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‘The Daily Show’s’ Roy Wood Jr. selected as White House Correspondents’ Dinner entertainer
Roy Wood Jr., the comedian known for his role on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” will be the entertainer at the 2023 White House Correspondents’ Dinner, the association announced Thursday.“It’s an honor to be a part of a long-running tradition of celebrating those members of the media, who work so hard to uncover the truth, and hold our government accountable,” Wood said in a statement. “It will be a great night that will go down in the history books, or not, depending on which state you live in.” ...
‘The Ark’ and ‘JUNG_E’ both envision humans fleeing an Earth ruined by climate change
Science fiction regularly explores exaggerated visions of real-world problems, including apprehensions about the climate crisis. In the last few weeks, that’s produced a pair projects, Syfy’s “The Ark” and the Netflix movie “JUNG_E,” which begin from the premise that humans have so defiled Earth they need to venture out into space in order to find a new place to live.The idea certainly isn’t a new one, having provided the foundation for the 2008 Disney/Pixar movie “WALL-E,” in which a lonely robot was left behind while bloated people took refuge in space. ...
‘MILF Manor’ is queasy reality TV, but that hasn’t stopped people from talking about it
TLC’s “MILF Manor” isn’t marketed as a horror show. The new series appears to the innocent eye as a predictably campy dating show starring eight older women (the titular MILFS) looking to find love with a bunch of younger men in some anonymous tropical locale.Then, the twists start coming like an M. Night Shyamalan movie: The crop of boy toys are actually the sons of the MILFs, meaning both mother and son are forced to witness their respective budding May-December romances. In one of the first episodes, the blindfolded women have to identify their own sons by fondling the men’s abs. You can almost hear the Hitchcockian violins screech in the background as a young man tells the camera how his mother always got attention because her “headlights are always on.” ...
WTO head wants to ‘double or triple’ Africa’s share of global trade
Global trade is expected to slow sharply this year as high energy prices and rising interest rates take their toll on the economy. The World Trade Organization (WTO) projected in October that after growing by 3.5% in 2022, trade volumes will increase by just 1% in 2023.Given uncertainty over the strength of China’s rebound from Covid lockdowns, the outcome could be better. Either way, Africa may start to reap the benefits of a free trade deal that came into effect in 2021. ...
‘Knock at the Cabin’ opens a suspenseful door to what might be the end of the world
M. Night Shyamalan’s forays into adapting other material came up limp with “Old” but fare considerably better with “Knock at the Cabin,” a crisp and creepy thriller based on Paul Tremblay’s novel. Economically told and cleverly calibrated to maximize its claustrophobic setting, it’s among the most effective films the director has delivered since his mid-career slump, making this a door well worth opening.Although the confined nature of the action has something in common with Shyamalan’s early alien-invasion movie “Signs,” the premise of Tremblay’s book (titled “The Cabin at the End of the World”) in this form more closely resembles “The Rapture,” Michael Tolkin’s unsettling 1991 rumination on the prospect of the apocalypse. ...
‘Groundhog Day’ movie: The Buddhist lifehacker film
“It’s not true that life is one damn thing after another – it’s one damn thing over and over.” – Edna St. Vincent MillayI’ve seen the 1993 film “Groundhog Day” again and again and again, but only once on the big screen, a few years after it was in theaters. It was shown in a packed lecture hall inside Baltimore’s Walters Art Museum, followed by a lecture from a comparative religion scholar who took us through the spiritual meaning and symbolism cleverly packaged in what, on its surface, is a rom-com with a “Twilight Zone” premise. ...
World Cup finalist Kylian Mbappé misses two penalties and an open goal before coming off injured in PSG win
Kylian Mbappé missed two penalties and an open goal in the space of 100 seconds before coming off injured in Paris Saint-Germain’s 3-1 win against Montpelier.Just seven minutes into the game, PSG was awarded a penalty for a foul on defender Sergio Ramos, but Mbappé – who converted three penalties in the World Cup final seven weeks ago – saw his shot saved by Benjamin Lecomte. ...
Sarah Huckabee Sanders to deliver Republican response to State of the Union address
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders will deliver the Republican response to President Joe Biden’s upcoming State of the Union address, according to an announcement from GOP congressional leaders.Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced Thursday that Sanders will give the Republican address to the nation from Little Rock, Arkansas, after the conclusion of Biden’s speech. The president is scheduled to offer remarks before a joint session of Congress next week, on February 7. ...
Russian missile strike sends terrified civilians scrambling to find shelter
A fresh barrage of missiles ripped through the city of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine Thursday, sending flames and thick plumes into the air as screaming civilians scrambled to find shelter.A CNN team had just arrived at the scene and heard the first incoming strike on Kramatorsk. CNN saw the second attack, with two impacts about one minute apart. Two women jumped from their car and ran yelling while other civilians took shelter wherever they could. Shrapnel bounced off the blastproof glass of one CNN vehicle. ...
Robert Kraft tells CNN he wants Tom Brady to sign a one-day contract and retire as a New England Patriot
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft told CNN on Thursday that he wants Tom Brady to sign a one-day contract and officially retire as a Patriot.“Not only do I want it, our fans are clamoring for it,” Kraft said. “To us, he is always has been and always will be a Patriot. ...