Author: Grace Thompson

Denzel Washingtonmay have said thathis same-sex kiss in Gladiator IIwas cut from the movie because the powers that be got chicken, but, according to directorRidley Scott, the kiss may not have happened at all. No, that s bulls---, Scott told me Monday night at the Gladiator II premiere in Hollywood. He later added, They never did. They acted the moment it didn t happen. Washington, meanwhile, claimed that it was simply a peck on the lips. It really is much ado about nothing, Washington said at the premiere. They re making more of it than it was. I kissed him on his hands, I gave him a peck and I killed him. During a recent interview withGayetey, Washington revealed that I actually kissed a man in the film but they took it out, they cut it, I think they got chicken. I kissed ...

BRASILIA/SAO PAULO Brazilian police on Tuesday arrested five people, including a member of former President Jair Bolsonaro s government, suspected of involvement in an alleged plan to kill then president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his vice-president in 2022 days before they took office, police said. The arrests were the first time in the investigation that federal police have mentioned a plot to kill Lula and Geraldo Alckmin, his choice as vice-president, and stage a coup to stop him returning to power. Most of those investigated are military personnel with Special Forces training, the police said in a statement. Two sources close to the case told Reuters that one of those arrested was retired Brigadier General Mario Fernandes, who previously worked as former rightist president ...

Two underwater communication cables were cut in the Baltic Sea on Tuesday, prompting U.S. allies to warn of "hybrid warfare" amid fears that these could be the most recent sabotage attempts against the West in its conflict with Russia. Following the discovery of a rupture in a 730-mile cable between Germany and Finland on Monday, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated on Tuesday that "no one believes that these cables were cut accidentally". "We have to state, without knowing specifically who it came from, that it is a hybrid action," he stated. Additionally, we must presume that it is sabotage even though we are not yet aware of this. Following the discovery of damage to a different cable that connects the Baltic country to Sweden's Gotland Island on Sunday, Lithuania's navy annou...

WASHINGTON The administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Deanne Criswell, is set to face questions from House lawmakers Tuesday about the federal government's response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton that caused catastrophic damage in the Southeast. Criswell will testify before a House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee first, at 10 a.m. ET, and then the House Oversight Committee at 2 p.m. ET. House Republicans are expected to grill the FEMA chief about revelations that an agency worker said she was told by higher-ups to skip over houses with Trump signs in Florida. Criswell fired the worker and said she found the employee's actions reprehensible." But the worker, Marn i Washington, has gone on Fox News and other news outlets to allege there was a directive f...

Instagram users will soon be able to manually reset the recommendation algorithm that determines what they see in their feeds. Instagram, which is owned by Facebook parent Meta Platforms, saidin a blog post Tuesdaythat the change was particularly designed to ensure teenagers see more appropriate content. We want to make sure everyone on Instagram especially teens has safe, positive, age-appropriate experiences and feels the time they re spending on Instagram is valuable, the company said. We want to give teens new ways to shape their Instagram experience, so it can continue to reflect their passions and interests as they evolve. In just a few steps, Instagram said, users will be able to clear the recommended content across their Explore, Reels and Feed tabs. Once in resetting mode, u...

Norway's royal familyfound itself embroiled in an intensifying scandal Tuesday after the son of the country's crown princess was arrested on suspicion of rape. Marius Borg Hoiby, 27, was arrested Monday on a preliminary charge of having "sexual intercourse with someone who is unconscious or for other reasons is unable to resist the act,"police in the capital, Oslo, saidin a statement early Tuesday. He was also charged with one count of "abuse in close relationships," violating a restraining order, and driving without a valid driver s license, police said Tuesday. A preliminary charge comes before a formal charge, and allows law enforcement to detain a suspect for further investigation. They add to the growing list of charges against the Oslo socialite, the eldest child of Norwegian Crown P...

The the theft by armed men of nearly 100 trucks loaded with food and other humanitarian aid over the weekend sent prices soaring andcaused shortages in central Gazawhere hundreds of thousands are crammed into squalid tent camps. An even moresevere hunger crisis is underway in the north, where Israel has been waging a weekslong offensive that has killed hundreds of people and driven tens of thousands from their homes. Experts say a famine might already have set in there. On Monday, a crowd of people waited outside a shuttered bakery in the central city ofDeir al-Balah. A woman who had been displaced from Gaza City, identifying herself as Umm Shadi, said the price of flour had climbed to 400 shekels (over $100) a bag, if it can even be found. Nora Muhanna, another woman displaced fromGaza Ci...

U.S. allies warned of "hybrid warfare" Tuesday aftertwo undersea communication cableswere severed in the Baltic Sea, raising suspicions that they may be the latest acts of sabotage targeting the West as it clashes with Russia. German Defense MinisterBoris Pistoriussaid Tuesday that "no one believes that these cables were cut accidentally" after a rupture in a 730-mile cable linking Germany and Finland was detected Monday. "We have to state, without knowing specifically who it came from, that it is a hybrid action," he said. "And we also have to assume, without knowing it yet, that it is sabotage. Lithuania s navy said Tuesday that it had increased monitoring of its waters after damage to a separate cable connectingthe Baltic nationwith Sweden s Gotland Island was detected on Sunday. Swed...

New York City declared a drought warning on Monday, its first in 22 years, as the Northeast deals with severe dry conditions and brush fires during a historically dry autumn. Mayor Eric Adams and the city s Department of Environmental Protection elevated a drought watch issued on Nov. 2, citing the city's longest rainless streak in recorded history. The last drought warning in New York City was issued in 2002. It s hard to believe that we d be talking about brush fires and droughts in New York City, Adams said in a news conference, attributing the conditions to climate change. Our reservoirs are nowhere near where they should be, and our city and watershed continues to experience significant precipitation shortages. Under the watch, the mayor ordered city agencies to implement protocols ...

Minnesota Democratic party chair Ken Martin has formally announced his bid to lead the Democratic National Committee, as the party attempts to piece itself together following a stinging defeat against Donald Trump. "If you're looking for a creature of D.C., that's not me. But I do know how the DNC works and how it isn't working," Martin said in a video posted to social media Tuesday morning, adding, "We need to reconnect our ideas which we know are popular in red, blue and purple states across this country back to our party and to our candidates." Martin, a DNC vice chair and leader of the Association of State Democratic Committees, has gained early traction with some delegates according to interviews with several state DNC members. He joins Martin O'Malley, former presidential candida...