The Golden Globe Awards are typically a loose and boozy affair, a clubby get-together where the Champagne flows.
But this year is different.
Hollywood is in the throes of a revolution, convulsed by explosive allegations of sexual misconduct that have helped fuel the global movement known as #MeToo. In the final months of 2017, scores of women and men came forward with stories of harassment and assault that toppled actors, producers, directors and screenwriters.
The upheaval casts a long shadow over the Globes, turning the ceremony on Sunday night (8 PM ET on NBC) into a high-stakes test of how the industry is grappling with seismic cultural change. The show also represents a high-wire act for host Seth Meyers.
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Seth Meyers: Hollywood scandals will be ‘elephant in the room’ at Golden Globes
Former astronaut John Young, a NASA trailblazer whose six journeys into space included a walk on the moon and commanding the first space shuttle flight, died Friday after complications from pneumonia, NASA said Saturday.
He was 87.
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“NASA and the world have lost a pioneer. Astronaut John Young’s storied career spanned three generations of spaceflight; we will stand on his shoulders as we look toward the next human frontier,” NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot said.
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John Young, ex-astronaut who walked on moon and commanded 1st shuttle flight, dies
You may be over the bitter cold, but the bitter cold isn’t over.
More than 120 million Americans in a large swath of the eastern United States woke up Saturday to frigid temperatures. Cities such as Boston, New York and Philadelphia were in the single digits with wind chills in some regions, including New England, expected to make temperatures feel as low as 25 to 40 degrees below, according to the National Weather Service.
In Portland, Maine, temperatures were set to reach a high of only 5 degrees below and a low of 20 degrees below, the NWS said. Highs were also expected to remain in the single digits across the lower Great Lakes stretching down to the Carolinas.
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Bomb cyclone brings freezing temps – and colder weather is still expected
Public defenders who work for Cook County, which includes Chicago, are dealing with what can only be described as nightmare levels of sexual assault and harassment, according to a lawsuit filed in Illinois federal court on Wednesday by six female lawyers.
Male inmates in courtroom lockups and Cook County Jail, one of the country’s largest, repeatedly exposed themselves and masturbated in front of lawyers, law clerks and interns, making it nearly impossible for them to do their jobs, according to the lawsuit and other public complaints and reports.
The situation was widely known, but authorities did little to stop the behavior, the plaintiffs claimed.
The women filed the suit against their boss, Public Defender Amy Campanelli, and against Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart, charging that Campanelli and Dart failed to take adequate measures to fix some of the most egregious examples of a hostile work environment.
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Jim Young / Reuters
A Cook County Sheriff’s police car patrols the exterior of the Cook County Jail in Chicago on Jan. 12, 2016.
Fishing in Cornwall, England, UK, has traditionally been one of the main elements of the economy of the county.Pilchard fishing and processing was a thriving industry in Cornwall from around 1750 to around 1880, after which it went into an almost terminal decline. During the 20th century the varieties of fish taken became much more diverse and crustaceans such as crab and lobster are now significant. Much of the catch is exported to France due to the higher prices obtainable there. Though fishing has been significantly damaged by overfishing, (the Southwest Handline Fishermen’s Association has started to revive the fishing industry). However, as of 2007, stocks are improving.
An enormous document leak of over 13 million files was revealed on Sunday, in what is being collectively referred to as the Paradise Papers. It’s one of the biggest data leaks in history, and involves the elaborate offshore assets of top politicians and corporations, as well as some of the world’s wealthiest individuals and celebrities.
Millions of the leaked files come from a single company, Appleby, which is based in Bermuda and offers offshore legal services. Appleby has denied any wrongdoing in relation to the findings from the documents.
The Paradise Papers closely resemble a document leak from last year known as the Panama Papers, which also detailed the offshore holdings and tax avoidance schemes of some of the world’s most powerful people.
The Panama Papers caused a significant international fallout when they were released in April 2016, even leading to the resignation of Iceland’s prime minister amid protests and the surrounding controversy. The effects of this new Paradise Papers leak remain to be seen, but it has already put increased scrutiny on high-profile figures including U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Queen Elizabeth II.
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Hannah Mckay / Reuters
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth attends The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery 70th parade in Hyde Park in London on Oct. 19, 2017.
Anok Yai doesn’t really like the picture that is on the verge of changing her life.
She concedes it’s a high-quality photo and politely thanks the people who tell her she’s beautiful, but she was surprised by the photographer aiming his camera at her during Howard University’s homecoming celebration. To her, the resulting picture makes her look like a “deer in headlights.”
Tens of thousands of people disagree. In just more than a week, that photo has brought Yai Instagram fame and gained the attention of nearly a dozen modeling agencies, she said, including one that flew her up to New York for an interview on Tuesday.
She suddenly finds herself in new and exciting territory, as a dream that she chose not to pursue has ended up pursuing her instead.
Yai was born in Egypt, but her heritage is Sudanese and her family has lived in the United States since she was 2.
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This photo of Anok Yai went viral. Now she’s fielding calls from modeling agencies. (Steve Hall/TheSUNK)
Centroamericano, a new variety of coffee plant, hasn’t sparked the buzz of, say, Starbucks’s latest novelty latte. But it may be the coolest thing in brewing: a tree that can withstand the effects of climate change.
Climate change could spell disaster for coffee, a crop that requires specific temperatures to flourish and that is highly sensitive to a range of pests. So scientists are racing to develop more tenacious strains of one of the world’s most beloved beverages.
In addition to Centroamericano, seven other new hybrid varieties are gradually trickling onto the market. And this summer, World Coffee Research — an industry-funded nonprofit group — kicked off field tests of 46 new varieties that it says will change coffee-growing as the world knows it.
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Coffee is under attack from climate change and other woes. In the race to save America’s favorite beverage, science may offer a solution.(Kolin Pope/The Washington Post)
Invariably, someone brings up the anatomically-shaped balloons.
About a year ago, a bachelorette party from Texas rented a house through Airbnb on Ursulines Avenue in Treme, a residential neighborhood close to the bars and restaurants of the French Quarter.
The women tied inflatables shaped like penises to the front of the house, perhaps not realizing that the neighbors ― families and other longtime residents ― might mind.
“My oldest son woke up and there was an inflatable dildo taped to the house next door and I was like, ‘We’re out of here,’” said Christian Rhodes, a 36-year-old lawyer whose clients include the Greater New Orleans Hotel & Lodging Association and Uber.
He sold his house last year. “I’m not explaining to a 6-year-old what an inflatable dildo is.”
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Meg Lousteau sits outside her home in the Treme neighborhood.
Film and Writing Festival for Comedy. Showcasing best of comedy short films at the FEEDBACK Film Festival. Plus, showcasing best of comedy novels, short stories, poems, screenplays (TV, short, feature) at the festival performed by professional actors.
Seth Meyers: Hollywood scandals will be ‘elephant in the room’ at Golden Globes
John Young, ex-astronaut who walked on moon and commanded 1st shuttle flight, dies
Cornish fishing village
Meg Lousteau sits outside her home in the Treme neighborhood.
