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☆ How Tottenham Hotspur fell into disrepair
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Matias Grez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Four years ago, on a warm Spanish summer’s evening in Madrid, Tottenham Hostpur was just 90 minutes away from reaching the pinnacle of European football. Win or lose against Liverpool in the 2019 Champions League final, Spurs could be excited about the future of their club. Tottenham was 5-0 down after 21 minutes against Newcastle. Tottenham players offered to reimburse their fans after the Newcastle defeat. “Unfortunately, the mismanagement of Tottenham off the pitch has now transcended to on the pitch to a point where Tottenham are in the biggest mess I’ve known in my lifetime.”Bleak future?

☆ Warner Bros. Discovery previews a stacked film slate, centered around this summer's 'Barbie'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. is offering a wide slate of films in 2023 across drama, comedy, horror and action. Warner Bros. capped its presentation with words from Peter Safran, one half of its new duo of creative leaders at DC Studios. Zaslav says he's seen "The Flash" three times and told CinemaCon audiences "it's the best superhero movie I've ever seen." He also reassured media and insiders that Warner Bros.

☆ Soccer Salah proud to equal Fowler’s record in just six years
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Salah, and Fowler, are three goals behind Steven Gerrard, the fifth-highest scorer in Liverpool's history, while Ian Rush leads the list with 346. Fowler is a legend for the club, so I’m proud to be equal with him after six seasons. Salah said seventh-placed Liverpool had struggled at the start of the 3-2 victory over Forest, who are battling to avoid relegation. "For the teams fighting to avoid relegation, these are life-or-death games and all games are difficult,” he added. With seven games remaining, Liverpool are six points away from the top four and still aspiring to qualify for the European competitions next season.

Abbott is the second major company to signal a recovery in medical device sales. Medical devices - Abbott's largest segment - clocked an 8.5% rise in sales to $3.90 billion, with $1.2 billion coming from glucose monitoring device Freestyle Libre. I don't think it's a bolus of backlog," Abbott CEO Robert Ford said about the recovery in medical device sales. The stronger outlook for its non-COVID business was the main takeaway as investors had priced in a fall in COVID testing sales, J.P. Morgan analyst Robbie Marcus said in a note. Abbott lowered its outlook for COVID testing sales this year to $1.5 billion from the $2 billion it forecast in January.

☆ Mischa Barton joins 'Neighbours' reboot
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Amarachi Orie | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Reece will be an American that is new to the area and “not quite who she appears to be,” according to the show’s producers. The long-running drama series began almost four decades ago in 1985 and ended in July. The new season, which began production in Melbourne on Monday and is set to premiere in the autumn, will inaugurate the revitalized series’ new phase. “I’m excited to be part of this iconic show’s next chapter, and I am really looking forward to being back in Australia – a place I know and love,” said Barton in the release. Guests Ian Smith (as Harold Bishop), April Rose Pengilly (as Chloe Brennan) and Melissa Bell (as Lucy Robinson), will also reprise their roles.

☆ A judge blamed Trump for the 'media frenzy' he used as an excuse to try to delay his rape trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Ashley Collman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A judge denied Donald Trump's bid to delay E. Jean Carroll's rape trial because of his indictment. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan expressed concern the request was "another delay tactic" by the former president. US District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said some of the so-called media frenzy had been caused by Trump himself. The judge allowed a brief reopening of discovery but denied Trump's request to delay the trial. Carroll "is now over 79 years of age and is entitled to her day in court just as both parties are entitled to a fair trial," Kaplan wrote.

LOS ANGELES, April 14 (Reuters) - From the first blonde haired Barbie created by Mattel in 1959 to the upcoming "Barbie" film, the iconic doll with small feet continues to make a large impression on generations of fans at the new "World of Barbie" immersive experience in Los Angeles. This trip is not just for young girls, said Lucy Treadway, producer for Kilburn Live, which built the life-sized version of Barbie's Dreamhouse. Fans are encouraged to express their own style at the "World of Barbie" through the viral "Barbiecore" fashion trend of girly pink outfits and accessories. Fans can also buy Barbies and Barbiecore accessories at the "World of Barbie," with plenty of options for customers to embrace their love for the Barbie world. Reporting by Danielle Broadway and Jorge Garcia; Editing by Mary Milliken and Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ A new trailer for the much-hyped Barbie movie has sent shoppers searching online for fluffy mules and pink clothes, with 'Barbiecore' set to be a hot trend in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

According to fashion search site Lyst, searches for the color pink have surged since the trailer's release. Online searches showed a specific interest in items worn by Robbie in the trailer after its release in early April. The aesthetic has been dominating fashion for the past year with the hot pink color appearing on runways and red carpets, according to The Business of Fashion. Valentino's creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli debuted a hot pink color, dubbed "Pink PP" that was developed with Pantone, at Paris Fashion Week in March 2022. Celebrities including Harry Styles, Anne Hathaway, Kim Kardashian, and Zendaya were seen sporting hot pink outfits at the time.

☆ Ike Perlmutter: Disney Fired Me From Marvel, I Wasn’t Laid Off
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Robbie Whelan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

‘All they talk about is box office, box office,’ Ike Perlmutter, the former Marvel Entertainment chairman, said of Disney executives and Marvel Studios leadership. Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter says Walt Disney Co. fired him as chairman of Marvel Entertainment because he pushed Disney too aggressively to cut costs and ran afoul of the creative executives whom newly returned Chief Executive Robert Iger wants to empower. In a rare interview, the 80-year-old Mr. Perlmutter spoke to The Wall Street Journal about his dismissal from Disney last week, his relationship with Mr. Iger, and missteps he feels Disney has made in recent years.

☆ Ousted Marvel chief Isaac Perlmutter speaks out on firing
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailOusted Marvel chief Isaac Perlmutter speaks out on firingHosted by Brian Sullivan, “Last Call” is a fast-paced, entertaining business show that explores the intersection of money, culture and policy. Tune in Monday through Friday at 7 p.m. ET on CNBC. Robbie Whelan, Wall Street Journal, joins the show to discuss his interview with ousted Marvel chief Isaac Perlmutter.

☆ Disney CEO Iger Calls DeSantis’s Moves Antibusiness, Anti-Florida
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Robbie Whelan | Arian Campo-Flores | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Robert Iger called Florida’s actions against Disney over the past year “antibusiness” and “anti-Florida” in his first in-depth comments about the company’s ongoing battle with Gov. Ron DeSantis . “While the company may have not handled the position that it took very well, a company has the right to freedom of speech just like individuals do,” Mr. Iger said at Disney’s annual meeting of shareholders, in response to a question about the dispute.

☆ How Disney Dodged Ron DeSantis and Kept Control of Its Florida Land
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Robbie Whelan | Arian Campo-Flores | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Walt Disney Co. for now has outmaneuvered Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the battle for control over the more than 24,000-acre parcel of land near Orlando where Walt Disney World Resort is located. In February, Disney went before a local board and secured approvals for the next 30 years on zoning, infrastructure and air-rights that the company might need if it chooses to expand Disney World, giving the company an advantage that has become clearer in recent days.

☆ Trump's attorneys want to sniff out potential jurors in the E. Jean Carroll rape case who '#believewomen' about sexual abuse
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Ashley Collman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The lawsuit brought by Trump's rape accuser E. Jean Carroll is expected to start in April. On Thursday, both sides filed a list of proposed questions to ask potential jurors. Former "Elle" advice columnist E. Jean Carroll is taking Trump to court in New York next month in a defamation and battery civil suit. In court documents filed Thursday, Trump's team proposed asking potential jurors whether they're familiar with the slogan #believewomen, and whether they agree with it. Neama Rahmani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, told Insider that while Trump's lawyers' questions around sexual assault are indeed meant to ascertain how jurors feel about sexual assault allegations and the #MeToo Movement, personal views are not enough to get most potential jurors dismissed.

☆ MLB roundup: Aaron Judge homers in Yankees' opening win
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Houston had its modern-day record of 10 consecutive Opening Day wins snapped. Orioles 10, Red Sox 9Adley Rutschman's 5-for-5 Opening Day helped Baltimore to a win over host Boston. Mets 5, Marlins 3Brandon Nimmo's three RBIs backed Max Scherzer's quality start, leading New York to an Opening Day victory over Miami. Twins 2, Royals 0Pablo Lopez and four relievers combined on an Opening Day two-hitter as visiting Minnesota blanked Kansas City. It was O'Neill's fourth consecutive Opening Day with a homer, tying a major league record.

☆ Disney Lays Off Marvel Entertainment Chairman Ike Perlmutter
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Robbie Whelan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Walt Disney Co. has laid off Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter, chairman of Marvel Entertainment LLC, and plans to fold the comic-book publishing business into Disney Entertainment, the company’s content-production division. Mr. Perlmutter, who remains one of Disney’s largest individual shareholders, has long had a rocky relationship with Chief Executive Robert Iger . In 2015, Mr. Iger removed him as head of Marvel Studios after a power struggle with current studio chief Kevin Feige . Those layoffs began this week, and included the elimination of Disney’s metaverse unit. The moves represent reversals of the agenda championed by former Disney CEO Bob Chapek , who was close with Mr. Perlmutter and who championed the metaverse initiative.

☆ Disney Eliminates Its Metaverse Division as Part of Company’s Layoffs Plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Robbie Whelan | Joe Flint | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Plans for Disney’s metaverse strategy remained unclear a year after the division was created. Mickey Mouse has left the metaverse. Walt Disney Co. has eliminated its next-generation storytelling and consumer experiences unit, the small division that was developing metaverse strategies, according to people familiar with the situation, as part of a broader restructuring that is expected to reduce head count by around 7,000 across the company over the next two months.

☆ Hollywood Is Betting on Fear
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Robbie Whelan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Hollywood, once again, is resorting to scare tactics. Major studios including Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures’ New Line Cinema and Universal Pictures have recently poached A-list horror writers and directors and launched new divisions to bolster their spooky offerings. Horror films—which are typically made with much lower production budgets than superhero epics or science-fiction sagas—have long operated on a boom-and-bust cycle. When a scary movie becomes an unlikely hit, studios will try to replicate that success by making a flurry of similar titles. Then comes the bust: Quality inevitably suffers and audiences get fatigued by how many mediocre scary movies are coming out, leading studios to pull back.

☆ Netflix Bets Big on ‘The Electric State’ as It Seeks to Build Franchises
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Sarah Krouse | Robbie Whelan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

‘The Electric State’ is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, who are also known for Netflix’s ‘The Gray Man.’Netflix Inc. is spending big on a coming science-fiction movie from the filmmaking team behind “Avengers: Endgame,” underscoring the company’s willingness to invest heavily in projects it thinks can be turned into major franchises. The price tag for the “The Electric State”—featuring A-list talent including Chris Pratt of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise and “Stranger Things” star Millie Bobby Brown —is likely to be in the high $200 million range, people familiar with the matter said.

☆ Doggie Mansions and Tiffany Bowls: Lifestyles of Rich and Famous Pets
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Candace Taylor | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Robbie Timmers went all-out adding a contemporary-style house on his property in Thailand. White with chic black trim, the two-story, air-conditioned abode has security cameras, smart lighting and a sliding door to the porch. Mr. Timmers would have added a swimming pool, too, but his wife objected. Her reasoning? It seemed unnecessary for the home’s intended occupants: the couple’s five dogs.

☆ Imperious Ireland beat England to clinch Six Nations Grand Slam
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Padraic Halpin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

DUBLIN, March 18 (Reuters) - Ireland completed their fourth Six Nations Grand Slam with a 29-16 victory over England at a pulsating Aviva Stadium on Saturday, emphatically underlining their status as the world's top-ranked team heading into September's World Cup. What a group of coaches," Ireland captain Johnny Sexton, playing in his final Six Nations game, said in a pitchside interview. If it looked like Ireland would cruise towards a Grand Slam in Dublin, following success in Twickenham (2018), Cardiff (2009) and Belfast (1948), England had other ideas and another Owen Farrell penalty after the break made it 10-9. "We've built some foundations over the course of the Six Nations but clearly we want to be a better team." The defeat consigned England to fourth place in the table and a third successive Six Nations with more defeats than victories after winning the championship in 2020.

☆ Disney+ Users Paid Up When the Price Rose
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Robbie Whelan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Data from subscription-analytics firm Antenna suggest Disney has some headroom to raise streaming prices further. Subscribers to Walt Disney Co.’s flagship Disney+ streaming service barely blinked at a 38% price increase that the company imposed in December as part of its launch of an ad-supported streaming product. About 94% of subscribers to the old, ad-free Disney+ service stayed with the product at a higher price point and swallowed the $3 a month price increase, according to new data from subscription-analytics firm Antenna. Disney declined to comment on Antenna’s numbers, but the data suggest the company has some headroom to raise the streaming price beyond the current level of $10.99 a month. “We have a lot of rationalization to do from a pricing perspective, but that’s one path to profitability.”In 2019, the company launched Disney+ at a price of $6.99 a month.

☆ BBC engulfed in an impartiality storm of its own making
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

“There is a long-established precedent in the BBC that if you’re an entertainment presenter or you’re a football presenter, then you are not bound by those same rules” on impartiality, former director-general Greg Dyke told BBC Radio 4 over the weekend. BBC Director General Tim Davie has made protecting impartiality one of his major priorities. Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty ImagesMore problematic still is that the same thorny questions about impartiality extend to the BBC’s leadership. “It’s a mess, isn’t it?” former BBC executive Peter Salmon told the cooperation’s flagship political presenter Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday. “He’s got views, he’s got passions … it may be that Gary has outgrown the job, and his role in the BBC.”

☆ Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page Battles Neighbor Robbie Williams Over a Basement Man Cave
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Max Colchester | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON— Jimmy Page shot to fame in the 1960s playing earsplitting concerts as the lead guitarist in the band Led Zeppelin. But in the past decade, the ponytailed 79-year-old Brit has pined for the quiet life. Page has said he doesn’t hold raucous house parties at his 19th-century manor the Tower House in west London. Instead, he has thrown himself into restoring the frescos and stained-glass windows that adorn the interior of the historic building.

☆ Disney’s Robert Iger Hints at Raising Streaming Prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Robbie Whelan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Robert Iger revealed some details of his plan to achieve profitability in the company’s streaming business, hinting that Disney could raise prices further and begin licensing its streaming content to competitors. Speaking at Morgan Stanley ’s Media and Telecom Conference in San Francisco on Thursday, Mr. Iger said he was “extremely bullish” on Disney+, the company’s flagship streaming platform, but predicted that subscriber growth would slow as the industry pivots to a focus on profits.

☆ Lethal Liverpool smash Manchester United for seven in record win
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Salah rubbed salt into United wounds with a close-range effort to score a record 129th Premier League goal for the Merseyside club, taking him past the mark of Robbie Fowler. Liverpool had thrashed United 4-0 at Anfield last April but considering the reversal of fortunes for the two clubs since, with United on the rise and Liverpool off the pace, this result was a major surprise. Liverpool's fourth win in five league matches lifted them above Newcastle United into fifth on 42 points, three points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur with a game in hand. "Today you could see the energy levels and everything was back, although to be fair the last few Premier League games had shown we were on the right path." Liverpool's previous biggest win over United was a 7-1 victory in 1895 when both clubs were in the second tier.

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