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☆ 'Dune: Prophecy' is based on a book — but not one written by 'Dune' author Frank Herbert
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-18 | by ( Palmer Haasch | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The story is based both on "Dune" and the prequel novel "Sisterhood of Dune." Discovery after a merger, it started development on a "Dune" prequel series focused on the politically savvy, supernaturally powered sect of women. "Dune: Prophecy" is partly based on Frank Herbert's seminal science fiction work and on "Sisterhood of Dune," a novel written by Herbert's son Brian Herbert and sci-fi author Kevin J. Anderson. Attila Szvacsek/HBO'Sisterhood of Dune' is a prequel novel set in the 'Dune' universeFrank Herbert's "Dune" novels compose only a small part of the franchise. Advertisement"Sisterhood of Dune" is part of the "Great Schools of Dune" prequel series written by the two, and it was published in 2012.

Persons: Frank Herbert's, Denis Villeneuve's, Bene, we're, Paul Atreides, Timothée Chalamet, Herbert's, Brian Herbert, Kevin J, Anderson, Jessica Barden, Valya, Attila Szvacsek, Brian, It's, Raquella Berto, Anirul, Mother, Manford Torondo, Vorian, Emperor Salvatore Corrino, Roderick, Anna, Valya's, Griffin, Tula, Doretea, Emperor, Wallach IX, Travis Fimmel, Desmond Hart, Ynez, Constantine Corrino, Jordan Goldberg, Emily Watson, Goldberg Organizations: Warner Bros, HBO, Max

☆ Israel’s Netanyahu acknowledges pager attack, says he sees ‘eye-to-eye’ with Trump on Iran
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-10 | by ( Eugenia Yosef | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Israeli media interpreted the phrasing as implicit criticism of Israel’s military leadership and intelligence establishment, as well as then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, whom Netanyahu fired on Tuesday. The Israeli government is facing multiple criminal probes, including over allegedly leaking falsified intelligence reports to the international media. ‘Very good’ talks with TrumpThe acknowledgment of the pager attacks came as Netanyahu said he had spoken three times in recent days with US President-elect Donald Trump. Mohamed Azakir/ReutersNetanyahu also referred to events in the Netherlands last week, when Israeli football fans were subjected to antisemitic abuse and violence. Israelis have also been warned to stay away from protests and demonstrations and to “take extra care to conceal identifying Israeli/Jewish symbols.”

Persons: CNN — Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Hassan, Nasrallah, Israel, –, Yoav Gallant, Netanyahu, pagers, Gallant, “, Shin, ”, ‘, Trump, Donald Trump, Israel –, Mohamed Azakir, —, ” Netanyahu Organizations: CNN, Minister’s, Ramat, David Air Force, Israel, American University of, American University of Beirut Medical Center, International Court of Justice, Criminal, National Security Council, NSC, Israel soccer Locations: Lebanon, Israel, United States, American University of Beirut, Netherlands, of Israel, The Hague, Amsterdam, Belgium, United Kingdom, France, Paris

☆ 20 Years of Impossible Choices in ‘Saw’
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-29 | by ( Annie Aguiar | Joyce Ho | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +9 min

It can be hard to remember two decades later that the original “Saw” was less interested in gore than morality. In “Saw,” Cary Elwes’s character verbalizes the tension and appeal of the franchise: “He doesn’t want us to cut through our chains. “I’m going to try something else you haven’t seen before.”The classic tropes within “Saw” — serial killers, haunted detectives, creepy puppets — are mashed together and inverted around the undeniable binary of its core choice. In “Cube” (1997), an offbeat Canadian science fiction horror film, prisoners in a mysterious jail travel through rooms rigged with traps. Wan never directed another “Saw” movie, while Whannell contributed to “Saw II” and wrote the screenplay for “Saw III.”In the decades since “Saw” was released, Wan has directed tentpole franchise entries like “Aquaman” (2018) and “Furious 7” (2015).

Persons: Cary Elwes, ”, Shawnee Smith, ” Cary, Lionsgate Elwes, Westley, “, James Wan, Leigh Whannell, Wan, ” Wan, “ I’m, Rube Goldberg, David Edelstein, Eli Roth’s, John Kramer, Tobin Bell, Kramer, ” Bell, ” Whannell, Stacey Testro, Testro, Evolution Entertainment — Gregg Hoffman, Oren Koules, Mark Burg —, ” Burg, David Fincher’s “, “ Se7en, Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Whannell, Se7en, —, Elisabeth Moss, ” Billy, Freddy Krueger Organizations: Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Shawnee, Lionsgate, Evolution Entertainment Locations: “, London, New York, Wan, Hollywood, United States

In the most recent NBC News poll, 54% of respondents say they disapprove of the job Biden is doing. In fact, Biden is now more personally unpopular than either Harris or Trump. Between now and Election Day, I do expect Harris to find more ways to differentiate herself from Biden. If that’s a Biden “hangover” that ends up hurting Trump more than Biden, it means team Harris effectively weaponized his age. In this most recent poll, Trump was losing the core Democratic states by only 13 points.

Persons: Biden, Joe Biden’s, Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, —, couldn’t, Biden isn’t, it’s, Let’s, Harris, haven’t, “, ”, John Kerry, Kerry, George W, Trump, George H.W, George H.W . Bush, Richard Nixon, Hubert Humphrey, Al Gore, Gore, Humphrey, Nixon, that’s, Nate Cohn Organizations: White House, Biden, NBC, GOP, Democratic, Trump, The New York Times, Electoral College, Electoral Locations: Iraq, George H.W .

A major part of the fears is that the US’ influence with Israel has appeared to be steadily waning over the last year. Israel’s security cabinet has not yet reached a decision on how to proceed, an Israeli official told CNN on Friday. As of last week, Israel had not given any assurances that it would not target Iran’s nuclear facilities, CNN reported. Israel has for decades been planning attacks on Iran’s nuclear capabilities, and just two years ago simulated striking them in a military exercise. ‘Our strike will be powerful’Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant issued a strong warning to Iran about his country’s response on Wednesday.

Persons: CNN —, Israel, Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden, Hassan Nasrallah, ”, “, Israel —, Yoav Gallant, ” Gallant, Jordan, Abbas Araghchi, Al, Netanyahu “, Araghchi, it’s, Ben Gurion, CNN’s Kayla Tausche, Dania Karni, Katie Bo Lillis Organizations: CNN, Israel, Wednesday, United Arab, US, Israel’s, Iran’s, Zionist Locations: Tehran, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Arab, Iran, Damascus, Gaza, Lebanon, Beirut, France, cyberattacks, Saudi Arabia, Jordanian, backchannels, Washington, Yom, Tel Aviv

☆ Netanyahu rides wave of euphoria in Israel over Hezbollah assassinations as his political fortunes turn around
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-30 | by ( Mick Krever | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“It’s clear enemies of Israel,” she said, referring to those whom Israel says it is targeting. The next day, an explosion in a Tehran government guest house killed Hamas’ political leader, Ismail Haniyeh. But that scheme drew withering criticism from national security veterans and was finally quashed when Israel escalated the war in Lebanon. Jalaa Marey/AFP/Getty ImagesBroader political supportNadav Shtrauchler, a political strategist who has worked closely with Netanyahu, told CNN that bringing Sa’ar into government was intended to have three effects. Finally, he told CNN, broader political support is important as the war with Hezbollah escalates, and the possibility of a ground invasion looms.

Persons: Israel CNN —, Minister’s Benjamin Netanyahu’s, ”, Netanyahu, pollster, Dahlia Scheindlin, “, Amir Cohen, Israel, Hezbollah’s, Fu’ad, Ismail Haniyeh, Hassan Nasrallah, Gideon Sa’ar, Sa’ar, ” Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Gideon Sa'ar, Jalaa Marey, Nadav, Sa’ar –, –, Itamar Ben, Gvir, ” Shtrauchler, Netanyahu “, Gallant, ” Scheindlin, Benny Gantz, ” Gantz, toasting Organizations: Israel CNN, Hamas, Likud, Israel’s, CNN, Reuters, Revolutionary Guards, Getty, National, Israel Defense Forces ’ Locations: Tel Aviv, Israel, Lebanon, Gaza, Syria, Beirut, Tehran, Yemen, AFP, Sa’ar

☆ Fans of the Bachelor Could Decide the 2024 Presidential Election
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-18 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Andy Kiersz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Ben Higgins tried to parlay his Bachelor success into a political career, but the campaign didn't last long. The focus on Bachelor Nation also makes sense given the franchise's viewership is dominated by one of the most crucial swing votes of recent elections: white women. In the past two presidential elections, white women were the most closely split demographic subgroup tracked by major exit polls. In 2016, Donald Trump won over 52% of white women against Hillary Clinton's 43%, exit polls found, while Trump bested Joe Biden in 2020 among white women 55% to 44%. The overlap between the swingiest demographic and the "Bachelor" audience suggests Bachelor Nation has value to those who seek to lead our nation.

Persons: Ben Higgins, Charming, Higgins, He's, that's, Acierto, Young Sheldon, Joey Graziadei's, Graziadei, Doug Emhoff, Kamala Harris, Chad Kultgen, Lizzy Pace, Pace, Harris, Kultgen, Joey Graziadei, John Fleenor, Walz, Big, YouGov, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton's, Trump, Joe Biden, Hulu —, they're, Natasha Scott, Reichel, Rose, Scott, Claire Fallon —, —, Becca Kufrin's, Fallon, Emma Gray, Garrett Yrigoyen, Kufrin, Yrigoyen, — Colton Underwood, — Fallon, Matt James, Rachael Kirkconnell, James ', Chris Harrison, it's, Justine Kay, Charity Lawson —, Joe Biden's, he's, Juliana Kaplan, Andy Kiersz Organizations: Disney, ABC, NFL, Valentine's, White, Daily, Nation, Pew Research, Trump, Hulu, Girls, Bachelor Nation Locations: American, Colorado, America, Atlanta, Quinnipiac, Georgia, North Carolina, Hulu, Washington

☆ The Hard-Partying Lawyers Who Get Negligent Companies to Pay Billions
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-05 | by ( Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +23 min

In 2023, mass-tort lawyers spent $152 million on TV ads and millions more on social media. The data provider X Ante estimated that in 2023, mass-tort lawyers spent $152 million on TV ads and millions more on social media. The decades that followed mass torts' onset on the national stage showed the big risks and big rewards of mass torts. AdvertisementIn a class action, a settlement is public, and the judge has to approve the lawyers' fees. But others are confident that indebted mass-tort lawyers can bounce back from a few bad bets.

Persons: Mike Papantonio, Pap, Johnson, Paul Cody, Bayer, Chris Seeger, audibles, Budd, Ness Motley, Motley Rice, South Carolina —, doling, Seeger, Wyeth, Phil Federico, Paul Hanly who'd, Federico, Lejeune, who've, Camp Lejeune, mack, Curt Miner, I've, Don Worley, Worley, —, Daniel A, Mark Lanier, wouldn't, Elizabeth Chamblee Burch, Burch, Ellen Relkin, Merck, Vioxx, There's, Lucian Pera, Keller Postman, Jeremy Troxel, Keller, Troxel, Michael McDonald, Warren Postman, Postman, Kelsey Vlamis, Jack Newsham Organizations: Wynn, Vegas, Camp Lejeune, pharma, Supreme, X, Pfizer, Defense, Marines, Veterans, Foreign, US Marine Corps, Johnson, University of Georgia, Business, Intuit, Rihanna, Morning Investments, Fortress Investment, Gramercy Funds, Deepwater, Investments Locations: Camp, Texas, South Carolina, Baltimore, North Carolina, Camp Lejeune, America, Beverly Hills , California, nonbanks

☆ From Tips to TikTok, Trump Swaps Policies With Aim to Please Voters
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-08 | by ( Alan Rappeport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“Everybody loves it,” Mr. Trump said to cheers. The reversal is one of many that Mr. Trump has made in his bid to return to the presidency and underscores his malleability in election-year policymaking. From TikTok to cryptocurrencies, the former president has been reinventing his platform on the fly as he aims to attract different swaths of voters. At times, Mr. Trump appears to be staking out new positions to differentiate himself from Vice President Kamala Harris or, perhaps, just to please crowds. To close observers of the machinations of Mr. Trump’s first term, the shift on tips, a policy that has become a regular part of his stump speech, has been particularly striking.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, ” Mr, “, Kamala Harris, Trump’s Locations: cryptocurrencies

☆ Don’t help Russia evade sanctions, Ukraine tells Hong Kong
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-26 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong CNN —Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged Hong Kong to prevent Russia from using the Asian financial hub to bypass Western sanctions during a visit to the city on Thursday. Kuleba “called on the Hong Kong administration to take measures to prevent Russia and Russian companies from using Hong Kong to circumvent the restrictive measures imposed for Russia’s aggression against Ukraine,” according to a statement from Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Ministry issued after the minister met with Hong Kong leader John Lee. “These restrictive measures are necessary to weaken Russia’s capacity to wage war and kill people in Ukraine,” it added. In a statement, a spokesperson for the Hong Kong government told CNN on Friday that it “implements and strictly enforces” United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions. However, international companies based in Hong Kong, including Chinese banks, have generally adhered to US sanctions to avoid any risk of being frozen out of the dollar dominated global financial system.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN —, Dmytro Kuleba, “, Hong, John Lee, Hong Kong, Wang Yi, ” Kuleba, Wang Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Hong Kong CNN — Ukraine’s, European Union, Hong, Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs, CNN, ” United Nations Security Council, UN, Assembly, UNSC, EU, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Kyiv, Beijing Locations: China, Hong Kong, Russia, United States, Ukraine, Russian, United Kingdom, Hong, Beijing, Moscow, Western, Guangzhou, Ukrainian

☆ Steve Bannon filmed Jeffrey Epstein for 15 hours. His 'documentary' has never surfaced.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-17 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

Read previewBefore his 2019 death in jail, Jeffrey Epstein spent hours being interviewed on camera by Steve Bannon. AdvertisementAlexandra Preate, a spokesperson for Bannon, told BI in December 2021 that the documentary about Epstein would be screened "probably around Labor Day." In the 2000s, Trump and Jeffrey Epstein fought over Trump's purchase of a Palm Beach mansion that Epstein coveted. Mark Epstein said Jeffrey Epstein told him he wasn't subpoenaed for any depositions at that time. "You were the only person I was afraid of during the campaign," Bannon told Epstein, according to Wolff's book.

Persons: —, Jeffrey Epstein, Steve Bannon, Bannon, Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein —, Donald Trump's, He's, Kevin McCarthy, Alexandra Preate, Preate, Trump Bannon, Mark Epstein, Jeffrey Epstein's, Donald Trump, Melania Knauss, Jeffrey, Trump, Bannon's, Steve Bannon's, Jacob Shamsian, wasn't, would've, Brett Kavanaugh, Kavanaugh, he's, Mike Lindell, I've, It's, Guo Wengui, Guo —, Ho Wan Kwok, Miles Guo —, Guo, Leon Black, Black, Epstein's, David Bossie, Bobbi Sternheim, Gloria Allred, Arick Fudali, didn't, David Schoen, Brad Edwards, Emma, Jo Morris, Hunter, Morris, Michael Wolff, Wolff, Julie K, Brown, Alexander Acosta, Acosta, Ehud Barak, Reid Weingarten, Rachel Maddow, Gayle King, King, Patrick Semansky, he'd, Diana, Jean Carroll, Bergdorf Goodman, Carroll Organizations: Service, New York, Business, Global, Victory Films, Trump, Capitol, Labor, Daily, Miami Herald, Davidoff, BI, Voting Systems, Apollo Global Management, White, Citizens United, Office, Southern, of, New, Trump White Locations: Manhattan, Paris, Palm Beach , Florida, Mexico, Danbury , Connecticut, Palm Beach, New York, jshamsian@businessinsider.com, JacobShamsian, York, Miami, Florida, Trump

☆ Opinion: It’s time more horror films push back against queer stereotypes
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-13 | by ( Opinion Noah Berlatsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

But the portrayal of trans women as predators was a new innovation that had a huge impact on the horror genre. Andit had a big impact on Jonathan Demme’s “The Silence of the Lambs” in which the terrifying serial killer, Buffalo Bill, is a predatory trans woman (or more precisely, as Jos Truitt has explained, Bill is a transphobic caricature of a trans woman). The danger isn’t from trans women — it’s from heterosexual cis patriarchs — a reality much truer to life than Hitchcock’s fever dream. Perhaps in part for that reason, the director is careful not to make Longlegs trans or gay. It’s not just “Longlegs” which displaces violence onto queer people: Movies like “Psycho” and “Silence of the Lambs” are often acts of aggression aimed by male directors at queer people (and especially at queer women).

Persons: Noah Berlatsky, —, Noah Berlatsky Noah Berlatsky, Oz Perkins, Julia Ducournau’s “, ”, John Logan’s “, Longlegs ”, “, Lee Harker, Maika Monroe, Perkins, Anthony Perkins, Norman Bates, Alfred Hitchcock’s, ” Hitchcock, Bates, he’s, Norman, fatales, Hitchcock, Brian DePalma’s, Jason, James Wan’s, Andit, Jonathan Demme’s “, Bill, Jos Truitt, Alfred Hitchcock, Harker, it’s, Harker’s, Hunter ”, Perkins doesn’t, Longlegs, Nicholas Cage, Berry Berenson, Ted Levine, Ken Regan, Orion, queerness, Marc Bolan, Buffalo Bill, It’s Organizations: CNN, FBI, Lambs, Paramount, “, DOJ, Buffalo, Twitter Locations: Chicago, Hollywood, UCLA

☆ Opinion: Why Jill Biden won’t urge the President to end his reelection bid
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-02 | by ( Opinion Kate Andersen Brower | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

But for anxious Democrats hoping Jill Biden will step in, don’t hold your breath. Jill Biden has been by his side for almost that entire time. Jill Biden believes that there is no one else who can defeat former President Donald Trump who poses a serious threat to democracy. President Biden and first lady Jill Biden, right, arrive on Marine One with granddaughters Natalie Biden, from left, and Finnegan Biden in East Hampton, N.Y. on Saturday -- two days after his disappointing debate performance. “Jill Biden, I begin to suspect, doesn’t want to talk about her feelings.

Persons: Kate Andersen Brower, Joe Biden, Jill Biden, Kate Brower katebrower.com Joe Biden, Catherine “ Jean ” Finnegan Biden, Biden, Valerie Biden Owens, Hunter, Jill, Joe isn’t, ”, “, Joe, ‘, you’ve, ’ ”, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Melania Trump, à la Nancy Reagan, Nancy Reagan, Natalie Biden, Finnegan, Evan Vucci, Symone Sanders, Sanders, ” Jill, misspoke, Lady Jill Biden, Norman Jean Roy, Vogue Jill Biden, don’t, Biden’s, Camp David, “ Jill Biden, doesn’t, Singer, Trump, Hillary Clinton, Rosalynn Carter, Ronald Reagan, Rosalynn, Jimmy, Betty Ford, Carter, —, Lady Bird Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, John F, Lady Bird Organizations: White, CNN, New, Stonewall, Republican, Finnegan Biden, Biden campaign’s, Vogue Magazine, Vogue, CBS, Camp, New York Times, Trump Locations: East Hampton, N.Y, Los Angeles, New Hampshire, Washington, Minnesota, Vietnam

☆ S&P 500 returns 15% in the first half in an unusually smooth ride
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-29 | by ( Michael Santoli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

A 15% year-to-date total return in the S & P 500 is the 21 st best run through June since 1900, according to Goldman Sachs. The S & P 500 since the October 2023 correction low is up 33% for an annualized total return pace of 56%. The S & P has gone eight sessions without a move of as much as half a percent. True in magnitude: The market-cap-weighted S & P 500 has outgained its equal-weighted version by more than ten percentage points this year. Not only haven't up days been broadly inclusive, the direction of the S & P 500 has been running inverse to the daily breadth over the past month.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Sharpe, it's, we'd, I've, What's, Jeff deGraaf, Trump, We've, Poor's, what's Organizations: Nvidia, Walgreens, Nike, Apple, Technology, Communication Services Locations: hiccups

☆ Mark Zuckerberg's PR team can't stop him from posting, internal texts reveal
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewIn September 2021, Mark Zuckerberg threw his PR team into a crisis situation. The story said part of the strategy involved Zuckerberg posting more lighthearted content to help rehab his image, and cited a video he had posted of himself riding a hydrofoil while holding an American flag. In those messages, you can see how the PR team agonized over Zuckerberg's desire to post a zinger about the misidentified hydrofoil. Nick Clegg, head of public policy at Meta, was also strongly against Mark posting something flippant about the hydrofoil. A warning label is a misguided idea, in my opinion, but it is a pesky public problem for Meta.

Persons: —, Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Ryan Mac, Tucker Bounds, John Pinette, Pinette, I'm, Nick Clegg, Clegg, Meta Organizations: Service, New York Times, Business, Meta, The New York Times, Twitter, Facebook, US, MZ, Street Locations: New York, EU

☆ Opinion: ‘Hit Man’ does what ‘Double Indemnity’ couldn’t
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-07 | by ( Opinion Noah Berlatsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

“Hit Man” suggests that when backing away from misogyny, men, too, have more options, more happiness and more love. “Double Indemnity” turned the trope into an indelible archetype for the morally ambiguous world of film noir. Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray and Tom Powers are pictured in Billy Wilder's "Double Indemnity." The patriarchal world of “Double Indemnity” is as bleakly loveless for men as it is for women. “Hit Man,” and other contemporary noir films, in contrast, are trying to imagine a way out of the “Double Indemnity” double bind.

Persons: Noah Berlatsky, CNN —, ” Phyllis Dietrichson, Barbara Stanwyck, Billy Wilder’s, Wilder, Stanwyck, Phyllis, Noah Berlatsky Noah Berlatsky, Richard Linklater’s “, ”, Women’s, Circe, Walter, Fred MacMurray, Tom Powers, Billy Wilder's, Everett, Walter staggers, Keyes, Edward G, Robinson, “, fatales, John McNaughton’s, there’s, —, Justine Triet’s “, William Oldroyd’s “ Eileen, femme, Eileen, Sandra Hüller, Sandra, Justine Triet's, Maddy Masters, Adria Arjona, she’s, She’s, Maddy, Gary Johnson, Glen Powell, moonlighting, Ron, Gary, Maddy isn’t, Gary doesn’t, Linklater, bleakly loveless Organizations: CNN, Everett, Gary Locations: Chicago, today’s Hollywood

☆ 'House of the Dragon' Season 2 Review: 'GOT' Prequel Gets Even Better
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Palmer Haasch | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Was it when Alicent Hightower placed her son Aegon II on the throne? Was it when Alicent's second son, Aemond, killed Rhaenyra's son, Lucerys Velaryon, on dragonback? AdvertisementEwan Mitchell as Aemond Targaryen in "House of the Dragon" season two. Tom Glynn-Carney as Aegon II Targaryen in "House of the Dragon" season two. "House of the Dragon" season two premieres June 16 on HBO.

Persons: —, Rhaenrya Targaryen, Alicent Hightower, Alicent's, Aemond, Rhaenyra's, Lucerys, Rhaenys, Ewan Mitchell, Ollie Upton, Lord Corlys Velaryon, Aegon's, Rhaenyra, Emma D'Arcy's, Rhaenrya, Olivia Cooke, grapples, Jacaerys, Joffrey, Theo Whitman, Tom Glynn, Carney, Laena Velaryon's, Baela, Matt Smith's Daemon, willy, nilly Organizations: Service, Aegon, Business, Great Council, HBO, Greens

☆ Putin says it's 'obvious' that Trump's conviction is the result of 'an internal political struggle' in the US
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewFormer President Donald Trump's conviction in his Manhattan hush money criminal trial was due to his rivals' political machinations, Russian leader Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday. "They are burning themselves from the inside, their state, their political system," he said. On the contrary, they believe that these decisions were made for political reasons," Putin said on Wednesday, referencing the surge in donations to Trump's campaign, per the state-run Russian news agency TASS. AdvertisementIn February, Putin told Russian state media that Biden was his preferred candidate because he's "more experienced, more predictable." He wants Biden because he's going to be given everything he wants, including Ukraine," Trump said at a rally in South Carolina in February.

Persons: —, Donald Trump's, Vladimir Putin, Trump, Putin, Stormy Daniels, Trump's, Putin's, Crooked Joe Biden —, Biden, he's, stridently, There's Organizations: Service, St ., Economic, Reuters, Business, Biden Locations: Manhattan, St, St . Petersburg, United States, America, Russian, Ukraine, South Carolina

☆ New ‘Richard III’ Raises an Old Question: Who Should Wear the Crown?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Houman Barekat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Michelle Terry, the artistic director at Shakespeare’s Globe theater in London, decided to put on a production of “Richard III” with a feminist twist, she probably didn’t expect accusations of discrimination. The run-up to the show’s premiere on Tuesday was overshadowed by a controversy over the fact that Terry had cast herself as villainous title character despite not having a physical disability. Richard, described as “deformed” in the play’s opening lines, has traditionally been portrayed as a hunchback — almost always by able-bodied actors, with only a few notable exceptions in recent years. (In 2022 Arthur Hughes, who has radial dysplasia, became the first disabled actor to play Richard for the Royal Shakespeare Company.) When Shakespeare’s Globe announced its casting earlier this year, the Disabled Artists Alliance, a British organization, published an open letter condemning it as “offensive and distasteful,” since Richard’s “disabled identity is imbued and integral to all corners of the script.”

Persons: Michelle Terry, “ Richard III, Terry, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, Henry, Earl of Richmond, Henry VII, —, Arthur Hughes, ” Organizations: Shakespeare’s Globe, Royal Shakespeare Company, Disabled Artists Alliance Locations: London, British

Once Mr. Trump was elected, he agreed to repay Mr. Cohen for the $130,000 hush-money deal and more. And at a meeting in Trump Tower just weeks before he was sworn in, Mr. Trump signed off on the fakery, Mr. Cohen recounted from the stand. “What, if anything, did Mr. Trump say at that time?” a prosecutor asked Mr. Cohen. There, he said, Mr. Trump’s chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, explained how Mr. Trump would reimburse Mr. Cohen for the payoff. To reach Mr. Trump, Mr. Cohen testified, he called the candidate’s bodyguard, Keith Schiller.

Persons: Donald J, Todd Blanche, Blanche, Michael D, Cohen, Trump, Trump’s, —, Alvin L, Bragg, Cohen —, Marc F, Scholl, ”, ” Mr, Stormy Daniels, Mr, “, Michael M, Joshua Steinglass, Juan M, Merchan —, “ Trump, David Pecker, Pecker, Hope Hicks, Penny, Daniels, Allen Weisselberg, Weisselberg, Susan Hoffinger, Cohen’s, Keith Schiller, Schiller, William K, Rashbaum Organizations: Trump, Mr, Trump “, New, National Enquirer, Playboy, fixer Locations: Manhattan, New York

☆ Opinion: Iran’s president is dead. The cruel show goes on
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

She is a weekly opinion contributor to CNN, a contributing columnist to The Washington Post and senior columnist for World Politics Review. Expect clerics and security forces – the military and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – to compete to see who can gain the upper hand, with hardliners in both groups seeking to position themselves for dominance. The chance of a kinder, gentler Iran emerging after new presidential elections are held in 50 days are essentially nil. He won, but most voters spoiled their ballots or stayed home, with the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history. Now Raisi is dead and the odds are that he will be replaced by another hardliner.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Ebrahim Raisi, Raisi, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, –, Ali Khamenei, Khamenei acolyte, ”, Mahsa Amini, ” Raisi Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Islamic, Ukraine, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Army, Amnesty International, Green Movement, US Locations: Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic, Iran, Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Damascus, Russia, China, North Korea, Tehran, Saudi Arabia

☆ The biggest bombshells from Michael Cohen's testimony were all in Trump's own words
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

But in his under-oath testimony for Trump's criminal trial Monday, Cohen placed Trump firmly in the room where it happened. AdvertisementIn 2015, Trump told Cohen he would run for president. When Cohen told Trump about it, his response was, "She's really beautiful," Cohen said. According to Cohen, Trump's goal was to postpone the payment until after the November 2016 election, at which point he didn't think it would matter. "I used quite a few expletives," complaining to Weisselberg, Cohen told jurors.

Persons: —, Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Donald Trump's, Cohen, Trump, Trump's, Daniels, Karen McDougal, Donald Trump, Jon Kopaloff, Curtis Means, Steve Granitz, " Cohen, David Pecker, Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz's, Lee Harvey Oswald, Marco Rubio, Pecker, Melania Trump, — Cohen, TheDirty.com, Keith Davidson, Allen Weisselberg, Brendan McDermid, didn't, Weisselberg, Cohen he'd, Allen, Michael, stiffed, Susan Hoffinger Organizations: Service, Business, Trump, American Media Inc, National Enquirer, AMI, Republican, Washington Post, Manhattan Criminal Court, Reuters, Trump Organization Locations: Manhattan, Trump, Mar, Florida

Michael D. Cohen, the do-anything fixer who once boasted of burying Donald J. Trump’s secrets and spreading his lies, took the stand at the former president’s criminal trial in Manhattan on Monday and exposed those machinations to the jury and the world. Narrating the prosecution’s case in tell-all detail, Mr. Cohen testified that Mr. Trump in 2016 had personally directed him to pay off a porn star and had approved a dubious reimbursement plan. “Just do it,” the former fixer recalled Mr. Trump saying about the hush-money payment to the porn star, Stormy Daniels. After Mr. Trump had won the White House, Mr. Cohen demanded his money back, he said, and met with Mr. Trump, who approved monthly reimbursements. Then, the president-elect changed the subject to his new job, saying “This is going to be one heck of a ride in D.C.”

Persons: Michael D, Cohen, Donald J, Trump, Stormy Daniels, ” Organizations: White, Mr Locations: Manhattan

☆ Homeowners Who Planned to Demolish Marilyn Monroe House Sue Los Angeles
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Remy Tumin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The owners of the house where Marilyn Monroe last lived and died are suing the city of Los Angeles over what they call “backroom machinations” as part of efforts to landmark the house and save it from a planned demolition. In a lawsuit filed in Superior Court in Los Angeles County on Monday, lawyers for Brinah Milstein and Roy Bank accused the city of violating its own codes and conspiring with third parties to secure its desired outcome during a hurried process to designate the house at 12305 Fifth Helena Drive a historical landmark last fall. This lawsuit highlights how the city engaged in a “corrupt process to guarantee their preferred outcome rather than engaging in a neutral and fair process,” Peter C. Sheridan, a lawyer for the couple, said in a statement. The city did not respond to a request for comment. Ms. Monroe was the world’s most famous woman when she moved in March 1962 to Fifth Helena Drive, a secluded residential street in the Brentwood neighborhood that is part of a set of 25 cul-de-sacs off Carmelina Avenue.

Persons: Marilyn Monroe, ”, Brinah Milstein, Peter C, Sheridan, Monroe Organizations: Roy Bank, Fifth Helena, Fifth Locations: Los Angeles, Superior Court, Los Angeles County, Brentwood

☆ Trump Hush-Money Trial Sees 'Falsified' Documents at Heart of Case
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Those witnesses, longtime Trump Organization employees Jeffrey McConney and Deborah Tarassoff, handled the checks, invoices, and other records that comprise the 34 business records the Manhattan district attorney's office alleges Trump illegally falsified. He was sentenced to five months in jail in 2022 for a Trump Organization felony payroll tax-fraud prosecution, and is now serving another five-month sentence for felony perjury in last year's Trump Organization civil fraud trial. The Trump Organization needed to reimburse Cohen for some money, McConney testified that Weissberg told him. Yet another Trump Organization employee would FedEx the checks to Trump in DC, he testified. In the afternoon, prosecutor Christopher Conroy slogged through more records with Tarasoff, who said she has worked at the Trump Organization for 24 years.

Persons: —, Donald Trump's, Jeffrey McConney, Deborah Tarassoff, Trump, Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Daniels, Melania Trump, McConney, Cohen, Allen Weisselberg, Weisselberg, Weissberg, Colangelo, Keith Davidson —, Jeffrey McConney's, pic.twitter.com, c2d9IQyKe5, Jacob Shamsian ⚖️, Dear Allen, Christopher Conroy slogged, Tarasoff, Todd Blanche, yawn, Conroy, Tarassoff, he'd Organizations: Service, Prosecutors, Trump, Business, Trump Organization, Attorney, Tahoe, White, FedEx Locations: Donald Trump's Manhattan, Manhattan, Weisselberg, Florida, Trump, New York, DC, Sharpie

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