Politics

For years, Arizona has watched with envy as New Mexico developed a thriving film economy thanks to a generous tax break. So now the state is getting in on the action. Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, is expected to sign a bill this week creating a refundable tax credit equal to 15-20 percent of production

A shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Ill. has left at least six people dead and 24 others injured, according to the New York Times. Reports indicate that shots were heard approximately 10 minutes after the parade had commenced at 10 a.m. CT. Authorities have stated that they believe the gunman

The CEO of TikTok tried to reassure U.S. lawmakers — who have renewed concerns over its sharing of U.S. user data with employees in China — that the video app company is taking steps to restrict that access to only a “narrow” slice of data. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew sent a letter dated June

Denzel Washington can now add Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient to his list of accolades. President Joe Biden announced the 17 honorees on Friday. Presented annually, the medal recognizes public figures who have made notable contributions to American society, culture, politics or world peace. The awards are presented in a ceremony at the White House

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in to the Supreme Court on Thursday, making history as the first Black woman to serve as a Justice. But the historic moment comes at a fraught time for the Court and the United States, as many Americans are still furious and reeling after the Supreme Court overturned Roe

TikTok, the massively popular short-form video app, is in the crosshairs of American policymakers again over its ownership by Chinese internet giant ByteDance. Brendan Carr, a Republican commissioner of the FCC, posted a letter to Apple and Google on Twitter, urging the tech giants to remove TikTok from their respective app stores — calling it

The entertainment studios made a lot of noise threatening to boycott Georgia in 2019, after the state passed a bill outlawing abortion after six weeks. But now that the law is on the verge of going into effect, thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court, the studios have gone quiet. Most of them have said they

President Trump knew that protesters were carrying weapons before directing them toward the Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021, where they stormed the building and interrupted the electoral count, a former aide testified to Congress on Tuesday. Trump also demanded to go to the Capitol himself, according to the aide, Cassidy Hutchinson. When the Secret

Rage Against the Machine will donate nearly half a million dollars to reproductive rights organizations in Wisconsin and Illinois, the band announced on Instagram Friday night. “We are disgusted by the repeal of Roe V. Wade and the devastating impact it will have on tens of millions of people,” the group wrote. “Over half of the country

Cecile Richards, a longtime activist for women’s rights and a former president of Planned Parenthood, has a message for shellshocked women of privilege in Hollywood: Speak out. As the harsh reality of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade sinks in, Richards is calling on entertainment industry leaders to share deeply personal stories

This Friday saw the Supreme Court officially overturn Roe v. Wade, in a landmark decision effectively reversing federal protection of abortion. The news prompted widespread condemnations from across Hollywood, with many notable celebrities decrying the limitation of abortion rights and people’s right to choose. Hollywood has long been vocal about the importance of abortion rights,

Years before the Supreme Court’s 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade decision, Marlon Brando sent Rita Moreno to have an abortion when she became pregnant while they were dating. “Marlon found a doctor through some friends,” Moreno, 90, recalled Friday morning during a phone conversation shortly after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. “He was

The Supreme Court today overturned Roe v. Wade, effectively ending federal protections of abortion rights. The final opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, fully repudiates the 1973 decision which guaranteed federal constitutional protections of abortion rights. It also effectively strikes down the 1992 decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey that largely maintained the right established

The Senate has approved a bipartisan gun violence bill in the wake of several mass shootings across the U.S., including one at an Uvalde, Texas elementary school that left 19 children and two teachers dead. According to the Associated Press, the bill was passed by the Senate on Thursday evening with a 65-33 vote and

Actor Ben Stiller met with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday, during World Refugee Day. Stiller is currently visiting Ukraine in the role of a goodwill ambassador of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Since Saturday, Stiller has traveled through Poland and Ukraine, where he has met with people forced to flee their homes

The U.K. government has approved the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the U.S. where he will face spying charges. U.K. Home Secretary Priti Patel signed the extradition order on Friday, following a British judge approving the extradition in April, which left the final decision to the U.K. government. A U.K. Home Office spokesperson

After selling out tickets for an upcoming concert in Brooklyn, John Hinckley Jr.’s gig has been nixed by the venue that was set to host him. The man, who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981 and was found not guilty by reason of insanity, will no longer take the stage at Market Hotel. Market Hotel

A Los Angeles benefit for Democratic Party efforts, co-hosted by Jeffrey Katzenberg, raised nearly $2.5 million Friday with President Joe Biden in attendance. “The money raised today will help get people to the polls on election day in November,” said Katzenberg. “Just the idea of Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell in charge should be enough

The irony is rich: Truth Social, Donald Trump’s Twitter copycat claiming it is “free from political discrimination,” has reportedly banned users who posted information from Thursday’s congressional hearing on the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol — in which the former president is a key player. That’s according to several posts on Twitter by

Factwire, an independent news agency and publication in Hong Kong, said Friday that it will cease operations with immediate effect. It is the fourth closure in the last year of a significant news organization that is not aligned with the city establishment’s pro-Beijing camp. The injection by Beijing in July 2020 of a National Security

On Thursday night, the first public hearing regarding last year’s Jan. 6 Capitol attack will take place, after over 10 months of investigation from a group of lawmakers. The first hearing will begin at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT on Thursday. A formal schedule for the rest of the hearings hasn’t been publicly announced,

Democrats are sounding the alarm about Rick Caruso’s first-place finish in the race for Los Angeles mayor in Tuesday’s primary, as the billionaire mall developer heads to a runoff against Rep. Karen Bass. Caruso, who has run on addressing homelessness and crime, took 42% of the vote, leading Bass by more than five percentage points.

For the climate advocacy powerhouse the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Julia Louis-Dreyfus is an indispensable asset. “She has a megaphone,” the group’s CEO and president Manish Bapna told Variety on Tuesday at the NRDC Night of Comedy at NeueHouse in Hollywood. “She can reach audiences that we can’t otherwise reach… The window is closing.

Rick Caruso and Karen Bass are headed to a November runoff in the race for Los Angeles mayor, as the Associated Press projected that neither candidate will claim a majority in Tuesday’s primary. Caruso took a three-point lead over Bass in the early results, with about 41% of the vote to Bass’ 38%. In a

Matthew McConaughey appeared at a White House press briefing on Tuesday to call for gun reform legislation following the tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Tex. McConaughey, who was born and raised in Uvalde, spoke to several lawmakers earlier in the day about the need for reformed gun control before making his address. He began his

In a tight primary election for Los Angeles mayor, the two frontrunners — Congresswoman Karen Bass and billionaire developer Rick Caruso — have seen their support split down the middle among major Hollywood players. Tuesday’s election could lead to a November runoff if none of the candidates garner more than 50% of the votes needed

Matthew McConaughey has called for gun owners to practice “gun responsibility” in the wake of the mass shooting that took the lives of 19 children and two teachers in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas. “I am a father, the son of a kindergarten teacher, and an American,” McConaughey writes in an editorial published in the

British Prime Minister is facing a vote of no-confidence on Monday evening, according to U.K. outlets. If he loses, he would have to step down as leader of the Conservative party and the country. The news comes following a number of scandals, dubbed “Partygate” in the British press, in which the politician was found to

President Joe Biden will serve as a guest on Wednesday night’s broadcast of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on ABC, appearing in-person on the late night talk show for an interview at the production’s studio at L.A.’s El Capitan Entertainment Centre on Hollywood Boulevard. The announcement was made on Sunday afternoon by Kimmel during the broadcast of

Mehmet Oz, known professionally as Dr. Oz, won Pennsylvania’s Republican Senate primary election on Friday after opposing candidate Dave McCormick conceded. According to the Associated Press, McCormick realized that despite an ongoing state recount, he would not receive enough votes to beat Oz. “It’s now clear to me with the recount now largely complete that