controversy

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Maine Governor Responds to Trump's Apology Demand

Janet Mills pushes back again on president's attack against transgender athletes

(Newser) - Last month, President Trump and Maine Gov. Janet Mills got into a verbal argument during a National Governors Association meeting at the White House, after Trump attacked Mills for allowing transgender athletes to play on girls' and women's teams in her state and Mills pushed back, telling him, "...

Lutnick: Only a 'Fraudster' Would Gripe Over Missing SS Payments

Billionaire Commerce chief scoffs at idea of seniors upset by skipped Social Security payment

(Newser) - A Trump Cabinet member has caused a ruckus with his remarks about Social Security, using one of his own family members in his narrative. As the GOP tries to assuage Americans' fears that benefits paid out by the Social Security Administration are on the chopping block, Commerce Secretary Howard Ludnick...

Is Disney's Snow White Remake a Poisoned Apple?
It's Been No Fairy Tale
for This Snow White Reboot
the rundown

It's Been No Fairy Tale for This Snow White Reboot

Stellar opening weekend seems unlikely for Disney flick amid various controversies

(Newser) - Disney's new Snow White movie , out March 21, is a live-action adaptation of the 1937 animated classic, but its dwarfs aren't, er, live. The use of computer-generated dwarfs is just one element that has drawn controversy around the remake, which had a "pared-down" European premiere Wednesday at...

High School Runner Faces Battery Charge After Race

Alaila Everett says she didn't intentionally strike a rival with her baton

(Newser) - A high school relay runner in Virginia has been charged with misdemeanor assault and battery after viral video emerged of her striking a rival with a baton during a race, reports NBC News . Lynchburg Commonwealth Attorney Bethany Harrison says the charges were filed this week. The teen, however, says the...

Vance's Ukraine Remark Infuriates Brits

VP denies mocking UK, France about peacekeeping efforts in Ukraine

(Newser) - JD Vance has found himself the subject of criticism more than once over the past few weeks, and he's making new headlines the morning after President Trump's record-setting speech before Congress for being caught on a hot mic noting just how long his boss' speech was. The vice...

Supreme Court Throws Out a High-Profile Death Sentence

Oklahoma inmate Richard Glossip had been served a last meal 3 times

(Newser) - The Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out the murder conviction and death penalty for Richard Glossip, an Oklahoma man who has steadfastly maintained his innocence and averted multiple attempts by the state to execute him. The justices found that Glossip's trial violated his constitutional rights, reports the AP . The...

Gascon to Attend Oscars: 'I'm Grateful to Be Back'

Variety reports that Netflix has agreed to pay for Emilia Perez star's showing amid controversy

(Newser) - The distance between Netflix and Karla Sofia Gascon just got a bit smaller. Variety reports that best actress nominee Gascon, 52, will indeed attend the Academy Awards on Sunday at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre—and that the streaming service has agreed to pick up the tab, despite the "nightmare"...

Bannon: It Was a 'Wave,' Not a Nazi Salute

But a French far-right leader cancels CPAC speech, says gesture alludes to 'Nazi ideology'

(Newser) - About a month after Elon Musk was accused of making a Nazi salute during a speech, Steve Bannon has been accused of doing the same. The details:
  • The moment: Bannon made the gesture near the end of a speech on Thursday to the Conservative Political Action Conference, reports the Guardian
...

Netflix Takes Flak Over Use of AI for Gabby Petito's Voice

Parents gave OK for American Murder filmmakers to use AI, but Petito's mom now calls it 'weird'

(Newser) - If you've watched American Murder: Gabby Petito , the new Netflix docuseries about the 22-year-old murdered in 2021 by fiance Brian Laundrie that debuted on Monday, you may have thought Petito's voice sounded a little ... different. Vulture now confirms: "Yes, that was an AI re-creation of Gabby Petito'...

After Deepfake Goes Viral, Johansson Has a Warning

Actor pushes back after AI likeness of her, other stars used in video about Ye's antisemitic attack

(Newser) - The latest Kanye West controversy is spinning off into other controversies. Scarlett Johansson is now leading the charge against a viral video that shows her and a slew of other celebrities seemingly confronting Ye's most recent foray into antisemitism, which included a meltdown on X and hawking a swastika...

Pharma Group Wants to Block 'Dangerous' Super Bowl Ad

Lobbyists say Hims & Hers promo for weight-loss medication 'misleading,' 'deeply troubling'

(Newser) - Even folks who aren't into football tune into the Super Bowl for its ads, but this year there's some "big drama" around one that's set to air on Sunday, reports Quartz . A pharmaceuticals industry group is slamming a "dangerous" advertisement from Hims & Hers, asking...

Gascon Faces Oscars 'Nightmare' in Wake of Tweets
Gascon Faces
Oscars 'Nightmare'
in Wake of
Tweets
THE RUNDOWN

Gascon Faces Oscars 'Nightmare' in Wake of Tweets

Netflix is distancing itself from trans Emilia Perez actress after eyebrow-raising posts

(Newser) - The controversy surrounding the past tweets of Karla Sofia Gascon—the first transgender individual nominated for an acting Oscar, for her starring role in Emilia Perez—isn't going away. And it's apparently affecting the Oscar campaign that Netflix, the movie's distributor in the US and UK, is...

Emilia Perez's Gascon: I've Been 'Crucified' Over Tweets

Oscar-nominated trans actor says she's not bowing out of awards race over past social media posts

(Newser) - The most nominated film heading into the upcoming Academy Awards is at the center of a controversy , spurred by its lead, Karla Sofia Gascon—but Gascon, the first openly transgender actor up for a golden statue in an acting category, isn't taking herself out of the race. In a...

Chick-fil-A Patrons Aren't Thrilled With Menu Change
Chick-fil-A Patrons Aren't
Thrilled With Menu Change
in case you missed it

Chick-fil-A Patrons Aren't Thrilled With Menu Change

New waffle fries recipe uses pea starch, which has customers griping about allergies, taste

(Newser) - Chick-fil-A recently copped to making a "slight adjustment" in the recipe for its Waffle Potato Fries to help them stay crispy longer—but it looks like many customers would rather have slightly soggier fries made the old way. Even though the fast-food chicken chain says that the update doesn'...

Millie Bobby Brown 'Not Sorry' After Instagram Selfie
Millie Bobby Brown 'Not Sorry'
After Instagram Selfie
in case you missed it

Millie Bobby Brown 'Not Sorry' After Instagram Selfie

Stranger Things star, 20, defends her glam poses on Instagram

(Newser) - Millie Bobby Brown has been relatively quiet since getting married earlier this year, but the actor is back in headlines after posting some selfies. Per USA Today , the 20-year-old Stranger Things star threw up a handful of photos Monday on Instagram , showing her in one photo all dolled up in...

California DMV Taking Some Heat Over a License Plate

'LOLOCT7' is seen as perceived mockery of Hamas attack; owner's family says it's unrelated

(Newser) - The California Department of Motor Vehicles has apologized for an "unacceptable and disturbing" personalized truck license plate that the agency said displayed hate speech related to the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. But as the AP reports, a relative of the vehicle's owner said the whole controversy was...

So Long, Bud Light. Hello, Michelob Ultra

Latter offering from Anheuser-Busch InBev overtakes the former as America's No. 1 draft beer

(Newser) - It's good news and bad news for Anheuser-Busch InBev. The good news: One of the beverage conglomerate's offerings, Michelob Ultra, is now the most popular draft beer at American bars, per Draftline Technologies. The bad news: It had to displace Bud Light, another AB InBev brand, to win...

Mystics Owner: Clark Shouldn't Be 'Athlete of the Year'

The owner of a competing WNBA team believes all the league's players deserve recognition

(Newser) - Both Time and Caitlin Clark are playing defense after the magazine named the WNBA superstar its " Athlete of the Year " earlier this week. Sheila Johnson, owner of the WNBA's Washington Mystics, criticized the magazine for bestowing the honor on the Indiana Fever's 22-year-old phenom, CNN reports.

Woman's Post on PhD Thesis Sets Off Online Trolls

Cambridge slams 'harassment and misogyny' against Ally Louks over report on smells in literature

(Newser) - It seemed at first glance to be a typical online celebration for a major life achievement. "Thrilled to say I passed my viva with no corrections and am officially PhDone," Cambridge University scholar Ally Louks wrote last week on X to announce she'd finished her thesis to...

Major Insurer Nixes Anesthesia Cap After Backlash

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield had placed time limit on anesthesia coverage during surgery

(Newser) - A major health insurer has nixed a planned policy shift regarding a cap it placed on anesthesia coverage after intense public backlash against the plan. NPR reports on the 180 by Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, which had initially announced it would no longer pay for coverage for anesthesia use...

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