Politics

L.A. County officials said Tuesday that they have set a goal of reopening restaurants, retail stores and malls by July 4. It’s not clear exactly which businesses would be included in the July 4 target, and whether movie theaters and other businesses counted as “Stage 3” by the state of California would qualify for that

Julio Torres’s special brand of comedy helped raise $60,000 to support undocumented youth and their families during the coronavirus pandemic. Torres, the co-creator of HBO’s series “Los Espookys” and a former writer on “Saturday Night Live,” hosted the virtual comedy show “My Sun in Aquarius” on Friday night for the New York State Youth Leadership

President Donald Trump has blasted plans by Los Angeles County’s leaders to extend stay-at-home orders for three months, calling the the move “a death wish.” Trump made the remarks Monday during a business roundtable of restaurant executives at the White House. He responded to comments by California restaurateur Thomas Keller, who said he had heard

Whoopi Goldberg will moderate a virtual fundraiser next week with former vice president Joe Biden. The event, slated for May 28, will also feature musical performances from Sheryl Crow, Rufus Wainwright, David Crosby and Joe Walsh. The campaign is billing it as a chance to “Rock Out on a Night In” with Biden. Co-chairs of

The ransomware hackers who stole gigabytes of data from a prominent New York entertainment law firm posted a batch of emails Saturday on the dark web, which they previously hyped as containing incriminating information on President Donald Trump. But there’s nothing damning in the collection of 169 emails, which the hackers illegally obtained from Grubman

The cyber-extortionists who stole a trove of private data from entertainment law firm Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks now have a new target in their sights: President Donald Trump. In a blog post Thursday on the dark web viewed by Variety, the hacker collective that is holding thousands of the law firm’s documents hostage —

U.K. Chancellor Rishi Sunak has revealed that the country’s furlough scheme has been extended to the end of October. There will be changes from the end of July, however, with the cost of paying salaries set to be shared by the government as well as employers. Previously, the government was carrying the full burden of

The U.K. will begin adjusting certain coronavirus restrictions this week, with quarantine measures to be enforced for anyone travelling into the country, and a July 1 target for the reopening of the hospitality industry and other public places, including cinemas. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s pre-recorded televised address on Sunday night has been highly anticipated over

Megyn Kelly has shared two clips on Twitter from her exclusive interview with Tara Reade, in which Reade calls for Biden to drop out of the presidential race. Reade, a former aide to Biden, claims that when he was a senator from Delaware in 1993, he pinned her up against a wall and penetrated her

Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon and the world’s richest individual, has been called before the House Judiciary Committee to explain how the ecommerce giant uses data on third-party merchants. The lawmakers, in submitting the request, said a recent report about Amazon’s practices contradicted the company’s previous statements to the committee and “appear to

Joe Biden denied sexual assault claims by a former staffer, saying in a statement on Friday that the alleged incident “never happened.” The allegations have cast a shadow over Biden’s presidential campaign, with some criticizing the former vice president for failing to fully address the claims. Tara Reade, a former aide to Biden, claims that

Philippa Childs, head of U.K. entertainment union Bectu, warns that creative workers who are still not covered by coronavirus relief schemes can’t be forgotten as the government deliberates how to bring industries out of lockdown. I can only imagine how daunting it must be returning to work to a national crisis after suffering from a

Sen. Ted Cruz wants to cut off Defense Department cooperation for Hollywood productions that allow Chinese authorities to censor their films. The Texas Republican announced a bill on Tuesday that would bar the Pentagon from working with productions unless they commit not to alter their content to accommodate Chinese censors. The bill would also forbid

Former Democratic Party presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has officially endorsed Joe Biden for president, following in the footsteps of other major Democratic figures in an attempt to beat President Donald Trump in his race for re-election. Clinton made the announcement at the beginning of Biden’s virtual town hall on Tuesday, during which Biden introduced Clinton

Sen. Bernie Sanders has suspended his presidential campaign, but his camp is nevertheless livid that New York officials decided on Monday to cancel the June 23 primary. The state Board of Elections voted on Monday to cancel the election due to the coronavirus pandemic. The chair of the elections board said it would be “essentially

Nancy Pelosi, the powerful Speaker of the House, has formally endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden in the race for the White House. As the leader of the Democratic Party in Congress, Pelosi’s support of its presumptive presidential candidate was never in doubt. Pelosi’s full-throated support for Biden means she is revving up her formidable

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has returned to work at Downing Street, three weeks after being admitted to hospital with coronavirus. Johnson gave a briefing from outside Downing Street to mark his return on Monday morning, apologizing for “being away from his desk” and saying that the fight against coronavirus was the biggest single challenge

The top body in China’s highest legislature will convene in Beijing in late April, state media said Friday, in the latest sign of the country returning to normality in wake of coronavirus-imposed shutdown. For the first time in decades, China cancelled its annual parliamentary meeting scheduled for March. The key political gathering is typically known

The Left-leaning Democratic Party of President Moon Jae-in swept to a thumping victory in Wednesday’s parliamentary elections in South Korea. The government’s largely successful handling of the coronavirus outbreak was a decisive factor in reversing the fortunes of Moon and his political allies. With most votes counted by midday Thursday, the Democratic Party had won

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a former Democratic presidential hopeful, has endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden in the race for the White House. Warren’s endorsement is important to Biden as the senator from Massachusetts is a respected liberal standard-bearer for the Democratic Party. Warren’s thumbs up comes on the heels of Biden secure the endorsement of

China’s top administrative body has officially “recommended” that cinemas and other entertainment venues remain closed for the foreseeable future due to coronavirus concerns. That spells continued trouble for Chinese cinemas, even as other business sectors get back to work. China’s cabinet, the State Council, singled out enclosed entertainment venues like cinemas in a new announcement

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday that mass gatherings are not likely to be allowed for many months, as he outlined preconditions for a slow reopening of the state’s economy. Newsom was asked in a press conference about how he envisions the summer months, and traditional holiday celebrations like July Fourth and Memorial Day. “The

Former President Barack Obama has endorsed Joe Biden, as the Democratic Party unites around the presumptive nominee and looks toward the general election. Obama’s endorsement, via video, comes a day after Biden’s last remaining rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders, gave his endorsement in a livestream chat. “Choosing Joe to be my Vice President was one of

Governors in the West and Northeast banded together on Monday to create regional planning systems for restarting economic activity while also assuring residents that the timeline for doing so will be determined by governors, not President Donald Trump. The leaders of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Rhode Island established a multi-state council

The Trump campaign filed a lawsuit Monday against an NBC affiliate in rural Wisconsin, arguing that the president had been defamed by a political attack ad about his response to the coronavirus pandemic. Priorities USA Action, a pro-Democratic Super PAC, produced the ad, which is dubbed “Exponential Threat.” In it, audio clips of Donald Trump

Sen. Bernie Sanders endorsed Joe Biden for president in a livestream conversation between the two Democratic rivals on Monday. “We’ve got to make Trump a one-term president, and we need you in the White House,” Sanders said. “I will do all that I can to see that that happens, Joe… It’s imperative that all of

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has left hospital after a week-long stay due to the coronavirus. Johnson, who has been battling COVID-19 for more than two weeks, first entered hospital on April 5 and was admitted to intensive care one day later. He spent three nights in the ICU, before being released back into the

Joe Biden will participate in a “virtual” fundraiser on April 23 with Hollywood stars including Billy Porter and Melissa Etheridge. The event aims to raise money in the LGBTQ community in Los Angeles, and is co-hosted by John Gile and Jeff Valenson. In addition to Porter and Etheridge, the event will also feature appearances by

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has been battling coronavirus for two weeks, is out of intensive care and back in the regular hospital ward. A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The prime minister has been moved this evening from intensive care back to the ward, where he will receive close monitoring during the early phase

China on Wednesday officially lifted its 76-day lockdown on Wuhan, the city at the coronavirus pandemic’s epicenter, where the disease was first detected. For the first time in 11 weeks, Wuhan’s more than 11 million residents were able to travel freely again, with tens of thousands choosing to leave by train, plane and automobile at