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Published by OK Magazine MEGA Moving on? After going through a difficult breakup earlier this year, Jojo Siwaappears to be getting back into the dating game. The 18-year-old popstar — who came out as gay back in January — made her first public debut with another girl since calling things off with Kylie Prew back in October. In new photos obtained by Daily Mail, the Dancing With the Stars alum was seen enjoying a Lakers game with her rumored new girlfriend, Katie Mills. MEGA The new pair sat court side at the Staples Center where the Los Angeles team faced off against the Phoenix Suns. Both Siwa and the brunette beauty were clad in purple Lakers gear while rocking casual outfits and sneakers. JOJO SIWA REVEALS HER SPLIT WITH KYLIE PREW HAPPENED JUST HOURS BEFORE HER DISNEY NIGHT PERFORMANCE ON ‘DWTS’ The sighting comes after the Dance Moms alum announced her breakup with Prew, who she had previously been head-over-heels for since going public with their relationship in February. MEGA Siwa confirmed her and Prew’s split at the beginning of November when she appeared on Paris Hilton‘s “This is Paris” podcast, insisting that the exes were still close friends despite ending their romantic relationship. “I’ve yet to talk about this officially…but we broke up,” she spilled to Hilton at the time. “But she is literally still my best friend. I talked to her yesterday, she just got a new puppy. She’s awesome. She’s having the time of her life, I’m having the time of my life.” JOJO SIWA PROMISES TO MEET CARDI B’S DAUGHTER, MORE OF THE BEST MOMENTS FROM THE 2021 AMAS “I was very happy that it can be, because that’s all I wanted,” she admitted, insisting she is grateful for “all the fun times,” and that “nothing bad happened,” between the pair to cause the breakup. MEGA “It just is the definition of a cheesy saying of ‘right person, wrong time’ and I hate cheesy sayings, but they’re true,” Siwa continued. “Everything’s good. I’m good.” OK! reported the dance star opened up about her breakup again weeks later, where she seemed to be unsure about her hopes for dating in the future. “Single Jojo is funny,” she quipped. “Every day she’s like, ‘I want to marry somebody,’ and then the next day she’s like, ‘Ugh, I’m so happy to be single.'” View the full article

Published by Radar Online MEGA For the first time in four years, when sexual misconduct allegations against James Franco first came to light, the 43-year-old actor is speaking out about his past behavior and offering insight into what may have been lying underneath. Radar obtained a portion of the transcript of Franco’s interview on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Podcast – which won’t debut in full until Thursday – during which he explained how his various addictions to alcohol and sex played a role in how he operated. While Franco did not go into detail about the specifics of the claims against him, he did admit that he was “completely blind to power dynamics” as well as to “people’s feelings.” As for why he waited so long to address the allegations publicly, he insisted he needed time to absorb, process, learn and grow. As for why he chose to speak now, he said Seth Rogen‘s public distancing made him realize he doesn’t want anyone to have to speak on his behalf. “In 2018, there were some complaints about me and an article about me, and at that moment, I just thought I’m gonna be quiet. I’m gonna pause. Did not seem like the right time to say anything,” Franco told Cagle. “There were people that were upset with me, and I needed to listen.” The actor went on to reference a writer from whom he claims he learned the following: “When something like this happens, the natural human instinct is to just make it stop. You just want to get out in front of it, and whatever you have to do apologize, you know, get it done. But what that doesn’t do is allow you to do the work and to look at what was underneath, like, whatever you did, even if it was a gaff or you said something wrong or whatever, there’s probably an iceberg underneath that, of behavior, of patterning, of just being blind to yourself that isn’t gonna just be solved overnight.” MEGA So amid his public silence, Franco said he’s “just been doing a lot of work” and is “pretty confident” he did the proper work this time around. The actor revealed he had gotten sober from his “substance abuse” but was still consistently cheating on the women he was dating. He said his sponsor explained to him that the infidelity was “dishonest” and therefore “not good” for his sobriety. That’s when he decided to be single and later realized he had an addiction to sex. “I was in recovery before, you know, for substance abuse. And there were some issues that I had to deal with that were also related to addiction,” he explained. “And so I’ve really used my recovery background to kind of start examining this and, and changing who I was.” Franco said he’s been in recovery for sex addiction, which he calls “a powerful drug,” since 2016. “I stayed sober from alcohol all that time. … And so in my head, it was like, ‘Oh, I’m sober. I’m living a spiritual life.’ Where on the side, I’m acting out now in all these other ways. And I couldn’t see it,” he said. He recalled his “happily married” sponsor telling him, “Look, the cheating is dishonest. I don’t think that’s good for your sobriety, but if you’re not dating someone and you wanna go and hook up, like whatever happens between two consenting adults is fine.” Franco said he “took that and I ran with it and used it as an excuse to just hook up all over the place.” He admitted to being “completely blind to power dynamics but also completely blind to people’s feelings. I didn’t wanna hurt people;” however, he noted that he “wasn’t really a one-night-stand guy.” “People that I got together with or dated, like I’d see them for a long time, years. It’s just that I couldn’t be present for any of them,” he said. “And the behavior spun out to a point where it was like I was hurting everybody.” Franco admitted that hearing Rogen say the pals/creative collaborators had no plans to work together was hurtful but also served as an awakening. “He was asked about me. And I just wanna say, I absolutely love Seth Rogen,” Franco said. “I love Seth Rogen. I worked with him for 20 years. We didn’t have one fight for 20 years. Not one fight. He was my absolute closest work friend, collaborator.” “We just gelled,” he went on, “and what he said is true, you know, we aren’t working together right now, and we don’t have any plans to work together.” “Of course it was hurtful, you know, in context, but I get it, you know, he had to answer for me ’cause I was silent,” the actor said. “He had to answer for me, and I don’t want that. And so that’s why it’s one of the main reasons I wanted to talk to you today is I just, I don’t want Seth or my brother or anyone to have to answer for me anymore.” MEGA View the full article

Published by OK Magazine @jazzjennings_/Instagram A true #Ally! After going on his first date with a trans woman during Tuesday’s episode of TLC’s hit series I Am Jazz, star Sander Jennings took to social media to spread some positivity. “Love is free, spread it everywhere ,” the reality star hottie captioned a snap of himself and sister Jazz Jennings via Instagram on Tuesday, December 21. The message of hope earned a shoutout from their other sibling Griffen Jennings, who wrote: “Spread love everywhere and everyday.” @sander_jennings/Instagram JAZZ JENNINGS FEELS ‘BROKEN’ AFTER MASSIVE WEIGHT GAIN AS SIBLINGS HOLD INTERVENTION TO STOP HER BINGE-EATING: ‘MY SPIRIT HAS BEEN SHATTERED’ Sander and his crush Hope enjoyed a beautiful ice skating date as the two bonded over their shared strengths and passions in the latest episode. Before the episode aired, the 23-year-old took to social media to candidly open up about his struggles with being attracted to trans women and how others would perceive that. “We all want to find love…,” he began a heartfelt message via Instagram on Monday, December 20. “For the past 5 years, I have been single. I’ve had some incredible experiences but have never been 100% sure that anyone was the one. Maybe that’s me expecting an impossible love story, or perhaps it’s just me knowing that patience will lead me to ‘my person.'” The TLC personality continued, “Through my dating trials and tribulations, I’ve learned a lot, and two things keep me hopeful: 1. I know I want to connect with someone emotionally, physically, spiritually, and in the right situation (timing is everything.) 2. That I must remain open-minded to love and never close the door on someone I see a potential connection with because of fear of what others might think.” “I will date whomever I want, always be honest about my feelings, and if there’s a potential spark, I will see where it goes with any woman,” the LGBTQ+ ally concluded. JAZZ JENNINGS STRUGGLES IN THE GYM AFTER 100 POUND WEIGHT GAIN AS HER FAMILY TRIES TO HOLD HER ACCOUNTABLE: ‘THIS IS EMBARRASSING’ Sander has also been a major support system for his sister Jazz, who underwent her first gender confirmation surgery in June 2018, when she was only 17. Now at 21, the trans activist has been struggling with her weight after ballooning up to 234 pounds. @jazzjennings_/Instagram Sander has been nudging the YouTube personality to adopt a healthier lifestyle, even if it’s rubbing his little sis the wrong way. OK! reported Sander and siblings Ari and Griffen held a weight loss intervention to try and convince Jazz to be more healthy, although she couldn’t help but feel blindsided by the topic. “It does feel like I’m being put on the spot, having my siblings talk at me instead of to me,” Jazz — who has been honest about her struggles with binge-eating in the past — explained. “I know everyone wants to help out but it’s just such a personal struggle to break this cycle of negativity.” View the full article

Rebecca Juro via FacebookThe Juro’s career as a Trans advocate and LGBTQ+ writer/journalist spanned several publications over the past fifteen plus years. PHILADELPHIA – A powerful voice for the Trans community, writer and journalist Rebecca Juro died at the hospital on Saturday, December 17, suffering from complications caused by lung cancer. In a Facebook post on Sunday, her brother Steve Juro wrote, “Sad news…my sister Rebecca Juro passed away last night. She lived a tough, multi-faceted life that took her down a number of different paths.” The ‘T’ is not silent in LGBT was Rebecca Juro’s mantra and there aren’t likely better words for her life’s work. Juro continued in the tribute to his sibling writing; “She was a writer, a strong advocate for Trans issues, a companion for my mother, a punk rocker (Joan Jett groupie, see picture) and many other things. We weren’t that close and we often saw things differently, but we were family and loved and accepted each other. She would always fight for what she believed. She was battling lung cancer, thought she was beating it, but then it took her. We will miss her and she will always be remembered.” People think there was Sylvia Rivera and the next thing you know there was Laverne Cox, but it is not like that. So much has happened in the middle. –Rebecca Juro Juro’s career as a Trans advocate and LGBTQ+ writer/journalist spanned several publications over the past fifteen plus years including The Bilerico Report, The Advocate, Windy City Times, South Florida Gay News, and The Huffington Post among many others in the queer press. Juro was indefatigable in her advocacy for Trans people and she took no prisoners when it came to defining and defending the issues that mattered. Juro was known for her mantra of “the ‘T’ is not silent” which was illustrated by a remembrance post on Juro’s Facebook page by Marisa Richmond, a black transgender woman who teaches history and women’s studies as a professor at Middle Tennessee State University who wrote: “She was passionate and committed to trans rights, and did not take any bullshit from anyone who dismissed our identities. Juro, in a bio written for The Bilerico Project, listed that she had worked with and supported the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition, the National Center for Transgender Equality, and the Gender Rights Advocacy Association of New Jersey. She also served as Co-Chair of the Trans and Allies Caucus of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association during 2004 and 2005. In his tribute on Juro’s Facebook page, Jerame Davis, a co-founder of The Bilerico Project and the current Executive Director of Pride At Work wrote; “I am heartbroken to learn of the passing of Rebecca Juro. I’ve known Becky since the very beginning of Bilerico Project days – well over 15 years. She was fierce, loyal, and direct. My first tangle with Becky was over one of her headlines she had written on Bilerico that I had changed. The subject line of her email said, “My title is my fucking title” and we were off to the races. But we developed a long-time friendship and mutual respect. I’ll miss her snark and wit.” Others posting remembered her commitment and drive as an activist and writer on trans issues. Bil Browning, the editor of LGBTQ Nation and co-founder of The Bilerico Project noted; “The world lost a warrior today. I find myself with no words big enough to say about the woman who refused to shut up. While your voice may not be heard anymore, Rebecca Juro, thanks in part to your inspiration and determination, the T is not silent.” Sirius Radio host and writer/journalist Michelangelo Signorile commented, “Becky, was a force, so passionate and I loved laughing with her, arguing with her, and fighting hate with her. She will be missed.” Juro also hosted a podcast/radio show of her own covering Trans & Queer news, activism, commentary, music, and more. She was also very transparent in her struggles with life, thoughts of committing suicide, her being Trans, and other issues. Rebecca Juro and Dawn Ennis (Courtesy of Dawn Ennis)Journalist Dawn Ennis upon learning of the death of her friend wrote; ‘I am heartbroken to learn of your passing, my friend, my fellow long-suffering Mets fan, and the greatest fan of Joan Jett there ever was. You live on in your outstanding writing and in our hearts.” We live in a society where nobody wants to be different. But we are different and that is okay. It was a fight back then and it still is to this day, but things seem to be getting better... Rebecca Juro, in Al Dia…At least that is what I tell my little sister. She is 25 years old, openly self-identifies as part of the LGBTQ community and is a drag king. She explores gender in ways I didn’t even think were possible when I was her age. Juro sat down for an interview in Philadelphia, on June 2, 2016: “I got into journalism, being an activist, and doing this radio show because it was my way of saying, “Well, this is what I can do to help. This is how I can help.” I learned enough so that I didn’t feel like I was an idiot like I knew as much as anybody else did. Once I was able to do that, I got in at the point where there really weren’t many people. There weren’t many transgender journalists. Now we’re a dime a dozen. There are all these kids who are doing this stuff now, but those days? There was no such thing. Nobody knew transgender kids. It was all people my age. It was people in their thirties and forties, and it was all girls […]” In December of 2019 Juro published a first person reflective piece in Al Dia (Mission: “Documenting The Best of US Latino Experience.”) Among the quotable quotes and clever insights “Now fighting for non-binary to be widely recognized is her generation’s fight. I did my part, marching, rallying, writing. Now, as I become an elder, it is my time to sit back a little bit and give the stage to the younger generation while I keep working on my book, which recounts the social fights of my era, and who knows, maybe even going back as a regular staff position journalist.” My mother died at 76, my father died at 76. I am 57 years old now. I figure I don’t have that long left, but before I leave this world, I’d like to see real equality for people despite their gender identity. I want a better world for my sister, one where sexuality or gender will never be issued to her. I figure I don’t have that long left, but before I leave this world. I’d like to see real equality for people despite their gender identity. I want a better world for my sister, one where sexuality or gender will never be issued to her. Rebecca Juro in Al DiaJuro left a message for all on her Facebook page December 16th, just days before she passed away, saying “ Much of this post originally appeared in the Los Angeles Blade. Rebecca Juro Trans Journalist on Towleroad Stonewall UK Critic Joins Equality Commission; Quidditch Renaming After J.K. Rowling’s Transphobia; Chile Elects Pro-LGBTQ President More Darren Criss: I’m a season ticket holder to the queer experience More Ten key moments from Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex abuse trial More U.S. travelers stay closer to home as Omicron looms More Trump news conference to mark Capitol riot anniversary More U.S. cities try new way to help the poor: give them money More ‘Merry Christmas’: World’s first SMS sold for 107,000 euros More Biden to deliver free tests, military doctors to battle surging Omicron More Trump ally Republican congressman Perry declines interview with Capitol riot panel More George Michael’s pride at Princess Diana praise More Analysis: Omicron Clarifies Pandemic Will Not Be Deterred by Borders, Low Participation, Individual Choice; Capitalist Care More Load More View the full article

Akua ReindorfStonewall UK Critic Appointed to Nation’s Equality Board Judge and Stonewall UK critic Akua Reindorf is the latest name added to the U.K Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) thanks to prominent conservative leader Liz Truss. An employment judge, Reindorf is known for authoring a June 2021 report criticizing leading U.K. LGBTQ rights group Stonewall UK for its role in advising universities and other organizations on trans inclusion. Dubbed the Reindorf report, the University of Essex-commissioned review saw Reindorf criticize both Stonewall UK and the university after school officials disinvited two “gender critical” speakers amid outcry. Reindorf characterized Stonewall UK’s advice to the university reflected “the law as Stonewall would prefer it to be rather than the law as it is” despite the organization’s work lining up directly with the EHRC’s guidance on the 2010 Equality Act. Reindorf also described trans people using the bathroom aligned with their gender identity at the university as a “contested issue,” which university policy defines as a discriminatory act. The statement also cited Warner Bros. ownership of the trademark on the term “Quidditch” as a motivating factor in the leagues’ decision to rebrand the sport. “The sport needs its own space without limits on its growth potential and changing the name is crucial to achieving that,” said Benepe. The announcement comes as Rowling again became the subject of headlines for her transphobic rhetoric after deriding Scottish Police for cataloging rapists by their self-defined gender identity. “War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength. The Penis-ed Individual Who Raped You Is a Woman,” Rowling tweeted earlier this month. “Our sport has developed a reputation as one of the most progressive sports in the world on gender equality and inclusivity, in part thanks to its gender maximum rule, which stipulates that a team may not have more than four players of the same gender on the field at a time,” the USQ and MLQ joint statement read. “Both organizations feel it is imperative to live up to this reputation in all aspects of their operations and believe this move is a step in that direction.” Stonewall UK: Previously on Towleroad Stonewall UK Critic Joins Equality Commission; Quidditch Renaming After J.K. Rowling’s Transphobia; Chile Elects Pro-LGBTQ President Brian Bell December 21, 2021 Read More Pulse Arsonist Arrested; 2021 Deadliest For Trans People in the US; Chinese LGBTQ Group Shuts Down; World Cup Homophobia: News Roundup Brian Bell November 10, 2021 Read More Texas Trans Ban Is Law; Isiah Brown Sues for $24 Million; Twitter Suspends And Liz Cheney Busts Rep Jim Banks For Different Violations Brian Bell October 26, 2021 Read More Biden Recognizes National Coming Out Day, Condemns Against Anti-LGBTQ Bills and Again Calls For Passing Equality Act Brian Bell October 11, 2021 Read More First Transgender History Month Established in San Francisco; Compton’s Cafeteria Riots Memorialized Brian Bell September 1, 2021 Read More Virginia Transgender Man Sues Department of Corrections for Denial of Health Care; Top Surgery Denial Causing ‘Substantial Risk of Serious Harm’ Brian Bell August 27, 2021 Read More Photo courtesy of Government Equalities Office View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Darren Criss is “a season ticket holder to the queer experience”. The 34-year-old actor starred as Blaine Anderson on the hit TV series ‘Glee’, and although he left the show in 2015, fans continue to enthuse about his on-screen relationship with Kurt Hummel, played by Chris Colfer. Darren shared: “I have a lot of queer folks that come up to me, particularly older folks, that will say how much that relationship meant to them. “They’ll say, ‘When I was growing up, I didn’t really ever get to see that on TV’ … and then I always remind them, neither did I.” Darren explained that the on-screen romance means a lot to him, too. He told The Independent: “As a CIS straight man, I also didn’t see that. And while I have not grown up as a queer person, I’m a lifetime subscriber, man. I’m a season ticket holder to the queer experience. “I grew up in San Francisco in the 90s; these are people that raised my cultural awareness … [so] also it means a lot to me.” Despite this, Darren accepts that the issue of straight actors playing LGBT+ roles is extremely complex. The actor admits he simply doesn’t “know what to say” about the issue – although he always tries to remain “very fair and diplomatic”. Darren – who joined the show’s cast in 2010 – said: “This is a really tough one because, let’s just say, I’ve been s*** on. “No matter what I say, I’m going to get into the same mess that I’ve always gotten in, which is me being what I believe is very fair and diplomatic, but nobody’s interested in that, because compassion is not currently in vogue. So I don’t know what to say.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Luc Cohen NEW YORK (Reuters) – Jurors are weighing the fate of Ghislaine Maxwell after a three-week trial featuring testimony from women who said she recruited and groomed them for abuse by the late financier Jeffrey Epstein when they were teenagers. Maxwell, 59, has pleaded not guilty. Her attorneys say prosecutors are using her as a scapegoat because Epstein, who killed himself while awaiting trial on sex abuse charges, cannot be charged. Here are 10 key moments from the trial: – In her opening statement, prosecutor Lara Pomerantz called Maxwell a predator who manipulated girls and groomed them for abuse by Epstein, her employer and onetime boyfriend. Maxwell saw recruiting girls for Epstein to have sex with as a means to maintain a luxurious lifestyle, Pomerantz said. “They were exploiting kids,” Pomerantz said. “They were trafficking kids for sex.” – Maxwell defense lawyer Bobbi Sternheim began her opening statement by citing the biblical story of Adam and Eve to argue that Maxwell, like many women before her, was being blamed for a man’s bad behavior. Epstein killed himself in 2019 in a Manhattan jail cell. “Epstein’s death left a gaping hole in the pursuit of justice for many of these women,” Sternheim said. “She’s filling that hole, and filling that empty chair.” – A woman known by the pseudonym Jane testified that Epstein first abused her in 1994, when Jane was just 14. Maxwell sometimes took part in sexual encounters with Jane and Epstein, and acted as if it were normal, Jane testified. “It made me feel confused because that did not feel normal to me,” she said. “I’d never seen anything like this or felt anything like this.” – Under cross-examination by Maxwell attorney Laura Menninger, Jane acknowledged she did not initially tell the FBI everything about Maxwell’s involvement. She said later under further questioning by prosecutors that she was not comfortable sharing all the details. “I was sitting in a room full of strangers and telling them the most shameful, deepest secrets that I’d been carrying around with me my whole life,” she said. – Prosecutors displayed for the jury a green massage table that was seized from Epstein’s Palm Beach, Florida, estate in 2005. Three of the four accusers said they gave Epstein massages that escalated into sexual activity. Pomerantz called the word massage a “ruse designed to get young girls to touch Epstein.” – Prosecutors showed the jury images depicting Maxwell’s and Epstein’s intimate relationship during the 1990s. The never-before-seen digital photographs showed Maxwell kissing Epstein on the cheek or rubbing his bare foot. – A woman known by her first name, Carolyn, testified that Maxwell once touched Carolyn’s breasts and buttocks while Carolyn was nude and told her she had a “great body for Mr. Epstein and his friends.” “Money will not ever fix what that woman has done to me,” Carolyn said, sobbing on the stand. – Jeffrey Pagliuca, an attorney for Maxwell, asked Carolyn why she did not mention Maxwell in her initial discussions with law enforcement but implicated her later in a claim to a victim’s compensation fund run by Epstein’s estate. The questioning was part of Maxwell’s efforts to paint the accusers’ accounts as unreliable. “You know that if any information you submitted is false, you can be in criminal trouble?” Pagliuca said, referring to the fund. – Elizabeth Loftus, a prominent psychologist, testified for the defense that people can confidently recount events that did not happen. Her testimony was part of the defense’s effort to argue that the accusers’ memories had been manipulated over time. “When you have post-event suggestion or intervention, people get very confident about their wrong answers,” Loftus testified. – Minutes before the defense rested its case, Maxwell stood up, and with Sternheim’s arm around her lower back, told U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan that she was declining to testify in her own defense. “Your honor, the government has not proven the case beyond a reasonable doubt, and so there is no need for me to testify,” Maxwell said. (Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Danielle Kaye NEW YORK (Reuters) – Carla Benton, a Chicago-based book copy editor, was preparing for a Christmas trip to Europe when the Omicron variant of the coronavirus began to make headlines in late November. She quickly canceled her international travel plans due to rapidly changing travel restrictions and testing requirements, initially opting to stay in the United States and visit her sister in Houston, Texas instead. Benton ultimately decided to cancel all travel and stay home in Chicago for the holidays. “I’d initially hoped to be able to play some of my trip by ear,” Benton said. “While I’m fully vaccinated and following precautions here in Chicago, I was worried about the potential for a surprise positive test and quarantine abroad.” The Transportation Security Administration has screened more than 2 million people daily for the past four days, but it still remains down about 15% over pre-pandemic levels. TSA said it expects to screen 30 million people between Monday and Jan. 3 even as U.S. COVID-19 cases spike and Omicron spreads. Airlines have in recent weeks reported some uptick in cancellations. Still, millions of Americans are expected to hit the highways and board flights to celebrate with family and friends over the holidays. Delta Air Lines Inc said last week that Omicron had slowed international bookings as many countries imposed new travel restrictions. However, the airline’s chief executive officer, Ed Bastian, told CNBC that “Omicron (is) not going to impact our holiday bookings.” United Airlines is flying its busiest schedule this month since the start of the pandemic, with more than 4,000 flights per day on average during the year-end holidays. The airline said it added more than 200 daily domestic flights to meet holiday travel demand. Similarly, Southwest Airlines said on Monday the airline is encouraged by holiday demand trends. American Airlines incoming Chief Executive Robert Isom told Reuters the airline’s domestic business remained strong but the new travel restrictions had dampened demand in some international markets. Nationally, COVID cases rose 9% in the past week but are up 57% since the start of December, according to a Reuters tally. The spike in U.S. COVID-19 cases is causing some worry about the future of travel. Omicron fears and new travel restrictions have prompted a rise in global hotel cancellations, according to online hotel search firm Trivago. As cases continued to climb, investors pushed airline and travel stocks lower on Monday. United Airlines dropped 3.3%, while Royal Caribbean Group slipped 3.4% after 48 people on its Symphony of the Seas cruise ship tested positive for COVID-19. And Carnival Corp said on Monday Omicron is already hitting the cruise line’s near-term bookings. But more than half of Americans still did not intend to cancel their holiday travel plans as of early December, according to a poll from market research firm Ipsos released Dec. 7, when Omicron was already spreading in the United States. The American Automobile Association still expects this year to bring holiday travel in line with 2017 volumes, following the dramatic decrease in 2020. “Our forecast focuses on domestic travel, which we do not expect to be affected to the extent that international travel might,” said Ellen Edmonds, public relations manager at AAA. Major U.S. airports, preparing for a surge in holiday travelers, are maintaining their existing COVID-19 safety protocols like mandatory masking and extra cleaning. Denver International Airport spokesperson Alex Renteria said the airport still expects an uptick in travel over the holiday period, in line with high passenger volume since Thanksgiving. In the first half of December, passenger traffic at Miami International Airport was up 9% compared to the same period in 2019, according to communications director Greg Chin. Travel through the Florida airport is surpassing even pre-pandemic levels, with the average number of daily departing flights up nearly 12% compared with December 2019. (Reporting by Danielle Kaye; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) View the full article

Published by AFP Former US president Donald Trump is to hold a news conference in Mar-a-Lago on January 6, 2022 Washington (AFP) – Donald Trump announced on Tuesday he will hold a news conference in Florida on January 6, the anniversary of the violent storming of Congress by his supporters. The 75-year-old former president said he would discuss the November 2020 election and repeated his false claims that he defeated Joe Biden. Trump, in a statement released by a spokeswoman, also criticized the congressional committee investigating the January 6 assault on the US Capitol. He said the House of Representatives committee of “highly partisan political hacks” should instead be probing the “rigged Presidential Election of 2020.” “I will be having a news conference on January 6th at Mar-a-Lago to discuss all of these points, and more,” Trump said. “Until then, remember the insurrection took place on November 3rd, it was the completely unarmed protest of the rigged election that took place on January 6th,” he said. Trump, who lost the 2020 election to Biden by more than seven million votes, has hinted in recent months that he may seek the Republican presidential nomination again in 2024. Trump was impeached by the Democratic-majority House following the January 6 attack on the Capitol but was acquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Spurred by the coronavirus pandemic, dozens of U.S. cities are deploying a new tool in their war on poverty: cash. At least 16 cities and counties are handing out no-strings-attached payments to some low-income residents, a Reuters tally found. At least 31 other local governments plan to do so in the months ahead. That’s a departure from most U.S. anti-poverty programs, which provide benefits for specific needs like groceries or rent and require recipients to hold a job or look for work. Advocates say the people receiving the aid, not bureaucrats, know best how to spend their money. “It’s a complete rejection of the notion that we need to Big Brother people to a way out of poverty,” said Michael Tubbs, who set up the nation’s first “basic income” program in 2019 while he was mayor of Stockton, California. Jonathan Pedro, 37, said he has been able to pay down debt and buy hockey equipment for his 11-year-old son thanks to the $500 monthly checks he gets through a Cambridge, Massachusetts program aimed at single parents. “I’ve been trying really hard to bounce back and this check makes it so much easier,” he said. Cash payments were a pillar of the U.S. safety net for much of the 20th century but fell out of favor amid criticism that they discouraged people from working. Democratic President Bill Clinton scaled them back, made them temporary and added a work requirement in 1996. Fewer than one in four poor families now get those benefits. In recent years, the notion of a universal basic income has gained currency in the face of worries that automation will lead to widespread layoffs, and a belief among racial-justice advocates that the current system is inadequate and demeaning. Andrew Yang made it the centerpiece of his long-shot bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. The federal government provided a proof of concept over the past two years, sending more than $800 billion to households in three COVID-19 aid packages. Washington delivered another $93 billion to 36 million families this year through an expanded child tax credit. Those relief packages included $500 billion to state and local governments, and at least 16 local governments are using the money to set up Stockton-style basic income programs for low-income residents, records show. Others are drawing on funds provided by Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, an advocacy group formed by Tubbs, or private philanthropy. “We’re 60 years into the war on poverty, and the notion of giving money to poor people still feels profoundly new. Maybe that’s the problem,” said Melvin Carter, the mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota, which launched a basic income program last year. Unlike Yang’s proposal, which would have covered everybody, the new city-based programs are small in scale, typically serving several hundred families, and are aimed only at low-income people. Some cities invite people to apply and then do a random drawing. Others focus on specific populations: St. Paul targets families with newborn children, while Pittsburgh says half of its 200 participants will be Black women. Durham, North Carolina, will provide checks to people getting out of prison. A program in Jackson, Mississippi, focuses on Black mothers in public housing. Advocates hope these efforts will ultimately convince Washington to set up a national basic income program. They point to a sheaf of studies that show positive results. Participants in Stockton’s program were more likely to be working full-time, while participants in Jackson were more likely to pay their bills on time. One survey found that recipients spent less on alcohol and tobacco than they did before. ‘ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS’ With many U.S. businesses struggling to hire workers, some say it would be better to expand existing programs. “If the goal is more work, then we have alternative options,” said Kevin Corinth, who served as a top White House economist in the Trump administration and is now at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. A national program also would be expensive. One proposal to keep every American above the poverty line, set at $26,500 for a family of four in 2021, would cost $876 billion, more than doubling U.S. anti-poverty spending. Another would cost more than twice that amount. Advocates say their first step is to shore up the expanded child tax credit, which is due to expire at the end of this year. Cost concerns prompted Democrats to cut a permanent expansion from President Joe Biden’s imperiled $1.75 trillion “Build Back Better” spending proposal. In the meantime, low-income participants like Andrea Coleman, 40, are finding it a little easier to make ends meet. The mother of three, who works as a home nurse, said she plans to buy a proper pair of shoes to replace the foam sandals that serve as her only footwear in St. Paul, Minnesota, where the temperature is expected to dip to 7 degrees Fahrenheit (-13.9° Celsius) this week. “It’s that extra money that helps get over that little hump, helps get that burden off your back,” she said. “It gives me a free heart.” (Reporting by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone and Paul Simao) View the full article

Published by DPA Maximillien Aguttes, Aguttes auction house's development manager, presents a screen showing a phone with the World's first ever SMS, a day before it is auctioned at the Aguttes auction house.The world's first Short Message Service item is going under the hammer at the Aguttes auction house in Paris as a non-fungible token (NFT), meaning it has a digital certificate of authenticity and is considered the original. Alain Jocard/AFP/dpa The world’s first SMS – a short greeting with only the words “Merry Christmas” – was sold at auction for 107,000 euros (121,000 dollars) on Tuesday. The Short Message Service (SMS) item went under the hammer at the Aguttes auction house in Paris as a non-fungible token (NFT), meaning it has a digital certificate of authenticity and is considered the original. The unidentified buyer of the NFT – secured by blockchain technology – is now verifiably the owner of the 2-word SMS from 1992. Vodafone programmer Neil Papworth sent the message in December that year to a colleague who received it while he was at the company Christmas party. Such digital certificates are gaining in popularity: The NFT of Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s first tweet was sold for 2.9 million dollars at auction earlier this year, while Tim Berners Lee’s first source code for the World Wide Web fetched 5.4 million dollars. Auction house development manager Maximilien Aguttes said the first SMS was “a historic testament to human and technological progress.” For legal reasons, the winning bidder also received tangible assets along with the SMS, including a digital picture frame to display it in. Vodafone said it would donate the proceeds of the auction to the UN refugee agency UNHCR. Despite alternatives like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, Papworth still believes in a future for the SMS. “SMS was declared dead 20 years ago, but it is still here – and it will still be here in the future,” Papworth, 51, told dpa in Montreal. “Next year the SMS will be 30 years old, and after that I guess we will also be celebrating its 40th birthday.” The demand for SMS has weakened in the last few years as many consumers have switched to using messaging apps instead. However, Papworth said those services were not relevant for some parts of the population. “When I ask some friends something on Facebook Messenger, they answer two weeks later; when I send them a text, they answer immediately,” Papworth said. He thinks that the SMS will still be important in future for elderly people and for countries with a weak network infrastructure. In the 90s, Papworth had been working in England for Sema Group, an IT company which did technical services and programming for Vodafone. “We wrote their original text messaging system,” he said. Nowadays he lives in Canada and works for another IT company where he is not in touch with telecommunication issues any more. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jarrett Renshaw and Ahmed Aboulenein WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Biden administration will open federal COVID-19 testing sites in New York City this week and buy 500 million at-home rapid tests that Americans can order online for free starting in January as it tries to tackle the Omicron variant of the coronavirus sweeping the country. Striking a more dire tone about the risks to the one-in-four American adults who are not fully vaccinated, President Joe Biden will lay out the initiatives in a speech on Tuesday warning of the risks from the fast-spreading variant https://www.reuters.com/world/us/omicron-fueled-covid-wave-crashes-into-new-york-days-before-christmas-2021-12-20, a senior administration official said. The measures include activating some 1,000 military medical personnel to support hospitals already being overwhelmed by COVID patients in some areas. “We will also note that if you are unvaccinated, you are at high risk of getting sick. This variant is highly transmissible and the unvaccinated are eight times more likely to be hospitalized and 14 times more likely to die from COVID,” the official said. Biden’s COVID-19 response has been criticized https://www.reuters.com/world/us/rising-cases-omicron-highlight-holes-bidens-covid-strategy-experts-say-2021-12-20 for focusing on vaccines at the detriment of testing and masking, and for underestimating the impact of the politically motivated anti-vaccine movement in the United States. The new federal measures will not be fully in place ahead of Christmas on Saturday, leaving many Americans scrambling to find available tests ahead of holiday gatherings and travel – and confused about whether it is safe to press ahead with their plans. The Omicron variant, first detected last month, is causing infections to double in 1.5 to 3 days, according to the World Health Organization. It is not yet known whether it causes more serious illness than the Delta variant. Several studies suggest that the original regimen of authorized vaccines do not work well at preventing COVID-19 infection caused by Omicron, although boosters appear to https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/moderna-says-booster-dose-its-covid-19-vaccine-appears-protective-vs-omicron-2021-12-20significantly increase protection in lab tests. Omicron now accounts for 73% of all new cases, according to the latest U.S. data, up from less than 1% at the beginning of the month. Texas health officials on Monday said the state recorded what is believed to be the first known U.S. death related to Omicron. The rapid rise of infections is once again disrupting life across the country, canceling events from Broadway shows to professional sports. On Monday, the National Hockey League and its players’ union agreed to postpone all games until after Christmas following Tuesday’s slate of contests. In New York, Washington and other U.S. cities there were long lines for COVID-19 tests as people clamored to find out if they were infected before celebrating the holidays with family. Facing criticism that testing resources are inadequate, Biden will announce on Tuesday that the federal government will buy 500 million at-home rapid tests and make them available to all Americans beginning in January via a new website. In addition, the plan calls for health insurers provide test kits at no cost to individuals with coverage, also expected to begin in January. The administration will open multiple federal testing centers starting in New York City ahead of Christmas, a senior administration official said. More federal sites will be opened across the country in areas of high need and when requested by local and state officials, the official said. Top White House medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday the government also is mulling reducing the recommended 10-day quarantine time for people who get infected, to help asymptomatic people return to work or school. BREAKTHROUGH INFECTIONS RISE Biden will note that the Omicron variant is so contagious that it will infect vaccinated Americans but that they will be far less likely to become seriously ill. These breakthrough infections are rising among the 61% of the country’s fully vaccinated population, including the 30% who have gotten booster shots. Still, Biden will tell Americans that those who are vaccinated and follow guidance around using masks, especially while traveling, should feel comfortable celebrating the holidays as planned. New COVID-19 cases rose 19% in the United States in the past week and are up 72% since the start of December, according to a Reuters tally. Nearly 283,000 new infections were reported on Monday, the most new cases in a single day since Sept. 3, although some states are reporting multiple days of test results. The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients has increased 27% this month, with hospitals in some areas already strained by the Delta variant that emerged earlier this year. There have been more than 51 million infections and 810,000 coronavirus-related deaths reported in the United States since the pandemic began, the most of any country. (Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw and Ahmed Aboulenein; Additional reporting by Maria Caspani and Lisa Shumaker; Editing by Peter Cooney and Bill Berkrot) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jan Wolfe WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Representative Scott Perry, an ally of former President Donald Trump, on Tuesday said he would not provide information requested by a congressional committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Perry, a Republican, said on Twitter that he would not sit for an interview with the panel and would not provide electronic communications it had requested, including messages he exchanged with Trump’s lawyers. “I stand with immense respect for our Constitution, the rule of law, and the Americans I represent who know that this entity is illegitimate, and not duly constituted under the rules of the U.S. House of Representatives,” Perry said. An appeals court ruled earlier this month that the Jan. 6 Select Committee was legitimate and entitled to see White House records Trump has tried to shield from public view. A spokesman for the committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Perry. On Monday the committee publicly released a letter to Perry that asked him to voluntarily cooperate. The committee said it was seeking information about Trump’s attempts to oust Jeffrey Rosen, the acting head of the U.S. Justice Department during the closing weeks of his presidency, and replace him with Jeffrey Clark, an official at the time who tried to help Trump overturn his election defeat. The letter marked a new phase for the committee’s lawmakers, who have so far not publicly demanded information from Republican colleagues who supported Trump’s efforts to retain power after losing the November 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden. Perry and other Republican lawmakers met with Trump ahead of the attack and discussed how they could block the formal certification by Congress on Jan. 6 of Biden’s victory. (Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Scott Malone and Grant McCool) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English George Michael was proud that Princess Diana considered ‘You Have Been Loved’ as one of her favourite songs. Shirlie Kemp has recalled how her late Wham! colleague – who passed away at the age of 53 on Christmas Day in 2016 – was healed by the fact that the princess loved the song, which featured on his 1996 album ‘Older’. Speaking on the BBC Radio 2 documentary ‘George Michael – Older at 25’, Shirlie, 59, recalled: “I do remember George calling me and telling me that Princess Diana called him, and she said it was one of her favourite songs. “And I think in a way that was healing for him as well and gave him that pride that ultimately a songwriter, after pouring your heart out, you want that. You want to know that people appreciate it. You want to know that people understand that.” Ed Sheeran also hailed the ‘Jesus to a Child’ hitmaker as “one of the best songwriters that England has produced” and lamented his passing. The 30-year-old musician said: “In 1996 when ‘Older’ came out, I was five years old. I think George Michael is one of the best songwriters that England has produced and he’s just a fantastic performer, fantastic songwriter. “As a live performer, he was super captivating, I loved watching videos of him throughout his career. He’s incredible.” Ed added: “I think George has influenced pretty much anyone that’s in music really because it’s sort of travelled through the generations, but it’s a great great loss to the music industry.” The documentary ‘George Michael – Older at 25’ will air on BBC Radio 2 from 9-10pm on Saturday 1st January & Sunday 2nd January 2022 and on BBC Sounds for 30 days afterwards. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jeff Mason (Reuters) – Amid a new surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays, President Joe Biden is drawing criticism from health experts, who are calling for more urgency, testing, masking and global vaccine sharing. Biden, a Democrat, took office in January pledging to get the coronavirus under control. He presided over a massive vaccine rollout and passed a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package, a sharp contrast with his predecessor, Republican Donald Trump, who downplayed the pandemic’s severity, dismissed many preventive measures and undermined health experts. Eleven months into Biden’s term, however, the United States has recorded 800,000 COVID-19 deaths, over 300,000 of those on his watch, the highest total and per capita of the Group of Seven (G70 wealthiest nations. As the Omicron variant bears down and people gather for the holiday season, hospitals in some areas are seeing record high numbers of COVID-19 patients. Biden’s vaccination push has led to 65.2 percent of the eligible population being fully vaccinated, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Republican-led opposition means that figure is less than 50% on some states. Less than 30% of the population has an additional booster shot believed necessary protect against Omicron. The administration needs to push mask wearing, increase pressure on companies to bring down the cost of tests, share technology on vaccines globally and secure more funding to fight the pandemic on a broad scale, health experts said. Many said the White House had let such measures slide while focusing on getting people inoculated. “Where’s the leadership that asks for national sacrifice at a time of emergency?” said Gregg Gonsalves, an associate professor of epidemiology at Yale University. Biden should “get on TV tonight and say: ‘I want you to mask up.'” he said. The White House has repeatedly said it has the tools to fight Omicron without shutting schools and businesses, while promising more free tests and widespread booster distribution. Biden will speak on Tuesday about new plans, including driving home his message to unvaccinated Americans to get a shot and for those who are vaccinated to get a booster. Broadway theaters, universities and professional sports leagues are already canceling or postponing events, reflecting the reality of a new COVID-19 wave. UGLY U.S. POLITICS ON COVID Biden’s toughest challenge fighting the pandemic has been political. Despite the abundance of free and safe vaccines, misinformation spread through social media platforms and pushback on health measures, driven largely by Republican politicians and conservative media, have thwarted his efforts to persuade pockets of the U.S. population to get vaccinated. The administration vowed early on to crack down on private companies spreading vaccine-related misinformation, but it persists. “I think they underestimated the fact that the anti-vaccine movement was first and foremost a political movement,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. A leading killer of young and middle-aged adults in the United States is “anti-science aggression from the far right,” he said. The White House has sought to depoliticize the issue, sending health officials onto Fox News, even as the cable channel’s conservative commentators sow doubt about vaccines and masks. Despite their sometimes significant differences, the White House sees Fox News as an important outlet to disseminate public health information, including on Biden’s Omicron strategy, a White House official said. The president has sparred with Republican governors whose policies clash with his. More recently, his rhetoric has been less political, focused directly on urging people to get a shot. On Thursday, he sounded a grim warning, predicting a winter of “severe illness and death” for those who are unvaccinated. TEST, MASK SUPPLIES AN ISSUE Biden said earlier this month the government would require private health insurers to reimburse their 150 million customers for the cost of over-the-counter, at-home COVID-19 tests and make 50 million tests available free through rural clinics and health centers for the uninsured. Critics call that insufficient. “There’s more uninsured Americans than that, and what we were only supposed to take one rapid test ever? These policies are completely inadequate,” said Angela Rasmussen, an American virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. Surging demand for COVID-19 tests from U.S. employers bringing employees back to work exacerbated a nationwide shortage of rapid tests in the fall, driving up costs for state and local testing programs. The recent spike in cases has led to long testing lines across the country and left Americans scrambling to secure at-home tests at pharmacies and online. The White House said there are tens of thousands of free testing sites across the country, the supply of at-home tests has quadrupled, and a dozen new rapid tests have been authorized to come to the market. “We’re working with governors and state and local health officials to add more capacity,” a White House official said. “We’re also working with manufacturers to expand capacity.” Former CDC Director Tom Frieden told Reuters the administration also needs to step up the promotion of mask wearing and that subsidizing the costs of masks or distributing them could help. “Masks … and vaccination are by far the two most important interventions, and it’s still far too hard for someone to find out the quality of a mask they’re buying, to get masks at a reasonable price. It’s still too much of a Wild West out there in terms of the market,” he said. The Omicron variant that is prolonging the global crisis may not be the last, as vast majorities of people in less-developed nations remain unvaccinated, giving the virus room to mutate. Experts said the Biden administration could have done more to get vaccines to the rest of the world, protecting other populations and Americans as well. “There’s been sort of an ongoing battle with the White House to do more,” said Gonsalves, noting the new Omicron variant came from abroad. (Reporting by Jeff Mason; Additional reporting by Julie Steenhuysen and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Heather Timmons) View the full article

[This post contains video, click to play] Published by BANG Showbiz English Lana Wachowski has launched an impassioned defence of the film industry after the difficulties of the coronavirus pandemic. The 56-year-old filmmaker has helmed the new movie ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ and admits that it has been hard to see many cinemas closed over the past two years due to the pandemic – as she recalled how films helped her come to terms with her trans identity. Lana, who was formerly known as Larry Wachowski, told The Hollywood Reporter at the premiere of the new ‘Matrix’ movie in San Francisco: “I love movie theatres, and I grew up in them. My best childhood memories were when my family took the day off from school, and we all ran to the movies and packed as many movies as we could into a single day. “My whole life, movie theatres have sustained me. When I was in high school and I was struggling with my identity, I would run to the movies for popcorn, sticky floors and a kung fu movie, and everything seemed like it was going to be OK.” The filmmaker continued: “It’s been hard to be without movie theatres and have them cut off from us and have them closed down. It’s been hard because the collective dreaming that happens in these spaces is how we imagine different futures, different lives, different possibilities, different kinds of hope and different kinds of love. “In my own life, I didn’t always believe in this world. I didn’t believe that I could be an out trans woman Hollywood director.” Lana also reflected on how the 1996 movie ‘Bound’, which she directed with her sister Lilly, was a pivotal moment in her life and career. She explained: “That act of imagining a different kind of outcome for that kind of movie allowed me to imagine a different outcome for my life. “I’m hoping that one day we can get back into movies like this, like tonight, and we can sit shoulder to shoulder again, and we can collectively imagine a different future that maybe the one we’re in right now. Maybe that starts tonight.” Lana Wachowski on Her Trans Struggles on Towleroad Meta to ban surveillance firms from Facebook and Instagram More Aaron Sorkin Says It’s ‘Empty Gesture’ to Cast Gay Actors in Gay Roles; Misses That It is Response to Actors — Once Out — Only Cast As Supporting Stereotypes More Trump sues N.Y. Attorney General to block probe of his businesses More France to make it easier for citizens to take mother’s family name More Britney Spears’ Dad Received $40K Loan From Her Embattled Former Business Manager Before Petitioning For Pop Star’s Conservatorship More Chinese tennis star Peng denies she made accusation of sexual assault More Closing arguments in Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex abuse trial to kick off More Schumer says Senate to vote on Biden plan despite Manchin objections More Ricky Gervais defends Golden Globe stints More Saturday Night Live cancels live audience amid COVID fears More In full: Journalist Maria Ressa’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech More Load More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Meta bans surveillance firms from targeting users on Facebook and Instagram. The company behind the social media giants has said seven surveillance companies have been banned from its platforms for targeting around 50,000 users with “malicious activities”. Meta accused the firms of actions like creating fake accounts, befriending targets, and using hacking methods to harvest information. The company has sent warnings about the activities to the 50,000 affected users and revealed some 1,500 pages had been suspended by Meta across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. According to Meta, the surveillance companies targeted people in more than 100 countries on behalf of their clients. The news comes as Facebook is already taking legal action against the owners of Pegasus over the alleged spreading of software via WhatsApp. The US government blacklisted the firm and others last month, accusing them of providing spyware for foreign governments to “maliciously target” individuals. Nathaniel Gleicher, head of security policy for Meta, said at the time: “The surveillance industry is much bigger than just one company, and it’s much bigger than just malware-for-hire.” He also claimed investigators had found targeting that was “indiscriminate” including ordinary members of the public as well as high-profile figures like politicians and human rights advocates. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Aaron Sorkin thinks only casting gay actors as gay characters is an “empty gesture” and a “bad idea”. The 60-year-old filmmaker has slammed criticism of Spanish actor Javier Bardem being cast as Cuban Desi Arnaz in his new movie ‘Being the Ricardos’ and insisted the segregation happening in the industry is “a little chilling” because there are certain elements of a character that are just “not actable”. He said: “It’s heartbreaking, and a little chilling to see members of the artistic community resegregating ourselves. “This should be the last place there are walls. Spanish and Cuban are not actable. “If I was directing you in a scene and said: ‘It’s cold, you can’t feel your face.’ That’s actable. But if I said: ‘Be Cuban.’ That is not actable. “Nouns aren’t actable. Gay and straight aren’t actable. You can act being attracted to someone, but can’t act gay or straight. So this notion that only gay actors should play gay characters? That only a Cuban actor should play Desi? Honestly, I think it’s the mother of all empty gestures and a bad idea.” Aaron admitted he sees similarities between how Lucille Ball – who is played by Nicole Kidman in ‘Being the Ricardos’ – was treated for her views in the 1950s and the modern cancel culture. He told Sunday Times Culture magazine: “In the movie, Lucille checked a box [backing communism] at a time when it wasn’t a big deal. Sixteen years later, the world changed and she’s hung for it. That reminds you of Twitter.” The ‘West Wing’ showrunner admitted he didn’t think Gina Carano should have been fired from the ‘Star Wars’ franchise after expressing doubt about coronavirus and also being accused of being transphobic, but is aware of wider issues that could have contributed to her dismissal. He said: “I could rebut some things she said, but I don’t think she should lose her job because of it. “On the other hand, if they’re losing advertisers because she’s on the show, that’s different. That’s life in a democracy. Also, it’s different if you spread misinformation about vaccines, for instance. Or incite violence. But we’re going to have to start to be OK with having our feelings hurt once in a while.” AAron Sorkin Gay Actors on Towleroad Trump sues N.Y. Attorney General to block probe of his businesses More France to make it easier for citizens to take mother’s family name More Britney Spears’ Dad Received $40K Loan From Her Embattled Former Business Manager Before Petitioning For Pop Star’s Conservatorship More Chinese tennis star Peng denies she made accusation of sexual assault More Closing arguments in Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex abuse trial to kick off More Schumer says Senate to vote on Biden plan despite Manchin objections More Ricky Gervais defends Golden Globe stints More Saturday Night Live cancels live audience amid COVID fears More In full: Journalist Maria Ressa’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech More Dr. Oz’s Private Speech Leaked! Ex-TV Doctor Says He Told Oprah To ‘Stay Out’ Of His Political Campaign, Praises ‘Brave’ J.K. Rowling For Stance On Trans Rights More Jeffrey Wright Joins ‘Rustin’ Cast Led by Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin. George C. Wolfe Directs First Obama/Netflix Project More Load More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Brendan Pierson NEW YORK (Reuters) – Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday sued New York Attorney General Letitia James, seeking to stop her civil fraud investigation into his company. He filed the lawsuit in federal court in Syracuse, New York, after it was reported that James’ office would seek to question Trump as it probes whether his company, the Trump Organization, manipulated the valuations of its real estate properties. Trump and the company, which is also a plaintiff in the case, claim that James has violated their rights under the U.S. Constitution by pursuing a politically motivated investigation. “By filing this lawsuit, we intend to not only hold her accountable for her blatant constitutional violations, but to stop her bitter crusade to punish her political opponent in its tracks,” Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, said in an emailed statement. A spokesperson for James’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The civil probe is related to, but separate from, a more-than-three-year-old criminal probe by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance of the Trump Organization’s business practices, which James joined in May. It includes a focus on whether the Trump Organization overstated the value of some real estate assets to obtain loans and tax benefits. In July, the company and longtime Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg pleaded not guilty to criminal charges in what a prosecutor in Vance’s office called a “sweeping and audacious” 15-year tax fraud. In Monday’s lawsuit, Trump and the company claim that James, a Democrat, is motivated by partisan bias against Trump, a Republican, pointing to public statements she made against the former president before she was elected to her position. They are seeking a court order barring the investigation from going forward. (Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Howard Goller) View the full article

Published by Reuters PARIS (Reuters) – France will make it easier for citizens to take their mother’s name once they are adults, Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti said on Sunday. He said the government would support a bill proposed by ruling LREM party lawmaker Patrick Vignal to allow children, when they turn 18, to easily change their family name through a simple procedure at the local town hall. French citizens will be free to keep their father’s family name, take their mother’s family name or take both in whichever order they wish. It is already possible for French citizens to change their family name, but it is a long and difficult procedure that requires them to prove to the justice ministry a legitimate reason for doing so. “Nobody should have to reveal their intimate reasons for changing their name to the state,” Dupond-Moretti said on his Twitter account. The law will be voted on in coming weeks. In an interview with Elle magazine, Dupond-Moretti said the new legislation will make it easier to change the family name of citizens raised by single mothers or by two fathers or two mothers. “It will be a law that will favour equality between parents and freedom for all French people,” Dupond-Moretti told Elle. The legislation would also be a solution for people wishing to change their family name after traumatic situations such as incest, or violence by a father against the mother of his children, he said. (Reporting by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Susan Fenton) View the full article

Published by Radar Online MEGA Britney Spears‘ dad Jamie Spears has been exposed! It’s been reported he took out a $40,000 loan prior to requesting to put his daughter under conservatorship in 2008. According to the New York Times, he allegedly secured the borrowed funds from Britney’s former manager Lou Taylor‘s firm, Tri Star Sports & Entertainment Group. MEGA Reports indicated Jamie took out the loans while the pop star was hospitalized on an involuntary psychiatric hold. Upon receiving the money from the management company, he filed a petition on a California court to take control over the singer’s estate and personal affairs. A judge approved his request for the conservatorship immediately after he convinced the court that his daughter was incapable of looking after herself due to her struggle with mental health issues. The following year, Jamie hired Tri-Star — the company that loaned him the money — to manage Britney’s estate. MEGA Although it is unclear how the loan money was used, Jamie’s actions raised some concerns on the motive behind the conservatorship. National Guardianship Association president Anthony Palmieri brought up a point while speaking to the Times. “It makes me wonder where the allegiance lies,” Anthony said. “Is the conservator making decisions in the best interest of the conservatee or the business manager who they owe a debt to?” before noting the move “reeks of conflict of interest.” Lou’s lawyer,Charles Harder, responded to the news in a statement claiming Jamie eventually “repaid” the “small loan” before addressing the transaction “had no affect on Tri Star’s work for the estate in later years.” The outlet reported Jamie earned an estimated $6 million from the 13-year guardianship while the management company received 5 percent of Britney’s “adjusted gross entertainment revenue.” Jamie and Lou have also been called into question by Britney’s lawyer,Mathew Rosengart, regarding the singer’s current net worth, which is only $60 million despite receiving large payments for her music, concerts, and TV appearances. Mathew claimed Jamie “did not appear” for two schedule depositions but added, “It should not be necessary, but if he continues to evade his deposition, we will file a motion to compel.” MEGA Earlier this month, Jamie filed a formal complaint with the Los Angeles Superior Court, accusing his daughter of trying to destroy his reputation following his termination from her conservatorship. He claimed Britney and her crew released “statements with no other purpose than to attack” him and attempted to paint him as a “disgraced, suspended conservator.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Tony Munroe and Yew Lun Tian BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai said on Sunday that she had never accused anyone of sexually assaulting her, and that a social media post she had made early last month had been misunderstood. Peng’s well-being became a matter of concern among the global tennis community and rights groups when she appeared to allege that a former Chinese vice premier, Zhang Gaoli, had sexually assaulted her in the past. After that post, she was absent from public view for nearly three weeks. “First, I need to stress one point that is extremely important, I have never said or written that anyone has sexually assaulted me, I have to clearly stress this point,” Peng said in the video posted by Lianhe Zaobao, a Singapore media outlet. Peng’s remarks on Sunday marked the first time she had addressed the matter on camera in public. She spoke on the sidelines of a cross-country skiing event in Shanghai. She said that her post on Weibo, a Twitter-like social media site, which had been quickly removed, was a “private matter”. Peng, 35, said in the video that “people have many misunderstandings” about her Weibo post. She did not elaborate. She also said she had been living at home in Beijing without supervision. In the video, she was not asked about Zhang and did not mention him. Reuters has been unable to reach Peng since her Weibo post. The Women’s Tennis Association, which early this month said it would suspend tournaments in China immediately due to concerns over the treatment of Peng and the safety of other players, continued to call for an investigation. “It was again good to see Peng Shuai in a public setting and we certainly hope she is doing well,” the Florida-based WTA said in a statement. “As we have consistently stated, these appearances do not alleviate or address the WTA’s significant concerns about her well-being and ability to communicate without censorship or coercion,” the WTA said. “We remain steadfast in our call for a full, fair and transparent investigation, without censorship, into her allegation of sexual assault, which is the issue that gave rise to our initial concern.” China has not directly commented on Peng’s initial post, but said after the WTA’s move to suspend tournaments in China that it “opposes the politicization of sports”. Zhang has not commented on the matter. PATRIOTIC ATTIRE Discussion of the scandal, which emerged as Beijing prepares to stage the Winter Olympics in February, has been tightly censored in China. On Sunday, Peng appeared on a fifth-floor viewing balcony with athletes in various sports, including former NBA basketball star Yao Ming, and watched for about 20 minutes, the Singapore paper said. The three-time Olympian wore a black jacket with a China flag and a red T-shirt bearing the characters for China. Previously, Peng had been seen in photos appearing at a tennis tournament in Beijing, and in a video having dinner at a restaurant that was posted on Twitter by a state media editor. On Twitter, a China researcher at Human Rights Watch, Yaqiu Wang, commented sarcastically on the interview, “Wow, so natural, very real, everyone now believes it. Congratulations, the CCP!” The reference was to China’s ruling Communist Party. Peng said in the video posted on Sunday that she had personally written a letter last month to WTA head Steve Simon, in which she denied the allegation of assault, and that an English translation of it by Chinese state media was accurate. Simon had said at the time that he “had a hard time believing” that Peng had actually written the email or believed what had been attributed to her. (Reporting by Tony Munroe and Yew Lun Tian in Beijing, Brenda Goh in Shanghai, and Chen Lin in Singapore; Editing by Stephen Coates and Clarence Fernandez) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Luc Cohen NEW YORK (Reuters) – Closing arguments in Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial are set to kick off on Monday, before the jury begins to weigh whether the British socialite set up teenage girls for the late financier Jeffrey Epstein to abuse. Maxwell, 59, is charged with eight counts of sex trafficking and other crimes. Prosecutors say she recruited and groomed four teenage girls to give erotic massages to Epstein between 1994 and 2004. She has pleaded not guilty, and said on Friday that she would not testify because prosecutors did not prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. During two weeks of testimony from prosecution witnesses, jurors heard from four women who portrayed Maxwell as central to arranging sexual relationships the women said they had with Epstein as teenagers. Two of the women, known as Jane and Carolyn, said they were 14 when Epstein began abusing them. Prosecutor Alison Moe is expected to refer back to their emotional and often explicit testimonies in her closing argument. Moe will likely reference Carolyn’s testimony about how Maxwell sometimes paid her to give Epstein erotic massages, which could be crucial for the prosecution’s argument that Maxwell committed sex trafficking. Maxwell attorney Laura Menninger is expected to respond by questioning the accusers’ credibility. The defense has repeatedly argued that the women’s memories have become corrupted in the decades since the alleged abuse, and that they are motivated by money to implicate Maxwell. Maxwell’s lawyers argue she is being treated as a stand-in for Epstein, who killed himself in 2019 in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on sex abuse charges. In a Saturday hearing, Maxwell attorney Jeffrey Pagliuca said the defense would argue that Jane was older than she said she was at the time of the alleged sexual encounters with Epstein, and that Maxwell “never had anything to do with Carolyn.” (Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Matthew Lewis) View the full article