On Thursday, Netflix announced it will produce The Boroughs, an upcoming supernatural mystery series executive produced by Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer.
The show was created by The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance veterans Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, and centers on characters just a bit older than the gang from Hawkins, Indiana.
The streaming service teases, “In a seemingly picturesque retirement community in the New Mexico desert, a group of unlikely heroes must band together to stop an otherworldly threat from stealing the one thing they don’t have…time.”
The Duffer Brothers enthused, “We’ve been fans of Jeff and Will’s writing for a long time, and when they pitched us their idea for The Boroughs, we immediately knew they had something very special on their hands.”
They add, “While the heroes in The Boroughs have a few more years on them than the kids from Stranger Things, they are a similarly lovable bunch of misfits, and we can’t wait for you to join them on an adventure that is at turns scary, funny, and deeply touching.”
Jennifer Coolidge will soon have a golden bucket of popcorn to keep her White Lotus Emmy company.
The actress has been named this year’s recipient of the Comedic Genius Award during the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards in May.
The network says Coolidge is the sixth such honoree, heralded for making “incomparable contributions to the world of comedy, providing a major influence through their work and transforming the genre at-large.”
Jack Black was last year’s winner. Borat‘s Sacha Baron Cohen was feted in2021, Melissa McCarthy in2016 and Kevin Hart in2015. The inaugural recipient was Will Ferrell in2013.
The show will air live on May 7 from Barker Hangar in Los Angeles starting at 8 p.m. ET.
Heading into the event, Top Gun: Maverick tops the competition with six nominations; on the TV side, Stranger Things and The Last of Us tied with six nominations apiece.
Roberta Flack is set to receive an honorary degree from the Berklee College of Music at next month’s 2023 commencement ceremony.
The R&B star is being honored for her contribution to music and philanthropy. She will address the students at the ceremony, which will take place May 13 at Boston University’s Agganis Arena.
The singer reacted to the news with a post on her Instagram Story, sharing, “what an honor!”
Also receiving honorary degrees at the ceremony will be Usher and kora player Sona Jorbarteh. Previous honorary degree recipients include Aretha Franklin, Joni Mitchell, Celine Dion, Ringo Starr, Quincy Jones and Willie Nelson.
(WASHINGTON) — Sen. Dick Durbin, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Thursday invited Chief Justice John Roberts to testify at a hearing about Supreme Court ethics.
Durbin, the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat, sent a letter to Roberts inviting him or “another Justice whom you designate” to appear before the committee on May 2 for a hearing “regarding the ethical rules that govern the Justices of the Supreme Court and potential reforms to those rules.”
The invitation comes after ProPublica reports revealing close ties between Justice Clarence Thomas and wealthy GOP donor Harlan Crow, including real estate Thomas and his family sold to Crow and extensive travel by Thomas that Crow facilitated or paid for. Those ties were not revealed on Thomas’ disclosure reports.
In his letter, Durbin, D-Ill., noted that the last time the Judiciary Committee heard from sitting justices on ethics was in 2011.
“Since then, there has been a steady stream of revelations regarding Justices falling short of the ethical standards expected of other federal judges and, indeed, of public servants generally. These problems were already apparent back in 2011, and the Court’s decade-long failure to address them has contributed to a crisis of public confidence. The status quo is no longer tenable,” Durbin wrote.
Durbin told reporters he gave the court prior notice that the letter was coming and that he expected Roberts to receive it Thursday afternoon.
The panel would have limited recourse to compel Roberts to testify if he refuses. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s continued absence as she recovers from shingles means the panel is deadlocked between Democrats and Republicans, rather than Democrats’ normal one-seat majority, and only a majority of members could vote to approve a subpoena for Roberts’ testimony.
It’s unclear if any Republicans would back such a move.
Roberts had yet to respond as of early Thursday afternoon.
Democrats have been up in arms following the ProPublica reports.
“This is beyond party or partisanship,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted earlier this month. “This degree of corruption is shocking — almost cartoonish. Thomas must be impeached.”
Republicans, meanwhile, have largely fallen in line behind Thomas.
“I have total confidence in the chief justice of the United States to deal with these court internal issues,” Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said this week, suggesting any ethics reforms should be left to the Supreme Court to determine.
Crow, meanwhile, has repeatedly maintained his relationship with Thomas included no wrongdoing and that he never tried to influence Thomas’ work on the court.
“We have never asked about a pending or lower court case, and Justice Thomas has never discussed one, and we have never sought to influence Justice Thomas on any legal or political issue. More generally, I am unaware of any of our friends ever lobbying or seeking to influence Justice Thomas on any case, and I would never invite anyone who I believe had any intention of doing that,” Crow said in a statement after the first ProPublica report was published.
In a statement last Friday, Thomas said, “Harlan and Kathy Crow are among our dearest friends, and we have been friends for over twenty-five years. As friends do, we have joined them on a number of family trips during the more than quarter century we have known them. Early in my tenure at the Court, I sought guidance from my colleagues and others in the judiciary, and was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable. I have endeavored to follow that counsel throughout my tenure, and have always sought to comply with the disclosure guidelines. These guidelines are now being changed, as the committee of the Judicial Conference responsible for financial disclosure for the entire federal judiciary just this past month announced new guidance. And, it is, of course, my intent to follow this guidance in the future.”
Shania Twain is set to drop an expanded version of her latest album, Queen Of Me, on Friday, April 28.
Titled Queen Of Me: Royal Edition, the collection will include several new tracks, as well as a feature “that happened serendipitously.”
Sharing the news on Twitter, Shania wrote, “You’ve embraced the new album in exactly the way it was intended – pure celebration! QOM:RE includes a couple of rogue tracks that didn’t quite fit the concept but that I wanted to share with you – and a feature that happened serendipitously and gave me smiles for miles!”
Queen Of Me arrived in February and is Shania’s sixth studio album.
(NEW YORK) — A federal appeals court on Thursday issued an administrative stay temporarily blocking the deposition of Mark Pomerantz by the House Judiciary Committee less than two hours before it was set to begin.
The subpoena of Pomerantz, a former prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney’s office, is part of an investigation into the criminal prosecution of former President Donald Trump by the Republican-led committee chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan.
Pomerantz was a special assistant district attorney who resigned in 2022 over Bragg’s unwillingness to pursue a case against Trump. After Pomerantz left Bragg’s office, he wrote a memoir about his experience, telling ABC News in February he felt “strongly you do have to apply the same legal standards to everyone, regardless of your president or pauper.”
District Attorney Alvin Bragg has sought to block the congressional subpoena, but on Wednesday a federal judge had denied his request — marking a win for Jordan, who is leading what he’s claimed is a probe into whether Bragg’s office used federal funds in the investigation of Trump.
Bragg has sued Jordan over the congressional probe, calling it a “transparent campaign to intimidate and attack” the office.
Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil on Wednesday declined to enjoin the subpoena for testimony about Trump’s indictment.
“In our federalist system, elected state and federal actors sometimes engage in political dogfights,” Vyskocil said in her ruling on Wednesday. “The Court does not endorse either side’s agenda. The sole question before the Court at this time is whether Bragg has a legal basis to quash a congressional subpoena that was issued with a valid legislative purpose. He does not.”
“It is not the role of the federal judiciary to dictate what legislation Congress may consider or how it should conduct its deliberations in that connection. Mr. Pomerantz must appear for the congressional deposition. No one is above the law,” Vyskocil’s decision said.
A spokesperson for Jordan celebrated the judge’s ruling.
“Today’s decision shows that Congress has the ability to conduct oversight and issue subpoenas to people like Mark Pomeranz, and we look forward to his deposition before the Judiciary Committee,” said spokesman Russell Dye.
Bragg’s office, on the other hand, immediately said it would seek a stay of the judge’s decision.
“We respectfully disagree with the District Court’s decision and are seeking a stay pending appeal,” a spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The appeals court wrote Thursday a three-judge panel will consider Bragg’s appeal of a Wednesday ruling allowing the subpoena to move forward, and that its Thursday order “reflects no judgment regarding the merits of the parties’ respective positions.”
ABC News’ Katherine Faulders contributed to this report.
There’s a new box office blockbuster in town — and his name is Harry Styles.
Billboard has released an updated list of the Top 10 Tours of All Time according to its Boxscore chart, and Harry is a new entry. The Grammy-winning star’s current trek, Love On Tour, which is still in progress, has earned him $418 million over 138 shows, with another leg of European stadiums left to go.
Love On Tour is now number 10 on the list, edging out the previous placeholder, Madonna‘s Sticky & Sweet tour, which took in $411 million between 2008 and 2009.
Number one on the list is Elton John‘s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, which is also still in progress. It set a new record for the highest-grossing tour of all time in January and he’s only extended it since then: the trek, which started in 2018, has taken in $853 million.
That tour has also added to Elton’s overall career tour earnings: With just under $1.9 billion, he’s the highest-grossing solo artist of all time.
Elton’s pal Ed Sheeran is number two on the list with his Divide Tour, which took in $776 million from 2017 to 2019.
Here’s the rest of the list:
3. U2 – U2 360° Tour (2009-11): $736 million
4. Guns N’ Roses – Not in This Lifetime… Tour (2016-19): $584 million
5. The Rolling Stones – A Bigger Bang Tour (2005-07): $448 million
6. The Rolling Stones – No Filter Tour (2017-19, 2021): $547 million
7. Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams Tour (2016-17): $524 million
8. Roger Waters – The Wall Live (2010-13): $459 million
9. AC/DC – Black Ice World Tour (2008-10): $442 million
If your Spidey Sense was tingling, it’s because Disney+ just announced that six Spider-Man movies, including the hit Tom Hardy spinoff Venom, are headed to the streaming service.
Spider-Man: No Way Home unites Tom Holland with previous Spider-Man actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield on Disney+ starting in April, when their respective Sony-produced films drop.
Tobey Maguire stars as the web-slinging hero aka Peter Parker in 2002’s Spider-Man, 2004’s Spider-Man 2 and 2007’s Spider-Man 3; Garfield’s first turn was in 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man — all four movies will land on April 21.
2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, Holland’s first stand-alone adventure as ol’ Web Head, as well as the hit Spidey-free spinoff Venom from 2018, will debut on May 12.
The movies were previously unavailable to the Disney-produced platform because they were produced by Sony Pictures. After 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2 fizzled at the box office, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige brokered a deal with Sony to recast the role with Holland, debut him in Marvel Studios 2016 blockbuster Captain America: Civil War and co-produce Homecoming, as well as the subsequent smashes Spider-Man: Far from Home in 2019 and No Way Home in 2021.
The unique deal allowed the studios to “share” the character between their respective movies, with Holland also appearing as Parker/Spidey in 2017’s Avengers: Infinity War and 2019’s Endgame.
As of yet, Far fromHome and No Way Home aren’t available on Disney+.
(WASHINGTON) — House Republicans passed first-of-its-kind federal legislation on Thursday to ban transgender athletes from competing on school sports teams with women and girls — a political messaging priority for the GOP despite the bill having no chance of passing the Senate and facing a presidential veto threat.
Outside the Capitol, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy lauded the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act” after the bill passed by a 219-203 vote along party lines.
“This is a great day for America, and a great day for girls and women, and for fairness in sports,” McCarthy said. “House Republicans pledged before the last election or commitment to American women and girls in sports. Today we kept that,” he added.
The bill would change Title IX’s definition of sex to one “based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.” Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., introduced the legislation in February after it failed to pass out of committee during the last two sessions of Congress, when Democrats controlled the House.
“House Republicans today passed this bill to protect the safety and fairness that we should have in women’s sports and to make sure that no female athlete is ever forced to compete against a biological male, period,” said House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer as he stood with McCarthy and other GOP leaders.
Inside the Capitol, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries slammed the bill as an example of Republicans “trying to sensationalize an issue that doesn’t really exist in the way that they are falsely portraying.”
“The NCAA already has a policy as it relates to this issue, so does the International Olympic Committee, so does the Track and Field Association, and many high school athletic associations have this issue addressed,” he said. “So what this is about, again, extreme MAGA Republicans doing everything possible to jam their right-wing ideology down the throats of the American people.”
Jeffries also warned of the potential consequences the legislation could have on the well-being of transgender children.
“I believe in the fundamental goodness and decency and integrity and respectfulness of the American people. And for me, this is not about politics. This is about being there for all of America’s children, including transgender children, who just want to be able to live and to belong and to make friends,” he said.
The bill is dead on arrival in the Democratic-controlled Senate, and the White House has also warned that President Joe Biden would veto the legislation if it made it to his desk.
“As a national ban that does not account for competitiveness or grade level, H.R. 734 targets people for who they are and therefore is discriminatory,” the White House said in a statement Monday. “Politicians should not dictate a one-size-fits-all requirement that forces coaches to remove kids from their teams.”
Still, the move serves as a messaging bill for House Republicans who are working to highlight LGBTQ issues, as states across the country try to pass similar bills restricting transgender athletes from participating in school sports.
“We kept our promise,” McCarthy said. “Last year we pledged if we had the opportunity to be in the majority we would bring this bill forward. We would stand up fairness. We would stand up for you. We would stand up for Title XI. That’s exactly what we did today.”
Since 2020, at least 21 states have enacted laws or policies that ban transgender athletes from playing on school sports teams with women and girls, according to the Movement Advancement Project.
Leon Russell’s classic tune “A Song For You” has just gotten a new official video. The clip, directed by Spencer Ramsay, features footage from the late singer’s archive, including video of him in the studio and onstage.
“A Song For You” is one of the many tunes featured on the recently reissued Russell compilation Signature Songs. The long-out-of-print collection, which includes solo piano and vocal recordings of some of Russell’s classic tunes, was released digitally and on CD, and on vinyl for the first time.
“A Song For You” appeared on Russell’s self-titled debut solo album, which was released in May 1970. The tune has been covered by a variety of artists, including Andy Williams, Ray Charles andthe Carpenters,and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in January 2018.
