Adicoff, from Sun Valley, Idaho, has been skiing since childhood – dabbling in both alpine and Nordic skiing before alpine was deemed too dangerous.
He competed against sighted rivals at junior level. After being selected for the US Para-Nordic team in 2013, he went to the 2014 Games in Sochi while still a high school student.
A first Paralympic medal came four years later in Pyeongchang when he finished second behind Canadian Paralympic legend Brian McKeever in the 10km classic event, but he retired after the Games before returning for the 2022 Beijing Games.
Despite high hopes of gold, Adicoff achieved two more individual silvers behind McKeever before anchoring the US team to relay gold for his first Paralympic title.
But it left Adicoff wanting more and with the retirement of 16-time Paralympic champion McKeever the division was wide open.
The American seized his chance to dominate, with World Cup and World Championship success ahead of the Games.
Unlike at Beijing, where supporters did not travel because of the pandemic, athletes at these Games have benefited from being able to be watched by friends and family and Adicoff’s entourage have been enjoying the experience.
Whether they are waving giant faces of Adicoff and his guides Reid Goble and Peter Wolter or wearing hats with his name on it, their presence has been felt at the Tesero Cross-Country Centre
Adicoff, who has another medal chance in Sunday’s 20km event and is also set to go in Saturday’s 4×2.5km mixed relay, may not be able to fully see them while he competes, but he has taken it all in and joined in the post-race celebrations.
“To have so many people that came out and supported us and are going to continue to support us throughout the week. It’s so nice having friends and family here,” he said.
“You see all those white hats up there? It’s so fun to have.
“I love skiing, love ski racing, so it makes finding the motivation kind of easy.”
Joshua Jackson says he knows he was “really just a footnote” in James Van Der Beek’s life, despite the “amazing” time they spent together as stars of the series “Dawson’s Creek.”
The star of “The Affair” is reflecting publicly for the first time about his former castmate, who died Feb. 11 at age 48 after a battle with colorectal cancer.
The time they shared on set was “formational” for them, Jackson said on “Today.” When the “Dawson’s Creek” pilot aired in January 1998, he was 19 and Van Der Beek was almost 21, playing characters who were 15.
“I know both of us look back on that time with great fondness, but I will also say that I know that I’m really just a footnote in what he actually accomplished in his life.”
Jackson spoke with great respect for his friend, who he said “became what we used to just call a good man, a man of the kind of belief, the kind of faith that allowed him to face the impossible with grace, an unbelievable partner and husband, just a real man who showed up for his family and a beautiful, kind, curious, interested, dedicated father.”
On the one hand, the 47-year-old said, “that’s beautiful.” On the other, “The tragedy of that loss for his family is enormous.”
Since Jackson and Van Der Beek played Pacey Witter and Dawson Leery three decades ago, both men had kids of their own — a 5-year-old daughter for Jackson, born during the pandemic with ex-wife Jodie Turner-Smith, and six kids for Van Der Beek with second wife Kimberly Brook. The latter couple’s children — two boys and four girls, ranging in age from 4 to 15 — were what Van Der Beek said changed everything for him.
“Your life becomes shared, and your joys become shared joys in a really beautiful way that expands your level of circuitry out to other people instead of just keeping it all for your own gratification,” the actor told “Good Morning America” in May 2023. “And the lessons, they keep on coming. It’s the craziest, craziest thing I’ve ever done, and it’s the thing that’s made me happiest.”
Knowing his colleague’s love for his family, Jackson said on “Today” that “for me as a father now, I think the enormity of that tragedy hits me in a very different way than just as a colleague, so I think the processing [of Van Der Beek’s death] is ongoing.”
The “Little Fires Everywhere” actor was on the morning show Tuesday to bring attention to colorectal cancer screenings.
Van Der Beek’s diagnosis, which went public in November 2024, was among the factors prompting Jackson to get involved with drugmaker AstraZeneca’s “Get Body Checked Against Cancer” campaign, which takes a lighter approach to a serious subject — cancer screening — through a partnership with Jackson, the National Hockey League and the Philadelphia Flyers’ furry orange mascot, Gritty.
“It is … true, the earlier you find something,” said “The Mighty Ducks” actor, “the better your possible outcomes are.”
A passenger onboard Southwest Airlines was removed from their flight after their call to prayer was mistaken for a ‘bomb threat’. Officials later called the incident a ‘misunderstanding’ after finding no credible threat, following the Florida-bound flight’s emergency landing in Georgia.
During an upcoming episode of the Channel 4 show, millionaire businessman Anthony Saxon Kearsley had an eye-opening experience with a homeless man.
Anthony has been partnered with 37-year-old Tilly, a North London barmaid who works three jobs and is involved with giving meals to the homeless through her charity.
While prepping meals, the wealthy contestant shared some out-of-touch opinions on those without a home, suggesting some people ‘don’t want to help themselves’.
He also compared homelessness to ‘camping’, however, Anthony quickly changed his tune when handing out meals himself.
When giving a McDonald’s to one homeless man, who had recently come out of prison, Anthony learnt the man was struggling to secure a job without an address.
He explained: “I’ve been out of jail for a while, I just feel like going back, I can’t stand it.”
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Sharing the hope that things worked out for him, it was clear Anthony was moved by the interaction with the homeless man.
While speaking to the camera, he confessed: “I am a bit [overwhelmed]. He wants to go back to prison because he can’t cope with life. It’s appalling.
“It’s really shocking. I was wrong to say some people don’t want help. It’s appalling, dreadful. Thank you [Tilly] for showing me. I won’t be as flippant again.”
As Tilly revealed that it was a small percentage of what she sees day in and day out, Anthony was in awe.
While getting choked up, he replied: “I’m amazed that you’re so positive and I’m amazed that you’ve survived this intact. Anyway, God love you. Terrible isn’t it. I’m quite cut up about it to be honest.”
Handcuffed: Last Pair Standing is available to watch or stream on Channel 4
If there is a lesson to be found in keeping the faith when faced with setbacks, look no further than the career of Anthony Cacace.
On Saturday in Dublin’s 3 Arena, the 37-year-old bids to become a two-time super-featherweight world champion when taking on WBA holder James ‘Jazza’ Dickens.
However, for much of his professional career, Cacace was something of a forgotten man.
His talent was never in question, but breaks were measured in x-rays rather than opportunities with injuries, opponent withdrawals and cancellations all too common.
Nonetheless, he kept grinding and grafting, pads by day and pizza delivery by night; waiting, hoping and believing his time would come.
The big chance arrived in May 2024 against IBF champion Joe Cordina on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk v Tyson Fury in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Back with his old amateur team headed by Michael Hawkins, Cacace – born to a Belfast mother and Italian father – grabbed the opportunity with both hands, returning home to a hero’s welcome and given the ultimate honour of a mural painted close to his parents’ Andersonstown home in the west of the city to mark the occasion.
He hasn’t looked back, defeating Josh Warrington at Wembley Stadium later that year and after vacating the IBF title, beating Leigh Wood in Nottingham in May 2025, improving his record to 24 wins with one defeat.
“Fighting for my second world title, things can’t get better than that,” Cacace told BBC Sport NI as he prepared for another training day at Holy Trinity Boxing Club.
“I’ve had my fair share of letdowns and pull-outs at the last minute, but I can’t complain because it’s been all in God’s plan. I really do genuinely believe everything that’s happened has happened for a reason to set me up for times like these.
“To be up here with the boys [coaching team]: Ruairi [Dalton], Michael [Hawkins Jr], Barry [O’Neill], Micky [Hawkins] Sr – it’s been set for me, I genuinely believe.
“It’s like a dream come true, and I’m just really enjoying where I’m at at the moment.”
YouTuber Danny from the Honest Places channel visited different boozers in Rhyl in North Wales — a former tourist hotspot now dubbed one of Britain’s worst seaside resorts
Liam McInerney Content Editor
06:30, 09 Mar 2026
Danny and his pal walking through Rhyl(Image: Honest Places/YouTube)
A YouTuber who travelled to one of the so-called worst seaside resorts in Britain claimed he felt completely at ease there, where traditional boozers brimming with character were packed with locals enjoying affordable pints.
Danny, who operates the Honest Places channel, was visiting Llandudno and Rhyl in NorthWales, with the latter having earned the nickname “Costa Del Dole”.
The resort is littered with abandoned buildings and establishments which have closed down permanently. Despite once being a magnet for holidaymakers, the pier, funfair and shopping centre have long since faded into memory.
The Telegraph listed it amongst the worst seaside resorts in Britain three years ago and described it as “Blackpool after a neutron bomb”. Danny, however, labelled it “Britain’s saddest seaside town” in his YouTube headline before speaking about it affectionately upon arrival.
He commented: “We have come to Rhyl because I felt a bit too out of place (in Llandudno). I feel actually at home in Rhyl.
“This is the front — it is such a contrast to Llandudno. I know people say British seaside towns have gone to s***. But they have been s*** for ages. This is a real British seaside town. Most of them are s*** and that is a real seaside town.
“So Whitby is a seaside town but it’s not a real British seaside town because the real ones are the ones that are like this, like Blackpool.
“But the main reason I came here, I didn’t want to go to another pub in Llandudno because it is just a bit tepid really.”
He continued: “There are some proper tasty pubs I went into last time where the barman and bar staff were just shouting at the customers and stuff like that.”
The first establishment he and a friend visited was Victory Club on Queen Street which has been welcoming drinkers for more than 70 years.
He wasn’t particularly taken with his pint of Caffrey’s Stout but remarked: “The gaff is alright though isn’t it?” His companion responded: “Yeah, tidy and reasonably cheap.”
Yet, if they considered paying £4 a pint reasonable value, they were in for a pleasant shock at their next destination.
They were drawn to The Bodfor and after hearing the booming music from within, Danny chuckled: “It does look good in there, doesn’t it? It reminds me a bit like Benidorm!”
He continued: “People will watch this back and say you should have went in but I’ve got a better boozer for you.”
Danny then headed towards the Imperial Hotel pub and described it as being like stepping into somebody’s front room.
Whilst at the bar, he announced that he had never sampled a pint of Fosters in his life, before deciding to try one.
And staring at his drink, he commented: “That head is beautiful! I don’t think I’ve had better head.”
After taking a gulp, he then remarked it was “fitting” to have a Fosters in Rhyl, before his friend responded: “Absolutely, for what it is, it’s a good pint. You want a fizzy, cold, tasteless pint. That’s what you get.”
Danny then admitted he was enjoying it more than anticipated before he enquired how cheap it was. After discovering the pint was just £2.70, he enthused: “Granted, it’s Fosters. But at that price, you can’t kick off. That’s got to be a 10/10.”
His friend then suggested that one could have a smashing night out in Rhyl with just a tenner and some loose change.
Stepping outside post-pints, Danny remarked: “We got some nice little tasty pubs, we saw Rhyl, it hasn’t changed. I don’t think it will change.”
Last year, reports suggested that Rhyl, which boasts four beaches, would undergo transformation thanks to £200million invested over the past decade, as per Denbighshire County Council.
The town also benefited from a £20million injection from the government’s Levelling Up fund three years ago.
How did Jeff Shell, who is seven months into his tenure as president of Paramount Skydance, get entangled with a professional gambler with a penchant for controversy?
Now he’s facing new scrutiny after his Paramount bosses hired a law firm to investigate his surreptitious dealings with a Las Vegas high-roller and self-styled “fixer.” Investigators are reviewing whether Shell leaked sensitive corporate secrets, according to two people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment.
The real-life drama features accusations of betrayal, vengeance and an alleged promise of a TV show deal.
Paramount declined to comment. An attorney for Shell also declined to comment, citing the ongoing review.
Last week, Paramount toppled Netflix with its $110-billion deal to claim HBO, CNN, Food Network and the storied Warner Bros. movie and TV studios, a key piece of Ellison’s ambitions to create a Hollywood behemoth by combining two century-old firms.
“The timing is terrible,” said Stephen Galloway, dean of Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. “The last thing Paramount wants when closing this deal is for one of its [corporate] officers to be faced with allegations, true or false, from a professional gambler who calls himself Robin Hood.”
An unusual meeting in 2024
This account is based on interviews with nearly a dozen industry insiders who are familiar with the players and details of the increasingly ugly dispute. The Times granted anonymity to the sources, most of whom were not authorized to speak publicly.
According to these people, Shell’s dealings with the blackjack player began with an odd meeting in August 2024.
At the time, Shell was just joining Ellison’s team as the technology scion was preparing to build a new Hollywood empire.
But Shell was facing a serious problem. Someone was trying to plant unfavorable stories about him from his NBC days just as he was poised to stage his second act, two of the sources said.
Enter Patty Glaser, the high-powered entertainment litigator who represents Shell, and, as it happens, the person they suspected was behind the whisper campaign: Robert James “R.J.” Cipriani.
Patty Glaser wanted to defuse the tensions between R.J. Cipriani and Jeff Shell.
To defuse the tensions, Glaser convened a meeting at her Century City offices between Shell and her other client, Cipriani, who is a self-professed whistleblower and high-stakes gambler who goes by the handle RobinHood702 (the Las Vegas area code). Shell attended the meeting at Glaser’s recommendation.
Cipriani wanted to meet the executive. He had been angry ever since Shell sacked his friend Ron Meyer, former vice chairman of NBCUniversal, in 2020.
One of the founders of talent giant CAA, Meyer filled a unique role at NBCUniversal as the self-deprecating and beloved sage in a wool vest who was often called on to finesse frayed relationships with producers, agents and talent.
Ron Meyer, former vice chairman of NBCUniversal, remains beloved in Hollywood.
(Kevin Winter / Getty Images for AFI)
Kirk had an affair with another studio boss, Kevin Tsujihara, who resigned as Warner Bros. chairman in 2019 after it was revealed that he tried to help her get parts in movies and TV shows.
Meyer had said that after the payment was made, associates of Kirk allegedly demanded more money to keep the affair quiet.
Kirk’s associates denied any wrongdoing, but those dealings ended Meyer’s 25-year tenure at Universal.
Cipriani, according to a source familiar with the situation, was galled that Meyer had been unceremoniously dumped, particularly after it was revealed that Shell also had been engaged in an improper relationship — with a CNBC anchor.
Other Hollywood friends shared the sentiment — a form of schadenfreude — after Shell got his comeuppance nearly three years later.
Jeff Shell in 2015.
(Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
During the meeting at Glaser’s office, the two men discussed their families. Cipriani appeared to have a change of heart.
He told Shell that he would be his friend and personal “crisis PR” agent helping him with damage control, one of the sources said.
It was an unlikely pairing; the two men came from entirely different worlds.
Shell, 60, is a Los Angeles native — a relentlessly driven son of a Cedars-Sinai cardiologist and a teacher turned stay-at-home mom. Although only about 5-foot-9, Shell secured a spot on the University High varsity basketball team after spending long hours perfecting his jump shot.
He earned a degree in economics and applied mathematics from UC Berkeley, then an MBA from Harvard University.
“He’s often the smartest guy in the room,” a former high-level NBCUniversal executive said.
Jeff Shell previously ran NBCUniversal.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Shell has worked in the entertainment business more than 30 years, first at Walt Disney Co., then Rupert Murdoch’s Fox, where he briefly ran its cable networks. The TV executive moved to Philadelphia in 2004 to join Comcast, when its business was selling cable channels to subscribers.
When Comcast bought NBCUniversal in 2011, Shell’s stock was on the rise. He ran NBC’s international operations in London, then moved his family back home to Los Angeles when he became chairman of Universal’s prestigious film unit.
Meyer, who previously ran the studio, was tasked with showing Shell the movie business ropes.
Cipriani, 64, knew Meyer from gambling circles. The two men are friends, the sources said, although Meyer was not involved in the current dust-up, according to several of the people.
Cipriani grew up in Philadelphia, where his dad had worked for the Uniroyal tire company, according to an obituary.
It’s unclear when Cipriani came to L.A., but eventually he became a whistleblower who frequently made contact with journalists. He’s married to a former Brazilian model and actor/musical artist, Greice Santo, who had a small role in the CW’s “Jane the Virgin.”
Cipriani’s name went from the Vegas casinos to the headlines in 2017 when he was a key player in the arrest and conviction of a USC quarterback-turned global drug kingpin, Owen Hanson, who was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison.
Robert James “R.J.” Cipriani in Amazon Prime Video’s 2025 series, “Cocaine Quarterback.”
Cipriani has publicly taken issue with his portrayal as a money launderer in the popular Amazon Prime Video series “Cocaine Quarterback,” which brought the scandal to the screen. It’s a production of Mark Wahlberg and others.
Although Cipriani is often referred to as an “FBI informant,” the moniker rankles him. He prefers being called a “confidential human source for the feds,” who “goes after the bad guys,” according to those familiar with his thinking.
And Cipriani is not afraid to tangle with powerful people.
“Jeff Shell may have [gone to] Harvard Business School but R.J. Cipriani comes from the hardscrabble streets of Philly,” Cipriani’s attorney Steven Aaronoff told The Times. “Who’s going to win that war?”
Cipriani was arrested in 2021 on the casino floor of Resorts World Las Vegas, allegedly for snatching the cellphone of another gambler who Cipriani said was recording his movements.
The charge was dropped, but Cipriani has since brought a RICO lawsuit against Resorts World that alleges the firm allowed “known criminals involved in illegal gambling” and “money laundering” while also spearheading his ban from Vegas casinos.
Cipriani alleged his arrest and subsequent treatment was in retaliation for raising his concerns with casino management and law enforcement. A former president of the casino called the claims “ridiculous,” according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Cipriani and Shell texted on-and-off for about 18 months, according to the knowledgeable people.
In the first half of last year, as Ellison and his team were waiting for the blessing of President Trump and the Federal Communications Commission to finalize the Paramount takeover, the group was bedeviled by press leaks.
Some were reported by Hollywood newsletters, including a scoop that Matt and Ross Duffer, who created the blockbuster horror series “Stranger Things” for Netflix, were decamping to Ellison’s Paramount. Shell was not aware of the Duffers’ deal before it was announced, said a person close to the executive.
Fallout over a TV show
But Shell and Cipriani had a major falling out when Cipriani began angling for a television show.
According to people familiar with the dispute, Cipriani worked for months without compensation but, at one point, Shell had thanked him for his efforts and offered to help him out. That’s when Cipriani asked Shell to greenlight an English version of a Spanish-language music show that streams on Roku TV, “Serenata De Las Estrellas.”
The TV project, like the Spanish-language version, would be co-executive produced by Cipriani and his wife, Santo.
But Shell failed to deliver, and Cipriani became furious.
“Mr. Shell promised to give my client, to produce the English language version of the show that was already a Spanish language hit,” Aaronoff said. “It was not something that was risky … It was not some crazy idea,” adding that Shell “did not keep his word to my client.”
Cipriani — who also has producer credits on the 2020 documentary about Vegas, “Money Machine: Behind the Lies,” and the 2015 movie, “Wild Card” — had intended to make “Serenata” as a homage to his late mother, Regina.
It was inspired by a song that Cipriani used to sing to her when he was growing up.
Jeff Shell became president of Paramount Skydance last summer.
(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)
Cipriani has threatened to file a lawsuit that makes a range of allegations, including that Shell had been slipping Cipriani sensitive corporate information, according to sources who have seen a copy of Cipriani’s draft complaint.
Shell, who officially joined Paramount in August with the Ellison takeover, immediately disclosed Cipriani’s legal threat to Paramount’s top lawyer and his previous employer RedBird Capital Partners, a Paramount investor partner.
“We were presented with a draft complaint riddled with clear errors of fact and law,” attorney Glaser said in a statement last week. “We will strongly respond.”
The lawsuit hasn’t been filed, but Paramount hired Gibson Dunn lawyers to investigate Shell’s conduct and allegations contained in the draft, which was sent to Paramount.
MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin man who allegedly told police he tried to set fire to a Republican congressman’s office last year because he was angry that the lawmaker backed a bill requiring TikTok’s Chinese owner to sell off its U.S. operations was sentenced Thursday to seven years in prison.
In addition to the prison time, Fond du Lac County Circuit Judge Tricia Walker sentenced 20-year-old Caiden Stachowicz to seven years of extended supervision, court records show.
Stachowicz, of Menasha, pleaded no contest to an arson charge in November. Prosecutors dropped burglary and property damage counts in exchange for Stachowicz’s no contest plea, which isn’t an admission of guilt but is treated as such for the purposes of sentencing.
According to a criminal complaint, a police officer responded to a fire outside Republican U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman’s office in Fond du Lac, about 55 miles northwest of Milwaukee, at around 1 a.m. on Jan. 19, 2025, and saw Stachowicz standing nearby.
He told the officer that he started the fire because he doesn’t like Grothman, according to the complaint. He initially planned to break into the office and start the fire inside. But he couldn’t break the window, so he poured gas on an electrical box behind the building and around the front of the building, lit a match and watched it burn, according to the complaint.
He said he wanted to burn down the office because the federal government was shutting down TikTok in violation of his constitutional rights and peace was no longer an option, the complaint states. He added that Grothman voted for the shutdown, but he didn’t want to hurt Grothman or anyone else.
Grothman voted for a bill in April 2024 that required TikTok’s China-based company, ByteDance, to sell its U.S. operation. The deadline was Jan. 19, 2025, but President Trump has issued multiple executive orders prolonging it. TikTok finalized a deal two months ago to create an American version of the social video platform. Trump praised the deal.
Danielle Gorsuch, one of Stachowicz’s attorneys, told the Associated Press after the sentencing that the incident was the culmination of a mental health crisis for her client and stressed that no one was hurt.
“Caden took every caution to make sure no one was present in the building at the time of the incident, as he only wanted to hurt himself,” Gorsuch said. “He took responsibility from night one.”
A spokesperson for Grothman’s congressional office didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Thursday released additional Jeffrey Epstein files involving uncorroborated accusations made by a woman against President Trump that the department said had been mistakenly withheld during an earlier review.
The department said last week that it was working to determine if any records were improperly withheld after several news organizations reported that the massive tranche of records that had been made public didn’t include some files documenting a series of interviews conducted in 2019 with a woman who made an allegation against Trump.
The accuser was interviewed by the FBI four times as it sought to assess her account but a summary of only one of those interviews had been included in the publicly released files.
On Thursday, the department said those files had been “incorrectly coded as duplicative,” and therefore were inadvertently not published along with other investigative documents related to the disgraced financier, who killed himself while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019.
“As we have consistently done, if any member of the public reported concerns with information in the library, the Department would review, make any corrections, and republish online,” the department said in a post on X.
Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. The department noted in January that some of the documents contain “untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election.”
The new disclosures come as Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi faces continued turmoil over the department’s handling of the files released under a law passed by Congress after months of public and political pressure. Five Republicans on the House Oversight Committee joined Democrats in voting Wednesday to subpoena Bondi, demanding that she answer questions under oath in a sign of mounting frustration among members of the president’s own party.
The Trump administration has faced constant political headaches since the rollout of the files began in December, with critics accusing the department of hiding certain documents or over-redacting files, or in some cases, not redacting enough. In some cases, the department inadvertently released nude photos showing the faces of potential victims as well as names, email addresses and other identifying information that was either unredacted or not fully obscured.
Department officials have defended their handling of the files, saying they took pains to release the files as quickly as possible under the law while also protecting victims. Department officials have said errors were inevitable given the volume of the materials, the number of lawyers viewing the files and the speed at which the department had to release them. The department has said it’s entitled to withhold records that exposed potential abuse victims, were duplicates or protected by legal privileges, or related to an ongoing criminal investigation.
Some of the new records published Thursday pertained to a woman who contacted the FBI shortly after Epstein’s 2019 arrest and claimed that a man named “Jeff” living in Hilton Head, South Carolina, had raped her there in the 1980s when she was around 13 years old. The woman told the agents she didn’t know the man’s identity at the time, but decades later concluded he was Jeffrey Epstein when a friend texted her his photo from a news story.
In a follow-up interview a month later, the woman added a host of other claims, including that Epstein had schemed to have her mother sent to prison, beaten her, arranged sexual encounters with other men and once flew her to either New Jersey or New York, where she claimed to have bitten Trump after he tried to sexually assault her.
Agents spoke with the woman two more times, at one point asking her to provide more detail on her supposed interactions with Trump, but reported that she declined to answer additional questions and broke off contact. There’s no indication that Epstein ever lived in South Carolina and it was unclear whether Trump and Epstein knew each other during the time period involved.
The woman’s report was one of a number of uncorroborated, sometimes fantastical, reports that federal agents received from members of the public alleging misconduct by Trump and other famous people in the months and years after Epstein’s arrest.
Four games ago at West Ham, Manchester United were “stodgy'” by Carrick’s own admission. It took an injury-time Benjamin Sesko goal to salvage a point.
At Everton, Sesko finished off the only notable passage of play from either side. On Sunday, Manchester United‘s response to going behind early to Crystal Palace was muted until Matheus Cunha won the penalty that also brought the red card that turned the game on its head.
Carrick’s team have been getting results. However, their most-recent performances have not matched those that beat Manchester City, Arsenal and Fulham at the start of his time at the helm.
Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo have not been a goal threat; Kobbie Mainoo’s performance levels have dipped, while penetration from full-back areas has reduced.
It is a basic reality that they do not have limitless numbers of top-quality players. By the final whistle at St James’ Park, Matthijs de Ligt, Mason Mount, Lisandro Martinez, Noussair Mazraoui and Patrick Dorgu were all absent because of injury. Casemiro and Luke Shaw were off the pitch feeling the effects of two hard games in four days. Carrick does not have the squad depth to cover those losses and still keep standards high.
So, embarrassingly, Manchester United lost against 10 men for the second time in just over three months. The damage was done by William Osula – a player who, as an 11-year-old, appeared on the pitch at Old Trafford to collect a Soccer Schools World Skills final victory prize.
His goal came after he got the better of Tyrell Malacia, who was making only his second appearance of a season he started as a member of Amorim’s ‘bomb squad’. The previous one was against Newcastle too.
The damage is not too bad though. Liverpool lost 24 hours earlier against the league’s bottom club before Aston Villa suffered a heavy home loss to Chelsea on Wednesday.
Manchester United remain third. They remain, out of the sides scrapping it out for three Champions League places in addition to the ones Arsenal and Manchester City will claim, the ones with no European or domestic cup distractions.
“We need to learn from this,” said Carrick.
“There is no sense in not learning lessons and understanding how tonight happened.
“We can’t lose sight of the bigger picture though – we have put ourselves into a position that can be really exciting.
“We’ve got to be positive going into the next game and look forward to it because there is a lot to play for.”
Carrick is right about that.
He needs to make sure his team’s response to this defeat is just as sure footed.
Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has been handed a 15-month suspended sentence by a Greek court following an incident on the island of Mykonos in August 2020.
England international Maguire was given a suspended sentence of 21 months and 10 days in prison in 2020, after initially being found guilty of repeated bodily harm, attempted bribery, violence against public employees and insult.
The following day Maguire’s legal team lodged an appeal against the verdict. In accordance with Greek law, the appeal nullified his conviction and meant there would be a full retrial.
The retrial was postponed on four occasions between 2023 and 2025, before it restarted in Syros on Wednesday.
It concluded that Maguire was guilty of non-serious assault, resisting arrest and attempted bribery.
In accordance with the reduced severity of the defender’s crimes, Maguire’s sentence was reduced to 15 months.
Sources have told BBC Sport that Maguire denies wrongdoing and plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Maguire has rejected a number of opportunities to settle the case out of court, as he is determined to clear his name legally.
The 32-year-old is in the Manchester United squad for Wednesday’s Premier League game at Newcastle United (20:15 GMT), despite having to come off during the win against Crystal Palace on Sunday with illness.
Laurence Higham died while paragliding in South Africa
The mother of a UK paraglider who died in a devastating accident in South Africa has paid tribute to her much-loved son and said the thought of him flying free brings his family comfort. Laurence Higham, 55, crashed in the mountains near Porterville in the Western Cape on the last day of an advanced paragliding event
A fellow paraglider scaled a high mountain ridge, clambering through rocks, thorns and thickets to find him. A rescue helicopter also arrived but it was too late. Laurence’s partner Victoria Turner had been due to join him for a holiday, but instead she flew out to retrieve his body.
His mother Lesley said: “Laurence was our light and inspiration. He was a highly experienced paraglider pilot and always very well prepared. His adventures and flying trips were planned meticulously. He wanted to develop and challenge himself. He was a pioneer.
“He got the most out of life in every way. Everything was an adventure. That is what I will take from his life. Our enduring desire is for him to ‘fly free’ without earthly constraints.”
Laurence spent most of his childhood in Stortford, Hertfordshire, and read business studies at Middlesex University before attending the University of California. When he returned to the UK he settled in Muswell Hill, north London.
His parents had run a travel company for schools and this inspired him to set up his own successful business, Varsity Travel Ltd, which ran European courses in languages, history and art.
Fluent in French, Spanish and Italian, he enjoyed history and philosophy. He was also a cook who delighted in creating feasts for friends and family, inspired by his travels.
When the Covid-19 pandemic began, he decided that the time was right to move out of London and return home to Stortford.
He started a new phase of life with partner Victoria and divided his time between his home and Victoria’s house in Norfolk.
Lesley said: “Laurence was very funny. He lit up any room. He was incredibly entertaining, but I knew of a side that was very contemplative, studious and curious about the world around him. He was very well read.”
Laurence and his brother Richard, four years his junior, were inseparable and Lesley said the tragedy had left her younger son absolutely devastated. “I told him to take Laurence’s courage and his sense of adventure to strengthen his heart, not break it,” Lesley said.
She added he was a “hugely fun, devoted and inspiring” uncle to his brother’s children Deen and Katherine. Laurence, a previously fearsome squash player, was a long-term member of Bishop’s Stortford Lawn Tennis Club.
Manager Natalie Dwyer said: “Laurence was a fantastic club member and will be remembered fondly by all who had the pleasure of meeting and playing with him. He would light up the court with his positive attitude and gregarious nature. Win or lose, Laurence was always smiling and showed a love for the sport. He will be sadly missed by everyone at the club.”
Laurence’s family and friends said goodbye at a funeral service at St Michael’s Church, in Broome, Norfolk, last week, which celebrated his thirst for adventure and how he lived for the joy of exploring a beautiful world. Lesley said the family was deeply grateful for the wonderful and inspiring life of their darling boy, adding: “Fly free, beloved Laurence.”
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Gina Gershon considers herself a storyteller, first and foremost. When we connect via video call, Gershon admits this is the first interview she’s done since submitting the manuscript for her latest book, “AlphaPussy: How I Survived the Valley and Learned to Love My Boobs.”
“I don’t have my spiel yet!” she warns, inquiring for the first of a few times what I thought of it and whether I enjoyed it. Despite the many decades Gershon has been treading the boards, starring in indie films and Hollywood star vehicles, and stalking the stage as a singer-guitarist, she still really cares about what you think, even if it won’t change her own mind. Perhaps that’s the key to her professional longevity.
“AlphaPussy” is neither a memoir nor a guide to self-betterment, but elements of both feed into Gershon’s stories. Each wittily titled chapter plunges readers into Gershon’s freewheeling 1970s childhood, defiant adolescence, burgeoning performance career and collaborations with some of the biggest names in film (including Sharon Stone, Paul Verhoeven and Tom Cruise). Most of the stories take place in the San Fernando Valley, where young Gershon was discovering weed, mushrooms and rock ‘n’ roll. This is not a titillating tell-all, and all the better for it.
“AlphaPussy” by Gina Gershon
(Akashic Books)
“This book realistically started during COVID,” Gershon explains from her New York home. “I’d told my book agent, a friend, some stories one day when we were drunk, and he kept prodding me to write a book. I was hesitant, though. I’m not a tell-all gal, that’s not my MO.”
She adds, “It was during lockdowns, and I think his mother was sick and he was having a hard time, so when he said, ‘Just write me stories to keep me cheered up,’ I started to write stories in no particular order, whatever bubbled up, because otherwise I figured I’d forget them one day.”
At the same time, Gershon had observed that young women weren’t feeling empowered to advocate for themselves in their personal relationships and workplaces.
“I noticed that especially with younger women friends of mine, they’d tell me about things they were going through on set or with their bosses, and I don’t know if it’s a millennial thing, but I said, ‘Why don’t you just look him in the eye and tell him to stop?’ and there was this sense [for me] of ‘Why can’t you do that? Because if you don’t, you’ll always be prey to these guys.’ ”
She clarifies that she means “annoying” men rather than abusive men.
“I’m not that tough,” admits Gershon. “But I’d learned how to maneuver a lot just from growing up in the Valley, and it was a crazy time to be living there. So I thought about the stories that led me to be able to steer myself through toxicity.”
In her new book, Gina Gershon recalls the industry vitriol toward her 1995 erotic film “Showgirls.”
(Evelyn Freja / For The Times)
And also to steer herself through well-intended advice, both personal and professional, to follow her instincts.
“Listen, it’s not like I’ve had the most normal career. I’ve done most of my projects despite warnings from other people and from my agents saying, ‘You can’t do this, you’ll ruin your career.’ I’m like, ‘Why? I like this project!’ ”
One of those projects, most infamously, was “Showgirls,” which gets plenty of mentions in the book.
As Gershon recalled, it was 1994, and an astrologer had predicted her major breakout role would arrive in October that year, testing the young actor and her ability to cope with notoriety. Great, thought Gershon, bring it on.
Months later, Gershon was hanging from the ceiling, dressed in bondage gear, reflecting upon her early acting goals to perform Chekhov, portray Medea and stun audiences into silence.
She was on the set of “Showgirls” (or “Survival of the Titties,” as she nicknames it), dressed in one of the many glittering, spangled, flimsy outfits that her character Cristal Connors parades about wearing as a veteran of Vegas striptease. That role, and the vitriol from within the industry toward the movie (a flop turned cult favorite), still stings.
“I was super excited going into ‘Showgirls.’ As I talk about in one of the chapters, it was just very different when I got there. It was a completely different show than I thought I was going to be doing. … I thought it was gonna be one of [director Paul Verhoeven’s] dark Dutch films.”
Realizing that it was something else, to say the least, Gershon pivoted.
“I learned how to deal with an insane environment while keeping focused on what it is that I was trying to achieve with the part, without getting swallowed up by the insanity, which is a valuable lesson, you know? I mean, it’s a good lesson to learn no matter what you’re doing.”
Last year, Gershon watched the movie for the first time in decades.
“I hadn’t seen it in a zillion years, and when I saw it, I understood it a little bit more. It made me feel tense, but I also thought, ‘Oh, interesting.’ Some scenes that I thought shouldn’t have been there and others that absolutely have to be there. I saw it with a different lens.”
She says, “Weirdly, I feel like I’m not supposed to be talking about ‘Showgirls,’ although I think I have five chapters about ‘Showgirls’ [in the book]. I did the ones that I thought were kind of funny and fun and had some sort of growth in it for me.”
Having recently wrapped filming on “an independent film, a trans love story” in Palm Springs, penned a script and midway through writing another, Gershon doesn’t intend on writing another book anytime soon. Still, “there’s so many stories I left out,” she concedes.
“I could write three more books with things, but I really wanted to stay on point with the themes of manipulation, survival, and moving around and being able to stand on your own two feet and know who you are and to have agency over your life, especially as a woman, especially as an actress, especially in this world.”
“I’m not that tough,” says Gina Gershon. “But I’d learned how to maneuver a lot just from growing up in the Valley, and it was a crazy time to be living there. So I thought about the stories that led me to be able to steer myself through toxicity.”
Shia LaBeouf says he isn’t too keen on seeking treatment to manage his sobriety after his two arrests over a drunken brawl in New Orleans.
The “Megalopolis” and “Holes” actor, 39, denied struggling with alcohol abuse and seemingly took accountability for his violent Mardi Gras behavior in a rambling interview. He spoke with Andrew Callaghan, the journalist best known for his Channel 5 News YouTube page.
“My side is this: My behavior, b—. I got to deal with that,” the former Disney Channel child star said in the interview published Saturday. “Does that mean I got to go to rehab again? I’m just not into it, bro. I don’t think my answers are there.”
A New Orleans judge last week ordered LaBeouf to begin substance abuse treatment and undergo weekly drug testing after he was arrested on suspicion of assaulting two men in the city’s French Quarter. The actor was initially charged with two counts of simple battery in the Feb. 17 brawl, but he racked up an additional charge for the same count on Saturday.
LaBeouf was released from jail shortly after his first arrest on Feb. 17 and posted $100,000 in bond. More than a week later, on Friday, New Orleans Police Department issued a warrant for LaBeouf’s second arrest in connection with the incident, a spokesperson confirmed. The actor turned himself in on Saturday and was released after posting bond again.
“No regular person would be required to post over $100,000 in bonds, and be jailed two separate times for one misdemeanor incident,” attorney Sarah Chervinsky said, according to the Associated Press. “Just as he does not deserve preferential treatment, Mr. LaBeouf also does not deserve to be treated more harshly by the police and courts just because he is a public figure.”
At the beginning of his chat with Callaghan, LaBeouf said he “1,000%” takes responsibility for the altercation and that he “had a great time” on Mardi Gras. A legal representative for LaBeouf — who has yet to enter a formal plea to the charges — did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
The New Orleans Police Department said its officers responded to a report of an assault on the 1400 block of Royal Street early on Feb. 17. The former “Even Stevens” child star was “causing a disturbance” at the business, leading staff to remove him from the premises, police said. The actor allegedly “used his closed fists” on one of the victims “several times.”
Authorities said LaBeouf left the business but returned, “acting even more aggressive.” According to the incident report, an unspecified number of people tried to subdue him and eventually let him go “in hope that he would leave.” Instead, police said, LaBeouf began assaulting the same man as before, hitting his upper body with closed fists. The actor is accused of punching the second man in the nose.
People held down LaBeouf until officials arrived. He was taken to a hospital, treated for unknown injuries and arrested and charged upon his release.
An additional police report identified a local entertainer as one of LaBeouf’s alleged victims. The “Disturbia” actor, whose history of violent behavior has led to previous arrests and other legal troubles, allegedly threatened the man’s life and shouted homophobic slurs.
LaBeouf told Callaghan that he was drunk and that, leading up to the incident, he “felt infringed upon.” Elsewhere in the conversation, he said, “big gay people are scary to me,” and said he was wary that “three gay dudes are next to me, touching my leg.” He subsequently apologized and owned up to his homophobic comment.
“I wasn’t in my right mind so it’s on me,” he said elsewhere in the interview. “I said words not OK. I’m wrong for what I did.”
“I am wrong for touching anyone, ever and that’s the end of my statement on this whole s—,” he also said.
Additionally, LaBeouf confirmed his separation from “Frankenstein” and “Pearl” star Mia Goth (they share a daughter), discussed his on-and-off sobriety over the years and stated plainly: “I don’t think I have a drinking problem.”
Instead, LaBeouf said he has a “small man complex,” something akin to a Napoleon complex but more “to do with anger and ego more so than my drinking.” For reference, he stands 5 feet 9 inches.
Last week, Orleans Parish Criminal Court Judge Simone Levine shared a different take on LaBeouf’s habits. She alleged the actor “does not take his alcohol addiction seriously.”
Chervinsky said during her client’s court appearance that “being drunk on Mardi Gras is not a crime,” a sentiment LaBeouf echoed to Callaghan.
There were tears (and cheers) for Catherine O’Hara. Rhea Seehorn explained “Pluribus,” or at least tried to. Harrison Ford was celebrated at the “half-point of his career.” And, because the show’s on Netflix, there were a few well-placed F-bombs, not including the swears muttered by the actors who didn’t win.
There were TV awards presented too. But we pay attention to the Actor Awards because the show takes place while Oscar ballots are out and are, for the most part, a reliable precursor to the Academy Awards. How trustworthy will they be for the acting winners this year? Let’s take a look.
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The past: The winner of this award has gone on to take the best picture Oscar in 15 of 30 years, making it basically a coin flip and easily the Actor Awards’ least trustworthy Oscar precursor. (The ensemble prize wasn’t awarded in 1994, the ceremony’s first year.) Oscar also-ran “Conclave” won last year, ending a three-year streak — “CODA,” “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “Oppenheimer” — where the winner of the cast prize went on to take best picture.
Will history repeat itself? If “Sinners” had simply taken this award and nothing else, I would say “One Battle After Another” would still be the overwhelming favorite to win the best picture Oscar. But snagging this prize and Michael B. Jordan winning lead actor gives one pause, doesn’t it? Again, the cast award is not a reliable best picture precursor. A Ryan Coogler movie (“Black Panther”) won in 2019, but lost the Oscar to “Green Book.” And while “Sinners” did haul in a record-breaking 16 Oscar nominations, “One Battle” wasn’t far behind with 13, just one shy of the previous record. It’s easy to get carried away with the way the room exploded when Samuel L. Jackson announced the winner, but “One Battle’s” Producers Guild win carries more weight. I’ll need a couple of days to sit with this.
Female actor in a leading role
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
Winner: Jessie Buckley, “Hamnet”
The past: SAG and the academy have matched 21 of 31 years. The last two years have seen the groups split, with Emma Stone (“Poor Things”) winning her second Oscar over SAG winner Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon”) in 2024 and Mikey Madison prevailing for “Anora” over Demi Moore, who won over SAG-AFTRA voters and earned a huge standing ovation when she took the stage for her gonzo comeback turn in the body horror movie “The Substance.”
Will history repeat itself? Buckley has been a lock for the lead actress Oscar since “Hamnet” premiered in September at the Telluride Film Festival, her searching, searing turn as the film’s grieving mother producing the kind of visceral reaction that guts audiences and wins awards. And, boy, has she won awards these last few months, taking pretty much everything save for the major critics groups. The naysayers decried the acting as overripe, sniffing instead of sniffling. Monsters. There’s no denying Buckley goes big with her emotions here, but the magic in her work also can be seen in a much-used still photo from “Hamnet,” the one where she’s resting her elbows on the Old Globe stage, hands clasped, face transfixed, heart opened. You know the shot. And you’re probably getting a little verklempt just thinking about it.
Male actor in a leading role
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
Winner: Michael B. Jordan, “Sinners”
The past: This category has been the most reliable indicator of Oscar victory, with SAG and the academy matching 24 of 31 times. There are exceptions, though, such as just last year when Adrien Brody won the Oscar for “The Brutalist,” prevailing over SAG winner Chalamet (“A Complete Unknown”).
Will history repeat itself? Entering the month of February, it looked like Timothée Chalamet was a shoo-in for playing a talented, self-promoting ping-pong player in “Marty Supreme.” In fact, some know-it-all called this race more or less over just a week ago. (That was me.) Chalamet could still win. Maybe SAG-AFTRA voters didn’t want to give him the award again, just a year after they honored him for his lead turn in “A Complete Unknown.” Maybe SAG-AFTRA voters felt he was a bit, shall we say … “brash” in the way he marketed the movie and needed to be taken down a peg.
So now, entering March, it’s looking like “Marty Supreme” could be this year’s version of “The Irishman,” a film that earns a lot of nominations (in this case, nine) and comes away with nothing.
Meanwhile, Jordan’s big swing movie star turn in “Sinners,” playing twin brothers Smoke and Stack, was the best work of his career. That scream that Viola Davis let out when she opened the envelope spoke to the enthusiasm in the room both for the actor and the film. Momentum definitely seems to be on Jordan’s side right now.
Female actor in a supporting role
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
Winner: Amy Madigan, “Weapons”
The past: The Actor Award winner has gone on to take an Oscar 23 of 31 times, including last year, when Zoe Saldaña won for “Emilia Pérez,” one of countless prizes she won that season. (Note: One of those 23 winners, “The Reader’s” Kate Winslet, was nominated for — and won — the 2009 Oscar for lead actress for that performance.)
Will history repeat itself? Who knows? This category has been all over the place, but as Madigan said in her speech, she’s been doing this a “long ass time” and there’s a lot of love for this 75-year-old acting great. Teyana Taylor (“One Battle After Another”) took the Golden Globe, and Wunmi Mosaku (“Sinners”) won at the British Academy Film Awards. And the “they’re due” narrative doesn’t always play at the Oscars. (Just ask Demi Moore or Glenn Close.) Will a “One Battle” sweep carry both Taylor and Sean Penn? Or is there room for an outlier? It’s tempting to lean toward Madigan.
Male actor in a supporting role
Winner: Sean Penn, “One Battle After Another”
The past: The SAG winner has gone on to win the Oscar 22 times in 31 years, including the last dozen, the longest streak of any category.
Will history repeat itself? Penn did not attend the Actor Awards, the only thing less surprising than this win. Coming on the heels of taking the supporting actor prize from BAFTA last weekend (Penn didn’t go to that ceremony either), it’s looking likely now that Penn will win his third Oscar. He’s barely campaigned and remains a divisive figure. But his menacing turn as the outrageous Col. Steven J. Lockjaw, a man given to zealotry and tight T-shirts, is the best work he has done in years. Will he go to the Oscars, if only to collect the trophy so he can give another statue to Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky? We’ll soon see.
Match of the Day pundit Joe Hart analyses how Bruno Fernandes was a “coach on the pitch” to “get the best” out of his Manchester United team-mates in their 2-1 victory against Crystal Palace.
This story contains spoilers for the pilot of “Marshals.”
When the curtain came down on “Yellowstone” last year, Kayce Dutton had finally found his happily-ever-after.
The youngest son of wealthy rancher John Dutton (Kevin Costner) had secured a modest cabin in a mountainous region where he could reside in secluded peace with his beloved wife, Monica (Kelsey Asbille), and son, Tate (Brecken Merrill), far from the turbulent dysfunction of his family.
“Kayce found his little peace of heaven, getting everything he ever wanted and fought for,” said Luke Grimes, who plays the soft-spoken Dutton in “Yellowstone.”
Grimes reprises the role in CBS’ “Marshals,” which premiered Sunday. But in the new series, Kayce’s serenity has been brutally shattered, forcing him to find a new path forward after an unimaginable tragedy.
The drama is the first of several planned spinoffs of “Yellowstone,” which became TV’s hottest scripted series during its five-season run. And while some familiar faces return and events unfold against the magnificent backdrop of towering mountains and lush greenery, “Marshals” is definitely not “Yellowstone” 2.0.
Luke Grimes as Kayce Dutton in “Marshals,” which combines the gritty Western flavor of “Yellowstone” with the procedural genre.
(Sonja Flemming / CBS )
In “Marshals,” Kayce joins an elite squad of U.S. Marshals headed by his Navy SEAL teammate Pete Calvin (Logan Marshall-Green). The drama combines two distinct brands — the gritty Western flavor of “Yellowstone” with the procedural genre, a flagship of CBS’ prime-time slate.
During an interview at an exclusive club in downtown Los Angeles, Grimes expressed excitement about dusting off his cowboy hat and boots, though he admitted to having initial concerns about whether the project was a fit.
“I had never watched a procedural before, so I had to do some homework on what that was,” Grimes said hours before the gala premiere of “Marshals” at the Autry Museum of the American West in Griffith Park. “And I just couldn’t wrap my head around it at first. In the finale, Kayce had ridden off into the sunset. So I thought, ‘Let him be, let him go.’ ”
Those doubts eventually ebbed away.
“To be honest, there was a part of me that didn’t want to let Kayce go just yet,” Grimes said. “Saying goodbye to him was really hard, so the opportunity to keep this going was something I couldn’t pass up. We get to show his backstory and also this other side of him that we didn’t see in ‘Yellowstone.’ ”
But this Kayce is a man in crisis. “Yellowstone” devotees will likely be shocked by the “elephant in the room” — the revelation in the pilot episode that Monica has died of cancer. The couple’s sexy and loving chemistry was a key element in the series while also establishing Grimes as a heartthrob.
“I think fans will be upset — and they should be,” Grimes said as he looked downward. “Kayce is very upset. It’s the worst thing that could have happened to him. But as much as I’m really upset not to work with Kelsey, it’s a good idea for the show.”
He added, “His dream life is no longer available to him. Now the only thing he has is his son, who is not so sure he wants the same life as Kayce. A big part of the season is Kayce learning how to manage all these new things — new job, being a single father.”
“His dream life is no longer available to him. Now the only thing he has is his son, who is not so sure he wants the same life as Kayce,” said Luke Grimes about his character Kayce.
(Jay L. Clendenin / For The Times)
Executive producer and showrunner Spencer Hudnut (CBS’ “SEAL Team”) acknowledged in a separate interview that viewers may be stunned by the tragedy. “Real life intervenes for Kayce. Unfortunately it happens to so many of us.”
But he stressed that although Monica is physically gone, her presence will be heavily felt this season.
“She is guiding Kayce, and their relationship is moving forward,” Hudnut said. “His dealing with his inability to confront his grief is a big part of the season. It became clear that something horrible had to happen to put Kayce on a different path.”
As the development evolved, Grimes embraced the procedural concept: “This is a very different show and structure. This is an action show, very fast paced. I meet a lot of fans who say they really want to see Kayce go full Navy SEAL.”
Alumni from “Yellowstone” returning in “Marshals” include Gil Birmingham as tribal Chairman Thomas Rainwater and Mo Brings Plenty as his confidante Mo.
“Yellowstone” co-creator Taylor Sheridan, who had already spearheaded the prequels “1883” and “1923,” will further expand the “Yellowstone” universe later this month with “The Madison,” starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell, about a New York City family living in Montana’s Madison River territory. Later this year, Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser will star in “Dutton Ranch,” reprising their respective “Yellowstone” roles as John Dutton’s volcanic daughter Beth Dutton and her husband, boss ranch hand Rip Wheeler.
Hudnut said fans of “Yellowstone” will recognize themes that were central to that series: “The cost and consequences of violence, man versus nature, man versus man.”
“We’re trying to tap into what people loved about ‘Yellowstone’ but to tell the story in a different framework,” he said. “The procedural brand is obviously very successful for CBS. And nothing has been bigger than ‘Yellowstone.’ So the challenge is, how do you marry those things?”
Taking on the lead role prompted Grimes to reflect on how “Yellowstone” transformed his life after co-starring roles in films like “American Sniper” and “Fifty Shades of Grey” and playing a vampire in the TV series “True Blood.”
“‘Yellowstone’ changed my life in many, many ways,” he said. “The biggest change is that I now live where we shot the show in Montana. The first time I went there, I would have never thought I would ever live there.
“I would come back to the city after shooting. But a little bit more each year, I felt more out of place here, and more peace and at home there. I’m a big nature person — I never was a big city person, but I had to be here to do what I wanted. But after the third season, my wife and I decided to move there. We wanted to start a family.”
The topic of a Kayce spinoff kept coming up during the filming of the finale, but “meanwhile we were having a baby, so that was the biggest thing on my plate.”
“‘Yellowstone’ changed my life in many, many ways,” said Luke Grimes.
(Jay L. Clendenin/For The Times)
Grimes was also dealing with the off-screen drama that impacted production due to logistical and creative differences between Costner and Sheridan. Costner, who was the show’s biggest attraction, exited after filming the first part of the final season. His character was killed off.
Asked about the backstage tension, Grimes said, “I just tried to do my job to the best of my ability, and not get caught up in all that. It was sort of frustrating, but I felt lucky to have a job.”
He recalled getting a call from Sheridan about the plans for a spinoff: “He said, ‘I think you should talk to the guy who is going to be the showrunner. I’m not telling you to do it, and I’m not telling you not to do it. But Spencer is great and he has some good ideas.’ ”
Hudnut said Kayce “was always my favorite character. Also, Luke is not Kayce. Kayce is an amazing character, but Luke is really thoughtful and smart. He is a true artist and has an artist’s soul, while Kayce is kicking down doors and terrorizing people. And Luke has such a great presence. He can do so much with just a look to the camera. He is a true leading man.”
In addition to starring in “Marshals,” Grimes is also an executive producer. He pitched the opening sequence — a flashback showing Kayce in the battlefield. He also performs the song that plays over the final scene, in which he visits his wife’s grave. The ballad is from Grimes’ self-titled country album which was released last year.
“Luke’s creative fingerprints are all over the pilot,” Hudnut said.
Grimes said he does not feel pressure about being the first follow-up from “Yellowstone” to premiere.
“We’re not trying to make the same show, so no matter what happens, its a win-win,” he said. “I had a blast doing it.”
In a rare case of “Saturday Night Live” bringing on a guest host at the exact right moment, Connor Storrie of the hit Canadian hockey romance “Heated Rivalry” brought sexy charisma to the show, even if a lot of the sketch material didn’t rise to occasion.
“SNL” parodied the show last month by mixing it with “Harry Potter,” but with Storrie, and all the attention hockey got with Team USA’s gold medal wins at the Winter Olympics, this hosting appearance felt especially well-planned. And that was even before members of the men’s and women’s teams dropped by, as did Storrie’s co-star on “Heated Rivalry” Hudson Williams, who showed up to a raucous audience reaction for a sketch, showing that a lot of people have caught up with the series since it debuted on HBO Max in November.
As for Storrie’s performance, it was perhaps the best thing on the show, which had a lot of weak sketches, from a fairly obvious cold open to an early piece that seemed like an excuse for Marcello Hernández to play a goofy teacher with an exaggerated accent.
Things got a little better with a pre-taped period piece about gentlemen giving glove slaps and Williams’ appearance in a sketch about a man’s marriage proposal going sideways because he keeps getting distracted by a group of happy men ice skating at Rockefeller Center. Storrie also played a cool teen trying to extend kindness to his extremely dorky tutor (Ben Marshall) and his equally dorky parents (Ashley Padilla and James Austin Johnson), a man who helped his friend out with his absurd leg-lengthening surgery, and an office worker who proposes a romantic office dance. Best of the night for Storrie, perhaps, was one in which he played a very injured stripper at a Las Vegas bachelorette party.
What was clear was that across a pretty broad range of character types, Storrie held his own and brought some smoldering looks and playfulness that the show, for the most part, didn’t know what to do with.
Musical guests Mumford & Sons, along with Aaron Dessner from the National, performed “Rubber Band Man” with Hozier and “Here” with Sierra Ferrell.
This week’s cold open tackled the very recent attack on Iran with President Trump (Johnson) addressing why he acted at 2 a.m. on a Saturday: “It’s after the stock market closes for the weekend and it’s to cause immeasurable fear, rage and chaos in the ‘SNL’ writers’ room,” he explained. Trump sang, “War! What is it good for? Distracting from the Epstein Files!” before introducing Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (Colin Jost), who chugged a non-alcoholic Four Loco and showed off his knuckle tattoos for “EPIC FURY.” After a brief aside for Trump and Hegseth to complement the underappreciated Nintendo GameCube console (on which Hegseth said he played the game “Prince of Persia: Sands of Time”), Hegseth said, “We took out a horrendous, horrible leader who was opposing his own people.” Trump cut in: “But don’t get any ideas!”
In his monologue, Storrie joked about the cultural appeal of “Heated Rivalry,” which he said, “taught a lot of people about hockey… and taught a lot of straight women that their sexuality is actually gay guy.” Storrie discussed growing up in Texas, working as a waiter before he was cast in the series, and how little time he had to prepare to play a Russian hockey player for the show. He was then joined by Jack and Quinn Hughes of the men’s Olympic hockey team. But the reaction to the Hughes brothers was topped considerably in audience reaction by women’s team players Hilary Knight and Megan Keller, who came on stage. “It was just gonna be us, but we thought we’d invite the guys, too,” Knight said. “We thought we’d give them a little moment to shine,” Keller added.
Best sketch of the night: How dare they save the best jokes for a video sketch!
At a posh London gathering in 1892, things get out of hand (literally) when two men (Mikey Day and Storrie) engage in a war of words that escalates to cries of “How dare you!” followed by slaps with a glove. Others get involved, but it really gets out of hand when one man violates the so-called “gentleman’s code” by using a fist. Soon, a dog and a baby are involved in the increasingly silly slapping. Storrie’s comedic timing is particularly good in this one and the sketch resists the “SNL” trope of going straight to hardcore violence and bloodshed that it’s been doing in a lot of video sketches of late.
Also good: Tipping is appreciated for dancing while hurt
At this point, “SNL” has probably done 100 bachelorette party sketches, but none of them had Storrie showing off his abs or getting his tearaway pants pulled off. Apart from the eye candy for those seeking it, the sketch offered some solid physical comedy with Storrie playing a stripper who shows up at a hotel suite severely injured after getting hit by a car. He pushes on to fulfill his job duties, but can barely stand. Storrie does a nice job flailing and flopping, throwing his bloodied-up body around the stage and around the bachelorettes (Padilla, Sarah Sherman, Veronika Slowikowska and Jane Wickline), who don’t know whether to be repulsed or turned on.
‘Weekend Update’ winner: Advice to future maids of honor — avoid headlines
Unfortunately, both “Weekend Update” character segments felt underbaked this week. Sherman played another oversexualized pop-culture meme in an elaborate costume — the negligent mother of Punch, the baby monkey — hitting on Jost in hopes of getting pregnant. A little better, but still rough, was Slowikowska as Katie, the maid of honor at a wedding who makes jokes about the proceedings that play off of major news headlines, like cartel violence in Mexico, the Epstein files or the ongoing war in Ukraine. This one feels like it probably sounded really funny and smart at the table read, but it landed with a thud for the audience because the premise was so muddled.
Final Oscar voting began yesterday. How many of the nominated movies have you seen? Are you doing your due diligence in all the categories before the March 15 ceremony or, given the summer weather outside your window, might the mountains be calling?
I’m Glenn Whipp, columnist for the Los Angeles Times and host of The Envelope newsletter. It’s never too early for flip-flops, is it?
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This may seem obvious. But until this year, the motion picture academy operated entirely on the honor system, strongly encouraging members to see everything before voting.
Now voters have to show their work — up to a point.
This year, academy members are required to certify through the group’s screening room portal that they have viewed all nominated films in each category to be eligible to vote in that category. Since nominations were announced in January, the academy has been emailing voters with updates on their progress, indicating where they’re cleared to vote and where they still have work to do.
One wrinkle, and it’s not a small one: Members can simply check a box indicating that they’ve watched a movie outside the academy’s platform. Perhaps they saw it at a festival, on a streaming platform other than the portal or the place God intended films to be seen — a movie theater.
Whether they actually did watch the movies is left to the honesty of the voter. It’s still an honor system, and members do not need to show movie stubs, tickets or receipts.
Talking with academy members, there seems to be a little wiggle room when it comes to having a clear conscience.
Take the voter who loved Ethan Hawke‘s lead turn as legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart in “Blue Moon,” but hated “Marty Supreme,” turning it off 20 minutes after starting it. Since the academy’s screening room counts a movie as watched only if it’s viewed in its entirety, this voter told me they planned on restarting “Marty Supreme” one night and running it on mute so he could vote in the lead actor category.
“I’d seen enough,” he said. “Watching [Timothée] Chalamet play another pingpong tournament wouldn’t make me change my mind.”
Other academy members told me they were OK marking the “watched” box next to a movie they hadn’t seen, provided they had viewed four of the category’s other nominees. By and large though, they were the outliers. Most voters said they were happy to abstain from voting in a category in which they hadn’t watched all the nominated work. (As academy members may not publicly state voting decisions or preferences, voters spoke on the condition of anonymity.)
“I don’t need to see another ‘Avatar’ movie,” a producers branch member said. “So I’m fine not voting for visual effects or costume design this year. Life is short.”
“I like the idea that I can abstain from categories without any guilt,” an Oscar-nominated writer noted, adding that she thought the new system has been “helpful, reminding me to watch things.”
To that effect, academy members have been receiving a flurry of emails and texts that would give off Big Brother vibes if it didn’t simply boil down to an admonition to watch “Frankenstein” so they could vote in the nine categories where Guillermo del Toro’s monster movie is nominated.
It really isn’t that big an ask, as in recent years the Oscars have become increasingly dominated by a smaller number of movies vacuuming up a greater share of the nominations. This year, the five movies earning the most recognition — “Sinners,”“One Battle After Another,” “Marty Supreme,” “Frankenstein” and “Hamnet” — hauled in 56 nominations.
If an Oscar voter viewed the 10 best picture nominees, they’d be eligible to mark their ballots in best picture and eight other categories — supporting actor, adapted screenplay, casting, cinematography, film editing, production design and original score. Add Hawke’s “Blue Moon” and that opens up lead actor. Make it a double feature with “It Was Just an Accident” and original screenplay becomes available.
“You don’t really need to be much more than a casual moviegoer to knock out most of your ballot,” an actors branch member told me, “except for things like animation and documentaries and the shorts. I don’t know how many people watch all of those.”
Nobody does, save for the PricewaterhouseCoopers accountants counting the ballots. The question vexing both voters and the awards consultants paid to persuade them is how this new, formalized voting will affect the results. As Oscar winners are sometimes the movies that are the most-watched, might requiring voters to see all the nominated work boost less-publicized efforts?
“If ‘Sirât’ wins sound over ‘F1,’ then I think it’s a new ballgame,” one veteran campaigner said. “Right now, though, nobody knows.”
We will soon. In the meantime, with Oscar voting running through Thursday, some academy members tell me their weekend is booked.
“Three nights, three movies,” one voter said. “And then I’m watching ‘Bridgerton.’”
On Monday, Flav offered “a real celebration” for the women’s team.
“If the USA Women’s Hockey team wants a real celebration and invite ,,, I’ll host them in Las Vegas,” Flav wrote on social media. “Do some nice dinners and shows and good times. I’m sure I can get a hotel and airline to help me out here and celebrate these women for real for real.”
He added: “But I gots to invite my Bobsled + Skeleton team too.”
The idea has only grown bigger.
“Letz go even bigger and better,” Flav wrote Tuesday. “ALL Female US Olympians and Paralympian medalists are invited out to celebrate in Viva Las Vegas for the SHE GOT GAME Weekend ,,, Hit a guy up and LETZ GOOO.”
On Thursday, Flav announced the event would be held July 16 to 19 in partnership with MGM Resorts and the Gist sports media brand.
“I wanna give a special shout out to MGM Resorts,” Flav wrote. “many people offered to help the hockey team,,, but when I said I wanted to include ALL women who earned medals from the winter games + USABS,,, they didn’t hesitate and stepped up to be REAL partners with 100+ rooms.”
He added: “They also offered food and hospitality, spa, ground, event space, after parties, and to host the parade and party for the PUBLIC to celebrate our women for FREE.”
MGM Resorts confirmed Friday that it is hosting the event.
“Planning is underway and details will be shared soon as we get ready to celebrate our incredible USA athletes in a way only MGM Resorts knows how: world-class hospitality, high-energy fun, and memorable experiences,” the company said in a statement emailed to The Times.
WASHINGTON — A crowd gathered at a commuter gate at Reagan National Airport on Friday as fog-laden Washington skies caused an hourlong ground stop that backed up passengers hoping to head out from American Airlines’ Terminal D.
But soon the already densely packed area swelled even more, as word spread across nearby gates that, of the hundreds of air travelers coming and going, only one among them was accompanied by a U.S. Secret Service detail, along with uniformed local police officers: former President Biden.
Biden, who has rarely made public appearances since leaving office last year, sat, like many of his fellow passengers, awaiting a flight that would take him to Columbia, S.C., for an evening event with the South Carolina Democratic Party.
Passengers whispered and gaped in wonder: Why would a man who for a time was leader of the free world be, like they were, at the mercy of airport travel delays, even as he sat ensconced in his security detail?
Maybe for Biden it made more sense than for some other former presidents. Known for years as Amtrak Joe, Biden as a senator prided himself on becoming arguably the nation’s biggest Amtrak fan, regularly taking the train home to Delaware rather than taking up residence in Washington. Now, as a former president, he’s been spotted riding the rails since, taking selfies with and chatting up his fellow passengers.
On Friday, the vibe was about the same, as Biden — seated in the third row of the tiny first class cabin on the commuter jet — boarded the flight ahead of other passengers, along with his detail, members of which were spread throughout the plane.
“God bless you, sir,” one woman said, as she filed past Biden in his window seat, newspaper in his lap.
“Thank you for your service,” a man said, shaking Biden’s hand.
The woman who took the aisle seat next to the former president first set down her coffee on the arm rest they shared, deposited a bag in the overhead compartment, then sat down and realized her seatmate was the nation’s 46th president.
Biden set his hand on her cup to steady it, then met her gaze with a hello as she took her seat.
“I feel like I’m about to cry,” the woman said, as they shook hands and, over the course of the next hour, chatted throughout the flight.
Former presidents and their spouses receive lifelong Secret Service protection under federal law, but there are no provisions guaranteeing the elite levels of private travel that were necessary features of their time in office.
Blame AI or the White House social media employee who put controversial, profane words in the mouth of U.S. Olympic men’s hockey star Brady Tkachuk.
Either way, Tkachuk doesn’t appreciate the doctored video published Sunday on the official White House TikTok account that made it appear he was disparaging Canadians in the aftermath of the stirring U.S. gold medal victory at the Milan-Cortina Olympics.
Tkachuk’s day job, you see, is star player and team captain of the NHL Ottawa Senators.
The video features footage from a year-old news conference, except that Tkachuk’s words are freshened through AI. With U.S. Olympics goal song “Free Bird” playing in the background, Tkachuk was made to say, “They booed our national anthem, so I had to come out and teach those maple syrup eating f—s a lesson.”
The clip included a disclaimer that it used AI-generated media. After it had been viewed by more than 12 million people, Tkachuk indicated the stunt annoyed him.
“Well, it’s clearly fake, because it’s not my voice, not my lips moving,” he said Thursday in Ottawa. “It’s not my voice. It’s not what I was saying. I would never say that.
“That’s not who I am, so I guess I don’t like that video because that would never come out of my mouth, and I never had that thought.”
In its efforts to celebrate the U.S. victory, the White House has come off as tone deaf to many of the players. Sportsmanship and maturity seem less important than disparaging Canadians.
The U.S. players have made it abundantly clear that they respect their Canadian brethren. Several U.S. players — including Tkachuk— play for NHL teams north of the border.
And the men’s players admire the U.S. Olympics women’s hockey team that also won gold despite their spontaneous laughter at President Trump’s attempt at humor during his congratulatory call.
Trump invited the men’s team to the State of the Union address, saying: “I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that,” adding with a laugh that if he didn’t also invite the women, “I do believe I probably would be impeached.”
It was as if the president was talking to third graders afraid they might get cooties from the girls. Tkachuk explained the wonderful relationship between the men’s and women’s Olympics players while expressing regret at the laughter.
“[We’re] just coming off the ice, and I think it was 15 minutes later, you have the President of the United States calling you,” Tkachuk told reporters Thursday. “You just can’t really believe, you’re still riding the high of being a world champion, and for the President to take the time and call.
“When it comes to the women’s team, one of my favorite memories from the Olympics is after we won and after the women’s team came back from the closing ceremonies, both our teams are just in the dining hall hanging out having fun, just kind of being on top of the world.
“You have two gold medalist teams just hanging out before we’re going back to our respective cities. And it was just great to hear their experience.”
