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Norman Lear, iconic TV sitcom and movie producer, dies at 101

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:20:30 GMT

(CNN) — Famed television producer Norman Lear, whose wildly successful TV sitcoms including “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons” fused comedy with trenchant social commentary and dominated network ratings in the 1970s, died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles, his family announced on his website. He was 101.“Norman lived a life of curiosity, tenacity, and empathy. He deeply loved our country and spent a lifetime helping to preserve its founding ideals of justice and equality for all,” his family said. “He began his career in the earliest days of live television and discovered a passion for writing about the real lives of Americans, not a glossy ideal. At first, his ideas were met with closed doors and misunderstanding. However, he stuck to his conviction that the ‘foolishness of the human condition’ made great television, and eventually he was heard.”Beginning with “All in the Family” in 1971, Lear’s shows tackled fraught topics of racism, feminism and social inequalities th...

No injuries after sailboat runs aground in Plymouth, MA amid snow and heavy winds

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:20:30 GMT

Authorities say three people aboard a sailboat were rescued off the coast of Plymouth after their ship ran aground Wednesday morning.A spokesperson for the United States Coast Guard said it was around 7:30 a.m. when the ship’s crew sent out a mayday call, stating that their 41-foot vessel had been pushed towards the rocks near the shoreline.Plymouth Fire Department personnel were able to later assist the crew, with all three transported safely to shore.No additional details were released.https://twitter.com/SabSilv/status/1732424939763023962?s=20

Yankees get outfielder Alex Verdugo from Red Sox for pitcher Greg Weissert, 2 minor leaguers

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:20:30 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The New York Yankees made a rare trade with the rival Boston Red Sox, acquiring outfielder Alex Verdugo on Tuesday night for right-handers Greg Weissert, Richard Fitts and Nicholas Judice.Verdugo, a 27-year-old left-handed hitter, batted .264 with 13 homers, 54 RBIs and a .745 OPS this year in his fourth season with the Red Sox. A Gold Glove finalist, he had 12 outfield assists and nine defensive runs saved.A seven-year major league veteran, Verdugo has a .281 career batting average with 57 homers and 255 RBIs with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Red Sox.Selected by the Dodgers in the second round of the 2014 amateur draft, Verdugo was acquired by Boston with infielder Jeter Downs and catcher/second baseman Connor Wong in the February 2020 trade that sent slugger Mookie Betts and pitcher David Price to the Dodgers.Verdugo is eligible for arbitration and is likely to get a salary of about $9 million. He can become a free agent after the World Series.If the Yankees...

The Fourth Republican Presidential Primary Debate of 2024, hosted by News Nation, will air on The CW tonight at 8/7c!  Tune in!

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:20:30 GMT

Angelina Jolie describes Hollywood as ‘shallow’ and ‘not a healthy place’

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:20:30 GMT

(CNN) — Angelina Jolie says she wouldn’t be an actress if she was starting out in the entertainment industry today.That was just one of the revelations the star shared in her recently published interview with the Wall Street Journal Magazine.In an article, titled “Angelina Jolie Is Rebuilding Her Life,” she talked “healing” after her split from Brad Pitt to her plans for the future.She also touched on her feelings about the town that helped make her a star.“I grew up in quite a shallow place,” Jolie said of Hollywood. “Of all the places in the world, Hollywood is not a healthy place. So you seek authenticity.”The daughter of actor Jon Voight, Jolie told the publication, “Because I grew up around Hollywood, I was never very impressed with it. I never bought into it as significant or important.”But given the choice to break into the industry now, Jolie probably wouldn’t.“I wouldn’t be an actress today,” she said, with the caveat that perhaps she would have done theater, but ...

35% of Americans want a housing crash, poll says

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:20:30 GMT

How out of whack is the housing market?Well, an October poll by LendingTree of 2,045 US adults found 35% want the housing market to crash – highlighted by youthful Gen Z-ers (53%) and millennials (46%).Look, rooting for a bargain is as American as apple pie. Who doesn’t hope for that big sale, deep-discount coupon or holiday pricing to stretch the budget?So why not housing? Affordability anxiety of late is a real fear.Think about the nearly 40% of non-homeowners from Gen Z (ages 18 to 26) and the millennial crowd (27 to 42) who told pollsters they feel a steep market pullback is the only way a home purchase will ever pencil for their finances.It’s not just budget-strapped ownership seekers wishing for a home-price dip. Even 36% of owners surveyed hope for a crash.Why? Well, 15% want to lower their property taxes and another 15% believe a price correction would help stabilize the market.Various curesThere are various ways housing affordability headaches could be cured.Say...

The UK apologizes to families of 97 Liverpool soccer fans killed after a stadium crush 34 years ago

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:20:30 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The British government apologized Wednesday to the families of 97 Liverpool soccer fans who died after a stadium crush 34 years ago, as it introduced a charter it said will sharply diminish the chances that others will endure the kinds of injustices they suffered.However, it refused to back calls from campaigners to legally require public bodies, including police, to tell the truth and proactively cooperate with official investigations and inquiries in cases of public disasters. The so-called Hillsborough disaster happened on April 15, 1989. More than 2,000 Liverpool fans at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield were allowed to flood into a standing-room section behind a goal with the 54,000-capacity stadium already nearly full for a match against Nottingham Forest.An original inquest recorded verdicts of accidental death, which the families of the victims refused to accept. Those verdicts were overturned in 2012 after a far-reaching inquiry into the disaster that examined...

Oklahoma man at the center of a tribal sovereignty ruling reaches plea agreement with prosecutors

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:20:30 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma man at the center of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling on tribal sovereignty has reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors less than a week before he was to go to trial, according to court documents.Jimcy McGirt, 75, pleaded guilty Tuesday before a federal magistrate in U.S. District Court in Muskogee to one count of aggravated sexual abuse in Indian Country in exchange for a 30-year prison sentence with credit for time served.McGirt has served more than 26 years in prison since his initial conviction in state court.McGirt said in the signed document that he entered the plea “because I am guilty and do not believe I am innocent, I wish to plead guilty.”U.S. Attorney Christopher Wilson said in a statement that the federal judge would still need to approve the plea deal following a presentence investigation by the court.“McGirt will remain in the custody of the United States Marshal until the sentencing hearing, at which time the court will...

A grantmaker is betting a TV show for teen girls can help narrow the STEM gender gap

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:20:30 GMT

Dallas philanthropist Lyda Hill has devoted much of her giving to tackling social problems through science. Her Lyda Hill Philanthropies supports museums, basic research, and programs like National Geographic Explorers.Over the last few years, the grantmaker also has ventured into media production: financing and helping develop a TV series, “Mission Unstoppable,” aimed at girls aged 13 to 17, which features women succeeding in science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM, careers.The CBS series — which is one part entertainment and one part feminist career inspiration — has averaged a million broadcast viewers in its first two seasons and has been nominated for multiple Emmy awards. It’s also part of a growing recognition in the philanthropic community that TV shows, feature films, podcasts, and other media projects are powerful tools to reach new audiences and shift entrenched narratives, what insiders call “narrative change.” Since 2009, grantmakers have given at least $2.1...

‘A master of storytelling’ – Reaction to the death of pioneering TV figure Norman Lear

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:20:30 GMT

A collection of reactions to the death of Norman Lear, the writer, director and producer who revolutionized prime time television, who died Tuesday night at 101.“I loved Norman Lear with all my heart. He was my second father. Sending my love to Lyn and the whole Lear family.” — Rob Reiner, via X, formerly Twitter.“A master of storytelling and a healer through his shows! He is what all of showbiz should be aspiring to. He is the consummate creative producer we have long abandoned in the industry.” — John Leguizamo, via X.“My Goat. What a life. Rest well, Norman Lear.” — Quinta Brunson, via X.“Anyone who ever had a chance to say something pointed or political in an American television entertainment owes Norman Lear their adoration and awe. He saw what was possible in that vacuous glowing box and, almost singularly, he made it so.” — David Simon, via X.The Associated Press