Beijing CNN — Protests erupted across China throughout the weekend, including at universities and in Shanghai where hundreds chanted “Step down, Xi Jinping! Step down, Communist Party!” in an unprecedented show of defiance against the country’s stringent and increasingly costly zero-Covid policy. A deadly fire at an apartment block in Urumqi, the capital of the … Read more
CNN — Jennifer Lopez has used the 20th anniversary of the release of her “This Is Me…Then” to announce an update. “This Is Me…Now” will be her next project and reportedly “chronicles the emotional, spiritual and psychological journey that she has taken over the past two decades.” Lopez’s social media had gone dark in recent … Read more
CNN — There was a lot riding on the casting choice for the titular character of the new Netfilx series “Wednesday.” In addition to someone who could pull off creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky, the role of raven-haired, pigtail-braided Wednesday Addams needed to go to a young actress who could rise to the occasion of … Read more
CNN — Rising to the challenge of matching its successful predecessor, “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” maintains the razor-sharp formula, with a setup that feels even more conspicuously like an Agatha Christie homage before an extremely clever series of twists kick in. Writer-director Rian Johnson again assembles a solid cast behind Daniel Craig, but … Read more
CNN — Hulu has carved out an impressive niche of salacious fact-based limited series, including several with a true-crime hook. “Welcome to Chippendales” checks off those boxes, but in a less-appealing package that’s surprisingly lifeless, and even with its trashy selling points looks under-dressed for success. The story begins with Indian immigrant Somen “Steve” Banerjee … Read more
CNN — Although the main character’s name was inspired by the poetic line “Wednesday’s child is full of woe,” “Wednesday” is generally a delight, thanks almost entirely to Jenna Ortega. Having outgrown her Disney Channel days, Ortega makes the Addams Family’s now-high-school-age daughter the coolest humorless goth sociopath you’ll ever meet, in a Netflix series … Read more
CNN — Twenty-five years after she first played the role of Cinderella, Brandy is stepping into her glass slippers again. The singer and actress will reprise her role as the fairytale heroine, first seen in the 1997 television movie “Cinderella,” in a new installment of the “Descendants” franchise for Disney+, the Mouse House announced Monday. … Read more
Atlanta, Georgia CNN — Tosca Musk strides onto the red carpet at a Regal Cinemas, statuesque in a white pant suit and glistening burgundy silk top. A hush comes over a group gathered outside the theater’s doors. Some whip out cell phones and start recording her every move. It’s a chilly October night in Atlanta, … Read more
CNN — Imprisoned Russian dissident Alexey Navalny has been transferred into a solitary prison cell, according to tweets from himself and his staff, in what he described as a move designed to “shut me up.” Navalny, a prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, explained what happened in a Thursday Twitter thread: “Congratulations, I’ve moved … Read more
New York CNN Business — Death is in the air on Twitter. On the platform Thursday evening, where #RIPTwitter was the top trend worldwide, users wrote what they feared might be their last posts, offering apprehensive goodbyes and listing the other (more stable) social media platforms where they can still be found. They were reacting … Read more