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Review: ‘Lesson’ provides a spicy literary thriller

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:24 GMT

By Lindsey Bahr | Associated PressThe egos are as vast and thorny as the gardens on the lush estate of a prominent author in ” The Lesson,” an entertaining and erudite chamber piece about a master, a tutor and a family after loss.This is a story that, in different hands, could have easily turned maudlin or melodramatic, but director Alice Troughton, writer Alex MacKeith and composer Isobel Waller-Bridge opted instead for wry lightness within the construct of a slow-burn thriller. It’s as though “The Lesson,” and everyone involved, is winking at the audience through the serious material that lingers, intentionally, on the fine line between pretentious and provocative.Daryl McCormack, of “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” and “Bad Sisters,” plays Liam Sommers, an aspiring writer who has accepted a job tutoring the son of world-famous author J.M. Sinclair (Richard E. Grant), who also happens to be his literary idol. But the film begins ...

Blow: Court’s affirmative action ruling enshrines racial imbalance

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:24 GMT

There is a recurrent theme in American history: the clawing back of hard-won progress. And the Supreme Court last week used the most specious of arguments to do so with affirmative action.In the majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that affirmative action — in this case, the use of race as a factor in university admissions — cannot stand because “eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.” But, of course, neither the court nor America itself has any desire to eliminate all of it. Reading that line was like having someone spit in my face.What the court was really signaling was that it intended to let racial imbalances born of both historical and current injustices be locked in and go unchecked.Affirmative action, however imperfect, is at least an acknowledgment of racialized imbalance and injury, and an attempt to lessen their effects.The court, with this decision, was washing its hands of racial discrimination that is not overt, conscious and codifi...

HGTV star Christina Hall’s former California house lists at $8 million

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:24 GMT

A renovated Newport Beach home previously owned by HGTV star Christina Hall is up for grabs at $7.995 million.The ask is 49% more than the $5.35 million county documents show the 39-year-old host of “Christina on the Coast” and “Christina in the Country” got in June 2021.With its metal roof and board-and-batten siding, this 4,804-square-foot, two-story house sits on over a half-acre lot with a resort-style backyard. Constructed in 1999 and updated by the current owner, it has five bedrooms, five bathrooms and an open-concept floor plan.The listing calls it a “perfect harmony of minimalist aesthetics and efficient space utilization.”RELATED: Peek inside ‘Flip or Flop’ star Christina El Moussa’s new $4.1 million California homeInside are all-white walls, wide-plank, white oak flooring, clerestory windows and a soaring vaulted ceiling with skylights. An oversized center island with seating outfits the gourmet kitchen that opens to the great room.Slide-away glass doors extend the living...

Basketball drama ‘Swagger’ drops season 2 on Apple TV+

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:24 GMT

(new Image()).src = "https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=9be9c680-c459-4acb-af21-654a2ccca384&cid=c2ffed0c-3624-46c0-b10f-97c976d290a3";cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "9be9c680-c459-4acb-af21-654a2ccca384",mediaId: "b8452759-8be3-42fb-a7bf-16830a130e45"}).render("747fe7306e64448398ba7e7faa6253b2"); });Hear our full chat on my podcast “Beyond the Fame with Jason Fraley.” toggle audio on and off change volume download audio WTOP's Jason Fraley chats with the creators of 'Swagger' (Part 1) $(function () { $('.wtop-audio-container .fa-play').on('click', function(){ var audio_filename = $('div.wtop-audio-file').data("mp3-url"); ...

EXCLUSIVO CNN: el equipo del fiscal especial interrogan a testigos sobre la caótica reunión en el Despacho Oval después de que Trump perdiera las elecciones de 2020

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:24 GMT

(CNN) — El equipo del fiscal especial Jack Smith dio señales de mantener el interés en una caótica reunión en el Despacho Oval que tuvo lugar en los últimos días de la administración Trump, durante la cual el expresidente consideró algunas de las propuestas más desesperadas para mantenerse en el poder a pesar de las objeciones de los consejeros de la Casa Blanca.Varias fuentes le dijeron a CNN que los investigadores entrevistaron a varios testigos ante el jurado investigador y durante las entrevistas sobre la reunión, la cual ocurrió unas seis semanas después de que Donald Trump perdiera las elecciones de 2020. Se preguntó a algunos testigos sobre la reunión hace meses, mientras que varios otros han enfrentado preguntas al respecto más recientemente, incluido Rudy Giuliani.El mes pasado, durante dos días consecutivos, Giuliani se reunió con los investigadores para una entrevista voluntaria sobre una variedad de temas, incluida la tumultuosa reunión de diciembre de 2020 a la qu...

Denver weather: Another chance for severe storms, Pinpoint Weather Alert Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:24 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Friday is a Pinpoint Weather Alert Day for thunderstorms that will move across the Front Range. Denver intersection keeps flooding; what’s being done Some storms could be strong to severe, bringing hail and wind, lightning and heavy rain in the Denver weather forecast. Pinpoint Weather: Severe weather outlook on July 7.Weather today: Afternoon stormsFriday will start with morning fog and partly sunny skies. This will be followed by an increasing chance for showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening. Some of these storms could be strong to severe, especially east of Denver and into the plains.Pinpoint Weather: Daily forecast on July 7. Weather tonight: Storms ending Thunderstorms will wrap up Friday night, and Denver will be left with a mainly cloudy sky. Low temperatures will stay seasonal and fall to the mid-50s. Pinpoint Weather: Overnight temperatures on July 7.Looking ahead: Drier and warmer A drier and warmer pattern will move in on Sunday and la...

Denver violent crimes rose to second highest in May 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:24 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Denver hasn't just had its wettest months this spring, it's also had some of its most violent. Police were investigating three overnight shootings in downtown Denver on July 1 that sent several people to the hospital. Data from the Denver Police Department shows that violent crimes from this year are already higher than in years past. The data looked at the monthly number of robberies, aggravated assaults and murders from 2018 to 2023. Both the monthly number of violent crimes and the total number of violent crimes to date are rising in 2023.  16 indicted on 116 felonies in one of biggest drug busts in West Metro This May, there was a near-record level of violent crime in Denver. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation has May 2023 crime data available, and the new numbers are headed in the wrong direction for Denver. There were 640 murders, aggravated assaults and robberies in May, more than any month since 2008 except for July 2022 when there were 684. Violent crime...

Mother pleads guilty in 4-year-old-daughter's death

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:24 GMT

FOUNTAIN, Colo. (KXRM) — The Fountain Police Department said Emma Staton pled guilty to child abuse resulting in death, unlawful possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Stanton was sentenced to 27 years in prison on July 3. On July 13, 2022, just after midnight, FPD responded to a Love's Truck Stop in Fountain. Officers contacted Staton and her 4-year-old daughter, Aceylynn Stanton-Contreras. Staton's daughter was unconscious and officers immediately performed CPR, but the child died on the scene. Police: Man kills teen, wounds another after they try to break into his car An autopsy determined that the child's brain had swelling consistent win an overdose. "We are extremely proud of the Fountain Police Department’s Investigation Division and their diligence and perseverance on this case. We offer our sincere condolences to Acelynn’s family," said FPD.

Drake is yet another artist targeted by a flying object on stage during a concert

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:24 GMT

(CNN) — Drake once sang, “Call me on my cellphone,” but never once did he say to fling one at him while he’s on stage performing.That is exactly what appears to have happened in Chicago on Wednesday, amounting to the latest incident in an alarmingly long list of similar situations in the last few weeks.The “Hotline Bling” rapper was performing at the United Center in the Windy City on his “It’s All A Blur Tour” when a cellphone was flung onto the stage, seemingly hitting Drake in the arm, footage posted to social media by a concertgoer showed.It’s the latest instance following a slew of other artists who’ve been the target of concertgoers throwing items on stage, including Pink, Bebe Rexha, Kelsea Ballerini and Ava Max.Ballerini was struck in the face by a bracelet that was thrown at her last week during a performance in Idaho, as seen in social media videos. The singer flinched mid-song when the object hit her in the head, causing her to pause the song and step offstage.Last month,...

Vacation 1, Election 0: Spain struggles to staff its polling stations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:24 GMT

What happens if you hold an election and there’s no one to supervise the polling stations?That’s the scenario Spain is facing with just two weeks to go before its July 23 national vote, which is being held at a time when more than a quarter of voters are expected to be on vacation.Spanish law dictates that each of the country’s polling stations be overseen by three registered voters who are chosen through a lottery system. The (un)lucky winners of the draw are obliged to serve during the 12 hours that polls remain open and face being fined and up to a year in jail if they refuse. But even with the threat of a prison sentence, authorities are having trouble finding enough people to do the job.“We have hundreds of unfilled slots,” said an official for the city of León’s electoral commission who added that there could be as many as 900 vacant positions at the moment. “We purposely drew nine names per polling station in order to have a large num...