Including straight adaptations and movies loosely based on Shakespeare’s plays, these are unmissable titles.

The First Amendment won out this week in a court case over a man who had repeatedly called for President Donald Trump’s assassination and openly fantasized about his violent demise. A jury in Virginia acquitted the man, Peter Stinson, of one charge of soliciting a crime of violence, raising questions about when speech is protected by the Constitution and when it becomes incriminating.

The Justice Department has taken a series of legal losses in President Donald Trump’s second term, including a shocking streak of failures even to get indictments past grand juries in cases of alleged assaults on Trump-backed law enforcement officers. Yet another data point emerged this week in a case that made it to trial but ended in a not guilty verdict against the U.S. attorney’s office currently led by Trump-installed prosecutor Lindsey Halligan. Prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia accused Peter Stinson of soliciting a crime of violence with social media posts. Among those listed in the superseding indictment against him are posts that said “One well placed shot would open up a whole new reality” and “He needs to be luigied” — an apparent reference to Luigi Mangione’s alleged shooting of health care executive Brian Thompson. (Mangione pleaded not guilty in New York, where his federal and state cases are pending.)

A federal jury in Alexandria has acquitted a man charged with making threats toward President Donald Trump. What we know: The jury unanimously acquitted Peter Stinson after a two-day trial, and it only took them two hours to return with the verdict.

There are 200 recognized dog breeds in the United States, according to the American Kennel Club. That is a lot of good puppers! And the most recent dog breed to be officially recognized by the AKC in the U.S. is the Danish-Swedish Farmdog. The news was announced in January.Not many Americans know much about the Danish-Swedish Farmdog. It is a rare dog breed, with only 400 living in the U.S. @americankennelclub New year, newly AKC-recognized breed! Help us welcome the Danish-Swedish Farmdog to the Working Group. Our 202nd breed! #thisisakc #danishswedishfarmdog While the Danish-Swedish Farmdog may be a new in the States, it is not a new dog breed—and has a rich history that goes back to the Vikings, where skeletons have been found at Viking burial sites dated back 1,000 to 1,200 years ago. Today, it is a popular breed in Scandinavian countries like Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.What is the Danish-Swedish Farmdog? "Known as the Little Big Dog, the Danish-Swedish Farmdog is a companion dog that loves to work and enjoys a challenge. They are a small, compact and slightly rectangular dog, known to mature late," the AKC describes them, adding that they have an energetic, trainable, and attentive temperament. According to the AKC, the average sizes and life expectancy of the Danish-Swedish Farmdog are:Height: 12.5-14.5 inchesWeight: 15-20 poundsLife Expectancy: 11-13 yearsThe Danish-Swedish Farmdog has a smooth coat, and comes in many different colors and patches, including black, brown, yellow, all shades of tan, and fawn. A group of Danish-Swedish Farmdogs.Stigfinnare - Eget fotografi/Wikipedia With "farmdog" in its name, the Danish-Swedish Farmdog (DSF) was bred to assist in farm activities, from bringing in cows to helping with vermin control. “A multipurpose barnyard dog, DSFs live to hunt vermin, but at home, they’re one of the easiest dogs to live with,” Aimee Parramore Kincaid, president of the Danish-Swedish Farmdog Club of America, told the AKC. It is a working dog that Kincaid notes can be cat-like, adding they are "far from needy, capable of entertaining themselves," and also great helpers to their owners. See on Instagram While high-energy, they are social and sweet with kids. The AKC adds that they earn top marks on being affectionate with family, good with young children, and good with other dogs."The best part comes when you settle down; they do, too," Kincaid said. “If you like a dog sleeping with you, they’ll happily curl up under the covers and cuddle. When they’re happy to see a familiar face, they send out cute vocalizations almost like yodeling and squeaking."The Danish-Swedish Farmdog also can get confused with other dog breeds. "People on the street or even at a dog show will stop and ask me if my DSF is a Beagle or a Jack Russell,” Kincaid told the AKC. “If they know a Jack Russell, they’ll guess Jack Russell, and if they know a Beagle, they’ll guess Beagle.”It was once called a Danish Pinscher. “We want people to know it’s not a Terrier, but a Pinscher-type dog most likely descended from Pinscher-Fox Terrier crosses,” Kincaid added.

In the song “Smooth Criminal” off Michael Jackson’s Bad album, the King of Pop asks the question: “Annie, are you okay?” 40-plus times. This led AI am a Jedi, a Star Wars fan, and AI master, to speculate: What would have happened if Jackson, as a Jedi, had trained Anakin Skywalker, who (to the chagrin of many) is known as Ani (pronounced “Annie”) in Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace?The result is a song with a funky beat, a slinky guitar riff reminiscent of "Another Part of Me," also from Bad, and vocals that sound a lot like Earth, Wind & Fire. Like "Smooth Criminal," the lyrics also repeat (but slightly change from the original) "Annie, are you okay? So, Annie, are you okay? Are you okay, Annie?" many, many times.In the video, Jackson has had quite an effect on the Jedi council, with a disco ball appearing near Jedi Mace Windu, who belts out the song into a purple microphone. This isn't a nod to Jackson's rival Prince; Windu's signature weapon was a purple lightsaber. The video also features Ani's love interest, Padme Amidala, doing a creepy dance, and Obi-Wan Kenobi has a cameo, taking a shot of Jawa juice. - YouTube www.youtube.com Upworthy spoke with AI and a Jedi, who said that as a musician and Star Wars fan, the crossover was a natural fit. They got the idea to include Jackson because the singer was interested in the role of Jar Jar Binks in The Phantom Menace and had worked with Star Wars creator George Lucas on Disney's Captain EO.Michael Jackson wanted to play Jar Jar BinksIn an interview with Vice, actor Ahmed Best, who played Jar Jar Binks as well as Jedi Master Kelleran Beq in The Mandalorian, said that when he and Lucas met Jackson after a concert, he had no idea the "Billie Jean" singer was considered for the role. “We were taken backstage, and we met Michael," Best said. "George introduced me as ‘Jar Jar’ and I was like, That's kind of weird. Michael was like, ‘Oh. OK.’ I thought, ‘What is going on?'" Lucas had his reasons for giving the role to Best over Jackson. "Well, Michael wanted to do the part, but he wanted to do it in prosthetics and makeup like 'Thriller,'" Best said. However, Lucas wanted to create the character through CGI, which was a big risk because it had never been used to create a lead character in a film before. “My guess is ultimately Michael Jackson would have been bigger than the movie, and I don't think he [Lucas] wanted that.”Is 'Captain EO' part of the Star Wars universe?Jackson also starred in Lucasfilm’s 1986 sci-fi short film Captain EO, which played in Disney Parks until it was removed in the late '90s, after multiple allegations of child molestation severely tarnished the singer's reputation. Captain EO was a 3-D adventure where Jackson, along with a ragtag group of aliens and robots, embarked on a musical mission to transform The Supreme Leader, played by Angelica Houston. Captain EO always felt like Star Wars: The Musical, but it was never clear whether it was part of the franchise's official canon. However, Disney’s recent Star Wars spin-off, Skeleton Crew, has made multiple nods to EO, including characters who resemble Fuzzball and Hooter. Unfortunately, Jackson didn’t get to appear in The Phantom Menace as Jar Jar Binks, but he’d be happy to know that, after his death, Captain EO may have been part of Star Wars after all. - YouTube www.youtube.com

Some languages are harder to learn than others. Many who've tried will say that Eastern languages like Chinese Mandarin and Japanese are extremely difficult for non-natives because of the unique sounds and intricate writing system. Others, like Hungarian or Finnish, have complex grammar rules that are challenging for beginners.Some people find pretty much all of them simple. Or at least, they enjoy the challenge.Arieh Smith, a YouTuber known as Xiaoma, is a polyglot—someone who has mastered many languages. He's known as a linguistics master and his skill and teachings have earned him nearly a whopping seven million subscribers on social media. Xiaoma recently traveled to a well-known part of the world and finally met his match in the form of a dialect he just couldn't crack: English.No, not regular American or British English, but a specific accent and dialect called Glaswegian; spoken in Glasgow, Scotland. Glasgow is a beautiful and fascinating city. Photo by Dorin Seremet on Unsplash Xiaoma says Glaswegian is known as one of the trickiest English accents in the entire world, and so he was eager to go and see—or hear—it for himself. He quickly meets up with a local guide who has agreed to show him around the city, and immediately, Xiaoma can hardly understand the man at all. When the guide tells Xiaoma that the day is going to have "tops off weather," the YouTuber is baffled. (It's just a clever, and cheeky way, of describing good weather.)"You guys speak English, but it's different, it's like...""Swahili," the guide finished for him. Xiaoma agrees.Later, Xiaoma interacts with a few randoms on the street, who all greet and welcome him warmly, even though they can't understand each other all that well. Eventually, Xiaoma tries his hand at a few of the Glaswegian phrases he's picked up, but he just can't seem to match the pace and cadence of the natives—even though they're technically speaking the same language!You've got to watch the whole series of interactions to truly appreciate this fascinating dialect: - YouTube www.youtube.com Reactions poured in as nearly a million people have viewed the video to date. Many were fascinated by the language, but even more viewers appreciated the cultural representation on display in the video.The video resonated especially with UK residents and people who had Scottish ties:"This might be the most authentic representation of glasgow ive seen on an international channel - no sanitised tourist pish, just normal folk on the street.""Was born and raised in Glasgow for the first 9 years of my life, been back there a few times over the year but not returned in maybe 20 odd years now, this made me extremely homesick as to how friendly and willing to chat to strangers everyone is, you don't get that South of England.""The language is rich but their cheekiness is richer""Glaswegians you'll notice are very informal but very friendly. Most of the slang is crude humour jabbing at the nature of things and I wouldn't have it any other way.""Man, being a native Scot I always have a big smile on my face hearing Scottish folk talk, especially Glaswegians. Pure magic, like!"Glaswegian is an incredibly stubborn, resilient accent that shows no signs of going away anytime soon. Fancy a visit? Photo by Artur Kraft on Unsplash Many different towns and regions across the UK have their own specific dialects, but a lot of them are becoming "diluted" due to global television, social media, etc. It's related to a concept called "global homogenization." The more we're able to travel both physically and digitally, and the more we all consume the same media and culture on a large scale, the more we lose some of the regional intricacies that make the world so fascinating. Languages blend together, cultures flatten on, accents disappear. For example, the Brogue—an extremely rare English dialect found in some Atlantic coast islands in the United States—is quickly fading away.Not Glaswegian.“Interestingly, what is not happening in Scotland is the dilution of accents to a more homogenised anglicised accent on the scale that we are seeing in England, and in fact the Scots accent remains very distinctive," Professor Jane Stuart-Smith of Glasgow University told The Independent in 2015.While the accent is beautiful, in its own strange way, maybe its the local culture and the good-hearted nature of the people who speak it that keeps it alive. You might not be any closer to understanding or speaking Glaswegian after watching Xiaoma's video, but with any luck, your interest in visiting Scotland will be piqued.