Entertainment
Jimmy Kimmel skewers Trump, tells British viewers that “tyranny is booming” in the U.S.
Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel took aim at President Trump as he warned Thursday about the rise of fascism in an address to U.K. viewers dubbed “The Alternative Christmas Message.”
The message, aired on Channel 4 on Christmas Day, reflected on the impact of the second term in office for Mr. Trump, who Kimmel said acts like he’s a king.
“From a fascism perspective, this has been a really great year,” he said. “Tyranny is booming over here.”
The channel began a tradition of airing an alternative Christmas message in 1993, as a counterpart to the British monarch’s annual televised address to the nation. Channel 4 said the message is often a thought-provoking and personal reflection pertinent to the events of the year.
The comedian has skewered Mr. Trump since returning to the air after ABC suspended “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in September following criticism of comments the host made over the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Kimmel made remarks in reference to the reaction to Kirk’s shooting, suggesting that many Trump supporters were trying to capitalize on the death.
Mr. Trump celebrated the suspension of the veteran late-night comic and his frequent critic, calling it “great news for America.” He also called for other late-night hosts to be fired.
The incident, one of Mr. Trump’s many disputes and legal battles waged with the media, drew widespread concerns about freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
Hundreds of leading Hollywood stars and others in the entertainment industry urged Americans to “fight to defend and preserve our constitutionally protected rights.” The show returned to the air less than a week later.
Kimmel told the U.K. audience that a Christmas miracle had happened in September when millions of people — some who hated his show — had spoken up for free speech.
“We won, the president lost, and now I’m back on the air every night giving the most powerful politician on earth a right and richly deserved bollocking,” he said.
Channel 4 previously invited whistle-blower Edward Snowden and former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to deliver the alternative Christmas message.
Kimmel, who said he didn’t expect Brits to know who he was, warned that silencing critics is not just something that happens in Russia or North Korea.
Despite the split that led to the American Revolution 250 years ago, he said the two nations still shared a special relationship and urged the U.K. not to give up on the U.S. as it was “going through a bit of a wobble right now.”
“Here in the United States right now, we are both figuratively and literally tearing down the structures of our democracy from the free press to science to medicine to judicial independence to the actual White House itself,” Kimmel said, in reference to the demolition of the building’s East Wing. “We are a right mess, and we know this is also affecting you, and I just wanted to say sorry.”
Entertainment
Taylor Swift plans to reunite with Sabrina Carpenter, Sombr at Coachella
Taylor Swift has never performed at the Coachella stage but she is reportedly returning as an attendee this year at the event to watch her friends perform.
The 36-year-old pop superstar last attended the festival in 2024 with her now-fiancé Travis Kelce and the two seemed to be having the best time as they danced and sang along together.
This year, the Opalite hitmaker is expected to attend her pals Sabrina Carpenter and Sombr’s Coachella sets both of whom have highly-anticipated performances planned for the festival.
Carpenter is one of the headliners for this year – alongside Justin Bieber and Karol G, and will be performing on April 10, 11, and 12.
While Sombr is listed as a performer on April 12 and April 19.
Excited fans quickly flocked to the comments and collectively hoped, “SABRINA NEEEDSSSSS TO BRING OUT TAYLOR OMG,” for their collaboration The Life of a Showgirl title track.
Some also chanted, “I need Sabrina to arrest Taylor,” referring to her Juno arrest tradition.
Despite the rumours, Swift’s attendance is not confirmed as of yet.
Entertainment
Jack Black celebrates major moment with his ‘Saturday Night Live’ return
Jack Black has added another feather to his cap with his latest Saturday Night Live appearance.
Hitting a new milestone, the Kung Fu Panda star joined the show’s Five-Timers Club, an honour reserved for hosts who have appeared five times.
The newly minted five-timer was inducted into the aristocratic SNL club by a cavalcade of elites, with cameos from Jonah Hill, Tina Fey, Candice Bergen and Melissa McCarthy.
Moreover, the Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle actor’s monologue turned into a surprise musical performance of Seven Nation Army as he teamed up with Jack White.
After Black’s successful induction, White entered the scene for a reworked rendition of the signature 2003 single by The White Stripes, featuring altered lyrics referencing the Five-Timers Club and the night’s episode, while maintaining the song’s iconic guitar riff.
The latest episode comes after the NBC comedy sketch series released a promo on Wednesday, April 1, with the 56-year-old actor and comedian filming a “Get Ready With Me” vertical video before hosting SNL.
“The musical guest is my brother from another color, Jack White,” the similarly named Grammy winner quips before breaking out into an air guitar solo. “And because I’m hosting the show for the one, two, three, four — count ’em — fifth time!”
Entertainment
Artemis astronauts to study the Moon’s surface using mainly their eyes
More than 50 years after humans first flew around the Moon, Artemis astronauts will repeat the feat on Monday and use the most basic instrument to study it: their eyes.
Despite the technological advancements since the Apollo missions, Nasa still relies on the eyesight of its astronauts to learn more about the Moon.
“The human eye is basically the best camera that could ever or will ever exist,” Kelsey Young, the lead scientist for the Artemis 2 mission, told AFP.
“The number of receptors in the human eye far outweighs what a camera is able to do.”
Although modern cameras may be superior to human eyesight in some respects, “the human eye is really good at color, and it’s really good at context, and it’s also really good at photometric observations,” Young said.
Humans can understand how lighting changes surface details, like how angled lighting reveals texture but reduces visible color.
In just the blink of an eye, humans can detect a subtle color shift and understand how lighting changes the contours of a landscape like the Moon’s surface, details which are scientifically useful but difficult to ascertain from photos or videos.
Artemis 2 astronaut Victor Glover, who pilots the Orion spacecraft, said before liftoff this week that eyes were a “magical instrument.”
Field scientists
To ensure they made the most of their proximity to the Moon, the four Artemis 2 crew members underwent more than two years of training.
Young said the goal was to turn the astronauts into “field scientists” via a combination of classroom lessons, geological expeditions to Iceland and Canada, and multiple simulated flybys of the Moon, just like the mission they are on.
The three American astronauts — commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Glover, and mission specialist Christina Koch — along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, all had to memorise the Moon’s “Big 15,” or the 15 features of the Moon that will allow them to orient themselves.
Using an inflatable Moon globe, they practiced seeing how the angle of the sun changed the colors and textures of the lunar surface, honing their observation and note-taking skills for the big moment.
“I can tell you, they are excited and they are ready,” Young said with a smile.
‘About the size of a basketball’
The Artemis astronauts’ mission is to study certain lunar sites and phenomena as part of 10 objectives chosen by Nasa and ranked in priority order based on scientific interest.
During the Moon flyby, which will last for several hours, the crew will have to observe the celestial body with their naked eyes, along with cameras they have on board.
Noah Petro, head of Nasa’s planetary geology lab, told AFP that the Moon will look to the astronauts “about the size of a basketball held at arm’s length.”
“The question I’m most interested in is, are they going to be able to see color on the lunar surface,” Petro said.
“I don’t mean rainbow colors, but you know, dark browns or tan colors because that tells us something about the composition, and that tells us something about the history of the Moon.”
David Kring of the Lunar and Planetary Institute told AFP he is not expecting any earth-shattering discoveries because of the multiple lunar probes and high-resolution images of the Moon taken since the Apollo missions.
Nevertheless, “having astronauts describing what they’re seeing… That is an occurrence that at least two generations of people on Earth have never heard before,” he said.
The Artemis 2 flyby will be broadcast live by Nasa, save for a period for when the spacecraft is behind the moon.
“Just listening to their practice descriptions in the mission simulations… It brings chills up my arms,” Young said.
“I am absolutely confident that these four people are going to deliver some incredible descriptions.”
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