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☆ Modi is on a mission to assert India's global power. His election setback won't deter him.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewIndia's Prime Minister Narendra Modi emerged from Tuesday's election with his air of invincibility damaged. AdvertisementA leader of the global southUnder Modi, India's growth has put it on the path to becoming the world's third-biggest economy by 2027 — and it has become an important and increasingly abrasive global power player. He has sought to balance this by forming ties with US adversary Russia and has clashed with Asia's chief power, China. Advertisement"This election result is unlikely to have much of an impact on India's international security actions," said Rossow. Alexandr Demyanchuk/AFP/Getty ImagesBut there will be serious challenges for Modi in seeking to cement India's new global status.

Persons: —, Narendra Modi, Modi, Richard Rossow, Joe Biden, Dan Kitwood, it'll, Rossow, Modi's, Vladimir Putin, Alexandr Demyanchuk, Vladimir Putin's, Washington, China's Xi Jinping, Putin, Ashley J Organizations: Service, BJP, Business, Modi, UN Security Council, Center for Strategic, International Studies, India, US, UK, Washington Post, Indian, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace Locations: India, Russia, China, New Delhi, Australia, Japan, Canada, Russian, Samarkand, AFP, Vladimir Putin's Russia, Ukraine, Pakistan

☆ Critical Role's heartbreak prince helped make 'Dungeons & Dragons' cool. Now he's coming for the gothic horror gaming scene.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Critical Role recently released "Candela Obscura," a gothic horror roleplaying game. AdvertisementIn October, Critical Role, a crew of eight self-professed "nerdy-ass voice actors," played their long-running "Dungeons & Dragons" game at a sold-out Wembley Arena. These qualities make O'Brien ideal for stepping into the game master role for "Candela Obscura," Critical Role's new gothic horror game, and he's leaning hard into the tragedy. AdvertisementIt's also one of the more punishing gaming systems he's played in, O'Brien told me during our video call. Mercer, the team's designated game master, is the one who crafts the narrative and controls how the story develops.

Persons: Liam O'Brien, —, Matthew Mercer, O'Brien, I've, It's, he's, Twitch, Mercer, — O'Brien, — Taliesin Jaffe, Imari Williams, Aimee Carrero, Alexander Ward —, Taliesin Jaffe, Alexander Ward, Julius Caesar, Irish, Martin McDonagh, Spenser Starke, Rowan Hall, Aabria Iyengar, Starke, Mary Shelley, it's, Amazon, Marisha Ray, Travis Willingham, Ashley Johnson, Sam Riegel, Laura Bailey, Matthew Mercer Robyn von Swank Organizations: Service, Wembley, Darrington Press, Hasbro's, Hasbro, CR Locations: Europe, Ireland, New York, Mercer, Starke

☆ Nerd world's most famous faces are out to conquer the gothic horror gaming space — and their heartbreak prince is here to get the job done
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Critical Role recently released "Candela Obscura," a gothic horror roleplaying game. These qualities make O'Brien ideal for stepping into the game master role for "Candela Obscura," Critical Role's new gothic horror game, and he's leaning hard into the tragedy. AdvertisementIt's also one of the more punishing gaming systems he's played in, O'Brien told during our video call. Mercer, the team's designated game master, is the one who crafts the narrative and controls how the story develops. "I always prefer complicated narratively satisfying endings to a neat little happy ending," O'Brien told me.

North Carolina voters Tuesday set up a historic – and likely combative and extremely expensive – race for governor, nominating Democrat Josh Stein and Republican Mark Robinson for what is shaping up as the most closely watched gubernatorial race of the year. With 8% of ballots counted, Stein had won 72% of the Democratic primary vote, while Robinson captured 63% of the Republican primary vote. North Carolina is a nominally red state that is nonetheless politically competitive. Robinson has called public school teachers "wicked people" and has referred to survivors of school shootings as "prosti-tots." Robinson, Cooper says, is very much like Trump, who recently called Robinson "Martin Luther King on steroids."

Persons: Josh Stein, Republican Mark Robinson, General Stein, Robinson, Stein, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Trump, Biden, Ashley Judd, Judd, Oscar, It's, Christopher Cooper, Cooper, Martin Luther King Organizations: North, North Carolina voters, Republican, Associated Press, Democratic, GOP, Trump, CIA, Facebook, Haire Institute for Public, Institute, Western Carolina University Locations: North Carolina, Carolina, Georgia, China

☆ Opinion: Julia Ormond is speaking for a generation of women who won’t be silenced
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Opinion Sara Stewart | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Ormond’s claim alleges that Weinstein sexually assaulted her in 1995 after a business dinner and that Ormond told her agents about it, and that they advised her against speaking out about it. “Harvey Weinstein categorically denies the allegations made against him by Julia Ormond and he is prepared to vehemently defend himself,” a representative for Weinstein told CNN in a statement. It includes awful, if unsurprising, details from the lawsuit about what happened when she told her agents at the time. In addition, after the incident and her disclosure of it to her agents, Ormond says CAA lost interest in representing her and her career was damaged dramatically anyway. I once wrote an awards-season story about an actor/director accused of sexual harassment by multiple women on his team.

Persons: Sara Stewart, CNN —, Sara Stewart Todd Thompson, Julia Ormond, Harvey Weinstein, Weinstein, Ormond, Bryan Lourd, Kevin Huvane, “ Harvey Weinstein, ”, Ormond’s, Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Sean Connery, Sabrina ”, Harrison Ford, Greg Kinnear, wouldn’t, Annabella Sciorra, Darryl Hannah, Ashley Judd, Mira Sorvino, Rosanna Arquette, Heather Graham, Claire Forlani, Rae Dawn Chong, Salma Hayek, Uma Thurman, I’ve, I’m, Amber Heard, Russell Brand, who’ve Organizations: CNN, Variety, Creative Rights Agency, CAA, Walt Disney Company, Miramax, Mr, ” CNN, Women, Brennan Center, Justice Locations: Pennsylvania, “, Rolling, Hollywood

☆ William Friedkin, ‘Exorcist’ director, dead at 87
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Dan Heching | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —William Friedkin, director of iconic 1970s films including “The French Connection” and “The Exorcist,” has died, his wife Sherry Lansing, the former CEO of Paramount Pictures, told The Hollywood Reporter on Monday. Friedkin won the Oscar for best director for “French Connection” in 1972, going on to be nominated for the same trophy again two years later for occult horror “Exorcist,” the genre-defying hit that racked up ten nominations and two statuettes. Curiously, Friedkin once told Cinephilia Beyond that his original intention wasn’t even to make a horror film with “The Exorcist.”“I recognize that audiences for generations have considered it a horror film,” he observed. “I won’t deny that, but when I set out to make it, the writer and I never had any concept of it as a horror film. He is survived by his wife, along with two sons, Jackson and Cedric Friedkin.

Persons: William Friedkin, ”, Sherry Lansing, Friedkin, Oscar, Friedkin’s, —, Al Pacino, Willem Dafoe, Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon, Harry Connick Jr, Tommy Lee Jones, Samuel L, Jackson, Jade, David Caruso, Linda Fiorentino, Amort, Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Clarke, Jake Lacy, William Peter Blatty –, Ellen Burstyn, Cinephilia, Exorcist’s, Stanley Kubrick, Arthur Penn, Mike Nichols, ’ ” Friedkin, Jeanne Moreau, Lesley, Anne Down, Kelly Lange, Lansing, Cedric Friedkin Organizations: CNN, Paramount Pictures, Hollywood, NPR Locations: L.A, ”, French, British

☆ William Friedkin, acclaimed 'Exorcist' director, dead at 87
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] Director William Friedkin attends a walking tour around Georgetown that focused on some of the film locations from the original Exorcist in Washington D.C., U.S. April 17, 2018. "The French Connection" won five Academy Awards, including best picture, best director for Friedkin and best actor for Gene Hackman, who Friedkin initially did not want in the memorable role of New York narcotics detective Popeye Doyle. "The Exorcist" was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including best picture and best director for Friedkin. In "The French Connection," cops played by Hackman and Roy Scheider in the decaying New York City of the early 1970s track a French heroin smuggler. William David Friedkin was born on Aug. 29, 1935, and grew up in Chicago, the son of poor Ukrainian immigrants.

Persons: William Friedkin, Carlos Barria, ", Friedkin, Sonny, Cher, Gene Hackman, Popeye Doyle, Linda Blair, Tom Huddleston, they're, William Petersen, Willem Dafoe, Ashley Judd, Joe, Matthew McConaughey, Billy, Hackman, Roy Scheider, William Peter Blatty's, Blair, Oscar, levitates, Mercedes McCambridge, Al Pacino, Gay, William David Friedkin, Sherry Lansing, Jeanne Moreau, Lesley, Anne Down, Kelly Lange, Will Dunham, Danielle Broadway, Bill Trott, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Washington D.C, REUTERS, Creative Artists Agency, Chicago TV, Thomson Locations: Georgetown, Washington, York, L.A, New York City, Chicago, Hollywood, Los Angeles

Members of the Writers Guild of America walk a picket line outside of Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, Calif., in May. Like the striking writers, leaders of SAG-AFTRA, the actors’ union, have described their labor dispute in stark terms, calling the present moment “existential” for their members. But the core issues have been about compensation, as well as the use of artificial intelligence. The actors also have grave concerns about artificial intelligence, and how the technology could be used to replicate their performances using their previous work without their being compensated or consulted. Tara Kole, a lawyer with the entertainment law firm Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole, which represents actors like Emma Watson and Ashley Judd, said in an interview that the potential use of artificial intelligence was “terrifying” to actors.

Persons: “, ” Duncan Crabtree, —, We’re, Mr, Tara Kole, Johnson Shapiro, Emma Watson, Ashley Judd, that’s, ” Ms, Kole, ” Mr, A.I, we’re, ” “, AFTRA Organizations: Writers Guild of America, Warner Bros ., SAG, Alliance, Television Producers Locations: Burbank , Calif, Ireland, Crabtree

☆ How to reach out to brands and land deals as an influencer
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Sydney Bradley | Shriya Bhattacharya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Many influencers, like Gigi Kovach (a part-time lifestyle influencer), go straight to email to reach out to brands for collaborations. Here's how they reach out brands for collaborations, including several email templates they use. Holly PhanHow to contact brands as an influencer to pitch a paid sponsorshipIt takes time to figure out what type of pitch sticks and grabs the attention of brands. Here's how 33 influencers pitch brands, from email templates to media kits. Email templates influencers use to reach out to brandsMessage templates and DMs influencers use to contact brandsMedia kit examples

Persons: Brand, Gigi Kovach, Kovach, Read, Ashley Jones, She'll, Jones, London Lazerson, Maesha, Influencer Emma Cortes, Holly Phan, Jen Lauren, Lauren, Shonar Organizations: London, YouTube, LinkedIn

☆ Planet stock drops after satellite imagery and data venture lowers annual revenue guidance
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Shares of Planet fell after the satellite-imagery and data-analysis company cut its annual revenue guidance following when it reported first-quarter results Thursday. The company lowered its guidance for its current fiscal-year 2024 revenue to a range of $225 million to $235 million, down from its previous forecast of between $248 million and $268 million. She added the company's balance sheet "is strong," with $375 million in cash and equivalents and no debt. For the first quarter, Planet reported revenue of $52.7 million, up 31% from $40.1 million in the same period a year ago, but effectively flat from the prior quarter. Its customer base is split into three parts by revenue: 44% is defense and intelligence, 29% is commercial and 27% is civil government.

Persons: Will Marshall, Ashley Johnson

☆ How begpackers became some of the world’s least popular tourists
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

James, a comedian, is one of the posters behind the Instagram page Chaotic Hong Kong Expats. But the age of social media has catapulted the activity into public consciousness with a wave of begpacking-shaming Instagram accounts and Facebook pages. “Hong Kong is a very expensive place to live and the average (monthly) wage is 15,000 Hong Kong dollars ($1,915). Viral social media photos of begpackers in places like Malaysia, Indonesia and Hong Kong have been appearing on social media in recent months, re-igniting debate over the issue. “I think it kind of represents the growing arena of location-independent tourists blurring boundaries between leisure and work,” says Bernstein.

Persons: Ashley James, “, James, ”, ” James, Stephen Pratt, He’s, Pratt, –, begpackers, Patrick Leigh Fermor, ’ ”, ” Will Hatton, “ you’ve, ” Joshua Bernstein, Bernstein, begpack, Raphael Pangalangan, Begpacking, ” Pangalangan, ” Hatton, Hatton, it’s Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Hong, Rosen, of Hospitality Management, University of Central, Hong Kong Polytechnic, Language Institute, Thamassat University, Michelin, European Union Locations: Hong Kong, Asia, Kong, Thailand, India, Indonesia, begpackers, University of Central Florida, Hong, Kowloon, Europe, begpacking, Bangkok, North America, Malaysia

☆ Ashley Judd marks first birthday since death of mom Naomi Judd
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Toyin Owoseje | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Ashley Judd has marked her 55th birthday, the first without her late mother Naomi Judd, with a reflective Instagram post. “My birthday. Everyone who loves me is making it as soft (cake in bed) and precious as they can, as my mind can’t help but calculate that on my last birthday, Mom was a scant 11 days from her death by crushing suicide,” she wrote. And this is how she saw and loved me, first awake, hair never brushed, ready to share our dreams,” she concluded. “For you, Mom.

☆ Satellite imagery venture Planet reports record quarterly revenue to cap strong year
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The New York Stock Exchange welcomes Planet (NYSE: PL), on Wed. Dec. 8th, in celebration of its listing. To honor the occasion, Will Marshall, Co-Founder & CEO, and Robert Schingler Jr., Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer, joined by Stacey Cunningham, NYSE President, ring The Opening Bell®. Planet on Wednesday delivered another record quarter of revenue, nearing the top end of its full-year revenue forecast. For the full year, we nearly tripled our revenue growth rate," Planet cofounder and CEO Will Marshall said in a press release. Planet brought in $53 million in revenue during Q4, a 43% increase from $37.1 million a year prior.

☆ Women's NCAA roundup: No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast upsets No. 5 Washington State
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

5 seed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, this time handing Pac-12 champs Washington State a 74-63 defeat in Villanova, Pa., on Saturday. Tishara Morehouse chipped in 16 points for the Eagles. The Cougars (23-11) were the Eagles' victims this time, as 16 points and 12 rebounds from Tara Wallack wasn't enough to propel Washington State to its fifth straight win. Here are more results from the first half of Saturday's action in the women's NCAA Tournament. It was the first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance for Saint Louis, which won the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

He added that a government committee was looking into adding secular subjects to madrasas alongside religious study, a development that hasn't been previously reported. Other students and teachers said Islamic education played an important role in their lives, though they hoped to be able to study secular subjects too. He didn't elaborate on the government's plans for religious schools. Reuters was unable to determine the current number of madrasas, and Taliban authorities have not provided figures. "There's deep-seated mistrust of the formal education sector, despite the fact that it too incorporates Islamic education."

LOS ANGELES, Jan 12 (Reuters) - The 2013 video game “The Last of Us” was a hit with critics and players thanks to a powerful narrative. Ten years later, that story is headed to television on HBO in what the industry hopes is a harbinger for artfully adapting video games to TV and film. The PlayStation game won numerous awards, including “Game of the Year” at the 17th Annual Design Innovate Communicate Entertain summit (DICE), which honors video game industry professionals. The TV series has received glowing reviews from critics, garnering a 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes. "It shouldn’t be surprising that a drama based on a video game can have heart.

☆ British couple and two Australians killed in helicopter collision at tourist hotspot
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

A pilot, two British visitors and a Sydney woman have been identified as the four people killed in a collision of two helicopters over the waterfront at an Australian tourist hotspot. Authorities say it was fortunate the death toll in the crash of two aircraft operated by Sea World Helicopters was not higher. The pilot of the second helicopter managed to land safely on a sandy outcrop despite the aircraft being damaged in the collision Monday afternoon near Main Beach on Australia’s Gold Coast. His helicopter had been in the air for less than 20 seconds when it collided with the second Sea World Helicopter attempting to land. Mitchell said the main rotor blade of the aircraft made contact with the front cockpit of the descending helicopter.

☆ Two British citizens among dead in mid-air helicopter collision near Australian theme park
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Lewis Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Two travellers from the United Kingdom were among four people killed in a mid-air helicopter collision near an Australian theme park that authorities say could have been much worse. Queensland state police say two helicopters collided about 300 meters in the air on Monday afternoon as one was landing and another taking off near Sea World on Australia's Gold Coast. The helicopter that was taking off crashed, killing four of the seven aboard, including 40-year-old pilot Ashley Jenkinson and two visitors from the United Kingdom. Sea World Helicopters, which operated the aircraft involved in the crash, is independent of Sea World owner Village Roadshow Theme Parks and is closed until further notice, according to a statement on its website. Sea World was open on Tuesday.

☆ 'She Said' review: Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan star as the New York Times reporters who helped break the Harvey Weinstein story
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Review Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

“She Said” nevertheless joins a long tradition of movies about dogged reporters exposing injustice, and in this case helping spawn a sweeping movement. The film is adapted from the book by New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, which might explain why the work of Ronan Farrow is mentioned but conspicuously shortchanged. Setting that aside, the heart of “She Said,” which begins with Twohey (Carey Mulligan) reporting on Donald Trump, centers on her collaboration with Kantor (Zoe Kazan) to lay bare the predatory behavior of Harvey Weinstein. Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan play New York Times reporters in the fact-based movie "She Said." (The film’s producers include Brad Pitt, who has spoken of confronting Weinstein back when he was dating Gwyneth Paltrow.)

☆ Adderall users struggle amid ongoing medication shortage
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Raenu Charles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

A report from data analytics firm Trilliant Health found that nationally, prescriptions for Adderall among people ages 22 to 44 increased 15% between 2020 and 2021. “I’ve had patients call 10,15, 20 pharmacies in order to get their medication,” Goodman said. Clara is headed to her doctor to seek an alternative medication until Adderall is back in stock. It took five days for his pharmacy to fill his prescription in late October, and those days took a toll. Goodman strongly warns against this, offering a reminder that not only is selling your own prescription medication a felony, so is sharing it with others.

☆ Hugh Jackman says he auditioned and lost a role in 'Miss Congeniality'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Marianne Garvey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Hugh Jackman says he auditioned for the role of Sandra Bullock’s love interest, FBI agent Eric Matthews, in “Miss Congeniality,” but lost out on the part. “No one knew ‘X-Men’ yet,” Jackman told the publication. Jackman said it was the first time he’d ever tested with another actor, and that he wasn’t expecting to see Bullock at the audition. I’m guessing eight people she tested with.”The role ended up going to Benjamin Bratt. Jackman said the timing was not in his favor; he’d auditioned for “Miss Congeniality” after he wrapped filming as Wolverine in “X-Men” but the movie hadn’t been released yet.

Some influencers will start building relationships with brands by cold-DMing them on social media, like Instagram. While some influencers pitch PR reps or influencer-marketing contacts on LinkedIn, Lazerson goes straight to the top by DMing CEOs. "You get a lot of no's when you first start to pitch brands, but then you sort of fine-tune your approach," Kovach told Insider. To land her first paid deal, Lauren used a media kit. Here's how 21 influencers pitch brands, from email templates to media kits.

☆ 'She Said' debuts at New York Film Festival
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Marianne Garvey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —“She Said,” based on the book on the New York Times investigation into Harvey Weinstein’s sexual misconduct, made its premiere at the 2022 New York Film Festival on Oct. 13. In 2020, the former movie producer was convicted of rape in a New York trial. “She Said” recounts the 2017 New York Times investigation that exposed decades of sexual abuse by Weinstein. Zoe Kazan plays Times journalist Jodi Kantor and Carey Mulligan is investigative reporter Megan Twohey. Also in attendance at the premiere was Ashley Judd, who participated on the record for the Times’ exposé.

☆ Planet Labs Finance Chief Says SPAC IPO Was Key to Recent Growth
▼ + stars: | 2021-12-08 | by ( Mark Maurer | Micah Maidenberg | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Ashley Johnson, chief financial officer for Planet Labs PBC, said the satellite-imaging company made the right call to go public by combining with a special-purpose acquisition company—better known as a SPAC. Ashley Johnson, chief financial and operating officer at Planet Labs PBC. Shares of Planet Labs closed at $11.35 on Dec. 8, 2021, the day after the company said it completed its SPAC merger, according to FactSet. WSJ’s CFO Journal talked to Ms. Johnson about Planet Labs’ past year as a public company, investing and finding efficiencies as the economy slows. It’s unfortunate that a lot of companies that shouldn’t have gone public did go public using that vehicle.

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