Politics

Australian journalist Cheng Lei has been formally arrested in China on suspicion of illegally supplying state secrets overseas. She has been in detention without charge since August last year. The Australian foreign minister Marise Payne said on Monday that she had been informed by the Chinese government that Cheng was arrested on Friday. Australian government

President Biden faulted the Trump administration’s handling of vaccine distribution in an interview with “CBS Evening News” that aired before the Super Bowl on Sunday. Biden was asked about the time frame for getting to herd immunity, saying the country cannot afford to stay at the current pace of COVID-19 vaccination. He also said it

Former president Donald Trump has resigned from SAG-AFTRA, after the union announced last month that it would move to expel him for his role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol. SAG-AFTRA announced on Jan. 19 that it would hold a hearing on whether to expel the former president. Trump responded in a letter to

Social media platform Twitter is the eye of a political storm in India after the federal government came down hard on it for unblocking accounts supporting the long-running protests by farmers. On Monday, the Indian government’s Ministry of Home Affairs required and obtained the temporary suspension of several Twitter accounts including: actor and activist Sushant

The speechwriter who helped President Barack Obama pen his stirring address memorializing the victims of the Charleston church massacre will release a memoir about his time working in the White House. Sugar23 Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books & Media, has acquired “Grace: A President, His Speechwriter, and Ten Days in the Battle

In celebration of Black History Month, AMC Networks has launched its 8th annual Black History Month PSA campaign, once again partnering with the NAACP and members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), Variety has learned exclusively. The 2021 PSA series features four thematic spots that feature AMC Networks talent Colman Domingo (“Fear the Walking Dead”)

Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Myanmar’s civilian government, has been taken into custody in a raid early on Monday morning. The army said that it had taken control of the country and declared a state of emergency that will last a year. Other members of the ruling National League for Democracy have also

Will the students at Jerry Garcia High get in trouble for smoking weed? For now, the question remains a hypothetical, but following a controversial vote by the San Francisco School Board on the evening of Jan. 26, Garcia is reportedly under consideration for one of 44 new school name vacancies. In opting to strip dozens

Disney Parks has announced that it will be updating the 65-year old Jungle Cruise Ride at both Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California. These major changes to the attraction will better “reflect and value the diversity of the world around us,” according to a post on the Disney Parks blog. Disney will

California lifted the statewide stay-at-home orders on Monday, allowing counties to retake control of COVID-19 restrictions, and potentially allowing for the return of outdoor dining in parts of the state. The California Department of Public Health cited “positive signs” that the virus is spreading more slowly across the state. But it also warned that the

Seth Rogen and Sen. Ted Cruz have been engaged in a heated Twitter exchange for a few days now, sparring over everything from the Paris Climate Agreement to the Disney film “Fantasia.” It all started on Inauguration Day, when Cruz criticized President Joe Biden for reentering the Paris Climate Agreement, to which Rogen responded: “Fuck

Jessica Rosenworcel, the senior Democrat on the Federal Communications Commission, was named acting chair of the agency by President Biden on Thursday. The FCC is currently split 2-2, following the resignation of Ajit Pai, who served as chairman during the Trump administration. Biden will appoint a third Democrat, who will require Senate confirmation, to serve

Secretary Hillary Hillary Rodham Clinton recorded a video message in support of the theater community, in which she recognized the Costume Industry Coalition (CIC). In the video, Clinton shared her love for live theater and how the theatergoing experience of seeing sets and costumes helped immersed her. Clinton credited the artisans, the “group of people,

The world’s press has reacted to the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris with relief and cautious optimism, with many borrowing a line from the President’s speech for their headlines, “Democracy Has Prevailed.” London’s Evening Standard is breathless. “Wow, what a speech,” it comments. “In poetry and passionate rhetoric, Joe Biden gave

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ inauguration was almost star-studded enough to take place on the red carpet. So, it’s no surprise prominent Hollywood figures and celebrities took to social media to weigh in on the ceremony. The event, which began with fanfare prior to Wednesday morning, featured events and performances from a host of artists,

Vice President Kamala Harris took her oath of office and made history as not only the first woman to hold that role, but she is also the first African American and South Asian American to achieve one of the highest positions in the land. Harris has long been an inspiration for breaking many glass ceilings

Twitter switched over control of the official @POTUS account and other White House handles to President Joe Biden just minutes after he was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. Twitter transferred the White House accounts to the Biden team on Wednesday after President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took the

In 2014, my wife and I were invited to the White House for the annual Easter Egg Roll. When I first came out as a lesbian, I never imagined standing next to an Easter bunny in front of the White House balcony alongside my wife and our two kids. With the simple act of including

The inauguration of the 46th president and vice president, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, is going to look a little different. The usual day-long celebration filled with crowds and parades will be traded for a virtual celebration to ensure compliance with coronavirus safety protocols. Using the Democratic National Convention’s program last year as inspiration, the

Donald Trump spoke to a sparse crowd of supporters at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday morning, minutes after leaving the White House and hours before Joe Biden will be sworn in as his successor. Even in his final moments in power, Trump appeared to leave the door open to another run for the presidency, pledging,

President Trump gave a lengthy recitation of his administration’s achievements and decried “political censorship” and “blacklisting” in a farewell address posted to YouTube on Tuesday. Trump was banned from Facebook and Twitter in the wake of his supporters’ attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. The president has since complained that he was being

SAG-AFTRA said Tuesday that it will consider expelling President Donald Trump from membership over his role in inciting the attack on the U.S. Capitol two weeks ago. Union president Gabrielle Carteris initiated charges against Trump, accusing him of promoting misinformation that led to the attack, which left five people dead and more than 50 police

Further performances were announced Tuesday morning for official inauguration programs that will take place before and after the swearing-in of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, including music stars who’ll take part in a virtual prayer service on Wednesday morning as well as additions to the prime-time TV special in the evening. The “Celebrating America” nighttime

Axios reporter Jonathan Swan was planning to spend the transition period getting ready to cover the Biden administration. But as President Trump refused to accept defeat, and took desperate and cataclysmic steps to hold onto power, Swan realized he wasn’t done with Trump yet. So instead he created a podcast on Trump’s final two months

The National Rifle Association has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and intends to relocate from New York to Texas, the organization announced Friday. Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre made the announcement on the NRA’s website, saying the group is “dumping” New York and moving to Texas to be “free from the toxic political environment of

The inauguration team for president-elect Joe Biden and VP-to-be Kamala Harris has released an official inaugural playlist, with 46 songs to represent the incoming 46th president, ranging from Steely Dan’s golden oldies (“Do It Again”) to SZA’s very latest, “Good Days,” which was just released on Christmas Day. As you might expect, it’s in the

Twitter said the official White House accounts, including @POTUS, will change hands in “real time” on Inauguration Day next week when Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are sworn into office. As President-elect Biden takes the oath in at noon ET on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, Twitter will facilitate the transfer of institutional White House Twitter

Bob Iger and Willow Bay will be donating $5 million to small businesses throughout Los Angeles that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, mayor Eric Garcetti announced Thursday. “We are grateful to you for your bold leadership,” Garcetti said in a speech that focused mostly on vaccine distribution. The Walt Disney Company executive chairman

We’ve all seen sacred U.S. government buildings and monuments in Washington, D.C., being attacked and destroyed via spectacular special effects in blockbuster movies like director Roland Emmerich’s “Independence Day” and “White House Down.” And we witnessed heavily armed terrorists launching a daytime attack on the White House in Antoine Fuqua’s 2013 action thriller “Olympus Has

These could be some of the last weeks at CNN with Jeff Zucker at the helm. And true to form, they are noisy. “This is violence that has been inspired by President Trump, by President Trump’s supporters,” said Jake Tapper, speaking last week during CNN’s breaking-news coverage of insurrectionists piling into the U.S. Capitol in