Politics

Several Western media outlets have reported the disappearance of Jack Ma, China’s most prominent businessman, and co-founder of e-commerce and entertainment giant Alibaba. Some reports claim Ma hasn’t been seen in public for some two months. Although he is no longer a senior executive at Alibaba, Ma remains the controlling shareholder of Ant Group, a

A London court has turned down a request for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to be extradited to the U.S. to face espionage charges, over mental health concerns. District Judge Vanessa Baraitser said on Monday at London’s Old Bailey court that Assange’s clinical depression could be compounded and he could commit suicide if extradited stateside. The

Nancy Pelosi has been re-elected as Speaker of the House, making her the leader of the House’s slim Democratic majority for a fourth term. Pelosi won re-election by a narrow vote of 216 to 209 against House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). Though Pelosi gained support from the majority of her party, two Democrats opted

Chinese director Guan Hu is riding high right now: Despite languishing in government censorship purgatory for over a year, his patriotic war epic “The Eight Hundred” has risen to become the highest grossing film in the world in 2020, with sales of $461 million. His next confirmed move? More jingoistic propaganda. Guan is executive producer

California has extended regional stay-at-home orders for Southern California for at least three weeks, it was announced Tuesday during a livestream COVID-19 update from the state’s Health and Human Services Secretary, Dr. Mark Ghaly. “Many of you are tired,” Ghaly acknowledged, but said “Do as much as you can. Celebrate virtually.” The extended stay-at-home order

President Donald Trump has signed a $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill into law, the White House announced Sunday night. Trump’s approval also averts a government shutdown, as funding was set to expire on Dec. 28. The relief package, which will provide much-needed economic support to businesses and individuals across the country, also includes $1.4 trillion

It’s a Christmas miracle. Four and a half years after the U.K. voted to leave the European Union (EU) in 2016, the two negotiating sides have finally arrived at a Brexit deal. The agreement will allow for tariff and quota-free trade in goods and services across a range of areas. Crucial for film and TV

Donald Trump and his administration will lose access to Twitter’s official White House accounts — including @POTUS and @WhiteHouse — when Joe Biden is sworn in on Jan. 20, 2021, as the 46th president of the United States. But with the changeover, the Biden team will be rebuilding the followers of those accounts from scratch.

Alex Padilla has been appointed to replace Kamala Harris in the U.S. Senate, becoming the first Latino senator from California. Gov. Gavin Newsom made the announcement on Tuesday morning, calling Padilla “a tested fighter” and a champion for voting rights. Padilla, the California secretary of state, was considered the favorite to succeed Harris, especially in

Sen. Thom Tillis on Tuesday unveiled an overhaul of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which is intended to make it easier to stamp out pirated content online. The bill seeks to revamp the current “notice and takedown” system — whereby copyright owners submit infringement notices to online service providers — with a “notice and stay

Congress passed a $900 billion COVID-19 economic relief package on Monday night, which will deliver much-needed economic aid to individuals and businesses across the country. The bill, which was passed by the Senate with a 91-7 vote after being approved by the House with a vote of 359-53, includes a $1.4 trillion full-year spending bill

Chinese authorities have detained independent filmmaker and journalist Du Bin, who has recently worked on material critical of communism and the Chinese regime, according to his family, friends and human rights organizations. Du, 48, was detained by police in Beijing last Wednesday, says his sister Du Jirong, according to the New York Times. Officers returned

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said he’s turned down a role in President-Elect Joe Biden’s upcoming administration, and that he’ll stay in L.A. as the city continues to grapple with rising COVID-19 rates. Garcetti said during a Thursday news conference that he delivered the news to Biden early this week, saying that he feels he

France president Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for COVID-19, the presidential Elysee Palace announced on Thursday. The Elysee statement said that the president took a test “as soon as the first symptoms appeared,” but did not elaborate on his symptoms. The president will self-isolate for seven days. “He will continue to work and take care

Matthew McConaughey has again shared his ruminations on the two extreme sides of the political divide, this time during an interview on U.K. broadcaster ITV’s “Good Morning Britain.” The “Dallas Buyers Club” star last week pointed out that Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential victory had the left in denial, just as some Republicans are now sceptical

President-elect Joe Biden has surpassed the 270 electoral votes needed to claim the presidency, as California’s electors put him over the top on Monday afternoon. With the state’s 55 votes added to the tally, Biden held 302 electoral votes. He and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are expected to finish with 306 votes once Hawaii’s four

London, and parts of Essex and Hertfordshire, are going into the highest level of COVID-19 restrictions from midnight on Tuesday, U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock has confirmed. The restrictions mean that indoor entertainment venues, including cinemas and theaters, will have to close. The rules deal a severe blow to the highly anticipated release of “Wonder

The Wall Street Journal is facing backlash to its Dec. 11 op-ed that chided incoming first lady Dr. Jill Biden and suggested she drop the “Dr.” from her title during her time in the White House. Written by Joseph Epstein — a former professor at Northwestern University — the column states that “‘Dr. Jill Biden’

Sienna Miller and Diego Luna star in writer-director Tara Miele’s “Wander Darkly” as a married couple with a baby who get into a horrible car crash. The film follows both of them as they contemplate and examine their relationship, but it’s unclear if they are alive or were killed in the accident. The independent film

The U.K. and the European Union have agreed to extend ongoing discussions on post-Brexit free trade negotiations, saying that it was “responsible at this point in time to go the extra mile.” The talks have been going on for months and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had

On Saturday morning, Twitter briefly prevented users from liking and replying to a series of tweets posted by Donald Trump disputing the results of the presidential election. Trump’s tweets were in response to the Supreme Court’s rejection of Texas’ bid to overturn the presidential election on Friday. Trump called the decision “a great and disgraceful

The Supreme Court on Friday denied Texas’ bid to overturn the presidential election, finding in a brief order that the state does not have standing to challenge voting procedures in four states that went for President-elect Joe Biden. The Texas attorney general brought the suit against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — marking only the

Former Warner Bros. Communications Chief Dee Dee Myers has been selected as senior advisor to Gov. Gavin Newsom and director of the governor’s office of business and economic development. Myers stepped down earlier this year as executive vice president of worldwide corporate communications and public affairs for Warner Bros. after a five-year run at the

Kerry Washington, Cher, Mandy Moore and America Ferrera are among the more than 100 women who have signed a letter to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris asking them to nominate U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., as interior secretary. If confirmed, Haaland would become the first Native American to serve in a presidential cabinet. The letter,

Should reporters be given priority when California distributes the COVID-19 vaccine? Newspaper reporters are one of several groups asking the state to declare them “essential,” which would put them in line just behind high-priority groups like health workers and nursing home residents. The California Newspaper Publishers Association submitted the request to the state’s Community Vaccine

YouTube is finally cracking down on videos with misinformation alleging that President Trump won the U.S. presidential election, more than a month after Joe Biden was named the projected winner. Starting Wednesday (Dec. 9), YouTube said, it will begin removing content promoting conspiracy theories that Donald Trump won the election because of fraud or “due

Have you seen Danny Trejo’s powerful video for Cri-Help, a nonprofit addiction rehab in Los Angeles? The powerful vid has been released ahead of Cri-Help’s 50th anniversary in May and is airing through December for Spectrum subscribers in Los Angeles County on ESPN, CNN, TBS, TNT and ID. … Kevin Bacon is keeping very busy of

The Senate voted along party lines to confirm the appointment of President Trump’s nominee to the FCC, Nathan Simington — who was opposed by Democrats. Simington’s confirmation, critics said, could stall the incoming Biden administration’s agenda, including the move to reinstate net neutrality rules. Trump nominated Simington, who was previously a senior adviser at the

Bill Gates is alarmed at the volume of conspiracy theories around the coronavirus vaccination, but is confident that the world will largely return to normal by the end of 2021. Delivering the keynote interview at the World Congress of Science & Factual Producers on Tuesday, Gates said, “I’m surprised at all the conspiracy theories —

Rudy Giuliani has tested positive for COVID-19, according to Donald Trump. He is currently at Georgetown University Medical Center, as reported by The New York Times. On Sunday, Trump tweeted: “@RudyGiuliani, by far the greatest mayor in the history of NYC, and who has been working tirelessly exposing the most corrupt election (by far!) in