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REVIEW: Maestro is Bradley Cooper’s near-successful attempt at a masterpiece

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:52 GMT

One of the giants of 20th century music who isn’t as well-remembered compared to the Beatles or Michael Jackson is Leonard Bernstein. A famous composer and conductor, most people know Bernstein nowadays as the composer of the music for West Side Story. But he left behind a legacy as one of the greatest conductors in American history, and this new film depicts his tumultuous and turbulent life as directed by one of cinema’s biggest drama kids.Maestro. Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein (Director/Writer/Producer) in Maestro. Cr. Jason McDonald/Netflix © 2023.Bradley Cooper (from A Star Is Born, the Hangover, and Guardians of the Galaxy) has many roles In Maestro. Not only did he co-produce the film alongside several others, and co-write the film alongside Josh Singer (who previously wrote Spotlight and First Man), he also directs the film and stars as Bernstein. The film unfolds in two halves, the first documenting his initial musical successes and his courtship with his ...

Former ambassador and Republican politician sues to block Tennessee voting law

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:52 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Former Ambassador to Poland and longtime Tennessee Republican politician Victor Ashe sued state election officials on Wednesday over a law he claims is so vague that he could be prosecuted for voting in a Republican primary.The 1972 state law requiring primary voters to be “bona fide” party members or “declare allegiance” to the party has rarely been invoked, but legislators voted this year to require polling places to post warning signs stating that it’s a crime to vote in a political party’s primary if you are not a bona fide member of that party. Ashe and other plaintiffs challenge both laws in the lawsuit filed in federal court in Nashville. They argue that Tennessee voters aren’t registered by party, and the law does not define what it means to be a bona fide party member, to declare allegiance to a party or long that allegiance must last. Such vague terms invite arbitrary enforcement and are likely to intimidate otherwise legitimate voters, ...

‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ named best film of 2023 by New York film critics

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:52 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” has been named the best film of the year by the New York Film Critics Circle. It’s the third time that Scorsese has been given the best film award from his hometown’s critics, who named 1990’s “GoodFellas” their top movie, as well as 2019’s “The Irishman.” On Thursday, the group also awarded Lily Gladstone, who stars alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” best actress. “Killers of the Flower Moon,” a $200 million Apple Studios production based on David Grann’s nonfiction bestseller, chronicles the Osage murders of the 1920s. “Oppenheimer,” Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster drama about J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project, picked up several awards: best director for Nolan and best cinematography, by Hoyte van Hoytema. The New York Film Critics Circle, founded in 1935, is the oldest critics group in the country. The awards will be handed out at ...

Police searching for two people accused in FBI agent carjacking in Washington

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:52 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Police are searching for two people on Thursday after an FBI agent was carjacked earlier this week in Washington D.C., as the nation’s capital copes with a spike in carjackings. Investigators are offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of the pair accused of stealing the car at gunpoint as the agent exited the vehicle Wednesday afternoon, authorities said. They then drove off in the FBI vehicle. It was found less than an hour later, about a mile, or 1.6 kilometers, from the site of the theft. The bureau’s Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department’s carjacking task force are investigating. Carjackings in the nation’s capital have more than doubled this year, and recent victims include a diplomat from the United Arab Emirates and U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas. He was carjacked near the Capitol in October by three armed assailants, who stole his car but didn’t physically harm him.Earlier this month, ...

Saskatchewan First Nation chief says Buffy Sainte-Marie should take DNA test

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:52 GMT

The chief of a Saskatchewan First Nation that has been thrust into the controversy over Buffy Sainte-Marie’s ancestry says the legendary singer and songwriter should take a DNA test to provide a definitive answer about her heritage. Piapot First Nation acting Chief Ira Lavallee says he believed the narrative from Sainte-Marie that she had lineage and parentage connected to the southern Saskatchewan community. However, after a CBC report in October raised questions about her Indigenous heritage, he says he’s no longer sure.CBC located the singer’s birth certificate, which says she was born in 1941 in Massachusetts and lists the baby and parents as white.Family members in the United States, including a younger sister, told CBC that Sainte-Marie was not adopted and does not have Indigenous ancestry.Sainte-Marie has said the CBC report had mistakes and omissions, adding she has never lied about her identity.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 30, 2023....

Ex of man charged with shooting Palestinian students had police remove his gun from her home in 2013

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:52 GMT

An ex-girlfriend of the man charged with shooting and wounding three college students of Palestinian descent in Vermont asked police 10 years ago to remove his gun from her home after she said the couple had split up and she did not feel safe returning it herself, according to police. The Syracuse, New York, woman told police on Aug. 1, 2013, that she wanted to turn in the shotgun of her ex-boyfriend Jason Eaton, saying she had recently ended the relationship and didn’t want the gun in her home, Lt. Matthew Malinowski of the Syracuse police wrote in a email to The Associated Press on Thursday, summarizing the report. NBC News first reported on the incident.The woman said she had a history of domestic violence with Eaton and didn’t want any contact with him and that he did not currently live with her. She turned over the DeerSlayer 20-gauge shotgun, which was logged into evidence, Malinowski said.Eaton’s publicly appointed attorneys did not immediately respond to an...

New York punished 2,000 prisoners over false positive drug tests, report finds

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:52 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s prison system unfairly punished more than 2,000 prisoners after tests of suspected contraband substances falsely tested positive for drugs, according to a report released Thursday. In hundreds of cases, the prisoners had committed no offense, but the flawed results were used to put them in solitary confinement, halt family visits, or cancel parole hearings.The report by Inspector General Lucy Lang found that state prison staff failed to confirm the test results with an outside lab. The manufacturer of the contraband screening drug tests, Sirchie Finger Print Laboratories, says in its instructions that the results from the drug tests should be treated as preliminary and unconfirmed.The report also found that New York state prison staff failed to abide by protocols meant to prevent misidentifying contraband or cross-contaminating samples. The Sirchie NARK II contraband screening tests are used to detect synthetic cannabinoids and other types of drugs by ...

Netflix urges CRTC to recognize its existing contributions to Canadian broadcasting

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:52 GMT

GATINEAU, Que. — Streaming giant Netflix says the CRTC should recognize the role it already plays in helping fund Canada’s broadcasting industry and reject calls to mandate an additional payment from the company.But if the federal regulator does move ahead with requiring foreign streamers to contribute money to the Canadian content system, it says that burden should be no more than two per cent of annual revenues, in line with other jurisdictions.Netflix appeared Thursday at a hearing that is part of the CRTC’s public consultations in response to the Online Streaming Act, which received royal assent in April.The legislation, formerly known as Bill C-11, is meant to update federal law to require digital platforms to contribute to and promote Canadian content.Stéphane Cardin, director of public policy for Netflix in Canada, told the commission the platform already makes direct investments in Canadian content through its funding of local productions, and an additional levy ...

Review: In concert film ‘Renaissance,’ Beyoncé offers glimpse into personal life during world tour

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:52 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — In Beyoncé’s concert film, she described her recent Renaissance World Tour as being run like a machine: From lighting to set design, the superstar singer had a hand in everything production-related to ensure her stadium tour exceeded expectations after four years of preparation.As a perfectionist, Beyoncé was tirelessly determined — working almost 50 days straight — to create an epic concert experience. This comes clear in her movie “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé,” which chronicles the massive tour in support of her seventh studio album. The film — written, directed and produced by Beyoncé — perfectly captures her dazzling performances for the big screen and somewhat unveils intimate behind-the-scenes footage from a normally private singer, who has rarely done interviews in the past decade. Beyoncé released her nearly three-hour “Renaissance” movie through AMC Theaters in similar fashion as the “ Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour ” film, which opened with a record-brea...

Biden hosts the Angolan president in an effort to showcase strengthened ties, as Africa visit slips

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:52 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is hosting Angolan President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço in the Oval Office on Thursday as he seeks to reaffirm his commitment to Africa even as two wars consume much of his administration’s foreign policy focus.The White House meeting follows Angola’s move to position itself as a strategic partner to the United States and as it has shifted away from Russian and Chinese influence under Lourenço’s tenure. The visit comes as Biden appears set to break his commitment to African leaders to visit the continent this year — though senior U.S. officials have made key trips to Africa throughout 2023.”They’re a strategic partner and a growing global voice on issues of peace and security,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Thursday, adding that the two leaders would discuss economic and security cooperation as well as regional and global issues. Lobbyists for Lourenço had petitioned Biden administration official...