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  • ‘Stranger Things’ Star Linnea Berthelsen to Make U.K. Stage Debut in ‘Darkling’ (EXCLUSIVE)

    ‘Stranger Things’ Star Linnea Berthelsen to Make U.K. Stage Debut in ‘Darkling’ (EXCLUSIVE)

    Linnea Berthelsen, best known for playing Kali Prasad/008 in the second and final season of Netflix’s smash hit “Stranger Things,” is to make her U.K. stage debut in the “Darkling” at London’s Bush Theatre.

    The solo play is presented by Actors Touring Company and co-produced with the Bush Theatre. Described as “an epic story of a life ravaged by ecological disaster,” it was written by Titas Halder and directed by the Actors Touring Company’s Olivier-award-winning artistic director Matthew Xia.

    “Darkling” exposes the human impact of the 1984 Bhopal gas leak disaster. The production weaves memory and trauma into a visceral narrative that aims to serve as a powerful indictment of corporate malpractice. As per the description, “This human story confronts the systemic impact of industrialisation on poorer nations, raising urgent questions about environmental exploitation and the fight for justice in the global South.”

    “Matthew is someone I’ve admired and have hoped to collaborate with for many years,” said Berthelsen. “And after seeing and falling in love with Titas’ work on ‘Foal,’ I knew that joining Darkling would be a special opportunity. Titas’ script is incredibly nuanced, human and very alive. I’m thrilled to be working with this exceptional creative team.”

    “Darkling” opens at Bush Theatre on Sep. 5 before touring to Birmingham Rep, Oxford’s The North Wall Arts Centre, and HOME, Manchester until Nov. 14.

    “It is a privilege to collaborate with Linnea, who will bring a magnetic intensity to the role,” said Xia, artistic director of Actors Touring Company. “Titas has written an extraordinarily beautiful and poetic text, and working with a performer of Linnea’s calibre gives us the chance to make something epic, intimate and unmistakably theatrical. We are proud that “Darkling” sits at the very core of ATC’s mission: to champion globally minded contemporary theatre and bring these vital narratives to audiences across the U.K.”

    Added Halder: “I’m thrilled that Linnea will be performing in ‘Darkling.’ When I wrote the piece; a human story about how an ecological disaster rips through one family, I could have never imagined that we would one day be making this play with such an extraordinary team, led by the brilliant Matthew Xia, and anchored by such a truly mesmeric actor as Linnea. I know she will bring a special and profound emotional depth to this solo play, a portrait of an entire life.”

    “Darkling” is made possible with the support of Arts Council England, Cockayne Grants for the Arts, Royal Victoria Hall Foundation, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, John Ellerman Foundation and the Wates Foundation. ATC is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.

  • U.S. government moves $288 million in seized bitcoin, ether to Coinbase Prime

    U.S. government moves $288 million in seized bitcoin, ether to Coinbase Prime

    The US government just staged its seized crypto for an exchange, and it took an extra hop to get there.

    Wallets tied to the government moved about $288 million in seized bitcoin and ether onto Coinbase Prime over roughly half a day on Monday, blockchain data from Arkham shows. The ether went direct, while the bitcoin took a detour through fresh intermediary wallets first.

    The movements are despite an executive order in March 2025 by President Donald Trump, which designated seized bitcoin for the country’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and said it should not be sold.

    A government wallet tied to Ryan Farace, the “xanaxman” case, sent 2,875 $BTC worth roughly $178 million to a new address, which forwarded the full 2,875 $BTC to a Coinbase Prime deposit wallet minutes later.

    A second wallet linked to defunct exchange $BTC-e sent 925.512 $BTC worth $57 million through the same pattern, in from the seizure address, straight out to Coinbase Prime. Both intermediary wallets were emptied out.

    The ether skipped the middle step, however. A wallet connected to Brian Krewson, the Oracle employee named in a $54 million laundering scheme, sent 30,007 $ETH worth $53.09 million directly to a Coinbase Prime deposit address.

  • The Sharing Volume of Bitcoin and Ethereum Keywords on X Has Dropped to Its Lowest Level in the Last 12 Months!

    The Sharing Volume of Bitcoin and Ethereum Keywords on X Has Dropped to Its Lowest Level in the Last 12 Months!

    While institutional investors continue to show interest in the cryptocurrency market, there has been a noticeable decline in individual investor engagement on social media. According to recent data, the volume of posts using the keywords “Bitcoin” and “Ethereum” on X (formerly Twitter) has fallen to its lowest level in the last 12 months.

    Daily posts about Bitcoin have dropped to around 130,000, while posts about Ethereum have fallen to around 40,000. These levels represent the lowest social media activity seen since 2020, when institutional interest was just beginning to emerge.

    Tweet volume is considered one of the key indicators measuring the level of interest of individual investors in the market. This metric reveals not the amount of capital entering the market, but how much investors are talking about specific assets. The current situation is noteworthy because, despite social media interest falling back to 2020 levels, institutional investors’ interest in cryptocurrencies is conversely accelerating.

    In 2020, Bitcoin and Ethereum hadn’t yet fully entered Wall Street’s radar, spot ETFs hadn’t been approved, and holding crypto assets on corporate balance sheets wasn’t widespread. Today, the picture has changed dramatically. Spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs manage billions of dollars in funds, and asset tokenization holds a significant place on the agenda of traditional finance conferences and major financial institutions.

    Analysts believe this development could signal that institutional adoption may now be able to progress independently of individual investor interest. However, historical data shows that low levels of social media engagement often coincide with periods when prices are trading sideways or pulling back.

    According to experts, as the crypto ecosystem matures, price movements and infrastructure investments may not require as much intense individual investor interest as in past bull cycles.

    However, the renewed increase in individual investor participation remains a crucial factor in strengthening both trading volumes and market momentum. Therefore, social media data continues to be closely monitored as an indicator of market sentiment.

    *This is not investment advice.

  • ‘Beijing is laughing’ at US-Mexico-Canada stalled trade talks

    ‘Beijing is laughing’ at US-Mexico-Canada stalled trade talks

    NewsFeed

    A US trade expert says the US, Mexico, and Canada need to hold trilateral talks to get a cross-border trade deal signed. Ex-lead US international trade negotiator Harry Broadman says the longer it takes Trump to get a trade deal with his neighbours, the weaker he looks to China.

    Published On 14 Jul 2026

  • Trump threatens to attack ‘Pickaxe Mountain’ a nuclear facility inside Ira

    Trump threatens to attack ‘Pickaxe Mountain’ a nuclear facility inside Ira

    NewsFeed

    US President Donald Trump is threatening to attack a heavily-fortified underground nuclear facility in Iran known as ‘Pickaxe Mountain’. It followed a third night of US strikes and a demand the US be paid 20% of the value of all cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

    Published On 14 Jul 2026

  • State AGs Seek Temporary Restraining Order To Pause Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Merger

    State AGs Seek Temporary Restraining Order To Pause Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Merger

    State attorneys general are now seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to pause Paramount‘s proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, warning that the company may otherwise close the transaction as soon as July 22.

    That date is around the time that the European Union is expected to issue its decision on the transaction, with the U.S. Justice Department having already cleared the deal.

    The motion for a temporary restraining order was filed in federal court in Sacramento late on Monday. If granted, the TRO would temporarily pause the transaction as the legal proceedings take place.

    In their lawsuit filed earlier in the day, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 11 other state attorneys general argued that the merger would give Paramount leverage to harm competition for wide release theatrical distribution, anticipated top grossing film releasing, and basic cable channel licensing.

    In their motion, the states argued that they have met the threshold for a TRO and preliminary injunction, including the risk of irreparable harm without swift court action and that they had a likelihood of success on the merits.

    The state AGs wrote that the merger “will increase market concentration to presumptively unlawful levels in three relevant antitrust markets. Once consummated, layoffs, content cancellations, and harms to competition would commence immediately. If the Court subsequently determines that the Transaction is unlawful, it will then be ‘extraordinarily difficult to unscramble the egg’ and ‘too late to preserve competition if no preliminary injunction has issued.’” 

    Paramount responded to the lawsuit with a statement saying that it “reflects a fundamentally flawed application of the antitrust laws and is wrong on both the facts and the law.”

    “We will vigorously defend the transaction and demonstrate that this challenge is inconsistent with sound competition policy and the competitive realities of the media marketplace. Delaying this transaction will only harm entertainment workers who have already suffered over recent years as technology has disrupted their livelihood and cost California tens of thousands of entertainment jobs.”

    Per court documents, among those representing Paramount in the proceedings is Daniel Petrocelli, the litigator who successfully fought a federal antitrust challenge to AT&T’s acquisition of Warner Bros. in 2018. That case was brought by Makan Delrahim, then antitrust chief at the DOJ who is now chief legal officer for Paramount.

    In the motion for a TRO, the AGs said that Paramount declined to pause the merger until the court ruled on the merits. The AGs also argued that there would be “no cognizable harm” to Paramount or Warner Bros. to a pause as the case is adjudicated.

    The AGs wrote, “The merger agreement sets an outside date of March 4, 2027, which automatically extends to June 4, 2027 if antitrust review is still pending. The agreement also imposes a $7 million daily ticking fee on Paramount beginning September 30, 2026. The Defendants thus agreed to an outside date that contemplates more than eight months of accumulated ticking fees as part of the price of completing a transaction that might face antitrust scrutiny. Paramount’s interest in completing the Transaction now to spare it the costs of its own agreement is not a cognizable equity interest.”

    Bonta was among the state AGs who won a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction that has paused Nexstar’s proposed merger with Tegna, creating a broadcast station powerhouse. The case is on appeal, but the companies have to remain separate as the legal fight proceeds.

  • Jon Stewart Slams Donald Trump’s Reaction to Lindsey Graham’s Death

    Jon Stewart Slams Donald Trump’s Reaction to Lindsey Graham’s Death

    On Monday night’s episode of “The Daily Show,” Jon Stewart slammed President Donald Trump for the reaction he gave to the press following the death of Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham. Graham died on July 11 at 71 years old.

    “The big news from the weekend was the sudden passing of Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina,” Stewart said at the top of the show. “Now obviously, I knew him a bit from lobbying down at Capitol Hill, but I didn’t know him particularly well. So I’ll let Lindsey Graham’s best friend memorialize the late senator.”’

    Stewart then cut to a soundbite of Trump talking with the hosts of “Fox and Friends,” who he told over the phone, “He was a great guy and he was a friend. He would call me all the time. He would just — I’d say, ‘Stop calling me, Lindsey.’”

    “’I’ll never forget the way that I always let him go to voicemail. It was our thing,’” Stewart joked. “Obviously, he’s just opening the eulogy on a lighthearted note. I’m sure the poignancy follows.”

    The show then cut back to Trump’s reactions. He said across several call-in interviews with outlets like NBC, CNN and Fox News, “He loved playing golf. He loved being outside. It wasn’t that he was a great striker of the ball. He wasn’t — he wasn’t exactly a perfect — he wasn’t Jack Nicklaus. He was not Tiger. He was totally against me. He said, ‘I’ll get you in South Carolina. I’m going to get you in South Carolina.’ That didn’t work out too well. It was a nasty campaign. He was tough and nasty. I wanted to see the war with Ukraine end very quickly. I think he was more into, you know, keeping it going, frankly. He was a total workaholic politician. You know, some people don’t call that work. Some people call that a lot of talking.”

    Stewart then said, “Well, I think the President has zoomed through the first five stages of grief and gone straight to number six: Fuck that guy.”

    Watch the entire monologue below.

  • Did James Franco Find Real Alien Footage or Is He Just Trolling Everyone?

    Did James Franco Find Real Alien Footage or Is He Just Trolling Everyone?

    James Franco has found his way back on social media, but this time, it’s to reveal “some serious shit” that he claims has been going on.

    On June 3, the scandal-plagued Oscar-nominated actor popped up on TikTok with a new account, as he’s mostly remained off social media since his 2018 following sexual misconduct allegations. In his first video, he clarified that it’s really him and not AI, writing in the caption, “I can’t say too much right now. But stick around and I promise it will all make sense.”

    To any average TikTok user, their first thought might be: Is James Franco crazy? Don’t worry, because he already clarified in that first video that he’s not. “I maybe seem crazy, like, why? What’s going on? What’s the gimmick? No. This is real,” he said.

    However, in the many bizarre and cryptic videos that he’s posted since the beginning of June, they tell a different story. Appearing often frantic, Franco has continued to state that he thinks he’s being watched or followed and that he’s worried he might disappear.

    This led fans to speculate what was really going on, with many predicting that it’s all tied to promotion for an upcoming movie project. But on June 15, Franco revealed in another video that all the secrecy has to do with an alien he allegedly witnessed on his property.

    After saying that he’s going to expose the footage of the extraterrestrial encounter, Franco started teasing the date, July 13. “OK, they hacked my account. I got it back. They want me to stop. People think I’m acting crazy. Whatever. I’m not acting crazy. I saw something. They tried to hack my account and I got it back,” he said in a panicked video on June 25. “They don’t want me to show what I’m gonna show. I’m gonna show it. I already told you, 7/13.”

    Once the big day arrived on Monday, Franco said in the much-anticipated video that this was “thrust upon me” to reveal. “I saw something, and I thought, you know what? I can’t keep this quiet,” he stated. “I need to get this out for that very reason that people are trying to stop me.”

    However, I’m not sure the footage that Franco has been hyping up for a month was what fans were expecting. In the black-and-white clips, an alien-like figure can be seen roaming outside his house as well as coming up close to his windows.

    But truthfully, the footage didn’t seem too convincing, and fans in the video’s comment section agreed. “Clearly fake but I’ll say it again, I’m excited for whatever movie this is for,” one person wrote, while another added, “God damnit James Franco, you made us wait for this?!” Users also note that you have to be a paid subscriber to Franco’s account to see additional footage.

    It seems fans will just have to wait and see if Franco really is just trolling the internet in his free time or if this is all part of a larger project — a movie perhaps? “A lot more footage dropping soon! It gets very crazy!!!” a message read at the end of Monday’s video.

    The Hollywood Reporter reached out to Franco’s rep for more information and to confirm it’s the actor’s real TikTok account, but did not hear back at the time of publication. Also, according to Franco’s IMDb page, he’s currently working on several films, but none appear to be centered on extraterrestrial life.

    Once known for his prolific output, Franco has barely featured in mainstream film and television projects since the sexual misconduct allegations against him became public. The actor’s last major film project was the Coen brothers’ comedy Western anthology film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs for Netflix in 2018. Franco’s last TV project was the HBO series The Deuce, which ended in 2019. He will feature in two upcoming films distributed by Lionsgate, however, including John Rambo in 2027 and the yet to be dated Golden State Killer, a film directed by and starring fellow Hollywood pariah Vincent Gallo.

  • States Seek Injunction to Prevent Paramount-Warner Bros. Deal From Closing

    States Seek Injunction to Prevent Paramount-Warner Bros. Deal From Closing

    California and 11 other states have filed for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to prevent the Paramount-Warner Bros. deal from closing while the states pursue an antitrust lawsuit.

    In a motion filed on Monday evening, the states asked a federal judge to act by July 22. Paramount has previously informed the states that it will not close the transaction before that date.

    “The Transaction will eliminate competition between Paramount and Warner Bros. and enable the combined entity to raise prices and reduce output,” the motion states. “Plaintiff States have an interest in enforcing antitrust laws and their citizens face the risk of profound and irreversible injury in the absence of an injunction.”

    The states filed a lawsuit earlier in the day, alleging that the $111 billion transaction violates federal antitrust law in three markets: wide-release theatrical distribution, blockbuster film distribution, and basic cable TV distribution. The states argued that the deal would hurt consumers as well as theater owners and cable and satellite companies.

    Paramount Skydance quickly responded, saying the states had a “fundamentally flawed” understanding of the facts and the law.

    “Delaying this transaction will only harm entertainment workers who have already suffered over recent years as technology has disrupted their livelihood and cost California tens of thousands of entertainment jobs,” the company said.

    To get an injunction, the states will have to persuade a judge that the case has a likelihood of success, and that they will suffer “irreparable harm” in the absence of an injunction. The states argue that if the deal is allowed to close — and subsequently ruled unlawful — it will impossible to “unscramble the egg” at that point.

    The California attorney general’s office had said earlier on Monday that it would seek an injunction if Paramount did not agree to pause the merger while the case is pending. As expected, the company did not agree to that, prompting the filing.

    “These titans of industry must not move to merge until a court properly evaluates our claims,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement Monday evening. “Today, alongside a coalition of attorneys general, I’ve filed an emergency motion asking the court to immediately stop this merger. I will not let Warner Bros. and Paramount merge without a fight.”

    The injunction ruling will be an early test of the strength of the states’ case. In March, a similar coalition was able to obtain an order blocking the Nexstar-Tegna merger from taking effect. That ruling is now on appeal.

  • CLARITY Act gets new police backing before August deadline

    CLARITY Act gets new police backing before August deadline

    The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act has secured support from a second law enforcement organization before a Senate push.

    The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association said it supports H.R. 3633 but wants lawmakers to revise several provisions before passage.

    In a July 10 statement, FLEOA said the bill “represents meaningful progress” toward balancing digital asset development with public safety. The group represents more than 34,000 active and retired federal officers across over 65 agencies.

    FLEOA backs the bill but seeks DeFi changes

    FLEOA asked the Senate Banking Committee to make accountability clearer in decentralized finance, or DeFi. It also wants language that prevents companies from avoiding regulation by presenting controlled services as decentralized. The association urged senators to replace the bill’s “specific intent” test with an existing knowledge standard.

    The group also asked Congress to state clearly that the legislation does not reduce current federal investigative powers or block lawful court processes. FLEOA said agencies must retain authority covering criminal cases, anti-money laundering rules, sanctions and counterterrorism financing. National President Mathew Silverman said officers need tools to investigate complex financial crimes.

    Endorsement adds to a divided law enforcement debate

    The support follows the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives’ endorsement earlier in July. As previously reported, NOBLE became the first major law enforcement group to publicly back the bill.

    Ji Kim, CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, said FLEOA’s position showed the measure was strong on consumer protection and law enforcement.

    Significant. @FLEOAORG expressing support for CLARITY and confirming what many of us know–this bill is strong on consumer protection and law enforcement. The time is now to pass CLARITY to ensure the U.S. has these strong guardrails in place. https://t.co/DOBfOKjz0X

    — Ji Kim (@_jikim) July 13, 2026

    Other organizations have raised concerns about Section 604. The provision would protect some software developers and non-custodial service providers from being treated as money transmitters when they do not control customer funds. As reported by crypto.news, four law enforcement groups warned that broad protections could make some crypto crime investigations harder.

    In addition, the Department of Justice later challenged parts of those claims.The agency viewed some warnings about lost enforcement powers as inaccurate. The Major County Sheriffs of America also moved from opposition to a neutral position after further talks over Section 604.

    Senate faces a narrowing August window

    The Senate’s published 2026 schedule places its August state work period from Aug. 10 through Sept. 11. That leaves Aug. 7 as the final scheduled session day before the break. As of July 14, the Senate’s public floor schedule did not list a vote on the CLARITY Act.

    President Donald Trump urged the Senate to pass the measure on July 13, linking the appeal to the late Senator Lindsey Graham.The request came as negotiators worked to complete a merged draft before recess.

    Senator Cynthia Lummis said on July 8, “This is likely our last chance to get real legislation for digital assets on the books before 2030.” She warned that other countries could set the rules if Congress fails to act.

    This is likely our last chance to get real legislation for digital assets on the books before 2030. If we fail to pass the Clarity Act, we are ensuring another country will write the rules for digital assets and we spend the next decade catching up.

    — Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) July 8, 2026

    Senate staff still need to align Banking and Agriculture Committee language before a final floor vote. The bill also needs bipartisan support to clear the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.

    FLEOA’s endorsement gives supporters another law enforcement voice during negotiations. Its requested revisions show that questions over DeFi accountability, developer protections and investigative authority remain active before the scheduled summer break.