Godzilla vs. Kong filmmaker Adam Wingard certainly wasn’t afraid to dream a little bigger. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire‚ the latest cinematic entry in the MonsterVerse‚ picks up on a thread from 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong: the matter of the Hollow Earth. “For most of human civilization‚” Rebecca Hall’s character asks as the trailer begins‚ “we believed that life could only exist on the surface of our planet. What else were we wrong about?” There’s a definite Jurassic Park vibe here‚ with all the rich green landscapes and flocks? herds? of animals roaming about. And‚ of course‚ there’s an even bigger ape—who Kong certainly can’t tackle alone. Here‚ sort of‚ is a summary: The epic battle continues! Legendary Pictures’ cinematic Monsterverse follows up the explosive showdown of Godzilla vs. Kong with an all-new adventure that pits the almighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world‚ challenging their very existence—and our own. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire delves further into the histories of these Titans and their origins‚ as well as the mysteries of Skull Island and beyond‚ while uncovering the mythic battle that helped forge these extraordinary beings and tied them to humankind forever. Adam Wingard directs this clash of the titans; the screenplay is by Terry Rossio‚ Simon Barrett‚ and Jeremy Slater. Along with Hall‚ the film stars Brian Tyree Henry‚ Kaylee Hottle‚ and Dan Stevens‚ who looks unexpectedly at home among all the monster chaos. This Godzilla film is‚ of course‚ no relation to Godzilla Minus One‚ but it is related to Apple TV’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters‚ as well as the animated series Skull Island and the previous four MonsterVerse Godzilla films (Godzilla‚ Kong: Skull Island‚ Godzilla: King of the Monsters‚ and Godzilla vs. Kong). But if you can’t keep all the ’Zillas straight‚ you’ll probably be okay. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is in theaters April 12‚ 2024.

I think this has been the greatest movie year of my lifetime. I still have a long list of films I want to see before New Year’s Day‚ but so far the pattern has been: go to a movie‚ be astonished by it‚ worry that people are going to think I’m a shill because all my reviews are positive. (I promise you‚ if I think a film is crap I’ll tell you to save your precious money and far more precious time.) But now here we are‚ today‚ with me saying that Godzilla Minus One is one of the best movies of the year. YES‚ this year‚ with all those other extraordinary movies in it. I’ll admit that I never expected to cry during a Godzilla movie. (A Mothra movie‚ sure—I love Mothra‚ and some bastard’s always trying to hurt her.) But I also never expected to see a Godzilla movie where a shellshocked protagonist wails that maybe he isn’t even alive—maybe he died in the war‚ and the life he’s lived since is the last dream of a man rotting in the dirt. A Godzilla movie where honest engagement with PTSD is balanced perfectly with some of the most terrifying kaiju attacks I’ve ever seen. This movie is so good I can’t believe it. [Mild spoilers ahead.] Godzilla Minus One takes Godzilla seriously. Godzilla is myth‚ metaphor‚ eldritch horror‚ divine judgement‚ and bureaucratic tragedy. He can be climate collapse‚ or the Bomb‚ or Terrorism‚ or War Itself‚ or Death Itself—but he’s also‚ always‚ an unknowable living being who wants to crush the life out of everything in his path. Godzilla Minus One begins in what people would poetically call “the waning days of World War II”. Which means that Japan is barely standing‚ the country is ravaged by bombings and fires‚ the government still won’t admit that the tide has turned‚ and every adult watching the movie presumably knows what’s coming to end everything. The movie doesn’t show us that‚ instead allowing Godzilla to stand in for the horror of nuclear holocaust. Writer and director Takashi Yamazaki drops us straight into the film’s action. It’s 1945‚ and Kōichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki) is meant to be on a kamikaze mission. He deserts his mission‚ but soon it doesn’t matter‚ because the base he lands at‚ claiming a plane malfunction‚ is attacked by a creature the locals call Godzilla. Even in this initial encounter‚ Godzilla is impossibly huge and mind-breaking—any sense of reality you have shatters when you see him. Having shown us the monster‚ the film takes an unexpected turn and becomes a post-war domestic drama. Having failed to die like he was supposed to‚ Kōichi has to figure out how to live. He returns to a home that was destroyed in the Bombing of Tokyo. His parents both died‚ there’s no money or food‚ and his neighbor Sumiko (Sakura Ando) is disgusted by his dereliction of duty. Then he meets Noriko (Minami Hamabe). Her parents also died‚ but as she was fleeing the fire that killed them‚ a dying woman handed her an infant. Now this woman‚ barely clear of childhood herself and grieving her own family‚ has to keep both of them fed. She and Kōichi  orm a makeshift alliance. They scrounge for food and look after the baby‚ Akiko‚ together‚ never daring to think of themselves as a real family‚ but acting like one all the same. They begin to try to live. And then Godzilla returns. You know that scene that comes in every Godzilla movie‚ where the poor beleaguered extras flee screaming from a guy in a rubber suit? And everyone has to kind of buy into it‚ like an old episode of Doctor Who? Here that scene is turned on its head. It begins with a character we’ve come to know commuting to work by train. She hears an ominous rumbling‚ she looks out‚ and there’s Godzilla. And she says‚ “Is that… Godzilla?” Image: Toho Studios And on its surface‚ this is hilarious. YES it’s Godzilla‚ we think. Who the hell else could it be??? But see‚ she doesn’t know. She only heard about Godzilla a few days ago‚ as a folktale told by people on a small island off the coast that she’s never even visited‚ who turned out to be real. Even while she believed the person who told her‚ she couldn’t really believe it believe it. Because Godzilla’s absurd. As absurd as the idea that humans have created a weapon that can destroy all life on earth. As absurd as letting bombs rain down on the innocent. As absurd as the idea that we’ve ignored clear signs of our collapsing climate long past the point where it will mean the death of our species. As absurd as the fact that all of us die‚ even me. And now here he is‚ this impossible monster‚ and we’re watching a character we’ve come to care about‚ whose life and history and dreams we know‚ commuting to her job and realizing that today might be the day she dies. That scene we’ve seen in every Godzilla movie isn’t funny this time. The film also gives us the usual scene where a scientist makes an absurd plan to defeat the monster—but he’s delivering his plan to a room full of exhausted army veterans‚ every one of them suffering from PTSD‚ everyone knowing that‚ having just come home to a bombed-out‚ defeated city‚ having just begun to pick their lives up and reunite with their families‚ they have to go back onto a navy cruiser and fight an impossible enemy. There are moments when people help each other up‚ and others when crowds trample the overwhelmed. There are scenes when people drop to the ground and start screaming‚ the way you would if an impossibly huge monster showed up in your town. Image: Toho Studios The acting is excellent across the board (like I said‚ you have to commit if this premise is going to work‚ and everyone in this film is all in.) The CGI and effects would be great in any year—but especially after watching multiple lackluster Marvel movies that were made for many times Godzilla’s budget‚ seeing an action movie that builds tension through blocking and choreography‚ with CGI that looks absolutely tactile‚ was a welcome relief. When Godzilla stomps through town‚ you feel the ground shake. When he roars‚ you want to cover your ears. Director Yamazaki got his start in visual effects‚ and was the VFX supervisor here‚ and you can see the care that’s been taken with bringing Godzilla to life. About the kaiju in the room: as much as Godzilla can be a metaphor for many things‚ here he is also a monster. He was attacking humans even before he was irradiated. He’s not an ally to humanity‚ he’s not here to save people from Hedorah or Mechagodzilla. He’s a relentless beast who can’t be reasoned with‚ and seemingly can’t be killed. Over the course of two hours and five minutes (that felt like half that) Godzilla Minus One nods to its own franchise‚ the work of Yasujirō Ozu‚ Grave of the Fireflies‚ Dunkirk‚ Mononoke Hime‚ and‚ in what I think was my favorite sequence‚ Jaws. Image: Toho Studios This is what I love. When people come into a series like this and take it seriously. When they look at how Godzilla started‚ and why it started‚ and think seriously about how to update that story. It becomes a story of nuclear proliferation‚ about the trauma of a nation in tatters‚ about governments that use their citizens as cannon- and kamikaze fodder. A generation that sells its children. And‚ look‚ I’ve been dancing around the thing I really want to say because I’m worried it will sound flippant‚ or even offensive‚ but here goes: what I kept thinking about was Oppenheimer. I’ve seen Oppenheimer three times‚ on three different screens. I’ll probably see it again‚ and I’d also like to see Godzilla Minus One on the big screen again. It’s easy to say “this film is about survivor’s guilt”‚ “this movie is about PTSD”‚ “this movie is about the horror of war”. Both of these films force their viewers to experience that horror in the context of a genre movie‚ a blockbuster—one a Kaiju Movie‚ and one a Great Man Biopic. And in both cases‚ they subvert their genres. Oppenheimer asks what happens when a movie uses all the its genre cues to tell us we’re watching a Great Man‚ right up until the moment that man does one of the worst things anyone has ever done. Godzilla Minus One uses the tropes of a kaiju movie‚ already rooted in a discussion of nuclear war‚ and twists it to explore survivor’s guilt—and then to take it a step further to look at what happens when the survivors face death again. Along the way‚ both films use their genre to help their audience understand a fact that is too large for the human mind to hold: by inventing the atomic bomb‚ and allowing nuclear war to be a possibility‚ we might have doomed ourselves. We’ve probably doomed ourselves. For the rest of humanity’s existence‚ it will have to contend with what happened at the end of World War II. It will have to do that because politicians and bureaucrats made some disastrous decisions‚ and left the rest of us to live with them. One of the reasons this movie made me cry—a thing that does not usually happen—is that‚ in contrast to Oppenheimer‚ it chooses hope in the face of despair. Maybe that makes it a lesser film in a way‚ but I would like to think not. I would like to think that watching people pull together to choose life in the face of death can also make for a genre-defining masterpiece.

Israeli citizens and foreigners remain hostages to Hamas and other radical Islamic terrorist organizations in Gaza. It is believed that there are just over 120 hostages still in Gaza. Eleven of the hostages are foreigners and the rest are Israeli‚ according to Israeli officials. Those waiting to be freed range in age from 10-month-old baby Kfir Bibas‚ who Hamas claims is dead but has produced no evidence to confirm‚ to men in their 80s. Since Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on Oct. 7 killing 1‚200 Israelis and taking 240 hostage‚ more than 100 hostages have been released‚ mainly women and children. Hamas and Israel agreed to a temporary cease-fire‚ brokered by Qatar‚ the U.S.‚ and Egypt‚ that went into effect on Nov. 24. The original cease-fire was slated to last four days‚ and Hamas agreed to release 50 hostages in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.   On what was supposed to be the last day of the cease-fire‚ Israel and Hamas agreed to extend the pause in fighting for another two days. Israel agreed to release 30 Palestinian prisoners for every 10 hostages Hamas freed. Foreign workers‚ mainly from Thailand‚ were released in a separate deal. The extended cease-fire ended early Friday morning‚ and fighting has resumed. “We will continue this war until we achieve the three goals—to release all our abductees‚ to eliminate Hamas completely‚ and to ensure that Gaza will never again face such a threat‚” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday.  The hostages still in Gaza are held by Hamas‚ Islamic Jihad‚ and likely other small terrorist organizations. Some of the Israelis originally thought to be hostages have since been found to have been murdered‚ either on Oct. 7 or while in captivity in Gaza. Below are names and pictures of the men‚ women‚ and children who are believed to still be alive and held hostage in Gaza. *Please note that information on the hostages is developing rapidly. This report will be modified as information is confirmed regarding the status of each hostage. Find a list of the released hostages here. Gadi Moses    Tal Shoham  Kfir Bibas Hamas claims baby Kfir Bibas was killed in Gaza by an Israeli airstrike. This claim has not been confirmed. Ariel Bibas Hamas claims Ariel Bibas was killed in Gaza by an Israeli airstrike. This claim has not been confirmed. Yarden and Shiri Bibas Hamas claims mother Shiri Yarden was killed in Gaza by an Israeli airstrike. This claim has not been confirmed. Gad Haggai and Judih Lynne Weistein Chaim Peri Amiram Cooper Elad Katzir Shifra Noy Yoram Metzger Silvia Ochayon Omer Neutra Liri Albag David Cunio Carmel Gat Ariel Cunio Tal Shalev David Shalev Tamir Adar Yair Yaakov Ohad Yahalomi Evyatar David Ofer Kalderon Itzik Algerat Matan Zangauker Tal Haimi Tamar Suchman Karina Ariev Yosi Sharabi Keith Samuel Siegel Fernando Marman Luis Norberto Har Daniella Gilboa Omri Miran Eliya Cohen Yagev Buchshtab Ron Scherman Ron Scherman Carmel Gat Nik Beizer Ron Benjamin Ben Binyamin Cohen Lior Rodaif Or Levy Hersh Goldberg Polin Dror Or Romi Gonen Omer Wenkert Omer Shem Tov Ohad Ben Ami Raz Ben-Ami was freed on Nov. 29. Almog Meir-Jan Dolev Yehoud Arbel Yehoud Eden Yerushalmi Yair and Eitan Horn Amit Buskila Itay Svirsky Elkana Bohbot Noa Argamani Avinatan Or Alex Dancyg Orión Hernández Radoux Ilana Gritzewtzki was freed on Nov. 30. Segev Kalfon Shlomo Mansour Bipin Joshi Edan Alexander Sasha Troufanov Eden Zecharya Eitan Avraham Mor Ruth Hodaya Perez Cohen Avraham Munder Ruth Munder was freed on Nov. 24. Gal Gilboa Dalal Bar Kupershtein Agam Berger Yotam Haim Ziv and Gali Berman Naama Levi Nadav Popplewell Yosef Chaim Ohana Itay Chen Joshua Loitu Mollel Alon Shamriz (Photo courtesy of Yonatan and Ido Shamriz) Matan Angrest Uriel Baruch Rom Braslavski Nimrod Cohen Ori Danino Sagui Dekel-Chen Itzhak Elgarat Itzhak Gelerenter Ran Gvili Hanum Yeheskel (Photo: Belopoppa/Getty Images) Maxim Herkin Tsachi Idan Dror Kaplun Denil Kimenfeld Andrey Kozlov Eitan Levy Elyakim Libman Oded Lifshitz Alex Lobanov Michel Nisenbaum Yonathan Mordechai Samerano Almog Sarusi Eli Sharabi Idan Shtivi Elia Toledano Ilan Weiss Chanan Yablonka Shalomi Ziv Bancha Duchruayawach Tu Saelee Pongsak Thaenna Sathian Suwankam Youssef Alziadne Hamza Alziadne Samer Fouad Al-Talalka Sahar Baruch Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. The post Who Are the Hostages Still Being Held Captive in Gaza? appeared first on The Daily Signal.

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL: An 11-year-old girl was assigned to share a bed with a male student who identifies as a transgender girl while on a cross-country school trip‚ according to a demand letter sent Monday. That girl’s parents are now calling upon the public school system to provide answers and clarification of its policies related to children who identify as transgender. Represented by Alliance Defending Freedom‚ Joe and Serena Wailes are calling on the Colorado-based Jefferson County School Board and Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Tracy Dorland to clarify “whether JCPS will continue this practice of intentionally withholding information about rooming accommodations from parents like the Waileses‚ who object to their children rooming with a student of the opposite sex‚ regardless of the other student’s gender identity.” “This practice renders it impossible for these parents to make informed decisions about their children’s privacy‚ upbringing‚ and participation in school-sponsored programs‚” reads the demand letter‚ which was exclusively provided to The Daily Signal. “Additionally‚ our clients request information related to JB R-1 and the ability to opt out of this rooming policy for all future school trips.” The Waileses describe how their daughter‚ who is in fifth grade‚ went on a JCPS-sponsored trip to Philadelphia and Washington‚ D.C.‚ in June 2023. JCPS had repeatedly told parents that the boys and girls on the trip would be roomed on different floors—and chaperones told the students that boys would not even be allowed to visit the girls’ floor‚ as well as vice versa‚ according to the letter. Serena Wailes also went on the trip‚ though she was not a chaperone. 2023.12.04-Wailes-Demand-Letter_Download The Wailes’ 11-year-old daughter‚ who is identified in the letter as “D.W.‚” was assigned to a room with three other students‚ according to the demand letter. Two of these students were girls from her school‚ and the third student was a boy who identified as a girl (named in the letter as “K.E.M.”) who went to a different school. D.W. and K.E.M were told that they would share a bed‚ and that evening‚ when the students were in their room together‚ K.E.M. reportedly revealed to the girls that he is a boy who identified as a girl. “We were definitely not aware of that before we went on the trip‚” Serena Wailes told The Daily Signal in a phone interview. The mother shared that this young boy was presenting as a girl‚ wearing girls’ clothing‚ and had longer hair. Uncomfortable at the thought of sharing both a room and her bed with a boy‚ D.W. snuck into the bathroom and called her mother. Then she went downstairs and met her mom in the lobby to discuss the matter. Serena Wailes told The Daily Signal that her daughter was “terrified and really upset about the idea of sharing a bed with a biological boy—even though she had a good relationship with this other student.” “I was really upset‚” Serena Wailes told The Daily Signal. “One‚ I was really upset that she was put in that situation at 11 years old—I don’t feel that is fair to put kids in that kind of situation—and two‚ that we were not even given the information that this was a possibility before the trip. The whole time they’re saying‚ ‘Girls on one floor‚ boys on another‚ they’re not going to be in each other’s rooms unless it is pre-approved.’ So we’re going through this whole process‚ not even recognizing that this is a possibility.” Joe Wailes said that his wife called him from the hotel and filled him in about the situation. “I felt a bit helpless‚” he said. “I was 2‚000 miles away. My daughter is scared in a bathroom trying to get herself out of a situation. It was a frustrating experience‚ and I just really felt like it was not a situation my daughter should be put in.” School chaperones called one of the trip leaders‚ Principal Ryan Lucas‚ who called the boy’s parents‚ according to the letter: “K.E.M.’s parents confirmed their child’s transgender gender identity and that K.E.M. was to be in ‘stealth mode‚’ meaning students on the trip would not know about their child’s transgender status.” After a good deal of trouble‚ chaperones finally agreed to move the male student‚ with a different female student‚ to another room. “Throughout the entire evening‚ K.E.M.’s privacy and feelings were always the primary concern of JCPS employees‚” the letter said. “After JCPS disregarded D.W.’s privacy and the Waileses’ parental rights‚ JCPS then silenced D.W.‚ thus infringing on her freedom of speech‚ when a JCPS teacher told the three girls that they were not allowed to tell anyone that K.E.M. was transgender‚ even though K.E.M. voluntarily chose to share this information.” According to the demand letter‚ the school district’s policy is‚ “in most cases‚” to room students based on the gender they identify as‚ rather than their sex. The Wailes parents have two fourth-grade children registered to attend a trip to New York‚ Washington‚ and Philadelphia in 2024‚ and they emphasize in their letter that the district must clarify its policies for room assignments for students‚ as well as parental ability to opt their children out of sharing rooms with children of the opposite sex. “They want to make sure that every parent knows that this is a possibility and can have the opportunity to opt out or make the best decision for their kid‚” Kate Anderson‚ director of the Center for Parental Rights at Alliance Defending Freedom‚ told The Daily Signal. “But they also have two younger children that they want to make sure are not in the same situation that their older daughter was in.” Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com‚ and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state.  The post EXCLUSIVE: School Assigned Girl to Sleep With Boy Who Identifies as Trans Without Parental Notification appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The Supreme Court on Monday will consider the legality of OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy settlement‚ which shields the Sackler family—who built a multibillion-dollar fortune from their ownership of the company—from facing lawsuits over their role in the opioid crisis. Their settlement‚ which the government called “exceptional and unprecedented” in its breadth‚ would have the Sacklers provide up to $6 billion to address the opioid crisis in exchange for immunity from future lawsuits. The family withdrew close to $11 billion from the company before filing for bankruptcy in 2019 in response to thousands of lawsuits stemming from their deceptive marketing downplaying the addictiveness of OxyContin‚ which encouraged doctors to prescribe the drug. After negotiations‚ all states agreed to the settlement‚ including eight who initially opposed it. The justices put the company’s plan on hold in August pending review. The question before the court is whether a bankruptcy settlement can legally release non-debtor third parties from liability without the consent of those making the claims. Sackler family members are no longer part of Purdue Pharma’s board‚ according to The New York Times. In its brief‚ the government argues that the settlement “allows the Sacklers to shield billions of dollars of their fortune while extinguishing‚ without payment‚ claims alleging trillions of dollars in damages.” “Equally troubling‚ it releases the Sacklers from claims based on fraud and other forms of willful misconduct that could not be discharged if the Sacklers themselves had filed for bankruptcy‚” the brief continues. In May‚ the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the plan earlier approved by the bankruptcy court. “Bankruptcy is inherently a creature of competing interests‚ compromises‚ and less-than-perfect outcomes‚” the court wrote. “Because of these defining characteristics‚ total satisfaction of all that is owed—whether in money or in justice—rarely occurs. When a bankruptcy is the result of mass tort litigation against the debtor‚ the complexities are magnified because the debts owed are wide-ranging and the harm caused goes beyond the financial. That is the circumstance here.” Nearly 247‚000 people died from overdoses on prescription opioid between 1999 and 2019‚ according to court documents. Purdue Pharma did not conduct any studies about OxyContin’s addictiveness prior to its approval‚ according to The New Yorker. A 2017 Daily Caller News Foundation review of grants awarded by Sackler affiliated charities—which provide substantial funding to the arts‚ humanities‚ and sciences—failed to find a single donation to an organization combating the opioid crisis. Opioid prescriptions increased in 1996 after Purdue launched a campaign that started to convince doctors the drug was a safe treatment for chronic pain. Purdue Pharma plead guilty to criminal charges in 2007 and 2020 relating to its misleading marketing of OxyContin. Ellen Isaacs‚ whose son died of an opioid overdose‚ opposed the settlement in a brief filed with the Supreme Court that characterizes the Sacklers as “the billionaire masterminds behind a criminal enterprise that caused a national tragedy.” “The Sackler releases are special protection for billionaires‚” her lawyer wrote. “That ugly fact is true.” Other victims‚ however‚ are not so ready to reject the arrangement. A brief filed on behalf of individuals who were themselves impacted or had a family member impacted by opioid addiction asks the court to account for their “urgent” need for funds. “No amount of money can bring back a beloved family member lost to addiction or undo the traumas routinely caused by opioid addiction‚” the brief states. “The confirmed reorganization plan‚ however‚ is needed—and needed now—to provide monetary relief to long-suffering victims of the opioid epidemic—and also to prevent more families and communities from suffering the same fate.” Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com‚ and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state.  The post ‘Special Protection for Billionaires’? SCOTUS to Consider Settlement That Shields Sackler Family From Opioid Lawsuits appeared first on The Daily Signal.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties‚ subscribe to Reclaim The Net. At President Donald Trump’s recent rally in Cedar Rapids‚ Iowa‚ Trump pledged to nullify an executive order issued by President Joe Biden concerning the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Amid the buzz of his ongoing 2024 election campaign‚ Trump highly criticized the Biden administration‚ specifically Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. He claimed that Mayorkas has been leveraging AI as a means to suppress political conversations within the country. Thus‚ the prospect of reversing the current administration’s course of action towards AI surfaced as a significant focus during the rally. In his public address‚ Trump candidly expressed his disdain towards the recent attempt to delve thoroughly into the potential applications of AI. He indicated his intent to abolish Biden’s AI-related executive order on his return to the presidency. “When I’m reelected‚ I will cancel Biden’s artificial intelligence executive order and ban the use of AI to censor the speech of American citizens on day one‚” he vowed. Across the national spectrum‚ Biden’s October executive order has stirred mixed responses. It laid out a blueprint encompassing aspects like job loss mitigation‚ algorithm safety evaluations‚ and tools for spotting AI-synthesized images. Yet‚ it did not appear to convince industry pundits‚ some of whom speculated it to be merely cosmetic and unlikely to significantly sway federal operations without legislative support. Some critics see it as federal interference with AI governance that transcends its jurisdiction. AI’s potential for moderating and censoring content on social platforms is widely acknowledged. Being leveraged for private content moderation‚ it has raised valid concerns about censorship‚ which Trump cites as a pillar of his argument. The post Trump Promises To Cancel Biden AI Executive Order‚ Citing Censorship Fears appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

Award-winning actress and singer Ann-Margret is known for her commitment to entertaining U.S. troops during the Vietnam War. In 1966‚ she responded to a request signed by over 3‚000 troops to perform for them and traveled to Vietnam with three bandmates on a USO tour‚ traveling to Saigon‚ the USS Yorktown‚ and the dangerous “Iron Triangle.” Despite the danger‚ she said she was determined to do the best job she could and was not worried for her safety because she felt protected by American servicemen. She focused on bringing them joy from home. She returned to the war zone two years later with Bob Hope’s Christmas USO show. She continues to support military service members and was honored by the USO in 2003 with the Spirit of Hope award‚ named after her friend Bob Hope. “I am very proud to be an American. Always will be‚” she told Vietnam magazine Editor Zita Ballinger Fletcher in an exclusive interview. Ann-Margret shared insights into her wartime experiences and new limited-edition perfume‚ with all profits benefiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund‚ available at www.ann-margretperfume.com.   You received a petition from troops in Vietnam in 1966 asking you to come perform. The war was unpopular and Vietnam was dangerous. What motivated you to go there despite those obstacles? Honestly‚ I didn’t think about my safety at all at the time. I was very flattered by those signatures. Nothing would have stopped me from going.   What did your family members think about you going to Vietnam? Well‚ they knew how much I wanted to go‚ and they of course were worried but I said to them‚ “There’s no way anyone can get to me because…my guys are there!”   Ann-Margret in Vietnam. What songs did you most enjoy performing there? I loved doing “Dancing in the Streets.”   You toured with Bob Hope on the USO Christmas Show in 1968. What was it like to work with him? I loved working with Bob and did many times over the years. He was a gentlemen and always‚ always funny on stage and off. He was devoted to the soldiers. He shared many stories with us about traveling during World War II and all the marvelous and touching letters he received from them and their families. He was great at writing back‚ too. When Bob and I were rehearsing our dancing for a duet for the tour he came out in a minidress and asked‚ “Who looks better‚ me or Ann-Margret?” I won‚ but he did get a couple of votes from the crew. We knew that we would be safe. When I did Vietnam with Johnny Rivers there were just four of us‚ and when we went with Bob Hope there were 80 of us. We weren’t afraid at all‚ never. We all just wanted to bring a piece of home to those men. What do you think young people should know about the Vietnam War today? Our guys went through so much—and when they came back‚ some people were not very nice to them. They had to go through a lot‚ and to come back and have people be bad to you…We need to show respect and admiration for all the men and women who served‚ always. Never forget.   You are donating 100% of the proceeds from your new limited-edition perfume to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. Can you tell us more about this? Yes‚ thank you for asking. My dear friend Justin Chambers of Grey’s Anatomy has wanted to make a fragrance for me for a long while since we worked together. So it’s a project that’s been on the drawing board. When he suggested it benefit the veterans‚ that was a slam dunk for me. I absolutely adore the fragrance. Ann-Margret is donating 100% of the proceeds from her new limited-edition perfume to benefit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. We worked on the actual fragrance for a year before we selected this special scent. It has notes of gardenia and jasmine and ylang ylang. You can visit my website for all the details at ann-margretperfume.com and I’ll be wearing it. You can count on that!   You are a strong supporter of Vietnam veterans. Is there anything in particular you would like to say to Vietnam veterans reading this? I love you all and I am proud to have been there with you. This story appeared in the 2024 Winter issue of Vietnam magazine. this article first appeared in vietnam magazine See more stories SubscriBE NOW!  

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