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Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The executive committee of the Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) formally censured U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema over her vote against changing rules in the chamber to steer through voting rights legislation, the state party said on Saturday. Sinema was one of two Democratic senators who joined with Republicans to vote against lowering the Senate’s 60-vote threshold to 50 so that the Senate could pass voting rights bill without bipartisan support. The censure is mostly a symbolic move, but it does highlight criticism that Sinema has faced from members of her own party, with polling indicating that Sinema is facing a rising amount of backlash from Democratic voters. Raquel Teran, the state party’s chair, said in a Saturday statement they supported Sinema’s votes to pass legislation to provide more coronavirus relief and to improve the nation’s infrastructure. “However, we are also here to advocate for our constituents and the ramifications of failing to pass federal legislation that protects their right to vote are too large and far-reaching,” Teran said. “While we take no pleasure in this announcement, the ADP Executive Board has decided to formally censure Senator Sinema as a result of her failure to do whatever it takes to ensure the health of our democracy,” Teran added. The failure to pass the legislation was a major blow to President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda and for voting rights groups, which had been fighting a slate of laws passed in Republican-controlled states that election experts have said were designed to suppress voting, especially among Black, Hispanic and poor voters. Experts and voting rights advocates say the states have passed the legislation largely to back former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was marred by rampant fraud. In Sinema’s home state of Arizona, state Senate Republicans contracted a private company called Cyber Ninjas to perform a so-called “audit” of the 2020 election. Election officials discredited the probe, with Arizona’s Secretary of State issuing a report saying the election was secure and accurate and calling the review “secretive and disorganized.” The company has since shut down after a judge ordered it to pay $50,0000 a day in fines, according to media reports. Sinema co-sponsored the Senate version of election overhaul legislation, but has publicly stated repeatedly she opposed changing filibuster rules. Sinema’s office shrugged off the censure in a statement. “During three terms in the U.S. House, and now in the Senate, Kyrsten has always promised Arizonans she would be an independent voice for the state – not for either political party. She’s delivered for Arizonans and has always been honest about where she stands,” a spokesperson said. (Reporting by Makini Brice; Editing by Aurora Ellis) View the full article

Published by Reuters (Reuters) -A 1,500-acre fire near the coastal community of Big Sur, California triggered evacuations and closed part of a major highway, state and local officials said on Saturday. The Colorado Fire, which has been active since Friday, was 5% contained, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said. A 20-mile stretch of State Highway 1, a scenic north-south route on the Pacific Coast, was closed from near the beach town of Carmel-by-the-Sea to Andrew Molera State Park. About 400 people in Monterey County were evacuated from 1,100 structures, a spokeswoman for the American Red Cross said, citing county reports. Four people and a pet stayed overnight at a shelter in a local school, the Red Cross said. California has long had an active wildfire season, but in recent years, fueled at least in part by climate change, it has grown longer and more punishing. Last year, the wildfire season started unusually early amid an ongoing drought and low reservoir levels, Cal Fire said. In January 2021 alone, the state battled 297 fires on 1,171 acres, the office said. The Colorado Fire is the only fire listed on Cal Fire’s incident list so far in 2022. This year, California is also grappling with the Santa Ana winds. A high wind warning was in effect for the area, with possible gusts of up to 70 miles per hour (112.65 kph), according to the National Weather Service. But winds had improved and were forecast to remain light throughout the weekend, the Red Cross said. (Reporting by Makini Brice in Washington; editing by Diane Craft and Cynthia Osterman) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jonathan Stempel and Helen Coster NEW YORK (Reuters) – Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, has spent 4-1/2 years battling the New York Times over an editorial she said falsely linked her to a deadly Arizona mass shooting that left a U.S. congresswoman seriously wounded. On Monday, Palin is poised to try to begin convincing jurors in a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court that the newspaper and its former editorial page editor James Bennet defamed her. The trial before U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff marks a rare instance of a major media company defending its editorial practices before an American jury. Opening statements could take place as soon as Monday, following jury selection. Palin bears the high burden of showing by clear and convincing evidence that there was “actual malice” involved in the newspaper’s editorial writing process. “This is a lawsuit over an editorial, essentially an opinion. This is a potentially dangerous area,” said Roy Gutterman, a Syracuse University law and communications professor. “If we give public officials a green light to litigate on editorials they disagree with, where’s the end?” Palin, 57, has accused the Times of defaming her in a June 14, 2017, editorial linking her political action committee (PAC) to the 2011 mass shooting in an Arizona parking lot that left six people dead and then-U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords wounded. Palin is seeking unspecified damages, but according to court papers has estimated $421,000 in damage to her reputation. The editorial said “the link to political incitement was clear” in the 2011 shooting, and that the incident came after Palin’s PAC circulated a map putting 20 Democrats including Giffords under “stylized cross hairs.” It was published after a shooting in Alexandria, Virginia in which U.S. Representative Steve Scalise, a member of the House of Representatives Republican leadership, was wounded. Palin objected to language that Bennet had added to a draft prepared by a Times colleague. She said the added material fit Bennet’s “preconceived narrative,” and as an “experienced editor” he knew and understood the meaning of his words. The Times quickly corrected the editorial to disclaim any connection between political rhetoric and the Arizona shooting, and Bennet has said he did not intend to blame Palin. Bennet’s “immediate sort of emergency mode or panic mode” upon learning what happened strongly suggests he had been unaware of any mistake, said Benjamin Zipursky, a Fordham University law professor. “Negligence or carelessness – even gross negligence – is clearly not good enough for Palin to win,” Zipursky said. SUPREME COURT PRECEDENT It has been 58 years since the U.S. Supreme Court adopted the “actual malice” standard in the landmark decision called New York Times v. Sullivan, which made it difficult for public figures to win libel lawsuits. Two current justices, conservatives Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, have suggested revisiting that standard. Palin has signaled in court papers she would challenge the Sullivan case precedent on appeal if she loses at trial. Don Herzog, a University of Michigan law professor, said Palin would have trouble showing that the Times “subjectively doubted or disbelieved” the truth of what it presented as fact. “In context, and given the kind of publication it was, this is a matter of opinion and so simply not actionable in defamation,” Herzog said. While the trial could spotlight office politics at the Times, the newspaper could argue that mistakes do happen under deadline pressure. It has said that despite Palin’s efforts to demonstrate its “liberal bias” and views on gun control, the editorial was never about her and did not undermine her reputation. “Gov. Palin already was viewed as a controversial figure with a complicated history and reputation, and in the time since the editorial was published, Gov. Palin has prospered,” the Times said in a Jan. 17 court filing. The trial is expected to last five days. Gutterman said he expects the Times to prevail. “It’s unfortunate that this happened at one of the most prominent newspapers in the county, on deadline, but even a mistake does not rise to actual malice,” Gutterman said. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Helen Coster in New York; Editing by Will Dunham and Noeleen Walder) View the full article

RuPaul’s Drag Race Recap — Week 3. The Balls Drop. RuPaul’s Drag Race season 14 queens together at last.Shower of Shenanigans, Rupaul’s Drag Race New Golden Rule Leave it to RuPaul’s Drag Race to follow up a two-part premiere that highlighted the show’s simple strengths with an overstuffed episode full of shenanigans. Right off the top, the two halves of the cast are united, and it’s clear this is already a big group. Then, Ru appears to announce he’s also bringing back the first two eliminated queens, Orion Story and Daya Betty. Neither elimination felt particularly unjust, so these returns do little more than sap the season’s early momentum. Just when you think the stakes couldn’t be more meaningless, Ru introduces a new wrinkle to the competition. This season, each queen will receive a wrapped chocolate bar. They will open their bars only after losing a lip sync. If they have a gold bar inside, they get another chance. No, you didn’t pass out on your keyboard and navigate to a recap of the new Timothee Chalamet Willy Wonka. (Timothee is still somehow a bigger twink than anyone here.) Ru has decided to go full Wonka and introduce a new element of chance to the proceedings. Sure, this adds another thrilling, surprise element, but seeing someone get a second chance (or double-shantay) is so meaningful, because they earn it. Even when Ru decides to bring back Shangela over and over, it at least feel like she did something to earn that attention. In contrast, this feels cheap. Week 1 queens meet the rest of the cast on RuPaul’s Drag Race.But whatever! It’s Ru’s rules. (Ruules? Ru-les? You get it.) So, the drag queens all go one-by-one, grab a chocolate bar, sign some paperwork, and what this even remotely has to do with drag, I have no idea! Couldn’t they at least hide a golden ticket in a dental dam? A bottle of poppers? A lipstick tube? Before we can fully unpack the creative choices, Ru drops another bomb. We’re not just getting one ball, we’re getting TWO BALLS this week, each with three lewks. The first week queens will serve at the Hide ‘n’ Chic animal print-themed ball, while week two ladies will walk the runway in the Red White and Blue Ball. With Daya and Orion back in the mix, that’s FORTY-TWO (42) outfits. One Of These is Not Like The Others — Hetero Queen? And still, this episode crams a ton of content into the werk room scenes. While the queens perform the usual pre-ball sewing frenzy, we get a whirlwind collection of scenes that span the tragic to the disgusting and everything in between. Maddy Morphosis’s heterosexuality comes up for a brief, but interesting conversation. Kornbread asks Maddy if she still cares what other people think of her. Maddy takes this opportunity to talk about how she doesn’t care if people think she’s gay, and being part of the community made her feel more comfortable with herself. Sure, yes, ok. We love to see it. But, I first took Kornbread’s question to mean how does Maddy deal with the opinions of other people IN THE DRAG/LGBTQ+ community about her participation in drag. Considering the history of drag as a refuge for the LGBTQ+ community precisely because they had so few other avenues to live authentically, taking up space as a straight man is certainly worth discussing. It’s not a straight man “isn’t allowed” to do drag, but when a straight man is taking up airtime in one of the few shows dedicated largely to the LGBTQ+ community, it warrants some examination. I don’t mean to imply Maddy has never considered this or had those conversations, personally. I just sort of wish the show used this as an opportunity to dig a little deeper. On a show by and for LGBTQ+ people, it just felt kind of gross to dedicate even a moment to a story about drag teaching a straight man not to care if anyone thinks he’s gay! Save that for Drag U and Secret Celebrity Drag Race. Especially when the room is full of tales already desperately underserved on television. In this episode alone, we got to hear a little bit about Kerri, a trans woman of color, seizing her agency and leaving her disapproving family. We saw firsthand how deeply affected Kornbread is still to this day by her experience as an effeminate young person of color. Orion Story shares how drag is her way to pay homage to her mother, who loved Drag Race and struggled with mental health. Kornbread and Willow bond as Kornbread helps Willow warm her hands — a symptom of her health conditions that makes it painful to work. Before you go canonizing Kornbread for her heart of gold, she also paid Daya Better $1,000 to eat a dead dragon fly found on the floor, which played out like a very specific findom scenario. Kornbread’s face after paying Daya Betty to eat a dragon fly on Fear Factor RuPaul’s Drag Race. 42 Outfits Later… Somehow, in the midst of all that, the ladies still put together 42 ensembles. The Hide ‘n’ Chic queens compete in zebra-print resort wear, leopard-print evening wear and a custom-made animal print bridal piece. The other gals are doing red resort, white evening wear and a red, white and blue bridal. There are so many runway walks that at one point Ru’s track “Kitty Girl” actually restarts mid category, and there’s something chilling about hearing it loop back to the start. (Sort of like John Mulaney’s old Salt and Pepper Diner bit.) I’ll put more thoughts on everyone’s lewks in the rankings, but let’s fast forward to the judges’ tops and bottoms. Ru is in rare form tonight, blaming it all on coffee enemas, but it yields some pretty insane feedback. Most notably, in response to June Jambalaya’s struggle to dress her body type, Ru tells her to just copy other people. That’s good advice for everyday life, but coming from the host of a show whose winning criteria is 25 percent UNIQUENESS, it’s, uh, strange to hear. Ru is basically shrieking not to reinvent the wheel from the same seat she’s repeatedly told girls they need to give everything a unique spin. Originality is the least of June’s problems. The judges hate on the short wig on her first lewk. She was so swallowed by leopard-print fabric she couldn’t walk in her evening wear. Her original design was so poorly made, she tried to hide it behind an overly large bouquet. The judges are also unimpressed with Orion and nail her for over-accessorizing her outfits with too many straps, bows and animal jaws. Michelle calls out Jorgeous for a bridal gown that’s not very bridal, but it’s not enough to keep Jorgeous from the top three. Ru tells her she was born to do drag, which is pretty high praise. Angeria also scores another strong performance this week with three flawless presentations. It just wasn’t enough for the win. That goes to Willow. Even though her fashions may read a bit more pedestrian (her word!), each one offered a little something different. She served pastel zebra print that felt right off a pack of Fruit Stripe gum. She did black-on-black leopard and made a bridal jumpsuit. Ru loves it all, and Willow clocks the win. Less successful is Maddy. The feedback can be reduced to “not feeling the fantasy,” though, to be fair, most of Ru’s criticism came in the form of literal incoherent noises. It does sound crazy, but if you compare Maddy’s vibe to, say, Jorgeous, you can see what Ru is saying. It’s less about the differences between LGBTQ+ and straight queens, and it’s more about putting on a wig/makeup versus DOING DRAG. Maddy goes up against June Jambalaya in a lip sync to “I Love It” by Kylie. June takes it all off — dress, wig, shoes — and dances actuals circles around Maddy. It’s chaotic. It’s too much. And yet it’s not enough. After two sloppy weeks, Ru bids June adieu, giving Maddy another chance to prove herself. Now that’s we’re all together, and I think this eliminations is going to stick, let’s review where we’re at in our rankings. Angeria walks the runway on RuPaul’s Drag Race. 3. The Rank of the Rankings What’s not to love about Angeria? All three outfits stunned on the runway tonight. She looked light and effervescent in her red, short resort dress. The white evening wear was jaw-dropping, and her custom-made bridal gown looked just as good as her other two. In addition to the fashion, Angeria has a great personality that’ll surely carry her far.I can’t get enough Kornbread. Her safari-style zebra resort lewk was my favorite of hers, but all three were solid. I did think Kornbread’s facial expressions got distracting on the runway this week, but she’s clearly come prepared. She’s another queen with a big personality, which is leading to a lot of screentime. I think she’s in this for the long haul, and I’m excited to see what else she can do.Willow Pill keeps surprising. Usually, when a girl comes in wearing platform sandals telling everyone they’re underestimating her, they usually … aren’t. Not the case here. She described her own fashions tonight as pedestrian (and also “corporate lesbian rich wedding”), but it was all so creative and purposeful. Plus, we know Ru is fan.There’s a lot of competition in the middle of this pack, but I still think Bosco is a hair ahead of the rest. All three outfits were very Bosco, but didn’t feel repetitive. Even when she does straight-up Bettie Page cosplay, she gives it a twist with her makeup or silhouette. I loved how she combined prints in her second two looks.Jorgeous is a star, no doubt. She’s delivered Jorgeous, jorgeously. She looked easy, breezy, sexy all night. Her white evening wear was particularly chic, offering a nice contrast to the other overly-embellished gowns. I worry her sexiness won’t carry as far as Bosco’s vision, but maybe there’s moregeous to come.It was a little shocking to see Jasmine Kennedie miss out on a top placement this week. (She should have snagged Jorgeous’s spot.) She served some of the strongest lewks tonight, including a campy crustacean theme to her resort wear. Her evening wear looked right out of Carrie Bradshaw’s And Just Like That storage unit, and I wish we spent more time appreciating her custom created third outfit. She’s a killer dancer and a talented designer; Ru is beguiled by her references. Lots of potential here to become a frontrunner.Kerri had me until the last look. She looked great as vision of ’90s fabulousness in a zebra-print dress and hot pink stockings. I loved the chic spinning headpiece with her purple leopard print second look. While her custom-sewn final outfit wasn’t amazing, she sold it serving face-face-face like no one else on stage.I’m all in for Lady Camden‘s ’90s girl-group fantasy, so I was disappointed to see her stray from that vision this week. She was hardly recognizable in her red resort wear, which read more like something a Disney villainess would wear to the beach. It was pretty, but I wasn’t getting Posh Spice. I was getting Old Spice. I liked the idea behind the architectural element of her white evening wear, but in execution the prop was doing most of the heavy lifting (and hampered her presentation a bit).If I were just judging photos, Alyssa Hunter might be number one this week. All her outfits were incredible, sexy, high-fashion. However, I’m still struggling to remember Alyssa. It’s beautiful clothes, but she’s barely clocking any camera time in the werk room. She slays the runway with exceptional pieces, but there’s not much in her performance. There’s plenty of time for me to be proven wrong, but I’m curious to see how she responds to acting/comedy challenges.After last week’s cheerless cheer performance, DeJa Sky bounced back this week on the runway. A real seamstress, all of her gowns were really spectacular. I particularly loved the shade of red she used in her final red/white/blue bridal gown. It made hers stand out because it was less Star-Spangled than the rest. I’m still cautious after the attempted comedy debacle, but if she can prove capable in a non-design challenge, she may be one to watch.I dug Daya Betty‘s American Horror Story-esque (Pepper, season two) resort wear. And her American Horror Story-eque (Gaga, season five) white robe evening wear with an exaggerated sleeve. I even liked her ’80s rock bridal dress. I think her proportions are still a bit off, and I never have a lot of faith in a queen that’s already been eliminated, so she’ll need to work twice as hard to prove herself.The judges nailed Orion Story. It’s a matter of taste. I love where Orion is getting her character — I could watch a Peg Bundy-inspired queen all day — but she needs to hone that vision.There’s a killer performer and fierce queen somewhere in June Jambalaya, but wow does it feel like she’s being struck with a few really poorly-timed rough days. There were problems with all three times she appeared on the runway tonight. The lip sync felt unhinged. She definitely earned this bottom placement. I just personally would rather see more from her than …Maddy Morphosis. It feels like we’ve seen the most Maddy can do. I had problems with all of Maddy’s presentations. They felt off the Forever21 rack. The fact she told Ru she doesn’t get design is a big red flag. This is an art, honey! You gotta know … art? Can a straight man do drag? Maybe! I’m just not so sure about this one.How would you rank the queens? Catch up on our RuPaul’s Drag Race coverage. View the full article

Published by AFP An eight-year-old child receives the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at the Beaumont Health offices in Southfield, Michigan on November 5, 2021 Washington (AFP) – The Covid-19 pandemic took a deadly toll on adults in the United States for two years while largely sparing children from the dire statistics. But the rapid spread of the Omicron variant led to record pediatric infections and hospitalizations in the country, and anti-vaccination misinformation that tells parents the shots are dangerous is adding to the risk. The chances of young people dying from Covid-19 remain low. The shots greatly reduce the odds of severe illness, and vaccinated mothers may pass protection to their babies, but vaccine hesitancy pushed online leaves both parents and children vulnerable. From worries that the shots were developed too quickly, to false claims that the jabs can impact future fertility, physician Wassim Ballan of Phoenix Children’s Hospital said combating misinformation has become part of his job. “Unfortunately, a lot of times when we’re having this time with a family to discuss these things is when the child is already in hospital,” he said of the problem. Parents need to understand that the vaccines are “the most important tool for protection,” especially to avoid multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, a rare and dangerous complication that can follow a mild Covid-19 infection. Only 27 percent of children aged five to 11 have received a first dose of the vaccine in the United States. Hospitalizations reached a pandemic high of 914 children per day this month, up dramatically from the previous peak of 342 in September 2021. Protection from the womb The first week of January 2022 saw Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston report 12 babies in intensive care with Covid-19. Babies are too young for the Covid-19 shot, but Kathryn Gray, attending physician of maternal-fetal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said research increasingly shows that vaccination during pregnancy leads to antibodies safely being transferred to the baby, offering limited protection. Expectant mothers have also shown hesitancy to get the shot after they were excluded from initial clinical trials. Gray is among those who are monitoring the situation. “To date there have been no safety signals” in the data, she said, adding that she has “a lot of confidence” in telling patients the shot is safe during pregnancy for mother and baby. “If they truly want to protect their infants, getting vaccinated is the thing that will protect them the most at this time.” Health agencies across the globe say the same, but the initial lack of data continues to be exploited in vaccine-opposed messaging on social media. Posts on Facebook and Twitter claimed that stillbirths rose following the push to vaccinate pregnant people, even though going unprotected against the disease is the greater risk. Epidemiologists Carla DeSisto and Sascha Ellington from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said data from 1.2 million US births showed “no evidence the rate of stillbirths is higher overall during the pandemic.” But their research did reveal the risks of contracting the virus while pregnant. “Compared to pregnant people without Covid-19, pregnant people with Covid-19 are at increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes including preterm birth and stillbirth,” the researchers said by email. ‘Unvaccinated milk’ Breastfeeding has also been the target of misinformation, with posts claiming that babies suffered rashes or even death upon nursing from a vaccinated mother. The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine recommends vaccination for those who are lactating and says there is no reason to stop breastfeeding upon receiving the vaccine. Misinformation became increasingly common in private Facebook groups where parents connect to share and sell breast milk, group moderators told AFP. In one of the largest such groups, Bethany Bristow said she was concerned by requests for “unvaccinated milk.” The New York mother, along with her fellow moderators, decided to ban such requests, and the rules for her group of more than 10,500 parents now state: “Advertising or requesting vaccine free milk puts you, your children and community at risk.” Studies are finding specific benefits of milk from a vaccinated mother, according to Laura Ward, co-director of the Center for Breastfeeding Medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. “Antibodies have been detected in the breast milk of vaccinated lactating women. This means that breastfed infants may have some protection against Covid-19 if their mothers receive the vaccine,” she said. Gray agreed. “Breast milk is full of antibodies based on a person’s prior exposures both to vaccines and infection. Those things don’t pose a risk to infants, they’re actually helpful at protecting them,” she said. “Any concerns or unknown pieces about the vaccine are dwarfed by the risk of Covid.” View the full article

Published by AFP An aerial view on August 5, 2021 of a Staten Island ferry in the Hudson River in New York New York (AFP) – A retired, hulking ferry of the iconic line linking Staten Island and Manhattan has been purchased by a group of investors who include popular American comedians Pete Davidson and Colin Jost. The goal: turn it into an entertainment venue. The orange ferry John F. Kennedy, which was commissioned in 1965, was sold by New York City to Paul Italia, a real estate agent who owns a comedy club called “The Stand,” and other investors including Davidson and Jost, both cast members of the long-standing comedy show “Saturday Night Live,” Italia told AFP. The sale — through an auction that concluded this week — was first reported by The New York Times. Davidson is dating reality TV star Kim Kardashian and Jost is married to the actress Scarlett Johansson. Both men are natives of Staten Island, one of New York’s boroughs, and Davidson still lives there. The city says the ferry they have acquired is 85 meters (277 feet) long, weighs around 2,100 tons and was retired from the fleet last year when its engines broke down. These investors won the auction with a bid of $280,100. “The idea is to turn the space into a live entertainment event space with comedy, music, art, food, etc.,” Italia told AFP. It is not yet clear how they will move the broken down ferry from the Staten Island terminal where it is now docked as they prepare to overhaul it and seek a permanent home for the ship. Why buy one of these vessels that is a quintessential and free-of-charge part of life in New York? To keep the ship from being scrapped, for one. “The reality is that everyone who came together on this has a sincere motive to see the right thing happen, to restore a piece of New York,” Italia told the Times. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Lupita Nyong’o thinks it’s “too soon to tell” whether Hollywood has changed for women since the #MeToo movement. The campaign began after disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein was accused of sexual assault and rape in 2017, but the 38-year-old star has admitted Hollywood is still “very much in that moment”, so it’s hard to sum up how things are different. When asked if she thinks Hollywood has changed for women since the #MeToo movement, she replied: “Honestly, I think it’s too soon to tell. “I think the change we’re looking for is not just about a change in a trend. I think it’s a change in the normalcy of an industry. “We’ can’t assess that sort of normalcy just yet because #MeToo as a movement, if you will, is really just in our rear view and we’re still very much in that moment as well. “So I think only time will tell.” Lupita has recently been filming ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ – the second film in the franchise – but admitted the cast, which includes Letitia Wright and Martin Freeman, are currently on a hiatus and still have to go back to shoot more. She told OK! Magazine: “We haven’t wrapped. We’re in a hiatus. “We had been shooting for a few months. What do you want to know? Because you know I can’t tell you anything.” But the ‘Us’ actress did admit it has been tough not having the late Chadwick Boseman – who starred opposite Lupita in ‘Black Panther’, and died in August 2020 aged 43 – on the set of the sequel. She added: “It has been hard. Yep.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Silicone skin has been created for next-generation “companion robots.” A Russian company called Promobot are working with a lab based in Vladivostok to build the ‘Robo-C-2’ robot which will be able to exhibit human-like facial expressions, with the company using skin, hair and eyes to create an “attractive” companion, Petr Chegodayev, a sculptor and head of the lab told Russian media: “Our key task is to make anthropomorphic robots not just realistic but also attractive, to add a touch of aesthetic. We have all the necessary conditions for that here in Vladivostok, and I am sure that we will make a qualitative leap in the near future.” It comes after the news that Promobot are reportedly willing to pay individuals up to £150,000 ($203,000) to licence their facial identity and voice to them rather than construct fictional faces. In a statement, the company – who claim to be the biggest robotics firm in North and Eastern Europe – said: “Since 2019, we have been actively manufacturing and supplying humanoid robots to the market. Our new clients want to launch a large-scale project, and as for this, they need to license a new robot appearance to avoid legal delays. We can build a linguistic model based on popular phrases of a particular person – the robot will communicate and answer questions by analysing frequent expressions of the ‘original’ and using a certain context of knowledge of this person.” Oleg Kivokurtsev, Promobot co-founder, told Russian state news agency TASS that they are planning to create 10 of these robots per month “with any appearance, for home and professional use View the full article

Published by Reuters PARIS (Reuters) – France’s Constitutional Council on Friday approved – with conditions – the country’s new COVID-19 vaccine pass, which will require people aged 16 and above to show proof of vaccination to enter public places like bars, restaurants and cinemas. The new pass is part of President Emmanuel Macron’s drive to make life difficult enough for the small minority of unvaccinated people that they are compelled to get COVID shots. The Council’s ruling paves the way for the vaccine pass to take effect on Jan. 24, replacing a health pass that showed proof of vaccination, a recent negative test or past infection. The Council upheld the government’s wish that anyone over 16 be required to show a vaccine pass as well as a provision in the legislation allowing for bar and restaurant managers to check a person’s identification alongside the pass to curb the use of fakes or certificates belonging to a third party. But it overturned a requirement that the old health pass be required to attend political rallies. Coming less than three months before an election, the Council said such a provision would impinge on people’s freedom to share views and opinions. The vaccine pass has brought new momentum to weekly street protests against COVID-related restrictions on public life. Some people resisting the vaccine say they have been made to feel like second-class citizens by Macron. France reported more than 425,000 coronavirus infections on Thursday and hospitals says the large majority of COVID patients in intensive care are unvaccinated. (This story corrects to show Council overturned requirement a ‘health pass’, not ‘vaccine pass’, be required for political meetings) (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by GV De Clercq, Richard Lough and Hugh Lawson) View the full article

Published by Reuters By James Pearson (Reuters) -Thich Nhat Hanh, the Zen Buddhist monk, poet and peace activist who in the 1960s came to prominence as an opponent of the Vietnam War, died on Saturday aged 95 surrounded by his followers in the temple where his spiritual journey began. “The International Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism announces that our beloved teacher Thich Nhat Hanh passed away peacefully at Tu Hieu Temple in Hue, Vietnam, at 00:00hrs on 22nd January, 2022, at the age of 95,” said his official Twitter account. His week-long funeral will be held at the temple in a quiet and peaceful manner, according to his followers. “Thich Nhat Hanh will be remembered as arguably one of the most influential and prominent religious leaders in the world,” Chargé d’Affaires Marie C. Damour of the U.S. Mission to Vietnam said in a statement. “Through his teachings and literary work, his legacy will remain for generations to come,” she said, adding that his teachings, in particular on bringing mindfulness into daily life, have enriched the lives of innumerable Americans. In a body of works and public appearances spanning decades, Thich Nhat Hanh spoke in gentle yet powerful tones of the need to “walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet”. He suffered a stroke in 2014 which left him unable to speak and returned to Vietnam to live out his final days in the central city of Hue, the ancient capital and his place of birth, after spending much of his adult life in exile. As a pioneer of Buddhism in the West, he formed the “Plum Village” monastery in France and spoke regularly on the practice of mindfulness – identifying and distancing oneself from certain thoughts without judgement – to the corporate world and his international followers. “You learn how to suffer. If you know how to suffer, you suffer much, much less. And then you know how to make good use of suffering to create joy and happiness,” he said in a 2013 lecture. “The art of happiness and the art of suffering always go together”. Born Nguyen Xuan Bao in 1926, Thich Nhat Hanh was ordained as a monk as modern Vietnam’s founding revolutionary Ho Chi Minh led efforts to liberate the Southeast Asian country from its French colonial rulers. Thich Nhat Hanh, who spoke seven languages, lectured at Princeton and Columbia universities in the United States in the early 1960s. He returned to Vietnam in 1963 to join a growing Buddhist opposition to the U.S.-Vietnam War, demonstrated by self-immolation protests by several monks. “I saw communists and anti-communists killing and destroying each other because each side believed they had a monopoly on the truth,” he wrote in 1975. “My voice was drowned out by the bombs, mortars and shouting”. “Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh lived a truly meaningful life. I have no doubt the best way we can pay tribute to him is to continue his work to promote peace in the world,” the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, said on Twitter. ‘LIKE A PINE TREE’ Towards the height of the Vietnam War in the 1960s he met civil rights leader Martin Luther King, whom he persuaded to speak out against the conflict. King called Thich Nhat Hanh “an apostle of peace and non-violence” and nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. “I do not personally know of anyone more worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize than this gentle Buddhist monk from Vietnam,” King wrote in his nomination letter. While in the United States to meet King a year earlier, the South Vietnamese government banned Thich Nhat Hanh from returning home. Fellow monk Haenim Sunim, who once acted as Thich Nhat Hanh’s translator during a trip to South Korea, said the Zen master was calm, attentive and loving. “He was like a large pine tree, allowing many people to rest under his branches with his wonderful teaching of mindfulness and compassion,” Haemin Sunim told Reuters. “He was one of the most amazing people I have ever met.” Thich Nhat Hanh’s works and promotion of the idea of mindfulness and meditation have enjoyed a renewed popularity as the world reels from the effects of a coronavirus pandemic that has killed over a million people and upended daily life. “Hope is important, because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear,” Thich Nhat Hanh wrote. “If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today. “If you can refrain from hoping, you can bring yourself entirely into the present moment and discover the joy that is already here.” (Reporting by James Pearson; Additional reporting by Tom Heneghan in Paris and Diane Craft in New York; Editing by Nick Macfie, Jacqueline Wong and Alistair Bell) View the full article

Published by Radar Online MEGA Adele is facing major backlash for canceling her Las Vegas shows with angry fans demanding the singer reimburse them for their hotels and plane tickets because she only gave them a 24-hours’ notice. According to Daily Mail, the 33-year-old Rolling in The Deep artist's irate fans are demanding refunds for not only their concert tickets but also for their Vegas stays and flights because she postponed her shows last minute. Many claim they flew in from not only other states, but also from places like Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. There are also reports that many of Adele’s excited fans were in mid-air when they found out about the cancelations, leaving them stranded in Sin City outraged and disappointed. MEGA “It's not great for Adele and I think she knows it,” PR expert Mark Borkowski told the outlet regarding Adele’s current situation. “Her response seemed very authentic. I guess it's down to whether the fans believe her word.” Others have also pointed out how ticket prices were anywhere from $85 to $12,000, but if the singer postpones the shows to a later date rather than cancel, these ticket holders may not be reimbursed. They'll have to rebook flights and hotel rooms a second time for whenever the new dates are announced. “I know I will not be able to get off of work to come back, I know I wouldn't be able to afford to come back,” a fan from South Carolina said about the likely postponement of the shows. “This trip has been a collection of Christmas and birthday gifts plus saving for myself.” MEGA “We lost a large sum of money on plane tickets and hotels to come see her for nothing, pretty unacceptable that a multi-million-dollar production team could pull the rug on the people who flew and risked getting Covid to see her because her 'show' wasn't ready,” another angry fan from Canada told the outlet. “She is known for her voice not for her performances, for all I care I would've just enjoyed her sitting on a bench singing. Absolutely unacceptable, they have not mentioned anything about compensation for the travel expenses we had.” As Radar previously reported, the Easy On Me singer broke down crying on camera on Thursday as she announced to her nearly 48 million followers and fans that she was canceling the debut weekend of her Las Vegas residency shows. “I'm so sorry but my show ain't ready,” she said, seemingly knowing how disappointed and upset her fans would be. “It's been impossible to finish the show. I can't give you what I have right now.” But while the singer claims the show had to be canceled due to COVID-19, and although that might be part of the reason, Radar has recently learned that she pulled the plug because she was being a diva and didn't know what she wanted creatively. “Adele postponed her residency due to 'COVID' which is true,” a source familiar with the situation recently spilled. “But really she just hates all the creative, also she keeps changing the run of the show.” “Crew is working literally 18 hours a day in Vegas. She just won't stop adding and taking things away.” @adele/Instagram View the full article

Published by AFP Between October to November 2021, unvaccinated people were around 50 times more likely to die from Covid than people who were vaccinated and boosted Washington (AFP) – Covid-19 vaccines and boosters continued to have very high efficacy against severe outcomes during the Omicron wave of the virus, a large real-world study from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed Friday. The paper evaluated data from more than 300,000 visits to emergency departments, urgent care clinics, and hospitalizations across 10 states from August 26, 2021 to January 5, 2022. During the period when the Delta variant was dominant, vaccine efficacy against Covid-19 hospitalization was 90 percent between 14-179 days after dose two of a vaccine, fell to 81 percent more than 180 days after the second dose, and rose to 94 percent 14 days or more after dose three. After Omicron became dominant, the vaccine efficacy estimate against hospitalization between 14-179 days after dose two was 81 percent, 57 percent after more than 180 days from dose two, and 90 percent 14 or more days after dose three. A second CDC paper, based on data from 25 US state and local jurisdictions, found that vaccine efficacy against infection waned from 93 percent prior to Delta to around 80 percent when Delta became dominant, but protection against death remained stable and high at 94 percent. Vaccine efficacy against infection fell to 68 percent by the time Omicron emerged. The authors weren’t able to derive an estimate for vaccine efficacy against death during Omicron, because of a lag in reporting, but the broad scientific expectation is that it will remain very high. The paper also showed that while deaths among fully vaccinated people rose sharply during the Delta wave — totaling more than 20,000 people between July to November — unvaccinated people were still 16 times more likely to die during the same period. Protection was even greater for people who were boosted. Between October to November, unvaccinated people were around 50 times more likely to die from Covid than people who were vaccinated and boosted. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Maria Caspani NEW YORK (Reuters) -New coronavirus cases are falling in parts of the United States hit hardest by the fast-spreading Omicron variant, according to a Reuters analysis of public health data, offering an early indication the virus might once again be in retreat. COVID-19 infections have decreased in 19 states https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/USA-OMICRON/zgvomadgmvd/USA-OMICRON.jpg plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, an analysis of the past week through Thursday compared with the prior week showed. In the Northeast, which saw some of the highest case loads during the latest surge, infections are down 40% week-over-week. “Certainly it bodes well for us in terms of the trajectory of Omicron,” said Wafaa El-Sadr, a professor of epidemiology and medicine at Columbia University in New York City. The drop was more modest at the national level https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/countries-and-territories/united-states, with new reported COVID-19 cases down 7% during the same time period, according to the Reuters tally, as Omicron surges in some other parts of the country. COVID-19 data often lag a few days behind the actual state of affairs. In the Midwest, cases climbed 11% over the past seven days compared with the previous week, and were up 2% in the South, although the increase has slowed considerably in recent weeks. Western states saw a 3% week-over-week drop in new infections, according to the tally. Nationally, new cases are averaging a still-high 738,000 a day, down from a peak of 805,000 on Jan. 15. Deaths, which usually lag new infections by about three weeks and are occurring primarily among the unvaccinated, are averaging more than 2,000 a day, up 50% from the start of the month. That is highest average number of COVID-19 deaths since the end of September, but lower than the record of 3,300 lives lost a day in January 2021. COVID hospitalizations, also a lagging indicator, set a record on Thursday at 152,746, according to the Reuters tally, but have been showing signs of stabilizing at around 150,000 over the past week. ‘NOT OUT OF THE WOODS’ “We have to be cognizant that we’re not out of the woods, that there’s a glimmer of hope, there is light at the end of the tunnel,” El-Sadr said. “That light is closer or further away based on who you are and where you happen to be.” Many hospital systems across the country are still struggling to cope with the Omicron-driven surge. Last week, the administration of President Joe Biden said it was sending military health workers https://www.reuters.com/world/us/more-us-medical-teams-bolster-states-omicron-surges-2022-01-13 to hospitals in six U.S. states to help fight the deluge of cases and staff shortages. The federal government also recently began providing Americans with access to free at-home COVID-19 tests and will soon make millions of N95 masks available after Biden incurred criticism that he was not devoting enough efforts beyond vaccines to fight the pandemic . The rapid spread of Omicron over the winter holidays forced many Americans to put the brakes on plans for a gradual return to normal life as the United States entered its third pandemic year. Classes were canceled or delayed in some school districts, the ranks of teachers and staff decimated by illness and safety requirements. Exhausted parents https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exhausted-parents-navigate-patchwork-us-school-covid-19-policies-2022-01-14 were left to navigate a patchwork of school COVID-19 policies while some students, feeling unsafe in school buildings, staged walkouts https://www.reuters.com/world/us/omicron-fuels-surge-us-students-stage-walkouts-protest-in-person-classes-2022-01-14 demanding a switch to remote learning. Businesses changed or postponed back-to-office plans, while the sweeping surge forced entertainment venues and understaffed restaurants to temporarily shut down. However, the recent drop in cases in first and hard-hit states like New York and New Jersey is not the only cause for optimism. El-Sadr, the epidemiology professor, pointed to positive developments in the current fight against the pandemic, including that Omicron has proven to be milder compared to previous versions of the coronavirus, the great protection of vaccines against severe illness and the potential for mRNA vaccines to be adapted quickly to new variants. (Reporting by Maria Caspani; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Bill Berkrot) View the full article

Alysia Yeoh in “Batgirl #45”Alysia Yeoh New images and video from the set of the forthcoming “Batgirl” film appear to show that Alysia Yeoh, DC Comics’ first major trans character, will be making the jump to the big screen. Multiple social media accounts following the film’s production shared images from the set showing actress Leslie Grace, who portrays Barbara Gordon (aka Batgirl), and trans actress Ivory Aquino shooting scenes together. Aquino is identified in the updates as playing Yeoh in the film, though the production is yet to officially announce what role Aquino is playing in the film. Yeoh herself was a huge shift in trans representation in comics when she was introduced to fans as Barbara Gordon’s roommate in 2011. Created by Gail Simone, Yeoh holds an important place both because of her identity and how her portrayal ditched dehumanizing tropes and ambiguity that plagued previous trans characters such as Marvel’s Jessie Drake. She even got her own big gay wedding in the pages of “Batgirl,” with her crime-fighting bestie being her maid of honor. As “Batgirl” continues production, Aquino’s presence is sure to continue building excitement ahead of the film’s scheduled release in 2022. Batgirl: Previously on Towleroad “Batgirl” Film Likely Introduces DC Comics’ First Major Trans Character To Its Cinematic Universe Brian Bell January 21, 2022 Read More Wonder Woman’s 1st Trans Amazon; ‘Battlefield’s 1st Non-Binary Specialist; ‘Superman’ Colorist Quits Offended By New Motto. Brian Bell October 26, 2021 Read More Is It A Bird? Is It A Plane? No, It’s The First Bisexual Superman Towleroad October 11, 2021 Read More World of Batman Now Even More Queer; Longtime Robin Comes Out as Questioning in DC Comics Anthology Series Brian Bell August 11, 2021 Read More Pride Month Gay Comics Roundup: DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Many Others Celebrate Their LGBTQ Characters, Creators Brian Bell June 16, 2021 Read More Brazil’s Largest Newspaper Publishes Massive ‘Avengers’ Gay Kiss in Defiance of Rio Mayor Andy Towle September 9, 2019 Read More Image courtesy of DC Comics View the full article

Published by New York Daily News Elliot Page has signed on as executive producer for an Italian documentary about a group of transgender friends and their gender transition journey. Directed by Italian filmmaker Nicolò Bassetti, “Nel Mio Nome” (“Into My Name”) is the coming-of-age story of four young friends — Nic, 33, Leo, 30, Andrea, 25, and Raff, 23 — who share important turning points in their lives and in their gender transitions, according to an IMDb synopsis. “What stands out to me about ‘Nel Mio Nome’ is the way it so artfully and intentionally presents all the different pieces that make up a person’s identity,” Page … Read More View the full article

Published by Radar Online mega Candace Bushnell almost experienced what would have been an epic full-circle moment. The writer whose column for The New York Observer that was adapted into the bestselling Sex and the City anthology – which later became the basis for the titular television series and two subsequent movies – was almost cast to play Carrie Preston (née Bradshaw) in the currently airing spinoff series, And Just Like That. Bushnell recently appeared on the Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef podcast, where she revealed that Sarah Jessica Parkerwas not sold on reprising her starring role after shooting the AJLT pilot. “SJP did not want to do it, right? So after she shot the pilot, she did not want to do it. And I remember that vaguely,” Bushnell recalled. “And I think at one point they were saying that I should have played the part. And now I’m like, ‘Yeah, I should’ve played the part!’ But then they convinced her to do it.” mega Given that Bushnell’s passions lie on blank pages and not in front of screens, it probably would not have worked out. “And, you know, I probably had stuff in my contract,” she noted, going on to add, “I don’t love being on TV sets … it’s not really where I want to spend the bulk of my day. I mean, that’s the thing that people don’t really think about is you’ve gotta be on that set, and it’s tedious. It’s tedious work, you know? The battery’s always running out, reshooting, the same thing over and over. It’s also a lot of the time, you know, it’s cold, it’s rainy and you’re sitting outside. Or you’re in a tiny little crowded room with everybody else.” As for what drew her to Parker in the first place, Bushnell recalled thinking the actress was “nice and cute” and that she also had “comic timing” and actually lived in New York, “so she got the ‘New York thing.'” “If you don’t live in New York and you’re from L.A., like, they never get it. It’s just a thing,” she added. “It’s like a flavoring.” Another key star that Bushnell said was not keen on making a return was Chris Noth, who plays Carrie’s complicated love-interest-turned-spouse-turned-late-husband, John James “Mr. Big” Preston. mega While she did not speak about the avalanche of sexual assault allegations that came to light after his character’s shocking death in Episode 1 of the spinoff, Bushnell did say Noth needed a bit of convincing to briefly portray Big 2.0. “He didn’t even particularly want to do it either, you know? I mean, he really only signed up to be a guest star,” she explained, noting that an update on his character felt important to the foundation of the story. “I think people tuned in to watch the show because it was really about, specifically, this new kind of woman, which is something that I outlined in the book,” said Bushnell. “A lot of people tuned in to see Chris Noth, you know, that’s another sort of like unknown factor.” When it comes to the unavoidable absence of one of Carrie’s closest friends, Samantha Jones, Bushnell said that was something she simply accepted with no alternate course of action. When asked who she would have considered casting in place of Kim Cattrall, the author replied, “I can’t even answer that question. I feel like those characters have kind of become so big that they’re like characters in Star Wars. … So I couldn’t even, I couldn’t even answer that.” mega View the full article

Published by Reuters By Andrew Chung (Reuters) -U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday appeared inclined to rule in favor of a Christian group that sued on free speech grounds over a refusal by Boston officials to fly a flag bearing the image of a cross at City Hall in a challenge backed by Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration. The justices heard oral arguments in an appeal by the group, Camp Constitution, and its director, Harold Shurtleff, over Boston’s 2017 denial of their application to raise the Christian cross flag due to concerns that it could appear as an unconstitutional government endorsement of a particular religion. Lower courts sided with the city. The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, has taken an expansive view of religious rights and has been increasingly receptive to arguments that governments are acting with hostility toward religion. The dispute arose over Boston’s practice of allowing private groups to hold flag-raising events using one of three flagpoles on the plaza in front of City Hall to promote inclusion and the diversity of the city’s residents. From 2005 to 2017, Boston approved all 284 applications it received before rebuffing Camp Constitution. The vast majority of flags were those of foreign countries, but also one commemorating LGBT Pride in Boston. At issue is whether the flagpole became a public forum meriting free speech protections under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment to bar discrimination based on viewpoint, as the plaintiffs claimed, or whether it represented merely a conduit for government speech not warranting such protection, as Boston claimed. Liberal and conservative justices questioned the city’s stance. Liberal Justice Elena Kagan doubted that in this particular case the cross flag could violate the First Amendment’s so-called establishment clause prohibiting the government from establishing a state religion. “In the context of a system where flags go up, flags go down, different people have different kinds of flags, then it is a violation of the free speech part of the First Amendment and not an establishment clause violation – the end,” Kagan told a lawyer for Boston. Conservative Justice Samuel Alito noted that Boston’s policy appeared to exclude flags that were discriminatory, offensive or religious. “When you say anybody can speak by putting up a flag, with these few exceptions, are you not creating a forum for private speech rather than speaking your own mind?” Alito asked a lawyer for Boston. But liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor voiced concern about the potential for confusion by average observers, saying it is a “fiction” that people would think a raised flag outside City Hall relates to an event not sponsored by the city. “If you see a flag on the pole, you think it’s City Hall speaking,” Sotomayor said. Camp Constitution, whose mission is “to enhance understanding of our Judeo-Christian moral heritage” as well as “free enterprise,” sued in 2018 over its rejection. Among other topics, Camp Constitution’s website posts materials questioning the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines, claiming that last year’s U.S. Capitol attack was actually a cover up for “massive” 2020 election fraud and calling Japan’s 1941 Pearl Harbor attack and al Qaeda’s Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States “carefully orchestrated false flags.” The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the city’s control of the flag-raising program made it government speech. Biden’s administration backed Camp Constitution in the case, arguing in court papers that because Boston treated the flagpole as a forum for private speech it cannot approve “private civic and social groups while excluding otherwise-similar groups with religious views.” Boston said that requiring it to open the pole to “all comers” could force it to raise flags promoting division or intolerance, such as a swastika, or a terrorist group. Given that risk, Boston last October halted applications to use the flagpole, at least while the case plays out. Biden’s administration and some justices said Boston could create and closely control a more limited flag-raising program going forward to avoid those concerns. (Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; Editing by Will Dunham) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Nikolaj Skydsgaard COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – The pandemic has blocked Novak Djokovic’s march to tennis history, so the 34-year-old may be pinning his hopes on a cure for COVID to get his hands on another glorious grand slam before time runs out. The Serbian superstar, who became a focus of the global vaccine debate over his failed attempt to enter Australia without being inoculated, holds a majority stake in a Danish biotech firm aiming to develop a treatment to counter COVID-19, the company’s CEO told Reuters. QuantBioRes boss Ivan Loncarevic, who described himself as an entrepreneur, said the tennis player’s acquisition of the 80% stake was made in June 2020 but declined to say how much it was. The company is developing a peptide, which inhibits the coronavirus from infecting the human cell, expects to launch clinical trials in Britain this summer, according to Loncarevic, who stressed the firm was working on a treatment, not a vaccine. The CEO said the company had about a dozen researchers working in Denmark, Australia and Slovenia. According to the Danish company register, Djokovic and his wife Jelena own 40.8% and 39.2% of the company, respectively. A spokesperson for Djokovic did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Djokovic has enjoyed phenomenal success – Forbes listed him in the world’s top-50 highest paid athletes for 2021. It calculated his on-court earnings at $4.5 million, dwarfed by the $30 million it said he earned off court. Yet time may not be on the world number one’s side in his quest to be viewed as the greatest player is history, as he advances deeper into his 30s. He had desperately hoped to play in Australian Open this month with his sights firmly set on netting a 21st grand slam title, which would move him above archrivals Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal. Frustrated Djokovic now risks being frozen out of tennis, with rules on travellers who are unvaccinated tightening in the third year of the pandemic and some tournaments reconsidering exemptions. The most immediate concern is the next grand slam – the French Open in May where Nadal has already amassed a staggering 13 titles – after the country’s sports ministry said on Monday there would be no exemption from a new vaccine pass law. (Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard; Additional reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Ossian Shine; Editing by Alison Williams and Pravin Char) Djokovic biotech investment A Rippon Married on Towleroad Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue will only feature advertisers championing gender equality More Olly Alexander wants ‘erotic superhero’ role More Biden starts second year with charm offensive — and bad polls More Jennifer Coolidge credits Ariana Grande’s impressions with her career revival More Cher leads tributes to Meat Loaf as Bat Out of Hell singer dies aged 74 More Sean Penn ‘frustrated’ with the world and is ‘glad’ he’s old More Modern Pop Music is Dull. Boy George, 60, Concern Trolling About ‘Big Choruses’, ‘Studio Trickery’, Pop Stars Who ‘Dial it In’ More Prince Andrew’s Childish Behavior Mocked, Known As ‘His Buffoon Highness,’ Demands ‘Room Temperature Water’ During Travels More Georgia prosecutor requests special grand jury in Trump election probe More What Timothée Chalamet’s success tells us about changing masculinity More Good Families and Good Country Music Need the Same Things; Shane McAnally + Michael Baum are One of ‘Country’s Greatest Love Stories’ More Mexican Football Federation to Ban Teams Whose Fans Use Homophobic Chants. 5 Year Stadium Bans! More Sia was Suicidal and Went to Rehab Following Music Backlash and Criticism Over Casting More Load More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Sports Illustrated Swimsuit will only allow advertisers who support gender equality in their annual swimsuit issue. The publication announced their new ‘Pay With Change’ initiative – only allowing brands to advertise in its pages if they work to ensure gender equality – on Thursday (20.01.22), which marked the 58th anniversary of the first swimsuit issue in 1964. In a statement, MJ Day – the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit editor-in-chief – said: “Sports Illustrated Swimsuit has been leading the charge in creating change in women’s lives for years, despite what some critics and naysayers would like you to believe. “However, in a world where women’s bodies are under attack and their value is continuously underestimated, we knew we needed to act in a bold, more responsible way. Pay With Change is not just a platform to us, it is our commitment to creating greater progress for women.” Examples of their work “leading the charge” include having Leyna Bloom and Valentina Sampaio as their first transgender models gracing the 2020 and 2021 issues, respectively. The magazine – which boasts Tyra Banks, Brooklyn Decker, Olivia Culpo and Cheryl Tiegs among its cover stars over the years – will gauge potential advertisers with their past, present and future commitments to gender parity before coming to their final conclusions in May regarding who will feature alongside their digital, print and social media content. Hillary Drezner, the publication’s general manager, said: “Pay With Change will be our new standard of business moving forward. It’s our proof of progress, proof of passion and proof of our belief that we must be the change we want to see. “Starting now, we’ll turn our advertising and activation space into a place to create change for women. We are committing to this initiative throughout all aspects of our business and are inviting all brands who are demonstrating progress to join us.” In addition, a percentage of each dollar gathered in advertising revenue will go towards the newly established Sports Illustrated Gender Equity Fund, which will support charities championing gender equality. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Olly Alexander wants to play an “erotic superhero”. The Years & Years singer was praised for his acting in the acclaimed TV series ‘It’s A Sin’ and admits that he wants to play a sexy character with superpowers in the future. Olly – who is openly gay – told NME magazine: “There’s a lot of good stuff that gets made but good stuff with gay characters that I could possibly play? Not so much. “For me to be interested in a role, it would have to be (someone) sexy with magic powers. I basically want to play some kind of erotic superhero.” The 31-year-old star worked with Russell T. Davies on ‘It’s A Sin’ and the former ‘Doctor Who’ showrunner said he would be prepared to direct a Marvel movie if the studio creates a homosexual superhero. Russell told BANG Showbiz: “If they want to make a gay superhero: properly gay, not just a nice little character in the background, I would be there. I could write it, I could write it like a demon.” The 58-year-old screenwriter – who also worked on ‘A Very English Scandal’ and ‘Torchwood’ – described Olly as an “amazing” talent and admits that it was comparable with the time he got to work with Kylie Minogue on the 2007 ‘Doctor Who’ Christmas special. He shared: “It was like working with Kylie Minogue on ‘Doctor Who’, I was like, ‘Wow, extraordinary.’ I’ve been very lucky.” View the full article

Published by AFP US President Joe Biden touts the success of his $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill on the first anniversary of his presidency Washington (AFP) – The White House launched a charm offensive, complete with a Tom Hanks video, to mark Joe Biden’s first year as president Thursday, but dire new polls and a major congressional setback told another story. Biden, who was sworn in to replace Donald Trump at noon last January 20, marked the day by meeting with top cabinet members in charge of rolling out his signature infrastructure spending plan, a $1.2 trillion splurge he got passed in November with rare bipartisan support. “Our nation has never fully made this kind of investment,” Biden said, celebrating one of his biggest wins of last year — and a project that should keep delivering good news as bridges, roads and other large public works roll out. The previous evening, the 79-year-old Democrat held an epic press conference lasting an hour and 52 minutes, longer even than the famously rambling events Trump used to stage. Defending himself on his handling of the Covid pandemic and roaring inflation, Biden said he’d got “a lot done” in the face of unprecedented difficulties for a president. “He was having a good time,” Press Secretary Jen Psaki said. Despite the cheerful messaging, Biden begins his second year as president facing a slew of bad news, including failure in the Senate late Wednesday of his cherished push for election law reforms — something he has said is needed to safeguard US democracy from Trump supporters’ attempts at fixing the vote. The polls also seem to be getting only worse. According to new NBC and AP-NORC polls, 54 percent and 56 percent of Americans respectively disapprove of Biden’s performance. The numbers point ominously to what most analysts expect to be a heavy defeat for Democratic legislators in November midterm elections, leading to Republicans taking control of Congress. Asked about his sliding popularity, which is now in the area that Trump consistently inhabited, Biden just told the press conference Wednesday: “I don’t believe the polls.” Tom Hanks reassures America Biden likes to laugh off doomsayers, telling them to share his trademark sunny outlook. And his aides and allies did their best to spread the mood Thursday. In a two minute video, Hollywood legend Hanks recounted in his gravelly voice how the country’s economy is bouncing back from the pandemic. The video featured clips of ordinary people, like a UPS delivery driver declaring “the fear is gone.” “We are strong, we are courageous, we are resilient, we are America — the land of the brave,” Hanks said in the video, which ended with Biden pronouncing: “I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s future.” Vice President Kamala Harris appeared on CBS, ABC and NBC networks, while Chief of Staff Ron Klain spoke on MSNBC. A slew of cabinet secretaries gave interviews to media more off the beaten track, including women’s magazines and rural outlets, the White House said. Psaki went one step further, making a relatively rare appearance on Fox News, whose major stars outside of the news operation include conspiracy theory spreading, right-wing host Tucker Carlson. As for the second year, the White House seems to hope it can change gears, partly by getting Biden beyond the Washington bubble, meeting voters and spending more time with legislators in relaxed settings. At his press conference, Biden said his top goal was to “get out” and “connect with people.” Psaki said “he absolutely loves talking to people who agree with him, people that don’t agree with him.” “You’ll see him out on the road more,” she said. “You’ll see him probably bring members of Congress with him on Air Force One, as he’s done recently, and he’s really enjoyed the opportunity to be able to have those free ranging conversations with them.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Jennifer Coolidge has credited Ariana Grande with revitalising her career. The 60-year-old actress has insisted the ‘7 Rings’ hitmaker’s impressions of her years ago on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’ got the ball “rolling”. Appearing on the show on Thursday night (20.01.22), she told the host: “You should know, it was sort of the beginning of a lot of cool things that happened for me. “I was going through a dead zone, not much was going on. Then Ariana did this imitation on your show and you encouraged her. And then this ball got rolling.” The ‘White Lotus’ star admitted she initially didn’t want to send Ariana a message about the imitation because she was certain she wouldn’t get a reply. She added: “My friend who is her age, Theresa, she was like, ‘You should DM Ariana.’ “I thought it was such a good imitation and I was like, ‘No, she’s got like 260 million followers. Those are robots. The robots answer the DMs! We will never ever get to her.’ “And I did it anyway and then this response came back. Next thing you know, I was going to her house getting fit for wardrobe for [the video for Ariana’s 2018 single] ‘Thank U Next.’ That was all because of Jimmy Fallon.” Meanwhile, the ‘American Pie’ actress recently compared the COVID-19 lockdown to “an acid trip” as she said she feared for her life amid the pandemic. She explained: “Being locked up during COVID was sort of like an acid trip or something … I felt like I had taken some really weird drug because all of these scenes in my life were being played out. And I wasn’t taking any drugs, I was just eating a lot. “I wasn’t drinking alcohol. I just … I felt like each day was sort of like I was hallucinating because my mother’s death came up [in] all of these things. And I think it was just because, you know, I didn’t really think we were going to survive the COVID thing. “I mean, I really didn’t. I thought it was just a matter of time before it got all of us. And I felt like the moment was just lingering outside.” View the full article