Politics

Sen. Raphael Warnock has won reelection in Georgia, the Associated Press reports, giving the Democrats a 51-49 majority in the U.S. Senate. Warnock defeated first-time candidate Herschel Walker, whose campaign was beset by allegations that he paid two women to have abortions. Warnock finished ahead of Walker in the election on Nov. 8, but fell

Jiang Zemin, the former President of China has died. He was 96. News of his death was announced Wednesday by the Central Committee of the Communist Party. It reported that he suffered leukemia and died from multiple organ failure in Shanghai. Jiang was China’s top leader for almost 10 years from March 1993 to March

“Hillbilly Elegy” director Ron Howard admits he was “surprised” by J.D. Vance’s embrace of Donald Trump and the GOP’s conservative ideology during his recent successful campaign for Ohio senator. “To be honest, I was surprised,” Howard told Variety at the Academy’s Governors Awards Saturday in Los Angeles. “When I was getting to know J.D., we

Donald Trump has been allowed back on Twitter, Elon Musk has decided. Trump was kicked off Twitter on Jan. 8, 2021 — permanently, the company said at the time — for his role in the Jan. 6 deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol. Twitter said it banned Trump because he posed a risk of inciting

Karen Bass has been elected the 43rd mayor of Los Angeles, and the first woman, the Associated Press projected on Wednesday. Businessman Rick Caruso called Bass to concede the race on Wednesday evening. “The people of Los Angeles have sent a clear message: It is time for change and it is time for urgency,” Bass

Donald J. Trump will run for President of the United States again, seeking the Republican Party nomination in 2024. The former president announced his campaign Tuesday evening during a rally event near his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. “In order to make American great and glorious again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for President of

Karen Bass has expanded her lead over Rick Caruso to 4.3%, putting her closer to making history as the first female mayor of Los Angeles. Bass now holds 52.2% of the vote, with a margin of 29,271 ballots over Caruso, who has 47.8%. She trailed by 2.5% on the morning after election day, but has

I started my path to become a Marine in 1962 when I signed on to the Platoon Leaders Class program as I entered Fordham College in New York. At Fordham, the Jesuits drilled me on the importance of ethics and integrity. The Marine drill was all about discipline, leadership and, indeed, legacy. Combined, these foundation

Karen Bass and Rick Caruso are in a close battle to become the next mayor of Los Angeles, as voters proved highly divided over who is best equipped to tackle the city’s homelessness crisis. In early returns, the vote was split almost evenly, with Caruso taking 50.3% to 49.7% for Bass. The ballot counting will

Control of the House and Senate are up for grabs in Tuesday’s midterm elections, which has been marked by concerns over high inflation, crime and threats to abortion rights. J.D. Vance, a Republican, was declared the winner of a close Senate race in Ohio, beating Rep. Tim Ryan. Democrat Maggie Hassan was re-elected in New

California Governor Gavin Newsom is poised to stay in office for a second four-year term following his win at the 2022 state gubernatorial election on Nov. 8. The Associated Press quickly called the race after polls closed in the state. The outcome is unsurprising given Newsom’s sweeping success at California’s top-two primary on June 7,

For the last 16 years, the New York Comedy Festival has hosted Stand Up for Heroes, which brings together elite comedy talent to raise money for the Bob Woodruff Foundation, a non-profit that has raised and distributed more than $120 million to support veterans.  This year featured Hasan Minhaj, Iliza Shlesinger, Jeff Ross and Jon

Hulu hosted a screening of the Season 5 finale of “The Handmaid’s Tale” on Monday night. I asked the cast and creatives on the carpet if producers or the streamer intentionally planned the event to coincide with Election Day. “We’re weirdly aligned with what’s happening, aren’t we?” Yvonne Strahovski said. The series adaptation of Margaret

IATSE has joined the list of supporters for Karen Bass’ mayoral race and endorsed the congresswoman for Los Angeles mayor. With early voting underway ahead of election day on Nov. 8, Bass made a pitstop Thursday morning at IATSE headquarters in Burbank, Calif. where she met with representatives from various locals. Among the topics Bass

Imran Khan, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, has been shot in the leg in what is being described by his supporters as an assassination attempt. The incident took place at Wazirabad on Thursday. A gunman opened fire during a rally where Khan was delivering a speech. Khan has been whisked away to safety. “This

Will Elon Musk let Donald Trump back on Twitter now that the conservative-leaning tech titan owns the place — and would the ex-president want to come back? Trump was permanently banned from Twitter and other mainstream internet platforms in early 2021 for supporting the Jan. 6 rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol. On Friday, he

Media, technology and entertainment have a diversity problem. Barely 5% of films are directed by Latinos and less than 4% by people of Asian descent, while only 1% of venture capital funding is invested in companies with Black founders and just 5% of music executives are Latino. Plenty of stories have been written about how film and

The publication date and title of Prince Harry’s memoir has finally been confirmed by Penguin Random House. The publishing titans have said the British royal’s memoir will be titled “Spare” and have set a release date of Jan. 10 – notably missing the usually crucial Christmas market. The hardcover edition has been priced at $36.

New U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has re-appointed Michelle Donelan as culture secretary. Donelan was appointed by Sunak’s predecessor Liz Truss, who lasted only 44 days as Prime Minister before she was dramatically forced to resign last week. Donelan was formerly universities minister and education minister, the latter role lasting only two days in Boris

Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak is all set to become the next Prime Minister of the U.K. after comfortably seeing off leadership challenges from former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt. By 2pm U.K. time on Monday, Oct. 24, the cut off time for the leadership

Less than three weeks before the midterm elections in the U.S., the Republican National Committee has sued Google — claiming Gmail is flagging the group’s fundraising emails as spam because of the RNC’s conservative views. The RNC filed a lawsuit Friday, Oct. 21, against Google in federal district court in California claiming the internet giant

It’s no exaggeration to say that parts of Los Angeles look like scenes from a disaster movie.  The swelling ranks of people living in tents, vehicles and makeshift shelters on the streets of Los Angeles have reached humanitarian-crisis proportions. The dire need to address the upsurge of slumlike encampments dotting the city’s streets, the San

Embattled U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss has been ousted from office. Truss, a Conservative politician who was voted in as leader of her party only on Sept. 6, announced her resignation on Thursday. She served the shortest term ever for a U.K. Prime Minister, 44 days. A leadership election will take place in the next

As his term in office winds down, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has kept a low profile. But he spoke at a recent downtown luncheon and offered some advice to the next mayor — whether it’s Karen Bass or Rick Caruso. “The top three issues for my successor — it’s housing, it’s housing and it’s

Update: Liz Truss has appointed Jeremy Hunt as the new Chancellor of the Exchequer. Hunt, who has previously served as culture secretary and health secretary, supported Truss’s rival Rishi Sunak in the recent Conservative leadership contest. Previously: U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss has sacked Kwasi Kwarteng as Chancellor of the Exchequer – the government’s top

Buckingham Palace has set a date for the coronation of King Charles III. The ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 6, at Westminster Abbey, and will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. The King’s coronation — which happens to fall on the same day as the fourth birthday of Meghan Markle

SAG-AFTRA on Monday called for the resignations of three Los Angeles council members and the president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, after the council president was caught on tape making racist and homophobic remarks. The actors’ union joined a chorus of outrage that followed the leak on Sunday of an hourlong conversation,

Nury Martinez resigned her post as Los Angeles City Council president on Monday after recordings of her making racist remark at a meeting were revealed on Sunday. However, she did not resign her position on the city council, the L.A. Times reported. On Sunday, the news broke that an October 2021 meeting between Martinez, fellow

Prince Harry has launched yet another lawsuit against Associated Newspapers, the publisher of British tabloids the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday. Also suing Associated are musician Elton John and his husband, producer David Furnish, actors Elizabeth Hurley and Sadie Frost, and campaigner Baroness Doreen Lawrence of Clarendon. The group claim they have been

Investigation Discovery is launching a campaign for Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, Variety has learned. The initiative, “No Excuse for Abuse,” is designed to raise awareness about the crisis of domestic violence, furthering the network’s commitment to educating viewers about the complex dynamics of domestic violence.  In partnership with the organizations One Love Foundation