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You never quite know where Isabella Rossellini might pop up next. Since her beguiling breakout role as a nightclub singer in David Lynch’s masterpiece Blue Velvet (1986), Rossellini has navigated her career with a playful spirit. She’s worked with experimental auteurs ranging from Robert Zemeckis to Denis Villeneuve, appeared in episodes of Friends and Tales from the Crypt , and is responsible for one of the funniest line-readings of all time, courtesy of her two-episode arc as Alec Baldwin’s ex-wife on 30 Rock . And that’s without even mentioning Green Porno , a charming series of short films that Rossellini wrote, directed, and starred in for the Sundance Channel, in which she acts out the mating rituals of various insects and animals. Most recently, Rossellini has enjoyed a streak of scene-stealing supporting turns as the aristocratic mother of Josh O’Connor’s absent lover in La Chimera, the omniscient narrator in Problemista , and a talking shell in A24’s big-screen adaptation of Marcel the Shell with Shoes On . She also appeared this fall in Conclave, Edward Berger’s religious potboiler about a cardinal (Ralph Fiennes) who finds himself uncovering various secrets and scandals when he is put in charge of electing a new pope. It’s like an episode of Gossip Girl set at the Vatican, with Rossellini as a knowing nun whose small amount of screen time is intensely effective. “It almost felt like a silent film-star performance,” the 72-year old icon tells Vogue over breakfast. “The Catholic Church is a very patriarchal society and women often don’t speak, so when I finally do speak towards the end of the film, it feels like a bomb going off.” Here, Rossellini catches up with Vogue to discuss Conclave , Death Becomes Her opening on Broadway, why Blue Velvet almost ruined her career, and leaving Hollywood behind for a farmhouse on Long Island. Vogue : What does it take to lure an actress of your stature into a project these days? Isabella Rossellini: Edward Berger simply sent the script to my agent—which I read and immediately loved. I had seen All Quiet on the Western Front , which is quite a superior film, so I was delighted to work with a director of his caliber. Some of the actors were not cast yet, but there was a rumor that John Lithgow and Stanley Tucci might be doing it, so I called them up and told them I was doing it. Is it common to speak to the other actors in negotiations for a project when you’re considering a role? Like, “I’ll do it if you do it”? Sometimes! But you can really only do it with friends, otherwise it feels like an indiscretion. I made a movie with Stanley years ago [1996’s Big Night ] and we’ve been friends ever since. I did want to know if they were doing it, partially because their involvement made me wanna do it even more. Your character, Sister Agnes, is sort of a specter who observes a lot of action from the background of the film. How did you find your take on her? I have a very silent role—Sister Agnes is almost like a shadow. She’s present all the time, even when you can’t see or hear her. Thankfully, I am very familiar with silent films, because this almost felt like a silent film-star performance. The Catholic Church is a very patriarchal society and women often don’t speak, so when I finally do speak towards the end of the film, it feels like a bomb going off. What did Edward communicate to you about what he wanted out of your performance? Edward was very clear about his intentions. He wanted the scenes with my character to be shot in a very claustrophobic manner. The way he uses the sounds of silence, humming, breathing, and heartbeats are almost as important as the words. On the first day of filming, we shot a scene where the camera was very high and the nuns and cardinals all looked like dots. The nuns were blue dots and the cardinals were red dots, and just the way we move in the frame tells you everything you need to know about the hierarchy of this place. The red and blue dots never mix because there’s such a distinct separation between sexes. What about the film appealed to you, in terms of what it has to say about faith and doubt? I go back to that speech that Cardinal Lawrence (Fiennes) gives near the beginning of the film, when he’s talking about the ills of certitude and the importance of embracing uncertainty. Without doubt, there wouldn’t be faith. That idea moved me a lot, because all our lives, we’re asked to have certitude when it comes to everything from who we vote for to who we marry. We teach children to respect certitude, but the fact is that we are humans and the mystery of life is far bigger than our certitude. Many may claim to have the answers, but there are limits. I thought the film was a beautiful illustration of that point. I was familiar with this world because I’m from Rome and I went to nun school. You’ve said in previous interviews that you grew up with a “liberal Catholic education.” My family wasn’t particularly religious except for my grandmother—although she didn’t even go to church! I went to a Catholic school in France run by nuns from third grade all the way through high school. My brother went to another Catholic school run by a Jesuit priest who had the reputation of being very intellectual. In Rome there are the conservative and liberal sectors: There are priests that are corrupt and the ones that are not. It’s particularly conservative in Rome because that’s where the Vatican is, so you participate in political and moral debates connected to the church almost daily. Every Italian newspaper reports on murder, politics, international headlines, and what the pope said. Given the film came out in the thick of election season, it’s hard not to draw a connection between our current political climate and the dirty politics depicted in the film. Did you have those types of conversations on-set? Yes, we did, but it really was also quite a coincidence. The debates in the church and the film are the same debates that we’re having all over the world. How do you define gender? What is the role of women? Is tradition more important than emancipation? All these debates exist beyond the election—the book [Robert Harris’s 2016 novel Conclave , on which the film is based] was written several years ago and the script follows it quite closely. Spoiler alert for anyone who hasn’t seen Conclave , but I wanted to discuss the ending. It’s revealed that the character Cardinal Benitez [Carlos Diehz] was born intersex, that the previous pope knew, and the conclave has unknowingly elected Benitez as the first non-male pope. What was your interpretation of the ending? One of the biggest debates in our culture today is gender. There is a higher percentage of people than you may think who are born with genitals that are neither male nor female. I spoke to a doctor and they said that this happens quite often, and that they generally perform surgery based on functionality. They do tests to determine whether you have ovaries and based on whatever external physical attributes you have, they can do an operation right away so that your sex is male or female. But Cardinal Benitez didn’t know and lived his entire life in doubt. At the end, when he says the pope offered to pay for the operation to remove his uterus, but he declined because God made them this way? There are layers to our humanity, and that’s the power of this film. I think it’s very spiritual in that way. Have you consciously tried to explore themes related to gender and sexuality in your work? I really enjoyed the Green Porno series that you made for the Sundance Channel a few years ago. I’ve always asked questions, but never quite to the degree that Conclave does. I also think that when it comes to issues of gender and sexuality, people are sometimes scared to say the wrong thing or ask questions that may challenge preconceived notions others may have about the world around them. That’s partially why I loved making Green Porno . I made it because I was amused at all of this sexuality that exists in nature. It was an intellectual exercise where I could ask questions and learn things that I’d never even thought about before. Do you have a personal favorite episode? I really love the one about dogs, and the one about dolphins. I also have a fascination with the one about a spider that gets eaten by her babies and one about a hamster that eats her babies. Isn’t it fascinating that the scope of the maternal instinct can range from the hamster to the spider? You got your MA in animal behavior from Hunter College in 2019—do you think you would’ve worked with animals if you hadn’t been an actress or model? Yes, but I do run a 30-acre farm, so in many ways I’ve managed to fuse all these passions. How did you end up running a farm in Long Island? About 12 or so years ago, a neighbor of mine was developing it but got discouraged. The price of farmland in Long Island has gone way up and farmers cannot afford it anymore, so now it’s all turning into resorts. She called me up and said, “Why don’t you buy it? You’re a tree hugger!” So I bought the land and with the help of the Peconic Land Trust, which is a trust in Long Island whose mission is to support farmers, we changed the zoning to residential farming and into the sprawling oasis that it is today. I feel like every New Yorker—myself included—has the same dream of leaving the city behind for farm life without fully realizing what that lifestyle entails. Everybody says, “You chose such a quiet life”— not at all! I was lucky to meet a woman named Patty Gentry, who was a chef who wanted to become a grower. She has an operation called Early Girl Farm within the Mama Farm property where she grows her vegetables. I curated the collection of animals and make sure they eat everyday. There’s also vaccinations, fences coming down, weathering storms. Patty does her own thing, but I’ve hired two people to help me look after the animals and a third person to manage the bed and breakfast. So it’s not all hikes and fresh produce? There’s plenty of that as well. When I’m there we’re doing everything from gardening to cooking lessons to knitting. I manage the bees since everybody’s afraid of how small and nasty they are—I’m covered up like an ebola doctor, so it feels like armor. But it’s a lot of work and constant problems. I still have a small apartment in New York that I visit just to take a breather sometimes. Do you miss living in the city at all? Not really. I’m close enough that I can hop on a train if I ever feel the draw. But once you move out of the city, you sorta lose touch with what’s going on. I don’t know what exhibits or shows are happening anymore. Do you plan on seeing the Death Becomes Her musical coming to Broadway? I’m actually visiting Boston tomorrow to record the announcement they play beforehand, asking audiences to turn their phones off. They asked me to do it as my character. I’ve heard the show is quite good. I read a lot of positive reviews when it played in Chicago earlier this year. I won’t be able to attend the opening since I’ll already be in Europe, touring my one-woman show. But as soon as I’m back for Christmas, that’s one I want to see. Was Death Becomes Her your first time working on something of that scale, in terms of sets and special effects? I had done a few studio films before, but Death Becomes Her was on a whole other level. We all thought we were doing something that was gonna be successful because Robert Zemeckis had done all these wonderful films like Forrest Gump and Who Framed Roger Rabbit . Everybody was expecting Death Becomes Her to be another big hit, and I remember Robert saying he felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. When it came out, I sensed a bit of disappointment about the way it was received. And yet now it’s developed such a strong cult following. Every Halloween, I always see people dressed up as my Blue Velvet character. But suddenly, in the last few years, I’ve seen more Death Becomes Her costumes. It really seems like younger generations have embraced that film. I watched an interview you did in 1989 to promote Cousins , and the journalist asks in a slightly appalled tone whether you’re sorry that you made Blue Velvet . I got fired by my agents because of that film. I did Blue Velvet because I ran into David Lynch at a restaurant. I had just done a film with Helen Mirren [1985’s White Nights ] and he wanted her to play Dorothy Vallens, but Helen didn’t wanna do it. The next day, he sent me the script and I liked it, but I asked if we could rehearse because I wanted to understand this unusual character. I saw her as a battered woman, but also something of a predator herself because of the way she engages with the Kyle MacLachlan’s character. David, Kyle, and I talked through the script and rehearsed the whole night, and David really liked my interpretation, so he hired me. And it never felt like you were making anything particularly controversial? Not at all. We were a tiny independent film, so the press wasn’t paying much attention until The New York Times gave it a very positive review, which really put a spotlight on the film since reviews had much more influence at the time. I remember someone from the New York Post writing that Ingrid Bergman should come out of her grave to give her daughter a citizen’s arrest—which honestly made me laugh. It was also still relatively early in my acting career, so my agent wasn’t paying much attention until after the film came out. He just knew I was making a film with David Lynch about a mystery in a small town. What was his reasoning for firing you? He said: “We do not represent porno actors.” Did you feel like the film had a negative impact on your career? I didn’t have an agent for quite a long time. Tom Luddy was a producer who founded the Telluride Film Festival, and he championed Blue Velvet at a time when it was being heavily criticized. Tom was producing a film with Norman Mailer called Tough Guys Don’t Dance and offered me a leading role at a time. This was at a time when I couldn’t get an agent and felt sorta ousted from Hollywood. Little by little, I managed to crawl my way back to a career. There were obviously controversial films before and after Blue Velvet , but why do you think the film got under people’s skin? People seemed upset at the suggestion that these horrific things could be happening right under your nose in suburbia. The nuns from my school were still alive at the time and wrote to me saying how devastated they were: “How could we have raised this girl who would choose to make such a sinful film?” Bear in mind they hadn’t even seen it! I wrote back saying that making a film wasn’t a sin and that I wanted to tell this woman’s story. They wrote back saying they had a mass where all the nuns prayed for me, so I just said, “Thank you for the blessings.” You’ve worked with everyone from auteurs like Peter Weir and Denis Villeneuve to first-time filmmakers like Julio Torres . What do you look for in a collaborator now? I just look for talent that excites me. Julio is an incredible new talent and the way his mind works is so abstract. I like how it makes me look at the world around me differently. I still have a fire in my belly to be challenged—I had to read the ending of Conclave two or three times to fully understand it. But I’m also not sure how many more movies I have left in me. Do you have any interest in retiring from acting? I’m questioning more and more these days if I should stop working as an actress—or at least only do a few projects now and then, so I can really concentrate on my farm. I’d have to figure out how to make it all work financially, because I am getting up there in age. I’m happiest when I’m working on the farm with the sun shining on my face, so I want to spend more time doing that. This conversation has been edited and condensed.Social welfare dept’s website ‘out of service’ for 5 years
SANTA CLARA, Calif. , Dec. 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Pure Storage® (NYSE: PSTG), the IT pioneer that delivers the world's most advanced data storage technology and services, today announced a collaboration with Kioxia Corporation ("Kioxia"), a world leader in memory solutions, to develop cutting-edge technology that addresses the growing demand for high-performance, scalable storage infrastructure among today's hyperscale environments. Industry Significance: Traditional storage solutions, particularly those relying on hard disk drives (HDDs), struggle to meet the demands of hyperscale environments due to their limited speed, scalability, reliability, and excessive power consumption. HDDs are ill-equipped to handle the massive, fast-growing volumes of data generated in these environments without introducing latency and bandwidth limitations, and are difficult to scale and integrate seamlessly into modern data centers. To eliminate these obstacles, the latest collaboration between Pure Storage and Kioxia will deliver a data storage platform engineered from the ground up to tackle the needs of hyperscale environments, allowing for rapid scale while lowering power consumption and reducing the overall physical footprint of hyperscale data centers. News Highlights: With the combination of Pure Storage's advanced data storage platform with Kioxia's industry-leading QLC flash memory, hyperscalers can now keep pace with growing data demands without sacrificing performance. Benefits include: Executive Insight: "Collaborating with Kioxia allows Pure Storage to bring the full potential of all-flash storage technology to hyperscale environments. Pure has a decade of experience in delivering systems that manage flash for enterprise businesses. Now we're using those innovations, and Kioxia's latest technology, to enable the hyperscalers. Together, we're creating a solution that will empower these organizations to manage their data seamlessly, with speed and efficiency at the core." – Bill Cerreta , GM, Hyperscale, Pure Storage "Our collaboration with Pure Storage marks an exciting milestone in the evolution of hyperscale storage. As data volumes continue to explode, we're committed to delivering a solution that combines high performance with lower operational costs. All-flash technology is the future of storage, and through this collaboration, we are driving the innovation needed to address the complexities of today's hyperscale environments." - Caesar Ichimura , Chief Marketing Officer, Kioxia Corporation About Pure Storage Pure Storage (NYSE: PSTG) delivers the industry's most advanced data storage platform to store, manage, and protect the world's data at any scale. With Pure Storage, organizations have ultimate simplicity and flexibility, saving time, money, and energy. From AI to archive, Pure Storage delivers a cloud experience with one unified Storage as-a-Service platform across on premises, cloud, and hosted environments. Our platform is built on our Evergreen architecture that evolves with your business – always getting newer and better with zero planned downtime, guaranteed. Our customers are actively increasing their capacity and processing power while significantly reducing their carbon and energy footprint. It's easy to fall in love with Pure Storage, as evidenced by the highest Net Promoter Score in the industry. For more information, visit www.purestorage.com . Pure Storage, the Pure Storage P Logo, and the marks in the Pure Storage Trademark List are trademarks or registered trademarks of Pure Storage Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. The Trademark List can be found at purestorage.com/trademarks . Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Analyst Recognition A Leader in the 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Primary Storage A Leader in the 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant for File and Object Storage Platforms Connect with Pure Blog LinkedIn X Facebook View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pure-storage-and-kioxia-collaborate-to-drive-scalability-efficiency-and-performance-in-hyperscale-data-centers-302321513.html SOURCE Pure StorageNEW ORLEANS (AP) — Saints quarterback Derek Carr was willing to risk his health to improve New Orleans’ chances of playing meaningful football in mid-December. Now the Saints, who’ve remained mathematically alive in the playoff race by winning three of four, might have to play without Carr again — and it didn’t go well the last time. Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi declined on Monday to rule out Carr for any of New Orleans' final four games because of his injured non-throwing hand or his concussion . Both injuries occurred when he tried to leap for a first down and crashed hard to the turf during the fourth quarter of New Orleans' 14-11 victory over the reeling New York Giants on Sunday. “We’re not going to rule him out just yet,” Rizzi said. “We have to see in the next day or two what the healing process is like and see if he can function. “The good news it’s not his throwing hand,” Rizzi said. “The bad news is we’re obviously dealing with an injury here that we have to kind of play it by ear.” Rizzi noted that Carr must clear the concussion protocol first. After that, he said, the Saints can see how well Carr can operate with his hand injury. “It's been done before,” Rizzi said when asked about the prospect of an NFL QB playing with an injured non-throwing hand. “It appears at moment that it's non-surgical, which is a big aspect of it. ... That's why we're going to discuss the options.” Last season, Los Angeles Chargers QB Justin Herbert played with a fractured finger on his non-throwing hand . Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen has played part of this season with an injured non-throwing hand . If Carr can't play, his replacement will be either second-year pro Jake Haener or rookie Spencer Rattler. Rattler started three games earlier this season when Carr had an oblique injury — all losses by New Orleans, which was in the midst of a seven-game skid. “We've just got to surround whomever it is and pick him up and get him rolling with the rest of us,” guard Lucas Patrick said. “It's just another step of adversity in this long season that we’ve had.” What’s working New Orleans' interior defensive line is coming off one of its better games. Defensive tackles Bryan Bresee and Khalen Saunders accounted for both New Orleans' sacks in New York. The Saints also held the Giants to 112 yards rushing — a lower opponent rushing total than in seven other games this season. What needs help The Saints' 92 yards rushing offensively was their fourth-lowest total all season and the lowest in any of their victories. Stock up Running back Kendre Miller's future is looking a bit brighter now. He has played in just three games this season because of hamstring injuries and his lack of readiness was criticized by since-fired coach Dennis Allen earlier this season. Miller also has yet to rush for more than 36 yards in a game. But against the Giants, he earned praise for the speed, strength and elusiveness he was able to show on a couple of clutch runs, including an 8-yard run for his first and only touchdown this season. Patrick said Miller deserved credit on his scoring run for staying upright and continuing to push forward — with the help of some teammates — after he was met at the 5-yard line by a Giants defender. Patrick said if Miller didn't give the extra effort and stay on his feet, his teammates would not have had the chance to help push him across the goal line. “Kendre's definitely a bright, young runner and he's exciting to block for,” Patrick said. Stock down Blake Grupe was 0 for 2 on field goal attempts, although both were from beyond 50 yards and one was blocked. Those were Grupe's first two failures from beyond 50 yards this season. Injuries In addition to Carr, reserve linebacker D’Marco Jackson left Sunday's game with an ankle injury. Key number 0 — The number of games the Saints have won when Carr does not play. They've gone 5-5 in his starts this season. Next steps The Saints are back home Sunday against Washington in what could be ex-New Orleans cornerback Marshon Lattimore's first game with the Commanders. The game also marks the return to Louisiana of quarterback Jayden Daniels, who won the Heisman Troply last year at LSU. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl Brett Martel, The Associated Press
The head of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol ’s governing party on Friday signaled more openness to his removal as president for plunging the key U.S. ally into chaos with a short-lived declaration of martial law , reversing his position the day before an impeachment vote. Han Dong-hoon, leader of the conservative People Power Party (PPP), had earlier said he opposed impeaching Yoon because it would only create more turmoil. But on Friday he said he had learned that Yoon ordered the arrest of prominent politicians in addition to declaring martial law, an order that was lifted six hours later after lawmakers voted to reject it. > 24/7 San Diego news stream: Watch NBC 7 free wherever you are “In light of these new revelations, I have come to the conclusion that it is necessary to suspend President Yoon from exercising his mandate to protect the South Korea and its people,” Han said, adding that Yoon was “not acknowledging his wrongdoings.” If Yoon continues as president, Han said, “I fear that there will be a great risk of radical actions such as this state of emergency repeating, and he will put South Korea and its people in great danger.” Han’s comments increased the likelihood that Yoon will be impeached when a vote is held around 7 p.m. local time Saturday (5 a.m. ET). The opposition bloc holds 192 of the unicameral legislature’s 300 seats, just under the two-thirds majority needed for the motion to pass. The PPP, which repudiated Yoon’s martial law declaration, had asked him to leave the party but said earlier that it opposed the impeachment motion. Before Han changed his position, at least eight lawmakers from the PPP would have had to break with their party in order for it to pass. Six opposition parties had proposed impeaching Yoon over the martial law order, which banned political activity and censored the media. If Yoon is impeached, he will be suspended from office until the Constitutional Court decides whether to uphold the motion, with a deadline of 180 days. U.S. & World Trump picks former Georgia Sen. David Perdue for U.S. ambassador to China Man arrested in connection with burglary of Trump campaign office The deeply unpopular Yoon, whose approval rating was already at 19% before the emergency martial law, had blamed opposition lawmakers in his declaration, accusing them of paralyzing the government by seeking the impeachment of multiple government officials and slashing critical funding from next year’s national budget. Opposition lawmakers have expressed concern that Yoon, who has not made any public appearances since lifting the order, might declare martial law a second time if he is impeached or even earlier. “I feel that danger is imminent tonight,” Lee Jae-myung, leader of the liberal opposition Democratic Party, said Friday. “I have a gut feeling that something might happen again tonight or early morning tomorrow.” Acting Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho, whose predecessor resigned this week over his role in the martial law declaration, dismissed such concerns and said that even if Yoon made such an attempt, the Ministry of Defense and the South Korean military “would categorically reject it.” Yoon’s special forces commander, Kwak Jong-keun, also said Friday that it would be impossible for Yoon to declare martial law again “because I will refuse to comply with any such order.” In a call Thursday with his South Korean counterpart, Cho Tae-yul, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed “deep concerns” about the martial law declaration and welcomed the lifting of the order. “The Secretary conveyed his confidence in the democratic resilience of the ROK during this period, and noted he expects the ROK’s democratic process to prevail,” the State Department readout said, using an abbreviation for South Korea’s formal name, the Republic of Korea. Blinken also reaffirmed the “ironclad” nature of the U.S. alliance with South Korea, which it views as an important bulwark against North Korea, China and Russia, and which hosts almost 30,000 American troops. The U.S. confirmed Thursday that meetings of the U.S.-South Korea Nuclear Consultative Group and related tabletop military exercises that were planned in Washington this week had been postponed amid the turmoil in South Korea. Meanwhile, more details emerged of the chaotic hours between Yoon’s declaration of martial law around 10:30 p.m. local time Tuesday and the lifting of the order around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday. South Korea’s National Election Commission said Friday that after Yoon declared martial law in a surprise late-night TV address on Tuesday, about 300 troops infiltrated its headquarters and related facilities in what the commission called “a clear violation of the Constitution and the law.” The soldiers confiscated the mobile phones of five people on duty and restricting access to the premises, the commission said, occupying its headquarters for about 3 hours and 20 minutes. “While it has been confirmed that no internal materials were taken by the troops thus far, a thorough and continuous review will be conducted to verify any potential damages,” the commission said in a statement. Kwak, the special forces commander, said some units at the National Election Commission stayed in their vehicles while others “secured and guarded the external perimeter as instructed.” He said they were in the area for about 20 minutes and then moved to withdraw when Kwak issued an order to halt operations at 1:09 a.m., around the same time lawmakers voted to reject the emergency martial law and ordered soldiers to leave the legislature in central Seoul. Kwak said that no one entered the premises, and that there were no plans to detain or obstruct commission personnel. “Basically, I halted the mission before any actions were carried out,” he said. Stella Kim reported from Seoul and Jennifer Jett from Hong Kong. This article first appeared on NBCNews.com . Read more from NBC News here: Family of Missouri teen who fell to his death on Orlando free-fall ride gets $310 million verdict Ex-Proud Boys Leader dodges questions at trial of officer charged with feeding him intel House votes against releasing Matt Gaetz ethics report for nowThe head of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol ’s governing party on Friday signaled more openness to his removal as president for plunging the key U.S. ally into chaos with a short-lived declaration of martial law , reversing his position the day before an impeachment vote. Han Dong-hoon, leader of the conservative People Power Party (PPP), had earlier said he opposed impeaching Yoon because it would only create more turmoil. But on Friday he said he had learned that Yoon ordered the arrest of prominent politicians in addition to declaring martial law, an order that was lifted six hours later after lawmakers voted to reject it. > Watch NBC Bay Area News 📺 Streaming free 24/7 “In light of these new revelations, I have come to the conclusion that it is necessary to suspend President Yoon from exercising his mandate to protect the South Korea and its people,” Han said, adding that Yoon was “not acknowledging his wrongdoings.” If Yoon continues as president, Han said, “I fear that there will be a great risk of radical actions such as this state of emergency repeating, and he will put South Korea and its people in great danger.” Han’s comments increased the likelihood that Yoon will be impeached when a vote is held around 7 p.m. local time Saturday (5 a.m. ET). The opposition bloc holds 192 of the unicameral legislature’s 300 seats, just under the two-thirds majority needed for the motion to pass. The PPP, which repudiated Yoon’s martial law declaration, had asked him to leave the party but said earlier that it opposed the impeachment motion. Before Han changed his position, at least eight lawmakers from the PPP would have had to break with their party in order for it to pass. Six opposition parties had proposed impeaching Yoon over the martial law order, which banned political activity and censored the media. If Yoon is impeached, he will be suspended from office until the Constitutional Court decides whether to uphold the motion, with a deadline of 180 days. The deeply unpopular Yoon, whose approval rating was already at 19% before the emergency martial law, had blamed opposition lawmakers in his declaration, accusing them of paralyzing the government by seeking the impeachment of multiple government officials and slashing critical funding from next year’s national budget. Opposition lawmakers have expressed concern that Yoon, who has not made any public appearances since lifting the order, might declare martial law a second time if he is impeached or even earlier. “I feel that danger is imminent tonight,” Lee Jae-myung, leader of the liberal opposition Democratic Party, said Friday. “I have a gut feeling that something might happen again tonight or early morning tomorrow.” Acting Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho, whose predecessor resigned this week over his role in the martial law declaration, dismissed such concerns and said that even if Yoon made such an attempt, the Ministry of Defense and the South Korean military “would categorically reject it.” Yoon’s special forces commander, Kwak Jong-keun, also said Friday that it would be impossible for Yoon to declare martial law again “because I will refuse to comply with any such order.” In a call Thursday with his South Korean counterpart, Cho Tae-yul, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed “deep concerns” about the martial law declaration and welcomed the lifting of the order. “The Secretary conveyed his confidence in the democratic resilience of the ROK during this period, and noted he expects the ROK’s democratic process to prevail,” the State Department readout said, using an abbreviation for South Korea’s formal name, the Republic of Korea. Blinken also reaffirmed the “ironclad” nature of the U.S. alliance with South Korea, which it views as an important bulwark against North Korea, China and Russia, and which hosts almost 30,000 American troops. The U.S. confirmed Thursday that meetings of the U.S.-South Korea Nuclear Consultative Group and related tabletop military exercises that were planned in Washington this week had been postponed amid the turmoil in South Korea. Meanwhile, more details emerged of the chaotic hours between Yoon’s declaration of martial law around 10:30 p.m. local time Tuesday and the lifting of the order around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday. South Korea’s National Election Commission said Friday that after Yoon declared martial law in a surprise late-night TV address on Tuesday, about 300 troops infiltrated its headquarters and related facilities in what the commission called “a clear violation of the Constitution and the law.” The soldiers confiscated the mobile phones of five people on duty and restricting access to the premises, the commission said, occupying its headquarters for about 3 hours and 20 minutes. “While it has been confirmed that no internal materials were taken by the troops thus far, a thorough and continuous review will be conducted to verify any potential damages,” the commission said in a statement. Kwak, the special forces commander, said some units at the National Election Commission stayed in their vehicles while others “secured and guarded the external perimeter as instructed.” He said they were in the area for about 20 minutes and then moved to withdraw when Kwak issued an order to halt operations at 1:09 a.m., around the same time lawmakers voted to reject the emergency martial law and ordered soldiers to leave the legislature in central Seoul. Kwak said that no one entered the premises, and that there were no plans to detain or obstruct commission personnel. “Basically, I halted the mission before any actions were carried out,” he said. Stella Kim reported from Seoul and Jennifer Jett from Hong Kong. This article first appeared on NBCNews.com . Read more from NBC News here:
Published 4:49 pm Monday, December 9, 2024 By Associated Press WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump has promised to end birthright citizenship as soon as he gets into office to make good on campaign promises aiming to restrict immigration and redefining what it means to be American. But any efforts to halt the policy would face steep legal hurdles. Birthright citizenship means anyone born in the United States automatically becomes an American citizen. It’s been in place for decades and applies to children born to someone in the country illegally or in the U.S. on a tourist or student visa who plans to return to their home country. It’s not the practice of every country, and Trump and his supporters have argued that the system is being abused and that there should be tougher standards for becoming an American citizen. But others say this is a right enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, it would be extremely difficult to overturn and even if it’s possible, it’s a bad idea. Here’s a look at birthright citizenship, what Trump has said about it and the prospects for ending it: What Trump has said about birthright citizenship During an interview Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Trump said he “absolutely” planned to halt birthright citizenship once in office. “We’re going to end that because it’s ridiculous,” he said. Trump and other opponents of birthright citizenship have argued that it creates an incentive for people to come to the U.S. illegally or take part in “birth tourism,” in which pregnant women enter the U.S. specifically to give birth so their children can have citizenship before returning to their home countries. “Simply crossing the border and having a child should not entitle anyone to citizenship,” said Eric Ruark, director of research for NumbersUSA, which argues for reducing immigration. The organization supports changes that would require at least one parent to be a permanent legal resident or a U.S. citizen for their children to automatically get citizenship. Others have argued that ending birthright citizenship would profoundly damage the country. “One of our big benefits is that people born here are citizens, are not an illegal underclass. There’s better assimilation and integration of immigrants and their children because of birthright citizenship,” said Alex Nowrasteh, vice president for economic and social policy studies at the pro-immigration Cato Institute. In 2019, the Migration Policy Institute estimated that 5.5 million children under age 18 lived with at least one parent in the country illegally in 2019, representing 7% of the U.S. child population. The vast majority of those children were U.S. citizens. The nonpartisan think tank said during Trump’s campaign for president in 2015 that the number of people in the country illegally would “balloon” if birthright citizenship were repealed, creating “a self-perpetuating class that would be excluded from social membership for generations.” What does the law say? In the aftermath of the Civil War, Congress ratified the 14th Amendment in July 1868. That amendment assured citizenship for all, including Black people. “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside,” the 14th Amendment says. “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.” But the 14th Amendment didn’t always translate to everyone being afforded birthright citizenship. For example, it wasn’t until 1924 that Congress finally granted citizenship to all Native Americans born in the U.S. A key case in the history of birthright citizenship came in 1898, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Wong Kim Ark, born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrants, was a U.S. citizen because he was born in the states. The federal government had tried to deny him reentry into the county after a trip abroad on grounds he wasn’t a citizen under the Chinese Exclusion Act. But some have argued that the 1898 case clearly applied to children born of parents who are both legal immigrants to America but that it’s less clear whether it applies to children born to parents without legal status or, for example, who come for a short-term like a tourist visa. “That is the leading case on this. In fact, it’s the only case on this,” said Andrew Arthur, a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, which supports immigration restrictions. “It’s a lot more of an open legal question than most people think.” Some proponents of immigration restrictions have argued the words “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” in the 14th Amendment allows the U.S. to deny citizenship to babies born to those in the country illegally. Trump himself used that language in his 2023 announcement that he would aim to end birthright citizenship if reelected. So what could Trump do and would it be successful? Trump wasn’t clear in his Sunday interview how he aims to end birthright citizenship. Asked how he could get around the 14th Amendment with an executive action, Trump said: “Well, we’re going to have to get it changed. We’ll maybe have to go back to the people. But we have to end it.” Pressed further on whether he’d use an executive order, Trump said “if we can, through executive action.” He gave a lot more details in a 2023 post on his campaign website. In it, he said he would issue an executive order the first day of his presidency, making it clear that federal agencies “require that at least one parent be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident for their future children to become automatic U.S. citizens.” Trump wrote that the executive order would make clear that children of people in the U.S. illegally “should not be issued passports, Social Security numbers, or be eligible for certain taxpayer funded welfare benefits.” This would almost certainly end up in litigation. Nowrasteh from the Cato Institute said the law is clear that birthright citizenship can’t be ended by executive order but that Trump may be inclined to take a shot anyway through the courts. “I don’t take his statements very seriously. He has been saying things like this for almost a decade,” Nowrasteh said. “He didn’t do anything to further this agenda when he was president before. The law and judges are near uniformly opposed to his legal theory that the children of illegal immigrants born in the United States are not citizens.” Trump could steer Congress to pass a law to end birthright citizenship but would still face a legal challenge that it violates the Constitution.
Randall Balmer: Jimmy Carter’s election was a high point in resurgence of progressive evangelicalsBy Leslie Patton | Bloomberg Costco Wholesale Corp. is switching manufacturers for its popular Kirkland Signature brand of diapers as its supplier moves away from store brands to increase profitability. First Quality is replacing Kimberly-Clark Corp. as the maker of Costco’s diapers, with the official change set to happen in January, according to people familiar with the decision who weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the matter. More on Costco: Not a Costco member? Shoppers have tips to skip new entry scanners Consumer goods makers have been focused on restoring profit margins to pre-pandemic levels and scrutinizing their business models after years of higher costs. For Kimberly-Clark, which makes the Huggies brand of diapers, that means a shift away from low-margin private label contracts and a stronger focus on selling more higher-priced premium items under their own brand names. First Quality didn’t respond to requests for comment. Representatives for Costco and Kimberly-Clark declined to comment. Earlier this month, Kimberly-Clark Chief Financial Officer Nelson Urdaneta said that the company’s exit of private label businesses, “allows us to dedicate our capacity and our investments to our own technologies and brands to differentiate them.” In October, Chief Executive Officer Mike Hsu said that the company’s percentage of sales from private label will go from about 4% in 2023 to about 2% next year, and that it would decline further “over time.” Also read: Discount retailer Panda Mart leases former Sears in Orange First Quality, which also makes Cuties diapers along with paper towels and toilet paper, hasn’t disclosed the arrangement with Costco. In May, the New York-based company said it was increasing capacity for diapers and training pants by 50% at its Macon, Georgia, manufacturing factory. Costco’s Kirkland Signature diapers have become popular with parents, especially as years of inflation for basic goods crimps spending. The company has said in past years that private label items are a good value versus brand names, thanks to their price point. Costco says it expects to increase sales of Kirkland-branded items, which generally earn higher margins for the retailer versus national labels. Kirkland diapers made by Kimberly-Clark have a curved fit that many shoppers perceive to be more ergonomic for their babies, said Natalia Richer, director of business development at consultant Diaper Testing International. “It will be noticeable to the consumer if they change it,” she said. Kimberly-Clark also makes Kotex tampons and pads, along with Kleenex tissues and Scott toilet paper. Huggies recently introduced a new type of diaper and wipes, dubbed Skin Essentials, designed to protect against rashes. Related Articles Retail | Status Update: Gifts urgently needed for OC Rescue Mission children, adults Retail | Status Update: Barnes & Noble returning to Orange, but with a twist Retail | Cyber Monday shoppers expected to set a record on the year’s biggest day for online shopping Retail | SunFed cucumbers and Costco eggs recalled due to potential salmonella contamination Retail | Gifting on a budget: 5 secrets to being generous without going broke
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Apple’s LLM Siri: The Voice Assistant Gets Smarter, But Can It Rival ChatGPT and Gemini?
House Republicans voted on Thursday to block a Democrat-led effort to release a long-awaited Ethics Committee report on allegations against former GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida. The House took a step to effectively shut down a resolution from Democrats that would have required the public release of the report. House GOP leaders sidelined the effort by Democrats by setting up a vote to refer the resolution to the committee, a move that blocks the report’s release for now. The outcome of the vote raises the question of whether the findings of the panel’s investigation will ever become public. Gaetz, who has denied any wrongdoing, withdrew from consideration as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general last month after it became clear he didn’t have the votes in the Senate to win confirmation. The former congressman had faced headwinds on Capitol Hill in his bid to lock down sufficient support, and some Senate Republicans had called for the release of the ethics report as part of the vetting process. Last month, before Gaetz withdrew, Republicans on the House Ethics Committee voted behind closed doors – and against the will of Democrats on the panel – not to release the results of the investigation at that time. The vote was 206 to 198. One Republican – Rep. Tom McClintock of California – voted with Democrats. The Ethics Committee met again Thursday ahead of the House vote, but did not provide any information on whether the report would be released, saying in a statement after the meeting only that it was “continuing to discuss the matter.” House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he does not think the report should be released because Gaetz is no longer a member of the House, so the ethics panel no longer has jurisdiction. Gaetz, a Florida Republican, resigned from Congress shortly after Trump announced him as his pick for attorney general. After the vote, Johnson called the ethics report a “moot point” given that Gaetz is no longer a member of Congress. “I’ll leave it up to the committee to do their business there,” he told reporters. Democrats used a procedural move to force GOP leadership to hold a vote on the issue. After the first vote, the House voted on a second, similar Democrat-led resolution seeking to compel the release of the report. It was also blocked. The Ethics Committee said in June, when it provided an update on the status of the investigation, that it was reviewing allegations that Gaetz may have “engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, dispensed special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship, and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.” The panel noted in making the announcement that Gaetz has “categorically denied all of the allegations before the committee.”
Experts' tip for RBA's interest rate decision today
The suspect in the high-profile killing of a health insurance CEO that has gripped the United States graduated from an Ivy League university, reportedly hails from a wealthy family, and wrote social media posts brimming with cerebral musings. Luigi Mangione, 26, was thrust into the spotlight Monday after police revealed his identity as their person of interest, crediting his arrest to a tip from a McDonald's worker. He has been connected by police to the fatal shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week in broad daylight, in a case that has laid bare deep frustrations and anger with the nation's privatized medical system. News of his capture triggered an explosion of online activity, with Mangione quickly amassing new followers on social media as citizen sleuths and US media try to understand who he is. While some lauded him as a hero and lamented his arrest, others analyzed his intellectual takes in search of ideological clues. A photo on one of his social media accounts includes an X-ray of an apparently injured spine, though no explicit political affiliation has emerged. Meanwhile, memes and jokes proliferated, many riffing on his first name and comparing him to the "Mario Bros." character Luigi, sometimes depicted in AI-altered images wielding a gun or holding a Big Mac. "Godspeed. Please know that we all hear you," wrote one user on Facebook. "I want to donate to your defense fund," added another. According to Mangione's LinkedIn profile, he is employed as a data engineer at TrueCar, a California-based online auto marketplace. A company spokesperson told AFP Mangione "has not been an employee of our company since 2023." Although he had been living in Hawaii ahead of the killing, he originally hails from Towson, Maryland, near Baltimore. He comes from a prominent and wealthy Italian-American family, according to the Baltimore Banner. The family owns local businesses, including the Hayfields Country Club, per the club's website. A standout student, Mangione graduated at the top of his high school class in 2016. In an interview with his local paper at the time, he praised his teachers for fostering a passion for learning beyond grades and encouraging intellectual curiosity. He went on to attend the prestigious University of Pennsylvania, where he completed both a bachelor's and master's degree in computer science by 2020, according to a university spokesperson. While at Penn, Mangione co-led a group of 60 undergraduates who collaborated on video game projects, as noted in a now-deleted university webpage, archived on the Wayback Machine. On Instagram, where his following has skyrocketed from hundreds to tens of thousands, Mangione shared snapshots of his travels in Mexico, Puerto Rico and Hawaii. He also posted shirtless photos flaunting a six-pack and appeared in celebratory posts with fellow members of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. However, it is on X (formerly Twitter) that users have scoured Mangione's posts for potential motives. His header photo -- an X-ray of a spine with bolts -- remains cryptic, with no public explanation. Finding a coherent political ideology has also proved elusive. Mangione has linked approvingly to posts criticizing secularism as a harmful consequence of Christianity's decline. In April, he wrote, "Horror vacui (nature abhors a vacuum)." The following month, he posted an essay he wrote in high school titled "How Christianity Prospered by Appealing to the Lower Classes of Ancient Rome." In another post from April, he speculated that Japan's low birthrate stems from societal disconnection, adding that "fleshlights" and other vaginal-replica sex toys should be banned. ia/nro
