teacher

“Thoughts & Prayers,” premiering Tuesday on HBO, is a documentary film about the $3-billion “active shooter preparedness industry,” that space where American failure meets American entrepreneurism. Though it approaches its subject with a certain formal neutrality, the title, a phrase now synonymous with political emptiness, does suggest a point of view. (Its subtitle is “How to Survive an Active Shooter in America.”)

That industry includes various forms of training involving teachers, students and first responders and products theoretically created to increase security — locks, alarms, robot dogs, bulletproof backpacks, bulletproof glass and bulletproof shelters that sit in the corner of a classroom. One company will put an image of your choice on a bulletproof wall hanging and sells a “skateboard [that] will outperform any other skateboard on the market, but it’s also a self defense shield.” “Every time there’s a tragedy, it economically benefits my family,” its founder admits. “We could be a $300-million company by the time this documentary airs.”

One company makes tourniquets “easy to apply in case of a mass casualty incident”; another specializes in latex bullet wounds for use in mass shooter drills: “the gunshot through and through to the neck … the multiple gunshot wound to the abdomen.” One senses in these endeavors a not insincere overreaction that substitutes for political action, shifting responsibility onto potential victims and accepting the problem as intractable. (Or as the Onion headline, published 38 times since 2014, has it, “No Way to Prevent This, Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens.”)

Directed by Zackary Canepari and Jessica Dimmock, it’s a sad black comedy, an Errol Morris sort of subject, shot in an Errol Morris sort of way — formal, neutral. The cinematography, by Jarred Alterman, is quite handsome and composed, amplifying the seriousness and eeriness, but also the banality and absurdity of the matter. Subjects face the camera head on, sometimes to speak, sometimes to sit silently for a portrait that might find them covered in fake blood and wounds from a role-playing exercise. The film gets a lot of mileage just settling on faces, tracking reactions, or lack of reaction. The camera is static, steady; action moves in and through the frame, sometimes in slow motion, like movie violence. This observational approach is regularly undercut, unfortunately, by a heavy-handed soundtrack that makes the film feel less trustworthy. It’s an aesthetic and rhetorical failure, but not a fatal one.

The documentary states that 95% of American school children practice lockdown drills.

(HBO)

More than 20 million adults have had active shooter training, learning how to keep doors shut or disarm a shooter, participating in multiplayer video simulations. In Provo, Utah, teachers learn to shoot. (“Breathe in through our nose, out through your mouth — let all that tension come out of you.”) But “Thoughts & Prayers” is most powerful when looking at or listening to the kids: 95% of American schools, we’re told, practice lockdown drills, which can begin as early as Pre-K (with “dinosaurs” substituted for gunmen, to, I don’t know, reduce trauma).

The film’s last act follows a massive reenactment at a Medford, Ore., high school, where a “mass casualty drill” was scheduled after a janitor turned himself into police before acting on homicidal thoughts. (They discovered many weapons in his home, and a written plan of attack.) Kids, made up as victims, litter the halls and gym field. Masked “shooters” go room to room. The police chief gives, as a sign on the podium reads, a “fake press conference.”

“This is the reality, this is where we are in this country, where we are in this valley,” says the school superintendent afterward. “But I do not want to lose the fact that it is still a sad thing that we have to do this. Still, you may wonder what good it will actually do, and hope not to find out.”

What passes for a gun debate is relegated to some warring soundbites from the floor of Congress, and the opinion of one trainer (named Thrasher) that guns aren’t the problem, but “family structures” and “the lack of tribalism.” But here’s Quinn, a high school freshman from Long Island, N.Y., as close as anyone here gets to addressing the issue. It’s worth giving her the last word.

“I don’t think that a lot of adults care about our opinions. We go through this every single day. We go through, like, being afraid of going to school because we might get shot, or we might lose a friend, or we might lose a teacher. And a lot of people care about their … rights, I guess, more about, ‘Oh well, I want to have the ability to own a gun, and so I don’t care if you get shot in your class.’ It’s just kind of disheartening. ‘Cause it’s like, oh, you care more about yourself than all of the students in America.”

IN her blue gingham dress, brown pigtails and trusty dog Toto by her side, Dorothy Gale is one of the most famous characters in Hollywood history.

But 86 years after original actress Judy Garland skipped down the yellow brick road, the school girl from Kansas is back on the big screen – being played by a Pilates instructor who lives in Surrey.

Bethany Weaver, 30, has been unveiled as the woman portraying Dorothy in the big budget movie Wicked: For Good, which hits cinemas this Friday.

However, The Sun can reveal she only appears on screen for 69 seconds and says a total of six words — and Bethany’s friends may not even recognise her, as her face is never shown on screen.

It follows on from last year’s first film, simply titled Wicked, and completes the tale of the witches of Oz, Elphaba, played by Cynthia Erivo, 38, and Ariana Grande, 32, as Glinda.

But while the first musical extravaganza was a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, the second instalment’s plot runs parallel to that of the 1939 film, telling the tale from an entirely different perspective.

‘JOKER’ JAILED

Ariana Grande stuns on red carpet return as man who attacked her is jailed

VIRAL BOND

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s ‘ridiculous’ red carpet moment resurfaces

That means viewers will once again see Dorothy with the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion.

Explaining the decision not to show her face, director Jon M. Chu, 46, said: “I didn’t want to step on who you think Dorothy is in whatever story that you came into this with.

“[The sequel] is still Elphaba and Glinda’s journey, and she is a pawn in the middle of all of it.”

Cynthia added: “I think that’s such a wonderful thing to do because then everyone gets to keep the Dorothy that they know.”

The film studio went to major lengths to keep her identity a secret, stopping her from attending the major premieres.

The cast and crew were banned from following or interacting with her on social media and on Instagram, she only had 1,041 followers before being formally announced.

She has had a string of theatre jobs in Oklahoma and Broken Wings after training at The Urdang Academy, and recently helped to choreograph a production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

But away from the stage, she has a less showbiz career as a Pilates instructor in Surrey.

Her casting ends a year of speculation, as fans had been convinced that Irish actress Alisha Weir, 16, who played the lead in 2022’s Matilda the Musical, would take the role.

She attended the London premiere of the first Wicked film last year wearing silver shoes, which was thought to be a reference to the original colour of the character’s ruby red heels in the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

And even superstar Taylor Swift, 35, was at one point linked to the role.

Fans thought the video for her song Karma, which saw her skipping down a yellow brick road, was a clue, and an image of the singer dressed as Dorothy went viral before later being debunked as AI.

But with an all-star cast in Wicked: For Good, also featuring People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive Jonathan Bailey, 37, Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh, 63, and Jurassic Park’s Jeff Goldblum, 73, there is plenty of star power to propel it to success.

Wicked, released last November, became the highest-grossing film of the year at the UK box office, raking in £61million in a matter of weeks.

Now the blockbuster sequel is being forecast to repeat its success, with expectations it will surpass the £56million made by A Minecraft Movie and the £46million raked in by Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy earlier this year.

Bosses at Universal Pictures are also hoping the movie will prove fruitful in awards season too, after the first flick landed ten Oscar nominations but only won in the Best Costume Design and Best Production Design categories.

The film is based on the second half of the Broadway musical, although two new songs were penned especially for the big-screen version, which will be available when the official soundtrack is released on Friday.

Ariana has a solo moment with The Girl in the Bubble while Cynthia gets a song on her own with No Place Like Home.

The tracks mean they could go head-to-head for the Best Original Song gong at the Oscars.

The movies were filmed back to back from December 2022 to January 2024 at studios in Elstree and Leavesden, Herts, although Ariana and Cynthia returned to the UK in May this year for last-minute reshoots.

An estimated $150m was spent on the film with millions more on marketing it – with the massive investment paying off for the first flick.

That one set a box office record for a stage-to-screen adaptation, making $756m globally.

And they are going all-out to market this film too.

Today, it was revealed that Brick Lane in East London has been transformed into Yellow Brick Lane, with the famous path from the Wizard of Oz now running down the road, along with several Wicked murals.

There have also been a raft of big brand tie-ins, with a slew of Wicked-themed products including a collection of Le Creuset cookware, Crocs, rugs, trainers, perfume, and even drinks and bakes at high street chain Greggs.

Wicked Barbie dolls are also expected to be one of the most in-demand toys this Christmas.

And its legacy is likely to be even more musicals making it to the big screen.

Following the success of the first film, Sabrina Carpenter, 26, has had a musical about Alice in Wonderland greenlit by the same movie studio.

Mamma Mia 3 is also expected to go ahead, with talk of Nicole Scherzinger, 47 – who had been linked to the role of Elphaba back in 2017 – starring in a film adaptation of Sunset Boulevard.

As for Cynthia and Ariana, they have spent the last two weeks on a promotional tour including premieres in Sao Paulo, Paris, London, Singapore and on Monday evening, New York.

However, it has taken its toll.

Cynthia, who wore a black gown featuring leather and feathers on the red carpet in the Big Apple, was unable to do interviews there after losing her voice entirely in the lead-up to the film’s release.

Meanwhile, talk during the promo run has turned to Ariana, who wore a pink tulle skirt and a black corseted bodice, and her relationship with her co-star Ethan Slater, 33.

Romance blossomed during filming, just after her marriage to estate agent Dalton Gomez crumbled, and following his split from his childhood sweetheart and the mother of his son, psychologist Lilly Jay.

But despite steering clear from each other on red carpets and declining to talk about each other, the couple are quietly still going strong after two and a half years as an item.

And while she isn’t saying goodbye to him, she is moving away from the role of Glinda, which she had dreamed about playing since she was ten years old.

She has dyed her peroxide blonde hair back to brown and has moved onto her next project, recently completing work on the latest film in the Meet the Parents franchise.

Reflecting on the release of the second – and final – film, Ariana was emotional.

She explained: “It’s been such an incredible ride and an incredible experience to create with people we love so much and respect so much creatively, but also who just have such great hearts.”

SEE CLEARLY

Mechanic reveals ‘secret’ button that will defrost your windows even quicker

waltzing off

La Voix’s statement in full as injured star is forced to pull out of Strictly

Speaking about the characters, who she and Cynthia auditioned for in 2021, she said: “It’s almost five years that we’ve spent with them. So, for them to finally be getting the full picture and to know the secrets we’ve known all along is very exciting.”

Ariana added: “This project will always be part of our lives.”

Abby Zwerner, 28, was shot in 2023 as she sat in a first-grade classroom and sustained life-threatening injuries.

A jury in the state of Virginia in the United States has awarded $10m to a former teacher who was shot by a six-year-old student.

The jury on Thursday sided with former teacher Abby Zwerner’s claim, made in a civil lawsuit, that an ex-administrator at the school had ignored repeated warnings that the six-year-old child had a gun in class.

Zwerner, 28, was shot in January 2023 as she sat at a reading table in her first-grade classroom and spent nearly two weeks in the hospital, required six surgeries and still does not have the full use of her left hand.

The bullet fired by the six-year-old narrowly missed her heart and remains in her chest.

Zwerner, who did not address reporters outside the court after the decision was announced, had sought $40m in damages against Ebony Parker, a former assistant principal at Richneck Elementary School in the city of Newport News, Virginia.

One of her lawyers, Diane Toscano, said the verdict sent a message that what happened at the school “was wrong and is not going to be tolerated, that safety has to be the first concern at school”.

Zwerner’s lawyers had claimed that Parker, the assistant principal at the time, had failed to act in the hours before the shooting after several school staff members told her that the student had a gun in his backpack.

“Who would think a six-year-old would bring a gun to school and shoot their teacher?” Toscano had asked the jury earlier.

“It’s Dr Parker’s job to believe that is possible. It’s her job to investigate it and get to the very bottom of it.”

Parker did not testify in the lawsuit.

The mother of the student who shot Zwerner was sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted of child neglect and firearms charges.

No charges were brought against the child, who told authorities he got his mother’s handgun by climbing onto a drawer to reach the top of a dresser, where the firearm was in his mother’s purse.

Newtown Action Alliance, an advocacy organisation that supports reforms aimed at addressing gun violence, said that the case points to the need for greater regulations over the storage of firearms in homes with children.

“Abby Zwerner was shot by her 6-year-old student using a gun from home,” the group said in a social media post, adding that “76 percent of school shooters get their guns from their homes or relatives”.

Abby Zwerner was shot by her 6-year-old student using a gun from home.

76% of school shooters get their guns from their homes or relatives.

Urge your Members of Congress to cosponsor Ethan’s Law.

Congressional Switchboard: (202) 224-3121#SafeStorageSavesLives #EndGunViolence pic.twitter.com/YZyuo0KxXj

— Newtown Action Alliance (@NewtownAction) November 6, 2025

Zwerner no longer works for the school district and has said she has no plans to teach again. She has since become a licensed cosmetologist.

While accidents involving young children accessing unsecured firearms in their homes are common in the US, school shootings perpetrated by those under 10 years old are rare.

A database compiled by US researcher David Riedman has registered about 15 such incidents since the 1970s.

The overriding questions remains, though. How long will O’Neill have to improve Celtic?

His return, alongside assistant Shaun Maloney, has brought back a feelgood factor but that was only going to last so long.

The laughs had over O’Neill’s matchday fit have faded, while Celtic’s deep-rooted problems have returned in stark fashion.

Captain Callum McGregor was at the heart of the happiness on Sunday, scoring in the extra-time win, but he was quick to assure no-one had got carried away.

“Nothing’s been solved after a really good game at the weekend,” the midfielder said after defeat in Denmark. “We know that we don’t get too up or too down.

“We come away here against a really good side, a good club, who do a lot of good things and they know what they are.

“There’s a lot of growth still left in our team as well. We know where we are and we know where we want to get to.”

It appears Celtic are far from the latter, and it’s lined up to be an almighty task to get them there, for whoever is charged with taking them there.

On a sobering night, it’s not the interim manager who will take the heat. It’s not even the players being taught by him.

It’s the board who have managed to quieten the clamour aimed in their direction for a few days with the reinstatement of O’Neill who will be feeling the pressure once more.