Voting begins in US House on impeaching President Donald Trump over riot at Capitol
WASHINGTON (AP) — Voting begins in US House on impeaching President Donald Trump over riot at Capitol.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Voting begins in US House on impeaching President Donald Trump over riot at Capitol.
Parler, a social media website and app popular with the American far right, has partially returned online with the help of a Russian-owned technology company. Parler vanished from the internet when dropped by Amazon Inc's hosting arm and other partners for poor moderation after its users called for violence and posted videos glorifying the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. On Monday, Parler's website was reachable again, though only with a message from its chief executive saying he was working to restore functionality.
U.S. lawmakers are moving ahead with efforts to ban facial recognition software even as the technology helps identify supporters of President Donald Trump who ransacked their workplace and forced them to evacuate this month. Researchers and law enforcement have been running photographs from the Jan. 6 siege of the Capitol through facial recognition, which looks for similar faces in databases of mugshots, social media headshots or other images. "It's a great tool," said Michael Sheldon, research associate at the nonprofit Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab, whose mission includes protecting democratic institutions.
'This is about travelling with friends, getting ready in the back of the car and just getting out there' says rider
A version of this story about “La Llorona” first appeared in the International Film Issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine. Director Jayro Bustamante’s dark drama “La Llorona,” the Guatemalan entry in this year’s Oscar race, tells the story of a Guatemalan dictator who helped engineer a genocide of native Mayans but returns home after his sentence is overturned on a technicality. Bustamante addresses the political story by using horror elements and using the character of La Llorona, a weeping woman popular in Latin American folklore. Bustamante spoke to TheWrap about his unsettling, slow-burn piece of creepy social commentary, which is available on the streaming service Shudder. Why did you want to make this film and tell it in this way? It was part of a triptych that I’ve been preparing since 2015. I wanted to talk about the big problem of discrimination in my society, but I didn’t know in what way we wanted to approach that topic because people in Guatemala don’t want to talk about genocide. At the same time, I was doing research about what kind of films people are watching, and they are watching for the most part horror films and superhero films. And La Llorona, for us, is a kind of heroine and at the same time she’s coming from the horror elements. And I wanted to be in the house of evil. Normally, all the dictators in Latin America continue saying that they are heroes and that they are not feeling any guilt because they saved us from communism. But I don’t believe that. I really believe that in the night, they feel guilt. So I wanted to be there with my camera when that darkness came for them. Also Read: 'La Llorona' Film Review: Jayro Bustamante Examines Real-Life Historical Horror in Impressive Third Feature What was the importance of the La Llorona character, a significant figure in Latin American folklore? To me, it was simple and useful – not only to tell the story, but also to transform the character. The original character is from a very misogynistic story. She’s all the time crying, and she even kills her kids. She’s presented as a monster. But I wanted to give her an elegance, and use that elegance to make fear. I wanted to change the legend. Had you had ambitions to make horror movies before this? No. I consider myself a storyteller, and I want to use the different languages of movies and the different genres too. I want to make a comedy, I want to make a love story – I’m really curious about all of those. The film uses horror elements, but it’s also quiet and contemplative. When I started working with horror elements, the most important and the thing that scared me was the fact that there is a lot of pleasure to make a horror movie, because it’s very effective. We were playing with that and we had to be careful because the horror element can’t be more important than the horror coming from the reality. So we built a balance with three baskets. We were putting in horror elements, horror coming from real stories and horror coming from magical realism. Also Read: Oscars International Entries, 2020: The Complete List Was it important to subvert the horror genre in a certain way? I didn’t want it to make a traditional horror film because it’s a mix – I wanted a little bit of the Mayan culture in the film, and Mayan culture has another rhythm. I’m bringing you to another part of the world. You’re dealing with a very dark moment in history, and one with many, many victims, but you’re doing it through the use of genre. Did you worry about being respectful enough to the victims of the genocide of indigenous people? Yeah. I asked for advice from a lot of people who work in human rights. And very quickly, people started telling me, “You know what is disrespectful about what happened? When people are silent about the story, or people saying that there is no genocide.” So they pushed me to do it. Also, in the film, many of the extras were part of a group of people who continue to spread the word about the genocide, and continue looking for their disappeared people. What were the particular challenges of making it? When we started doing the film, I did an interview talking about it. And after that interview, we started getting some calls. People would hide behind advice, but they would say, “Don’t make that film. Don’t talk about that if you want to continue to have a career.” So we had to run to make the film–other people said, “If you want to make the film, you have to do it very quick.” So in less than three months, we had to find the financing and start making the film. And even then, we were conscious of the danger. Also Read: Oscars Eliminate Executive Committee Picks for International Feature, Expand Shortlist And what has the reaction been now that you’ve finished? At first, there was a kind of a silence about the film. But when we were chosen to represent Guatemala at the Oscars, things changed, like black and white. Right now people are very proud of us. They are not saying that the film is talking about genocide, but they just want to have an Oscar. It’s very funny. The film is very important for people in Guatemala even if they don’t want to talk about it. Read more of the International Film Issue here. Read original story How Guatemalan Horror Film ‘La Llorona’ Used Genre to Examine Genocide At TheWrap
Electric car batteries have been developed that are capable of charging in 10 minutes and would allow a driver to travel for 250 miles. The new lithium ion phosphate batteries, built by US scientists, can quickly heat up and cool down - which is the key to rapid charging and long life. Scientists at Penn State University have invented a battery which matches a Porsche's performance and lasts a lifetime. Tesla's Roadster, considered to be the gold standard of electric vehicles, can run for around 600 miles without charging but it costs more than £180,000 and usually takes hours to charge. While electric cars are becoming increasingly popular in the UK, the fear of running out of power while travelling remains a deterrent for motorists. There were around 164,100 pure electric cars on UK roads and over 373,600 plug-in hybrids as of September 2020.
She's set to share her opinion on Erinsborough Council's 'Change the Date' campaign.
Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen is calling on Congress to do more to fight a deep pandemic-induced recession, saying the threats of a longer and even worse downturn are too great to cut back on support now. “Without further action, we risk a longer, more painful recession now — and long-term scarring of the economy later,” Yellen said in testimony prepared for her confirmation hearing Tuesday before the Senate Finance Committee. Yellen, who will be the first female treasury secretary in the nation's history, is expected to have little trouble winning approval in a Senate that will be narrowly controlled by Democrats once two Democratic senators from Georgia are seated.
Natural ways to feel better From Country Living
Melania Trump issued her farewell address on Monday, following in step with a longstanding practice of outgoing first ladies. But one person absent from her speech was her successor, Dr. Jill Biden, with whom Trump has had no contact since the November election and has not invited for a traditional pre-inauguration tour of the White House. During the seven-minute speech, Trump reflected on several issues that were dear to her during her time as first lady, including the opioid addiction crisis, online safety and children in foster care. And while she did not directly mention the Capitol attack staged by her husband’s supporters on Jan. 6, she urged Americans to “be passionate in everything you do but always remember that violence is never the answer and will never be justified.” Although she also told the country to “not lose sight of your integrity and values,” to “use every opportunity to show consideration for another person and build good habits into your daily lives,” she did fail to show her manners to the incoming first lady. Also Read: Trump's Nominees for 'Garden of American Heroes' Include Walt Disney, Grover Cleveland and Alex Trebek While Trump’s lack of mentioning her successor isn’t unique in first lady farewell addresses — Michelle Obama did not mention Melania in her own farewell address four years ago — what is unique is that the outgoing first lady has not made any contact with the Bidens in any way. Dating back at least to Edith Wilson in the 1920s and the decades since, the outgoing first lady has invited her successor to the White House for a tour of its living quarters, a meeting usually done as a symbol of peaceful transfer of power. That tradition continued in 2017 when the Obamas welcomed the Trumps to the White House after the election. But the Bidens’ staff has told reporters in the past few weeks that neither Donald nor Melania Trump has reached out to their successors during a transition period that has been marked by unsubstantiated claims of election rigging that culminated in a violent insurgence on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters that resulted in five deaths. The White House, though notably not the Trumps, has invited the Bidens to stay at the Blair House — the presidential guest residence — on Tuesday night before Joe Biden is sworn in as president at noon on Wednesday. You can read the transcript of Melania Trump’s speech here or listen to it at the link below. A Farewell Message from First Lady Melania Trump pic.twitter.com/WfG1zg2mt4 — Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) January 18, 2021 Read original story Be Best? Melania Trump Snubs Jill Biden for White House Tour At TheWrap
Guatemalan security forces on Monday cleared a road of hundreds of migrants in a caravan bound for the U.S., after an intense standoff overnight, during which police used sticks to try to beat back the mostly Honduran migrant group. The clash Sunday night was the latest effort by Guatemalan authorities to break up the caravan, which authorities said numbered close to 8,000 people within hours of its departure for the United States from Honduras last week. About 2,000 of the migrants installed themselves on the road after they clashed with Guatemalan security forces during a failed effort to make their way past. The Guatemalan government said groups of migrants looked for alternative routes after the clearance. It was unclear how many were turning back altogether. The migrants included families with young children. Many say they are fleeing poverty and lawlessness in a region rocked by the coronavirus pandemic and two hurricanes in November. The first migrant caravan of the year comes just days before the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, who promised to adopt a more humane approach to migration than outgoing President Donald Trump, who favored a hardline approach. Mexican President Andres Lopez Obrador on Monday warned migrants not to try to enter countries by force, and said he was in touch with both the outgoing and incoming U.S. administrations over the migrant caravan.
At 85 kilograms (187 lb), Kyuta is twice the size of the other children his age and is so dominant that he wrestles, and beats, boys five or six years older. His training regime, devised by his father Taisuke, is relentless. He trains six days a week, either at is local sumo club or lifting weights.
A certain Big Bang Theory star is also trying her hand in hosting ...From Good Housekeeping
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday rescinded entry bans imposed because of the coronavirus on most non-U.S. citizens arriving from Brazil and much of Europe effective Jan. 26, two officials briefed on the matter told Reuters. Reuters first reported in November that the administration had been considering lifting the restrictions, imposed early last year in response to the pandemic, after winning support from coronavirus task force members and public health officials. The restrictions are set to end under a new proclamation from Trump the same day that new COVID-19 test requirements take effect for all international visitors.
Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.
When Warner Bros. announced that its slate of 2021 movies would all be released on HBO Max the same day they hit theaters, Hollywood flipped out and declared the death of cinema. Film director and writer Christopher Nolan responded to the news by saying, “Some of our industry’s biggest filmmakers and most important movie stars went to bed the night before thinking they were working for the greatest movie studio and woke up to find out they were working for the worst streaming service.” But Tinseltown has always had a flare for the dramatic. Personally, I do not believe movie theaters are going anywhere. Instead, they will finally be forced to evolve from an antiquated business model based on overpriced popcorn. Also Read: Leaders of the SPAC: Why Hollywood Is Hot for Blank-Check Companies Currently, theaters only get to pocket 50% of the revenue from ticket sales. They make the rest of their profit from concessions, of which they get to keep about 80% of the revenue. The whole theater experience is designed around this — emphasizing visuals and layouts around food areas and trying to encourage customers to spend as much money on snacks as possible, even making candy...Read original story Movie Theaters ‘Aren’t Going Anywhere’ But Must Evolve | PRO Insight At TheWrap
As one of his last acts in office, President Trump has ordered the building of a monument garden to include scores — upon scores — of statues of “American heroes.” Figures for the garden range from John Adams, Samuel Adams and Muhammad Ali to Annie Oakley, Jesse Owens and Rosa Parks … not to mention Walt Disney, Grover Cleveland and Alex Trebek. It’s unclear how the expansive list was compiled or who compiled it, but according to the “Executive Order on Building the National Garden of American Heroes” issued Monday morning, it’s “America’s answer to this reckless attempt to erase our heroes, values, and entire way of life. Also Read: Bill Maher Sends Trump Off With a Children's Book Called 'Pack Your S- and Go' (VIdeo) “On its grounds, the devastation and discord of the moment will be overcome with abiding love of country and lasting patriotism,” Trump’s executive order states. “This is the American way. When the forces of anti-Americanism have sought to burn, tear down, and destroy, patriots have built, rebuilt, and lifted up. That is our history. America responded to the razing of the White House by building it back in the same place with unbroken resolve, to the murders of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr., with a national temple and the Stone of Hope, and to the terrorism of 9/11 with a new Freedom Tower. “In keeping with this tradition, America is responding to the tragic toppling of monuments to our founding generation and the giants of our past by commencing a new national project for their restoration, veneration, and celebration.” Memes mocking Trump’s executive order kicked off not long after it was published. ALL THE STATUES IN THE NATIONAL GARDEN OF AMERICAN HEROES, RANKED — 32 across (@aoscott) January 18, 2021 Read original story Trump’s Nominees for ‘Garden of American Heroes’ Include Walt Disney, Grover Cleveland and Alex Trebek At TheWrap
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struck twice as Arsenal defeated Newcastle United 3-0 in the Premier League on Monday, condemning Steve Bruce's side to a ninth game without a win in all competitions. After a dreadful start to the season, Mikel Arteta's side are now up to 10th place in the league and they never looked in danger against a Newcastle side that looks demoralised. Aubameyang struck the post in the first half and Alexandre Lacazette forced a good save out of the Newcastle keeper just after the interval.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang returned to scoring form with a double as Arsenal's rise up the Premier League table continued with a comfortable 3-0 win over Newcastle on Monday.
Netflix's newest period drama has fans pleading for a second chapter. Here's how long we might have to wait.