The Oscars. The Met Gala. Olympic Games. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo have gone all out to promote the upcoming "Wicked" film, donning an entire wardrobe of pink and green outfits. However, one of their interviews with Out magazine seemed to defy gravity in an unexpected way. In a snippet of the recorded chat, reporter Tracy E. Gilchrist shared with the "Wicked" cast a finding she's noticed among gay fans about the Broadway musical-turned-movie's theme song: "I've seen this week people are taking the lyrics of 'Defying Gravity' and really holding space with that and feeling power in that." To which Erivo remarked, "I didn't know that was happening," "I've seen it, yeah," agreed Gilchrist. A quiet "That's really powerful," Erivo murmured. "That s what I wanted." Erivo paused for a moment...

For those seeking treatment for obesity, the Biden administration intends to mandate that Medicare and Medicaid provide coverage for weight-loss drugs. The government on Tuesday proposed a new rule that would significantly increase access to anti-obesity drugs like Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Mounjaro and Zepbound. Weight loss medications are not covered by Medicare unless they are prescribed to treat diabetes or to control an elevated risk of heart disease. Medicaid may or may not cover obesity medications, however most states do not. By categorizing obesity pills as treatment for a "chronic disease," as opposed to weight reduction therapies, the Biden administration is attempting to reinterpret the statute that prohibits coverage. "The medical community today agrees...

Washington A former FBI informant has been charged with tax offenses. The informant's fraudulent allegations regarding President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden were "the heart" of the Republican impeachment investigation into the president. Ten different tax-related charges have now been brought against Alexander Smirnov, the former FBI informant who was accused of lying to the FBI regarding President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. According to the new indictment, Smirnov earned over two million dollars in 2020, 2021, and 2022 from a variety of sources. He also purchased a Bentley, a $1.4 million condominium in Las Vegas, and hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of clothing, jewelry, and accessories for himself and his domestic partner from upscale stores in Las Vegas and Los Angel...

In court on Tuesday, a furious Rudy Giuliani yelled at the judge overseeing the collection process for the $146 million defamation judgment against him, claiming he was struggling to make ends meet. Giuliani said, "The implications you are making against me are wrong," in response to U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman's statement that Donald Trump's former personal attorney had not been following court orders to turn over his assets. All of my possessions are tied up, including my automobile, credit card, and cash. I am unable to pay my invoices because they have placed stop orders on my company accounts. The judge cautioned Giuliani from having any more outbursts and stated that he did not seem to be impoverished. Attorneys representing former Georgia election workers Shaye Moss and Ruby Fre...

Jerusalem His office declared that the ministers had approved a ceasefire with Hezbollah to end hostilities in Lebanon, shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that he had suggested the measure. Although his administration stated that Israel "reserves its right to act against any threat to its security," In a televised speech, Netanyahu stated, "The ceasefire allows us to focus on the Iranian threat." "We will complete the elimination of Hamas, the return of all the hostages and the return of the residents of the north." President Joe Biden praised the U.S.-brokered agreement, which will go into effect Wednesday at 4 a.m. local time. A senior Israeli intelligence officer who was informed on the parameters of the ceasefire earlier told NBC News that Israel's forces ...

According to minutes from the November meeting that were made public on Tuesday, Federal Reserve officials expressed confidence that inflation is slowing and the labor market is robust, allowing for additional interest rate decreases, albeit gradually. Several words in the meeting report suggested that policymakers are content with the rate of inflation, despite the fact that it is still higher than the Fed's target of 2% by most metrics. Members of the Federal Open Market Committee stated that additional rate reduction are expected to occur, but they did not say when or to what extent, in light of this and their belief that the jobs outlook is still somewhat stable. According to the minutes, participants in the discussion of the outlook for monetary policy expected that it would be approp...

The new Hallmark film Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story is around a romance with a Kansas City Chiefs theme. However, pop sensation Taylor Swift and tight end Travis Kelce won't be mentioned. The movie, which premieres on Hallmark on Saturday, is only partially based on the couple's well-known romance. Nonetheless, there are numerous NFL connections, such as appearances by Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, a number of players, and Donna Kelce, who is the mother of Travis Kelce and his brother Jason, a former NFL player. It was released at a time when the NFL and Hallmark are trying to reach a wider audience. Fans who have long wished for Swift's happiness have been enthralled with her public and viral romance with Kelce for the past year. Swifties, as the artist's admirers refer to themse...

After his safety bar unlatched on Sunday, an Arizona man claimed to have climbed off of a moving roller coaster; the terrifying escape was captured on camera. The man, who said he was celebrating his niece s birthday at Castles N Coasters in Phoenix, toldNBC affiliate KPNXhe was riding Desert Storm, a double-looping roller coaster, when his lap bar unlatched just seconds after the ride began. Although he requested anonymity, he sent KPNX cell phone footage of the coaster disaster. The individual told the Phoenix site, "You hear the click of the chain of the normal roller coaster as we start the climb." "We get just about to the top and I hear a click different from the click of the chain taking us up and so I checked my lap bar one last time and it released." He told KPNX that he believes...

Rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar's feud erupted on the radio this summer. It has now discovered a new venue: the legal system. In a legal filing on Monday, Drake claimed that Universal Music Group had colluded to use payola and bots to inflate Kendrick Lamar's summer hit song "Not Like Us" on Spotify. The two recorded a number of diss tunes this summer that were directed at one another. Perhaps the most well-known was Kendrick Lamar's May release, "Not Like Us," which spent several weeks at the top of Billboard's Hot 100. In the petition submitted to the New York Supreme Court on Monday, the Canadian rapper asserted that the popularity of "Not Like Us" was the result of dishonest tactics rather than natural streams. Drake's business, Frozen Moments LLC, filed a lawsuit. In New York, a peti...

Aaron Rodgers, the quarterback for the New York Jets, stated on Tuesday that if he plays next season, he would love to stay with the team. Although the 40-year-old Rodgers did not promise to play again in 2025, he stated that the Jets would be his first option if he did. On ESPN's "The Pat McAfee Show," Rodgers addressed reports that he would like to play elsewhere by saying, "As far as my future goes, I haven't told anybody in my life that I want to play in 2025 and not on the Jets." "I'm not jumping off ship," he continued. New York would be my first choice, but I'm not even sure whether I want to play yet. Given his individual and the team's difficulties thus far this season, Rodgers' future in the NFL and with New York has come under scrutiny. In 2024, the three-time MVP has his lowest...