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President Biden requests $33 billion in additional emergency aid from Congress for Ukraine

In a speech on Thursday, President Joe Biden called on Congress to immediately pass a measure for $33 billion in additional emergency support to Ukraine to defend against Russian forces. The United States have already given billions to the Ukraine war effort.

In his remarks Thursday, the president stressed the importance of U.S. aid in repelling Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion.  Biden said: “We need this bill to support Ukraine’s fight for freedom. We either back the Ukrainian people as they defend their country, or we stand by as Russians continue their aggression and atrocities in Ukraine. We’re helping Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression. As long as the assaults continue, we will continue to provide assistance.”

The White House said in a statement earlier Thursday: “President Biden will send a proposal for a comprehensive legislative package that will enhance the United States government’s authority to hold the Russian government and Russian oligarchs accountable for President Putin’s war.”

The U.S. has already provided Ukraine with more than $3 billion since Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24. The new efforts announced Thursday include greater ability to seize Russian assets, transfer some of those assets to Ukraine, tightening sanctions and expanding prosecution powers.

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Oklahoma House approves anti-abortion bill, banning abortions after 6 weeks

On Thursday, the Oklahoma House passed a bill banning abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy, sending it to Governor Kevin Stitt for his signature to become law. The S.B. 1503 bill (detailed in full here) is modeled after Texas’ six-week abortion ban law.

The bill states in part that the law is to be “enforced exclusively through a private civil action” empowering “any person” to bring civil action against doctors who perform abortions in violation of this bill. It also allows any person to sue someone who “aids or abets the performance or inducement of an abortion” if it is performed in violation of the bill. That includes anyone who pays for an abortion or reimburses the costs of an abortion.

Stitt signed into law another anti-abortion bill April 12, making it a felony for medical providers to perform nearly all abortions in the state. Medical workers could go to prison for up to 10 years and be fined up to $100,000 for performing abortions unless they are done to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency.

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Lady Gaga announces new song from upcoming film ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ titled ‘Hold My Hand’

Lady Gaga has announced the new song from the upcoming Tom Cruise film Top Gun: Maverick titled ‘Hold My Hand.’ The song is written by Gaga and will be featured in the film, opening May 27. It will also be released on May 3 (you can pre-save the track – here).  Earlier this week, the singer teased lyrics from the song, writing, “Hold my hand everything will be ok I heard from the heavens that clouds have been grey.”  The following day she shared, “Pull me close wrap me in your aching arms I see that you’re hurtin’”

Tom Cruise returns as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in  Top Gun: Maverick.  According to a synopsis of the film, Maverick is ‘a courageous test pilot who dodges the advancement in rank that would ground him. He finds himself training a detachment of TOPGUN graduates for a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen, Maverick encounters Lt. Bradley Bradshaw (Miles Teller), call sign: “Rooster,” the son of Maverick’s late friend and Radar Intercept Officer Lt. Nick Bradshaw, aka “Goose.’

Gaga’s ballad comes after Cruise was first spotted at her Las Vegas show, Enigma in December 2019. “Hold My Hand” was written for the motion picture and is featured throughout the film.

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Bad Bunny to star in Spider-Man standalone film ‘El Muerto’

Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio — better known by his stage name Bad Bunny — has been cast as the newest Marvel hero, and will lead the Spider-Man standalone comic book film “El Muerto.” Ocasio will be the first Latino actor to headline a live-action Marvel film.

Sony Motion Picture Group president Sanford Panitch made the announcement at CinemaCon in Las Vegas.  Known as Juan-Carlos Estrada Sanchez in the comics, El Muerto is a wrestler whose powers are handed down by ancestry in the form of a mask (which, according to Marvel’s official site, gives him superhuman strength). In past comics, El Muerto has gotten in the ring with Spider-Man himself.  At CinemaCon, Sony suggested Ocasio will portray ‘an antihero on the verge of inheriting his father’s power.’

Bad Bunny is a noted professional wrestling fan who competed at WWE’s WrestleMania 37 in April and at the 2022 Royal Rumble in January. Bad Bunny told the crowd at CinemaCon about his love of wrestling, adding, “to bring El Muerto to life is just incredible…so exciting.”   Bad Bunny’s acting experience includes a previous role in ‘Narcos: Mexico’, and he will next be seen in Bullet Train, which comes to theaters on July 29.

“El Muerto” is set to hit theaters on Jan. 12, 2024.

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Miami judge vacates life sentence of man wrongfully convicted of murder in 1991

On Wednesday, a judge in Miami vacated the life sentence of Thomas “Jay” Raynard James, a 55-year-old Black man who prosecutors said was wrongfully convicted because of mistaken identity in 1991.  As he left a Miami courtroom with his attorneys and family members, James said: “I feel good. Real good.”

Still wearing his red prison uniform and shackles, James stood behind his mother, Doris Strong, earlier in the day as Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle detailed a 90-page motion her office filed asking for the conviction to be vacated. James, who was 23 when he was convicted, was expected to be released after paperwork was completed Wednesday.

Fernandez Rundle said that over the past year members of her office’s ‘Justice Project’ reviewed over 20,000 pages of documents, reinterviewed witnesses, resubmitted fingerprints and retested DNA samples. She said the case has gone through numerous appeals, post-conviction reviews, and reviews by a private investigator and the Innocence Project of Florida Inc. In a 90-page motion to vacate the conviction, prosecutors said “what appears to be a chance coincidence that the defendant, Thomas Raynard James, had the same name as a suspect named by witnesses and anonymous tipsters … led to the defendant’s photograph being included in a lineup, and set in motion a mistaken identity.”

At the trial, eyewitness Dorothy Walton told jurors that she was sure that James pulled the trigger. However beginning last fall, Walton said she had some concerns about her testimony.  She initially refused to meet with prosecutors, but earlier this month made contact and said she now believes she made a mistake in identifying James as the gunman.  Over the years there have been conflicting stories about detectives confusing James with another man who shared his name, but that man had been arrested and was in jail at the time of the shooting.

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3 dead in Mississippi hotel shooting; alleged gunman dead after 2-hour standoff

The alleged suspect in a shooting that killed three people at a hotel in Biloxi on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast was found dead in the nearby city of Gulfport hours later, after a standoff with police. Gulfport Police Department’s incoming chief Adam Cooper said that the man holed up at a Gulfport store after fleeing from a vehicle that had been carjacked.

Cooper said police fired teargas about 20 to 30 minutes after arriving at the scene and trying to negotiate with the man. After getting no response, police entered the store to find the man dead.  Police say the carjacking victim in Gulfport was injured but he did not know whether that driver was hit by gunfire that was reported at the scene.

Gulfport and Biloxi police were working to confirm whether the dead man is connected to the triple homicide Wednesday morning at the Biloxi Broadway Inn. Biloxi Police Department Capt. Milton Houseman confirmed that three people were killed but had no details on their identity.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/dead-mississippi-hotel-shooting-police-standoff-84349819

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Robert Pattinson and director Matt Reeves set to return for ‘The Batman’ sequel

The Batman is officially getting a sequel, with Robert Pattinson set to return as Gotham’s Caped Crusader and Matt Reeves serving as director.

Warner Bros. announced its plans for the sequel during its presentation at CinemaCon, the annual trade show that features the largest gathering of theater owners.  Warner Bros. chairman Toby Emmerich said:  “Matt took one of our most iconic and beloved superheroes and delivered a fresh vision that clearly resonated with audiences and with your incredible support, shattered box office records around the world. Which is one of the reasons I’m excited to break the news that Matt, Rob Pattinson and the whole team will be taking audiences back to Gotham with The Batman 2.”  Emmerich also confirmed that the entire cast of The Batman is expected to return for the sequel, which includes Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman), Paul Dano (Riddler), Colin Farrell as Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot (aka Penguin) and Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne’s butler and confidant.  Reeves was also on hand at CinemaCon to reveal the news that he will write and direct the film, but he didn’t provide any details about the sequel. No release date was announced for the film.

The Batman debuted in theaters in March earning $134 million domestically over its first weekend, ranking as the biggest opening weekend of the year. To date the film has grossed more than $759 million globally, making it the highest-grossing movie of 2022 thus far.

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Pete Davidson’s semi-autobiographical comedy series ‘Bupkis’ coming to Peacock

Pete Davidson’s semi-autobiographical comedy series ‘Bupkis’ has landed at Peacock. The streaming service said in a press release that it has given a straight-to-series order to the half-hour live-action comedy series, described as a “heightened, fictionalized version of Pete Davidson’s real life.” 

Bupkis stars Davidson, who will executive produce the series along with Lorne Michaels, Andrew Singer and Erin David. Davidson also co-wrote the series, along with Dave Sirus and Judah Miller.

Peacock says the series “will combine grounded storytelling with absurd elements from the unfiltered and completely original worldview for which Pete is well known.”  NBCUniversal television and streaming chairman of entertainment content Susan Rovner said: “Pete Davidson is one of the most sought-after comedians today with his smart, one-of-a-kind humor and honest point of view. Bupkis will showcase Pete’s funny, surprising and unfiltered brand of comedy audiences have come to love as we continue to bolster our Peacock comedy slate.” 

Davidson joined the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live in 2014,  becoming the show’s youngest-ever cast member at 20-years-old.  Bupkis will mark Davidson’s first starring TV role, and he also will appear in the upcoming films Bodies Bodies Bodies, Good Mourning with a U and Meet Cute.

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Vice President Kamala Harris tests positive for COVID-19

The White House announced on Tuesday that Vice President Kamala Harris has tested positive for COVID-19. CNN reported that the vice president’s positive test results rerouted her plans to attend an intelligence briefing Tuesday at the White House, where she was initially tested.

According to the vice president’s press secretary Kirsten Allen, Harris is fully vaccinated with Moderna and has also received two booster shots — her first booster was administered in October, and her second booster in early April.  Harris is not symptomatic after receiving results from rapid and PCR tests, said Allen, adding: “She has not been a close contact to the president or first lady due to their respective recent travel schedules.”   Harris’s last in-person contact with President Joe Biden was during April 18’s Easter Egg Roll, according to an official, after which she left for California.

Harris will continue to work from home at the Naval Observatory, and plans to return to the White House upon testing negative.

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Dow falls over 800 points, Nasdaq plunges 4% as tech and consumer stocks sell off

On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.4% – over 800 points — while the S&P 500 lost 2.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite 4%. The market’s losses adds to what has already been a big sell-off so far in April: The Dow is down over 4%, the S&P 500 roughly 8% and the Nasdaq nearly 13%.  Following Tuesday’s losses, the Dow is down 4.2% for the month of April, while the S&P 500 has dropped 7.8% and the Nasdaq has plummeted 12.2% for the period.

Microsoft and Google parent, Alphabet, were both down during regular trading, declining 3.74% and 3.59% respectively as both reported earnings after the bell.  However Alphabet reported near misses on revenue, which grew 23% to $68.01 billion in the first quarter, down from 34% in 2021. The company’s stock fell nearly 6% after the bell.

U.S. markets followed major indexes in Europe and Asia amid concerns that COVID-19 outbreaks and corresponding lockdowns in China could harm the global supply chain. And shares of Tesla fell 12.18% as the company has a factory in Shanghai and faced continued pressure from CEO Elon Musk’s decision to purchase Twitter for $44 billion.

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