved last month from Trump’s Florida residence, The Washington Post reported. An exchange with Kim would be unusual for a former president, given Pyongyang’s escalating missile tests. North Korea boasted on Tuesday that it is one of only a handful of countries in the world to field nuclear weapons and advanced missiles and the only one standing up to the United States by “shaking the world” with missile tests. A representative for Trump did not immediately return a request for comment. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu) View the full article

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. House panel is investigating former President Donald Trump’s handling of White House records after 15 boxes of official documents were retrieved from his private Florida property in what lawmakers said was a potential violation of the law. House oversight panel chairwoman Carolyn Maloney on Thursday said she was “deeply concerned” the records were not promptly turned over to the National Archives when Trump’s term ended in January 2021 “and that they appear to have been removed from the White House in violation of the Presidential Records Act.” Maloney said she was also concerned by recent media reports that Trump “repeatedly attempted to destroy presidential records, which could constitute additional serious violations” of the law, which requires the preservation of written communications related to the president’s official duties. Separately, a report on Thursday said that White House staff periodically found documents clogging Trump’s toilet in the White House during his tenure. “Staff in the White House would periodically find the toilet clogged” and would then find “wads of clumped up, wet printed paper … either notes or some other piece of paper that they believe he had thrown down the toilet,” in his bathroom, New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman told CNN, citing reporting in her forthcoming book and adding it was unclear what types of documents were found. In a statement, Trump acknowledged the boxes of records were transported to the Archives after “discussions” he called “collaborative” and said he had been told he “was under no obligation” to hand over any White House materials, though he did not say who gave him that directive. “The papers were given easily and without conflict and on a very friendly basis,” he said. Trump also denied the Haberman report as “categorically untrue.” On Wednesday, the Washington Post reported the National Archives and Records Administration had asked the U.S. Department of Justice to probe the former Republican president’s handling of White House records. The New York Times, citing a person briefed on the matter, reported U.S. archivists found possibly classified material from the boxes recovered in January. It was unclear whether the Justice Department would open an investigation, and a its representative did not respond to a request from Reuters. The Archives earlier this week said it retrieved 15 boxes of memos, letters and other documents from Trump’s his private resort in Florida. The Washington Post over the weekend also reported that Trump’s ripping up of documents during his presidency was more extensive than previously known. Maloney, a Democrat, in her letter to the Archives dated Wednesday, asked the agency for more information by Feb. 18. Representatives for the Archives could not be immediately reached for comment. (Reporting by Susan Heavey and Doina Chiacu; editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Nick Zieminski) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Caitlyn Jenner thinks Kylie Jenner “did a great job” giving birth to her baby boy. The 24-year-old make-up mogul – who already has four-year-old daughter Stormi with rap star Travis Scott – recently announced the arrival of her second child and Caitlyn has heaped praise on Kylie. After if she’d met Kylie’s baby boy, Caitlyn told Capital FM’s ‘Capital Breakfast’ show: “Yes. We don’t have a name but it is a boy. There’s a lot of secrets in my family, I have to be very, very careful. “No, Kylie, she did a great job.” Caitlyn also praised Kim Kardashian during the interview, describing the brunette beauty as “the most amazing human being”. The ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ star also can’t wait to meet Kim’s new boyfriend, comedian Pete Davidson. She shared: “He hasn’t been at any function that I’ve been at. And she goes, ‘Oh my God! You’ll love him! We have to go to dinner!’ So anyway that’s going to happen pretty soon. Honestly, I like to see Kim happy. “Kim is the most amazing human being I know out there.” Caitlyn hailed Kim, 41, as being “smart” and “articulate”, and admitted to being wowed by her business skills. She said: “I mean, she’s smart, articulate, highly motivated – you know, how she starts her own companies … She started her first company when she was 18 years old, and she’s continued to do that throughout her life. “You know, she had KKW with her cosmetic company, she built that up. Then she started Skims, which has absolutely taken off…” Tune into Capital Breakfast with Roman Kemp, weekdays from 6am – 10am, on FM, DAB digital radio and Global Player. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English ‘Futurama’ is being revived. Matt Groening and David X. Cohen’s animated sci-fi comedy is set to make a return on Disney+ and Hulu in 2023, after a ten-year hiatus. Billy West (Philip Fry), Katey Sagal (Turanga Leela), Tress MacNeille (Carol), Maurice LaMarche (Kif Kroke), Lauren Tom (Amy Wong) and Phil LaMarr (Hermes Conrad) are among returning cast members. However, John DiMaggio – who voiced Bender in the show’s original run – has not yet been added to the cast. Looking forward to the new episodes, David said: “I’m thrilled to have another chance to think about the future … or really anything other than the present. “It’s a true honour to announce the triumphant return of ‘Futurama’ one more time before we get cancelled abruptly again.” Marci Proietto, the head of 20th Television Animation, added: “What I love about animation is that it’s possible for a successful show to take a pause and then resume years later, even on a different platform, and pick up right where it left off. ‘Futurama’ is one of those shows. “The excitement about returning Matt and David’s genius creation for all-new episodes has been off the charts. I’m thrilled that this incredible team will get to tell more stories, and that our Planet Express crew will have more adventures together. “It’s a win for the fans who have loved the show since the beginning, and for the ones who will now discover it for the very first time.” ‘Futurama’ first aired on Fox from 1999 to 2003, and was revived in 2007 with four direct-to-DVD movies that subsequently aired as 30-minute episodes on Comedy Central. The new episodes will join the 140 original episodes, with production work beginning later this month. View the full article

Published by AFP Schools have been focal points of US political debate throughout the pandemic, with heated confrontations over masking policies, social issues like race and history, and now sexual and gender identity Washington (AFP) – Swelling mobilization by American conservatives over what is taught in schools has led several states to push for new curbs on what educators can discuss related to sexual and gender identity — opening yet another front in the country’s rolling culture wars. Schools have increasingly become flashpoints for political confrontation in the United States, with heated standoffs throughout the pandemic over masking policies, and regular flare-ups over sensitive questions of race, history and sexuality. The most recent battle is playing out in Florida, where a bill that passed a key hurdle in the Senate Tuesday would ban teachers from discussing questions of gender identity or sexual orientation with students below a certain age. Derided by its opponents as the “Don’t say gay” bill, it has the backing of Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, who is widely expected to run for president in the next election. Groups from the local level up have condemned the bill as anti-LGBTQ, while the White House weighed in Tuesday by vowing to protect students from such “harmful” legislation. “Across the country, we’re seeing Republican leaders take actions to regulate what students can or cannot read, what they can or cannot learn, and most troubling, who they can or cannot be,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. Republicans say they too are motivated by a desire to protect children — from subjects they believe to be inappropriate for a young age. But Brandon Wolf, press secretary of the non-profit Equality Florida, believes that by framing these questions in such a way, the new law would harm children beginning to identify as LGBTQ, by suggesting that “just by their existence, they are inappropriate.” “This will kill kids,” warned Chasten Buttigieg, the husband of Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, in a tweet directed at Governor DeSantis. Buttigieg cited a survey from the Trevor Project indicating that 42 percent of LGBTQ youth seriously considered suicide last year, asking: “Now they can’t talk to their teachers?” Natasha Poulopoulos, a pediatric psychologist in Miami, makes the case that being able to discuss sex and gender issues “in a safe and open space is actually reducing suicide attempts.” “It’s not to encourage kids to be talking about sexual activity,” she says, but rather have them “reflect on what they feel internally and who they may be attracted to,” and that “it’s okay to talk about these things.” Parents’ rights On the other side of the debate, Tina Descovich, co-founder of Moms for Liberty, a group that supports the Florida bill, denies it amounts to “discrimination.” “It is allowing parents to raise their children.” Descovich cited the example of a woman whose 13-year-old had met with school counselors about their gender identity without notifying her, including to decide “which restroom she was going to use” “We think that is wrong,” Descovich told AFP. “I think that that is a discussion for the home, and I think there’s age appropriate discussions,” she added. Sign of the tensions around the issue, a California mother named Jessica Konen has sued her local school district, arguing that two teachers encouraged her daughter, then in sixth grade, to use a male name and pronouns without discussing the issue with her. The California Teachers Association, which refused to discuss specifics of the lawsuit, noted that it is “concerned about a political climate right now in which outside political forces fuel chaos and misinformation and seek to divide parents, educators and school communities.” ‘Recruited’ Bills similar to the Florida measure have been introduced across the country. In southwestern Arizona, teachers would be required to tell parents if their child brings up their gender identity. In midwestern Indiana, a bill would make schools ask parents’ permission before discussing sexual orientation or transgender issues. In the central state of Oklahoma, proposed legislation seeks to ban school library books focused on “sexual preferences” or “gender identity.” Activists have seen this playbook before: In the late 1980s, after sex-ed courses were updated to address the HIV epidemic, similar legislation spread across the country, out of fear children would be “recruited into homosexuality,” recalls Clifford Rosky, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Utah. Despite a trend in recent years of repealing such laws, Rosky says, they remain in place in six states including Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. In Florida itself, meanwhile, the law today is clear: schools are instructed to teach “the benefits of monogamous heterosexual marriage.” View the full article

Published by PopCrush Heather Dubrow recently opened up about how she almost missed it when her 15-year-old daughter Kat came out as a lesbian in the family group chat. “Kat decided to drop in our family group text, ‘By the way, I’m a lesbian,’” The Real Housewives of Orange County star spilled to People. “I didn’t see it, and I was mad because the dogs pooped in the house, so I wrote back, ‘Who let the dogs poop in the house?’ It was a total mom fail, and they’ve never let me forget that.” After realizing what she had missed, Heather recalled she only wanted her daughter to feel loved and accepted. “All I cared ab… Read More View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Lately, a new day means a new controversy for Adele. Shortly after sparking engagement rumors on the red carpet of the 2022 Brit Awards on Tuesday, the singer-songwriter moseyed on into London’s O2 Arena, where she nabbed the prize for Artist of the Year – a new category created to do away with separating nominees based on their sex. Artist of the Year merged the old Best Male and Best Female Artist categories, making it a gender-neutral honor that’s arguably harder to win. Upon accepting the trophy, however, Adele decided to boast about how much she loves being a woman in a speech that many online felt was rooted in transphobia. “I understand why the name of this award has changed, but I really love being a woman and being a female artist. I do!” proclaimed the performer, eliciting cheers from the audience. “I’m really proud of us. I really, really am.” Mega The backlash on social media was almost instant, as the musician has now been branded a TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist), which is defined as a feminist who excludes the rights of transgender women from their advocacy of women’s rights. “Please, no, ADELE can’t be a TERF,” a “staunch feminist” tweeted to his thousands of followers. “Who’d have thought Adele was a transphobe and would use her platform to call for the destruction of the trans community,” remarked another disappointed Twitter user. “Especially the confused teenagers.” Others lamented that they’d “lost a lot of respect for Adele” and would no longer “spend a cent on her music.” But these aren’t the only people who are upset with the Easy On Me hitmaker. Late last month, the performer abruptly postponed her Weekends With Adele residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada – just one day before her three-month stay was scheduled to begin. Thousands of fans who had already purchased tickets and/or made accommodations – some of which were even en route to Sin City – went from disappointed to furious when it was revealed that her initial excuse of COVID-19 restrictions was an alleged coverup for the reported truth – that she felt the show was not up to her ridiculously high standards. Mega “Adele’s been crying and couldn’t get through a single full rehearsal for the past month,” a source linked to the management team at Caesars previously told Page Six. “Just constantly on the phone with __Rich [Paul]__ … loudly shouting and sobbing.” “There are rumblings that there are stresses related to Adele’s relationship,” added Scott Roeben, a Vegas-based reporter for Casino.org. In an apparent effort to combat both negative narratives, the pop star gave her rumored fiancé an uncharacteristic shoutout on Instagram. “Hiya, so I’m really happy to say that I am performing at the Brits next week!!” she captioned a selfie from last Tuesday. “Anddddd I’ll also be popping in to see Graham [Norton] for a chat on the couch while I’m in town too! I’m looking forward to it! Oh, and Rich sends his love.” Days later, the couple was photographed leaving celebrity hotspot Mr. Chow. View the full article