Entertainment
In minutes, Mexico’s rains swept away homes and people
HUAUCHINANGO: Standing near the lifeless body of her sister, Rosalia Ortega was grateful to have found her in the river of mud that suddenly swept away her house as torrential rains pounded her Mexican mountain town.
At least 47 people have died since Thursday as floods have wreaked a trail of destruction in the hardest-hit states of Hidalgo, Puebla, Queretaro and Veracruz.
“We’re sad, but at least we’re going to give her a Christian burial,” Ortega, 76, told AFP in the town of Huauchinango, in Puebla, a state east of Mexico City that according to official reports saw nine deaths and substantial damage.
The disaster zone is the Sierra Madre Oriental, a mountain range that runs parallel to Mexico’s east coast and is dotted with villages where telecommunications and other services have yet to be restored.
On Thursday, well after dark, a rain-swollen mountain river overflowed its banks in Huauchinango and within minutes robbed local residents of their homes and, in some cases, their loved ones.
That’s what happened to Maria Salas, a 49-year-old cook sheltering from the rain with an umbrella, watching two soldiers guarding the entrance to her neighbourhood.
Salas lost five relatives when their house collapsed, and her own home was destroyed by a landslide.
“I can’t get my belongings, I can’t sleep there,” she said. “I have nothing.”
The grieving families are struggling to pay for funerals and, if anything is left over, to recover something from lost or damaged homes.
Huauchinango, with 100,000 residents, is one of the largest communities in the disaster zone and one of a very few that could be accessed Saturday.
Rivers of mud
The floodwaters swept away everything in their path, forming heavy rivers of mud that even rendered intact homes unusable.

“It was knee-deep,” says Petra Rodriguez, a 40-year-old domestic worker whose house was surrounded by water on both sides.
She, her husband and two sons managed to escape, holding hands so that if the water took one of them, “it would take us all,” she said.
In another part of town, teacher Karina Galicia, 49, showed AFP her mud-damaged, musty house. She and her family were able to run out; had they not, “we would have been buried,” she said.
In less damaged houses, neighbours worked to remove water with plastic bottles, brooms and shovels.
Adriana Vazquez, 48, climbed a rough path strewn with stones and mud to see if anything was left of a relative’s house.
What she found was a jumble of wood and tin houses levelled by a landslide. Soldiers were using a backhoe to remove a pile of debris from the street.
Her relative “answered the telephone,” Vasquez said, but she could hardly hear anything and hoped that was due to a poor connection.
About 100 small communities are uncontactable due to road closures and power outages that have complicated telephone services and travel.
Mexico has been hit by particularly heavy rains throughout 2025, with a rainfall record set in the capital, Mexico City.
Meteorologist Isidro Cano told AFP that the intense rainfall since Thursday was caused by a seasonal shift and cloud formation as warm, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico rises to the mountaintops.
Entertainment
Hugh Jackman pokes Ryan Reynolds at 2025 Gotham Awards
Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson made history at the 2025 Gotham Awards, and Jackman couldn’t resist taking a friendly swipe at his longtime pal Ryan Reynolds in the process.
The pair received the first-ever Gotham Musical Tribute on Monday, December 1, for their work in the upcoming musical film Song Sung Blue.
The ceremony took place at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City, where the duo walked onstage to Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline. Hudson even belted out the iconic “So good!” as she kicked off her speech.
Hudson reflected on working alongside Jackman and director Craig Brewer, saying that performing with the two was “one of the great joys of my career.”
She also shared how deeply music has shaped her life, noting, “I don’t know where I’d be without it.”
Jackman accepted his portion of the honour with a playful nod to Reynolds, joking that the award was “something to make Ryan Reynolds insanely jealous.”
The two actors have famously kept a lighthearted rivalry going for years, and Jackman didn’t miss the moment to add one more jab.
He went on to highlight what makes Song Sung Blue meaningful for him, praising its message of “real people, real lives, real struggles, real love.”
He also made a bold prediction about his costar’s performance, saying Hudson is “not only one of the great stars of our business, she is a consummate actor,” and even predicted she’ll “win the Oscar” for the role.
Song Sung Blue is written and directed by Brewer and arrives in theaters on Christmas Day.
The film also features Michael Imperioli, Ella Anderson, King Princess, Mustafa Shakir, Hudson Hensley, Fisher Stevens and Jim Belushi.
Gotham Film & Media Institute executive director Jeffrey Sharp previously praised the two leads, saying their performances in the film are “at once powerful, intimate, and deeply human.”
Entertainment
‘Stranger Things’ Jamie Campbell Bower on Vecna transformation: ‘Hideous’
Vecna, there’s a lot of talk about the character’s makeover in the new season of Stranger Things, and it didn’t take long for fans to notice that something has changed.
Jamie Campbell Bower has returned as the terrifying villain in the first volume of season five, and viewers were quick to point out his sharpened look, especially that slim waist.
One fan on X asked why Vecna appeared so different this time around, pointing out the “branches on his shoulder” and “slimmer waist.”
Jamie didn’t miss the chance to keep things light, replying with one word: “Zumba.”
After being nearly burned alive by Nancy Wheeler at the end of season four, the villain formerly known as Henry Creel is back in Hawkins with longer vines across his shoulders and head, and visible marks from the injuries he sustained.
While still large and imposing, his new appearance is much leaner than before.
For Jamie, the changes are tied to Vecna’s journey and what he has endured.
Speaking about the transformation in an interview with Screen Rant, he said, “Well, as we saw at the end of season four, Vecna suffered a fall and obviously was sort of almost burned alive. My understanding of it is that the reason he looks the way he does now is a byproduct of partly of that process. And also, just having spent more time, not in the human world as it were.”
Jamie continued, “He’s become more resentful and hideous within that process and part of the world in which he was thrown into.”
He also explained that stepping into this evolved version of the character took even more work behind the scenes.
“I speak about this often,” he said, adding that extra pieces were added to the suit to bring his presence to life. The makeup alone took around eight hours to complete.
Jamie teased Vecna’s return before the season dropped as well.
Back in October, he posted a clip of the character walking through the Upside Down with the caption, “At long last, we can begin. @strangerthingstv Hi x.”
With Stranger Things Vol. 1 now streaming, fans won’t have to wait long for the rest. Vol. 2 lands on Dec. 25, and the finale arrives Dec. 31.
Vecna is officially back, and more frightening than ever.
Entertainment
John Travolta gives ‘Greased Lightnin” a Santa-inspired revival
John Travolta is giving fans a nostalgic holiday surprise by channeling his iconic Grease character Danny Zuko, this time dressed as Santa Claus.
The actor, 71, stars in a new Capital One commercial where he appears in a workshop-style garage, decked out as Santa and eyeing a high-tech sleigh.
While checking out the vehicle, Travolta goes into character and jokes, “Ho, ho, ho, ho. Why, this sleigh could be frost-o-matic, tinsel-matic, 1.5% cash back-o-matic.”
He follows it up with an unmistakable throwback line, “It’s Greased Lightnin’,” while paying with a Capital One card.
Travolta then jumps into a playful reenactment of the famous Greased Lightnin’ performance, complete with dance moves and support from Santa’s elves, plus a reindeer in sunglasses.
He ends the commercial with the tagline, “Ho, ho, ho — what’s in your wallet?” before the sleigh takes off into the sky.
This isn’t the first time Travota has nodded to his most memorable roles in Capital One ads.
Last year, he partnered with Samuel L. Jackson for a spot filled with Pulp Fiction references.
The 2024 holiday ad also brought back his Santa persona, where he shops online for gifts like hot chocolate, marshmallows and “3,000 bolo ties,” a fun reference to his role as Vincent Vega.
The ad wraps up with Travolta’s Santa recreating the iconic Pulp Fiction dance scene, set to Chuck Berry’s Run Run Rudolph.
Travolta has shown his love for Grease before too, including a surprise appearance at a Hollywood Bowl sing-along event for the classic movie.
With his latest ad, he brings back the spirit of Greased Lightnin’ in a festive way, mixing Hollywood nostalgia, holiday cheer and a little bit of classic Travolta charm.
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