David Gilmour wants to see Kate Bush back onstage, won't be sharing a stage with former bandmate Roger Waters again, ever

A young woman was finally freed from ISIS captivity thanks to a joint effort involving Israel, the United States, Iraq, and the National Intelligence Service. Israeli forces worked in tandem with the other nations in the U.S.-led operation.

A federal judge blocked California Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom’s anti-deepfake legislation on Wednesday, which sought to criminalize digitally-altered political images and videos 60 days before an election.

Director Todd Phillips ditched laughter for tears with 2019’s “Joker.” The mind behind “The Hangover” franchise, “Old School” and more got fed up with woke comedy restrictions and joined the superhero craze. On his terms. His “Joker” became a sensation, earned star Joaquin Phoenix a Best Actor Oscar and proved there’s more to superhero films than CGI dustups. The media tried to turn “Joker” into an incel warning, but when the film refused to spark violence journalists moved on to other false narratives. One thing was clear. An encore was inevitable. “Joker: Folie à Deux” defies superhero norms. Again. No action sequences, lycra-clad heroes or tired genre tropes. Phillips even made it a musical, tasking stars Phoenix and Lady Gaga to play out their tortured romance in song. Two-plus hours later, you’ll still wonder why they bothered. The first “Joker” delivered a brutal study of a man in psychological agony. Arthur Fleck’s transformation into the Joker happened because society pushed him to the boundaries. The health care system failed him. His co-workers couldn’t empathize with his middling comedy career. Bullies pounced and seized at will. And, eventually, he snapped. Or, to be more specific, he opened fire. That arc touched on societal critiques that spiked the narrative punch. “Folie à Deux” revisits some of those themes but adds precious little to the franchise. Arthur is being held at a mental institution (Arkham style!) following the events of the 2019 film. He faces the death penalty for killing five people, although the law doesn’t realize he also killed his Ma. His lawyer (Catherine Keener) wants to improve his public image in the hopes of avoiding the electric chair. Joaquin Phoenix in “Joker: Folie à Deux” (2024). DC Entertainment. Warner Bros. Pictures. IMDB. The guards at the institution try to pry jokes from Arthur. All Arthur wants is to smoke every cigarette within reach. This film loves smoking in ways that would make Joe Camel blush. Meanwhile, society has made Arthur a hero of sorts. He fought back against The System on his terms. They even made a TV movie about his transformation. That warped fame draws the attention of a fellow patient, Harleen “Lee” Quinzel (Lady Gaga). That’s Harley Quinn, of course, one of the micro-nods to the comic book source material. The other? Harry Lawtey’s Harvey Dent is the prosecutor hoping to end the Joker’s reign. Lee is drawn to Arthur’s anti-social Joker and he’s just happy to have a woman look his way. Can their bond survive the trial and their self-defeating ways? What are the stakes in said trial, anyway? Phillips cast convention aside the first time around. Now, he’s doubling down in his cinematic sandbox. The film begins with an animated short featuring the Joker and his mischievous shadow. Huh? The musical numbers, drawn in naturalist fashion and relying on classic tunes like “That’s Entertainment” and “If My Friends Could See Me Now,” offer modest rewards. Phoenix isn’t a singer but throws himself into the unorthodox dancing. Lady Gaga is squarely in her element, but the film won’t embrace the full musical charms that Gene Kelly and Judy Garland embraced. “Joker: Folie à Deux” is surprisingly lifeless despite two charismatic stars and a bracing origin story. Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga in “Joker: Folie à Deux” (2024). DC Entertainment. Warner Bros. Pictures. IMDB. Steve Coogan appears as a tabloid journalist eager to make Arthur summon the Joker for his audience. It’s all about ratings and The Narrative, not the truth. Is Phillips, who co-wrote the screenplay with Scott Silver, mocking corporate journalism?  Maybe. Likely. The scene ends and the film drops that criticism cold. Other scenes depict how society continues to keep poor Arthur down. The asylum’s security guards, including a brute played by the great Brendan Gleeson, use Arthur to further their own ends.  And? Prison guards routinely behave badly on screen and, we’re sure, sometimes off-screen. What’s so different, or meaningful, here? The most memorable moment brings back actor Leigh Gill, whose character witnessed one of the Joker’s killings in the first film. The haunted soul describes to the courtroom how the tragedy left him fearful of everyday life. Gill’s performance chills. We’re reminded what the real-world implications of worshiping a serial killer are. “Joker” made us mourn a sick man’s descent into madness. We rooted for him to find some sort of comfort or healing. That never materialized. The sequel marinates in the idea that this fallen man matters. He has a purpose, a mission beyond himself. His fame alone makes him worth our admiration. He’s suddenly … cool. No. And there’s no oversized Bat to put him in his place. Moral complexities could have powered “Folie à Deux.” There’s a reason we hoped Tony Soprano could stay one step ahead of The Law. Instead, we get a lethargic courtroom trial, a romance with little heat and a third act that proves the sequel never had a plan in the first place. Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here! There’s no denying “Folie à Deux” looks magnificent. The dream sequences marry the film’s gritty aesthetic with old Hollywood panache. Phillips’ camera captures every scene for maximum impact, crafting indelible images along the way. The film’s waning moments seem like they’re building to something mythical, a rationale for everything we’ve just witnessed. Instead, what follows erases the modest goodwill already generated. “Joker” reinvigorated the comic book movie. “Joker: Folie à Deux” reminds us that sequels for sequels’ sake only taint the original. * * * Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of HollywoodInToto.com. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at @HollywoodInToto. The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

The release of records from President Joe Biden’s terms as vice president – specifically emails with his son, Hunter, and brother, James, regarding business dealings – has been delayed until the day after the 2024 election. America First Legal, a conservative organization whose mission is to “[fight] back against lawless executive actions and the Radical Left,” has been trying for years to obtain Biden’s vice presidential records as part of a Freedom of Information Act request. On Wednesday, the organization was notified by the Department of Justice that the records would not be released until November 6, 2024 – the day after the election. The notification revealed that Biden’s lawyers and former President Barack Obama’s legal representatives claimed an extension under the Presidential Records Act, which will delay the National Archives and Records Administration’s (NARA) release of records pertaining to Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings. “NARA has arbitrarily deferred to former President Obama and current President Biden’s requests to delay disclosure of likely embarrassing records until after the election that shows then-Vice President Biden’s communications with Rosemont Seneca and financial disclosures that may reveal profits from Burisma through Rosemont!” Dan Epstein, AFL’s vice president, said in a statement. Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here! AFL began seeking the records in August 2022 and filed a lawsuit in September of that year after NARA refused to comply with the FOIA request. As AFL reported, what they have received so far revealed that Biden used a personal email address for official government business when he served as vice president, his son Hunter served in a position that should have required him to register as a foreign agent, and the Biden family used influence to enrich the lives of family and friends. Yet there were still more documents to be released, AFL said. The unreleased documents reportedly contain “email messages with James Biden …, Lion Hall …, and [Hunter’s firm] Rosemont Seneca,” about “photographs from a White House visit of Vice President Biden with James Biden [and] preparation of Vice President and Biden’s final tax forms and financial disclosures for the year 2015,” according to a copy of the notification published by AFL. As AFL noted, Biden and Obama’s legal representatives can file a 30-day working extension if they need more time to review the records to assert “a claim of constitutionally based privilege against disclosure.” But, AFL argued, they’ve had the documents since June and, therefore, have had enough time to review them, making the delay seem political.

Whoopi Goldberg scolded Christians and Catholics from her perch behind the table at ABC’s “The View” on Thursday, chastising them for daring to stand on doctrine and say that abortion is wrong. Goldberg, who has often pushed the illegal-back-alley-abortion narrative as the reason that women should be free to end the lives of their unborn children without restriction, also suggested that the mother was the only human being whose life would be impacted in any way by the abortion issue. WATCH: Whoopi lectures "all of those Christians and Catholics out there" that the only "human being" impacted by abortion is the mom."Is this the way Jesus wants you to be? Is this the way Jesus wants you to act?"She also suggests that religious folks don't care about folks' struggles pic.twitter.com/8L6JSg8hle — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) October 3, 2024 “I’d like to remind all those Christians and Catholics out there that it is a much bigger conversation than just abortion,” Goldberg began. “And if you are concerned about what this does to a human being in their life — Is this the way Jesus wants you to be? Is this the way Jesus wants you to act?” “Doesn’t Jesus want you to be able to say to somebody, ‘Come over here, I know you must be something tough,'” she added, repeating the false narrative that pro-life activists only care about the babies and not the mothers. “As opposed to what we’re seeing, which is insane.” Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here! Goldberg and her cohosts also discussed former first lady Melania Trump’s recent video, in which she stated that she favored abortion rights for women — and Sunny Hostin in particular seemed almost giddy over the news. Hostin argued that Melania Trump — who has made a series of similar videos to promote her memoir due out next Tuesday — would only release that particular video if she hated her husband, former President Trump, and wanted him to lose the 2024 election. WATCH: DISGUSTING: Sunny Hostin says First Lady Melania "hates" President Trump, "wants to take him out." This is your modern Democrat Party, folks. pic.twitter.com/3iD1WQdWRT — Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 3, 2024 “I think she hates him,” Hostin began, and when there were a few positive murmurs from around the table, she continued, “So we can all agree on that, that’s a given.” “I also think that she wants to take him out,” Hostin said then, not really clarifying whether she meant “out” of the presidential race or “out” in a more permanent sense. “She does not want to be the first lady anymore. She destroyed the Rose Garden. Who hates Christmas? Melania Trump hates Christmas. She doesn’t want to decorate for Christmas, she doesn’t want anything to do with it. She doesn’t want to sleep in the same room with him. She can’t tolerate him.” “Allegedly,” Goldberg interrupted. “How do you know all this?” Joy Behar asked, and Goldberg quickly explained that was why she’d jumped in to say, “allegedly.”