Alternate

Turning Point USA director Erika Kirk, widow of organization co-founder Charlie Kirk, and other Turning Point USA officials on Thursday announced they plan to host an alternative Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 8. Photo by Eduardo Barraza/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 9 (UPI) — The Charlie Kirk-co-founded Turning Point USA is planning to host an alternative musical performance called “The All-American Halftime Show” for Super Bowl LX.

Officials for the conservative non-profit announced the planned alternative halftime show on social media but did not say which musical acts and others would perform.

“It’s true, Turning Point USA is thrilled to announce The All-American Halftime Show,” it said in a post on X on Thursday, as reported by Fox News.

The post says the event will celebrate faith, family and freedom.

Turning Point USA has created a website to present the halftime show and asked online visitors to choose which musical genres they would like to see perform.

Survey results so far show support for country, rock, hip hop and “anything in English,” The Hill reported.

The event would air while rapper Benito Antonio Martiniz Ocasio, aka Bad Bunny, performs during the Super Bowl’s halftime show headliner.

The musical artist from Puerto Rico has won three Grammy Awards since his career took off in 2016.

He also is slated to be named Billboard’s Latin Artist of the 21st Century during the 2025 Billboard Latin Music Awards on Oct.23.

Bad Bunny is undertaking a world tour but has refused to perform in the United States, other than during the Super Bowl.

He has cited concerns that Immigration and Customs Enforcement might target his U.S. shows and detain audience members, according to Axios.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt recently dismissed such concerns and said there are no plans in place to raid Bad Bunny concerts.

Despite Leavitt’s denial, DHS adviser Corey Lewandowski recently suggested ICE agents would attend Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance.

Lewandowski made the claim while appearing on “The Benny Show” podcast on Oct. 1.

“There is nowhere that you can provide a safe haven to the people in this country illegally,” he told podcast host Benny Johnson.

The Super Bowl is scheduled for Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale saw the hit period drama come to an end with a tribute to Dame Maggie Smith.

Michelle Dockery has disclosed that the final Downton Abbey film could have ended differently.

The star returned as Lady Mary Crawley alongside Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern for the concluding chapter.

Downton Abbey debuted in 2010, establishing itself as a cherished series that spanned six seasons plus two earlier movies.

The conclusion served as a tribute to Dame Maggie Smith, who passed away aged 89 last September.

Her character, The Dowager Countess, was written off by her death in the 2022 picture, Downton Abbey: A New Era, though her memory was celebrated in Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, reports the Manchester Evening News.

As the finale wrapped up with an emotional ending, following Lady Mary as a divorcee and single mother overcoming scandal, viewers saw visions of the family and servants dancing together with Violet Crawley, with the camera resting on a portrait of Dame Maggie.

However, Michelle has now revealed there were alternate endings in mind.

She told The Hollywood Reporter: “There were a couple of versions of the ending. There was another version where you saw Mary go back to work, she goes into the library and she sits at her desk.

“They decided to end it on the tribute to Maggie, which I think is the best ending. I always felt that it was the right way to finish.

“[Mary, Cora and Robert] are saying their goodbyes and I think that’s for the audience – this feeling of moving on and saying farewell to each other.”

She added: “It feels quite hopeful. I also like that at the end of this story, Mary ends up as a single woman. There’s a new chapter ahead of her, she’s happier, and she’s excited to take the reins and become the lady of the house. It’s the end, but it feels like it’s ongoing.”

Creator Julian Fellowes previously spoke about dedicating the film to Dame Maggie: “I think we all felt that if there was a third film, we wanted it to be haunted by Maggie.

“There is a theme of Maggie going through the film, and then at the end, you see her when Mary is having all her flashbacks. I like that. She was an iconic figure … And that’s another reason to finish.”

He added: “I think the actors had had enough – in the nicest way, there were a lot of good friendships and we’ll always meet as members of the Downton club … But I also feel that, in life, you must know when to let go of things, whether it’s professional or romantic or anything else.

“There is a moment when you think, ‘It’s time to bring this to an end.’ And I felt that about the show.”

Downton Abbey is available to watch on Netflix

The TV show is based on a classic book

Viewers simply cannot afford to overlook a remarkable TV series currently available for streaming, with audiences praising one “heartbreaking” film whilst others champion a movie that “enthralled” viewers, reports the Manchester Evening News.

The programme might have slipped past some viewers’ attention, but it delivers an exceptional viewing experience.

One glowing IMDb review stated: “An immaculate, terrifying alternate history that is accurate down to the buttons. I love period pieces, and this scary projection of a post WW2 hegemony ruled by the Japanese and German empires certainly fits the bill.”

Another viewer gushed: “I’m a TV show lover, but never! ever! has a series made me want to write a review.”

They continued: “The story line is incredible. The acting is great. The emotions that it brought out of me was real and raw. It made me appreciate and think differently about the word/idea/concept that we all throw around ‘FREEDOM [sic].'”

READ MORE: ‘Compelling’ costume drama hailed as ‘evocative’ of Charles Dickens is unmissable

A third reviewer entitled their assessment: “An amazing adaptation of the novel!”.

They elaborated: “The pilot episode was exceptional. It held my attention and made me believe in such an alternate history.

“I have read the book, and although it is different, it is an incredible adaptation. If the book was turned into a show without any edits, it would be far too complicated and very hard to enjoy (although the book is incredible).

“The acting, story, and visuals are spot on and only intensified what I had imagined when I read the book.”

Another viewer gave a glowing 10/10 review, exclaiming: “A must watch, absolutely amazing!” and added: “If you like Hunger Games, GoT, Legends, Vikings or any of these shows, you will like this. I highly recommend watching this, to everyone. Watch it! [sic].”

The Man in the High Castle first aired in 2015 and was Amazon Prime Video’s inaugural original series, spanning four seasons.

The series is an adaptation of renowned science fiction author Philip K. Dick’s 1962 novel bearing the same title.

The plot envisages an alternate history where Adolf Hitler and the Nazis emerged victorious from WW2, with the action set 15 years post-conflict.

The storyline follows various characters living under the rule of Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany in a divided USA.

The TV adaptation stays true to this premise and centres around Juliana Crain (portrayed by Alexa Davalos), who starts to rebel against the regime after viewing a subversive newsreel titled The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, which portrays a world where the USA and the Allies triumphed in the war.

The Man in the High Castle was Prime Video’s first major original series. The streaming platform kick-started its original programming by producing a series of pilots and inviting its users to vote on which one they wanted to see developed into a full series, with the science fiction alternate history emerging as the winner.

The Man in the High Castle boasts a star-studded cast including Davalos, Rufus Sewell from ITV’s Victoria and The Holidays, Luke Kleintank known for FBI and Bones, DJ Qualls of Z Nation fame, Joel de la Fuente from Hemlock Grove, and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, renowned for Pearl Harbor and Netflix’s Lost in Space.

The Man in the High Castle is streaming on Prime Video now

The Chargers are going for the gold this season.

Or are they going for the mustard bottle?

Or the banana?

Fans will be able to figure that out for themselves this fall when the team debuts its “Charger Power” uniforms, one of two alternate looks revealed by the team Tuesday that will be worn during the 2025 season.

The Chargers also announced that they now have the option to wear powder blue pants with their regular jerseys, which are powder blue at home and white on the road.

The Charger Power look features yellowish gold jerseys with matching pants, to be worn with the regular white helmet.

“If you’re going to do gold, the way we did it with all gold, it looks amazing,” Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. said in a team news release. “It’s a great alternate!”

When the Bolts don the uniforms Oct. 19 against the Indianapolis Colts at SoFi Stadium, it will be the first time Chargers players have worn gold jerseys in a game. Fans, however, have had the opportunity to wear them in the past.

“Nike had previously done a retail version of the 2020 jerseys in gold,” A.G. Spanos, the Chargers’ president of business operations, said in a statement. “It sold quite well and had really good word of mouth. In fact, in my own household, it was my kids’ favorite uniform. It definitely appeals to the younger demographic.”

The look has already garnered plenty of online reactions. One longtime fan, who appreciated the nod to the yellow “Charger Power” T-shirts worn by Bolts faithful in the late 1970s and early 1980s, wrote on X that the uniforms are “simply beautiful.”

Retired NFL offensive lineman and current Amazon football analyst Andrew Whitworth spoke from experience after wearing similarly colored alternative uniforms on occasion during his time with the Rams.

“Been there done this,” Whitworth wrote on X. “Had me out there looking like Big Bird!”

The Minions, the cartoon characters from the “Despicable Me” film franchise, seemed to like the uniforms … though perhaps not for how they’ll look on an NFL field.

“the new recruits look so cool,” the fictional creatures wrote on X in response to a team post highlighting the Charger Power look.

Cam Jordan, a defensive end for the New Orleans Saints, had a more critical take, posting on X: “Gold!???? Nah that’s … French’s! That is mustard yellow…”

One X user compared the look to that of a popular novelty baseball team.

“We look like damn Savannah Bananas,” the fan wrote. “At least the Navy’s are [fire emoji].”

The latter part of that post referred to the team’s second set of alternate duds: the Super Chargers uniforms. They feature navy blue jerseys, pants and helmets and are meant as a “modern throwback” to the San Diego Chargers’ look from 1992 to 2006 — a span that included the organization’s only Super Bowl appearance, following the 1994 season.

“When you saw that jersey, more than likely you were in Qualcomm Stadium,” retired running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who played for the Chargers from 2001 to 2009, said in the team’s news release. “And, more than likely, if you were on the other team in that era you were leaving with a loss.”

The Super Chargers uniforms will debut during the team’s “Thursday Night Football” game against the Minnesota Vikings on Oct. 23, the same night the Chargers will be inducting former safety Rodney Harrison into the team’s Hall of Fame. The uniforms will be worn again Nov. 30 against the Las Vegas Raiders.

May 27 (UPI) — A new U.S.-Israeli mechanism for delivering humanitarian assistance into Gaza that bypasses the United Nations and other aid agencies in favor of armed private contractors was underway on Tuesday.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said Monday it had begun distributing food to residents after lorry loads of supplies had been unloaded at secure hubs in the besieged Palestinian enclave — but did not provide details of quantities or the areas where it was being distributed.

“More trucks with aid will be delivered Tuesday, with the flow of aid increasing each day,” it said in a statement.

However, only around a dozen men with boxes under their arms were shown leaving an unspecified site in accompanying photos, according to the BBC.

Sources, who told The Washington Post that the first shipments went to a facility called Secure Distribution Site One near the so-called Philadelphi Corridor close to the border with Egypt, confirmed that not many people came to receive the aid on offer but that the operation went off without incident.

Under the plan, private contractors will secure supply corridors feeding aid distribution sites, designated by Israel, where pre-security-cleared Palestinians will be handed boxes of food and basic hygiene items weighing as much as 44 pounds. No explanation has been provided on how the elderly or disabled would cope with such loads.

The U.N. and traditional aid agencies reject the scheme, which aims to prevent aid from allegedly being stolen and resold by Hamas to fund its military operations against Israel, saying it goes against humanitarian ethics and “weaponizes” the issue of aid.

GHF Chief Operating Officer David Burke resigned a day after the body’s Executive Director and former U.S. Marine, Jake Wood, resigned, saying the scheme fell short of the central humanitarian tenets of “humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence.”

The board of GHF called Wood’s departure two months into the job “disappointing,” but vowed to press on with its work, with the goal of getting aid to more than 1 million people in Gaza by Sunday.

Burke did not immediately comment on his decision to resign from GHF, which is registered as a non-profit in both Switzerland and the U.S. state of Delaware.

GHF’s mission director in Gaza, John Acree, a former United States Agency for International Development official, has been appointed as Wood’s acting replacement.

The start of the GHF mission came a week after Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade after coming under intense international pressure amid warnings of an imminent famine in Gaza, including unprecedented threats of “concrete actions” from Britain, France and Canada.

Aside from practical issues facing the infirm, the injured or children fending for themselves, the international aid community said the scheme would cause more displacement, place thousands of people in harm’s way, link aid to political and military goals and establish an intolerable precedent.

Norwegian Refugee Council General Secretary Jan Egeland called for a return to the tried and tested system developed by the U.N. and international aid agencies over many decades.

He accused GHF of being “militarised, privatised, politicized” and “not in conformity with neutrality.”