Usher’s acceptance speech of the BET Awards’ lifetime achievement award was heartfelt, occasionally profane and lengthy — and few people got to hear it. The 13-minute speech was largely censored by the network, leaving viewers at home curious to know what Usher said. A BET spokesperson told The Associated Press that “due to an audio … Read more
ORLANDO, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointees on Wednesday gave final approval to an agreement that buries the hatchet between Disney and the governing district for Walt Disney World, which the Florida governor took over after the company two years ago publicly opposed a state law critics dubbed “Don’t Say Gay.” The five DeSantis-appointed board … Read more
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is seeking court permission to convert his personal bankruptcy reorganization to a liquidation, which would lead to a sell-off of a large portion of his assets to help pay some of the $1.5 billion he owes relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Jones and his media company, … Read more
HONG KONG — An appeals court on Wednesday granted the Hong Kong government’s request to ban a popular protest song, overturning an earlier ruling and deepening concerns over the erosion of freedoms in the once-freewheeling global financial hub. “Glory to Hong Kong” was often sung by demonstrators during huge anti-government protests in 2019. The song … Read more
ROME — Some journalists at Italy’s state-run RAI went on strike Monday to protest budget streamlining and what they said was an increasingly repressive atmosphere in Italy for media under the government of Premier Giorgia Meloni. The 24-hour RAI strike is the latest protest by Italian journalists against what they say are threats to freedom … Read more
NEW YORK — PEN America has canceled its annual World Voices Festival, as the literary and free expression organization continues to face widespread unhappiness with its response to the Israel-Hamas war. Earlier this week, PEN called off its awards ceremony after nearly half of the finalists withdrew from contention. The festival, which brings in writers … Read more
ST. PAUL, Minn. — As a queer and out youth, Shae Ross was alarmed when she heard that conservative groups were organizing in her community to ban books dealing with sexuality, gender and race. So she and her friends got organized themselves, and helped persuade their school board to make it much harder to remove … Read more
Two of the biggest deepfake pornography websites have now started blocking people trying to access them from the United Kingdom. The move comes days after the UK government announced plans for a new law that will make creating nonconsensual deepfakes a criminal offense. Nonconsensual deepfake pornography websites and apps that “strip” clothes off of photos … Read more
Elon Musk said Thursday that the House has launched an inquiry into his country’s work in Brazil after the tech mogul claimed that Brazilian leaders illegally demanded he ban members of parliament and journalists from his social media platform X and he refused. Musk announced that X has “received an inquiry from the U.S. House … Read more
When an illustrated edition of Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” was released in 2019, educators in Clayton, Missouri needed little debate before deciding to keep copies in high school libraries. The book is widely regarded as a classic work of dystopian literature about the oppression of women, and a graphic novel would help it reach … Read more
