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  • Stephen Colbert is writing a new Lord of the Rings movie

    It’s been quite a while since we visited Middle-Earth on the big screen (anime prequels aside), but it looks like Lord of the Rings fans have plenty to look forward to in the coming years. We already knew that Andy Serkis’ The Hunt for Gollum was in the works — and by all accounts is progressing nicely — but another Rings-related film is in development too, and it’s being co-written by none other than Stephen Colbert.

    The announcement came from Peter Jackson himself, in a video posted by Warner Bros. to coincide with Tolkien Reading Day. The director of the Lord of the Rings trilogy provided a quick update on Serkis’ film (the British actor is both directing and reprising his role as Gollum), before introducing “very special partner” and diehard Tolkien fan Colbert on a video call.

    With The Late Show nearing its end, its host was seemingly going to be out of work in the summer. Colbert is working with his son Peter as well as screenwriter Philippa Boyens (who co-wrote the original film trilogy). They’ll adapt some early chapters of Fellowship of the Ring that never made it into Jackson’s 2001 film. The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past is actually set 14 years after the events of Return of the King, and will see Sam, Merry and Pippin retrace the first steps of their famous adventure.

    So while the new film is inspired specifically by Fellowship chapters III (‘Three is Company’) through VIII (‘Fog On The Barrow-Downs’), it sounds like we’re actually getting a sequel of sorts, in which we’ll also see Sam’s daughter Elanor make a huge discovery that puts her on her own quest.

    Colbert and his son had been scribbling away at their idea for several years before plucking up the courage to show what they had come up with to Jackson, but the legendary 64-year-old filmmaker was clearly a fan. And given the timing of the announcement, Colbert will soon be able to commit all of his energy to the project, which has not yet named any cast members. Will Sean Astin, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan be dusting off their hobbit attire? Only time will tell, but the time jump would presumably make it possible.

    The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past doesn’t have a release date, but its announcement coincides with the 25th anniversary of Fellowship of the Ring, which has already been marked by the whole trilogy returning to theaters earlier this year.

  • Bitcoin Exchange Coinbase Announces New Listing! Here Are the Details

    Bitcoin Exchange Coinbase Announces New Listing! Here Are the Details

    US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is preparing to add a new digital asset to its platform. According to a statement from Coinbase Markets, the exchange’s trading arm, the cryptocurrency called Perle (PRL) will be listed on the spot market starting March 25th.

    The announcement emphasized that the launch of PRL token trading would depend on liquidity conditions. Accordingly, if sufficient market depth and trading volume are achieved, the PRL-USD trading pair is planned to be activated later that same day.

    The new listing is seen as part of Coinbase’s strategy to increase the variety of assets offered to its users. The exchange typically follows a phased approach to adding new assets, first testing the technical infrastructure and liquidity conditions. This approach aims to limit potential price volatility and support a healthier market formation.

    Experts point out that listings on major exchanges can have a significant impact on the price and trading volume of the relevant crypto assets. Listings on platforms with a large global user base, in particular, can increase project visibility and attract new investors.

    On the other hand, Coinbase advised users to conduct thorough research on the relevant asset and consider market risks before making a transaction. PRL’s performance will largely depend on market conditions and investor interest.

    *This is not investment advice.

  • Pig wanders into S.C. home, gets chased off with a broom

    Pig wanders into S.C. home, gets chased off with a broom

    Odd News // 1 month ago

    Ohio man buys lottery ticket for wrong drawing, wins $50,000

    Feb. 20 (UPI) — An Ohio man attempting to play Mega Millions accidentally bought a ticket for the wrong lottery drawing — and ended up winning a $50,000 prize.

  • Disney+ “Ramping Up Production” Across Europe

    Disney+ “Ramping Up Production” Across Europe

    Disney+ is “ramping up production” across Europe, increasing commissioning for both scripted and non-scripted content, including a high-profile documentary on Welsh soul singer Duffy, a murder mystery set in Italy and a Turkish comedy featuring a 350-year-old vampire virgin.

    The streamer’s head of content for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Angela Jain, speaking at the Series Mania TV festival on Wednesday, said Disney+ would be boosting regional production across Europe.

    Jain outlined several regional highlights, including a feature documentary on Duffy, the Welsh soul singer who rocketed to global fame with the success of her hit single “Mercy” before dropping out of the public eye. Years later, Duffy posted on social media that she had been abducted and assaulted. The Disney+ documentary from Rare TV and Stellify Media will be the first time she has spoken publicly about her story.

    In Italy, Disney+ has commissioned what Jain called “a classic whodunit” — Murder on Lake Garda —based on the best-selling book by Tom Hindle about a murder on the eve of a glamorous wedding. Fremantle label The Apartment will be producing.

    More on the odd side of the spectrum is The Strange Story of Gustav Maier, a supernatural comedy from Turkey, which Jain pitched as “a hilarious love story about a 350-year-old virgin vampire who falls in love with a human.” MGX is producing in Turkey.

    In Spain, the streamer has ordered the documentary series Abandoned, which will tell the real-life story of three children who were found abandoned at a city train station. Forty years later they set out to uncover the truth about their parents and why they abandoned them. Luminol Media is producing.

    Prominent in its absence from Jain’s commissioning list was Europe’s largest TV territory, Germany, where Disney+ has put multiple planned productions on hold as it reassesses its local strategy there.

  • Josh Johnson to Host 2026 Webby Awards (Exclusive)

    Josh Johnson to Host 2026 Webby Awards (Exclusive)

    Comedian and Daily Show host Josh Johnson is set to host the 2026 Webby Awards, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively.

    The 30th edition of the celebration of the best of the internet is set to take place on Monday, May 11 at the ceremony’s longtime home of Cipriani Wall Street in New York.

    “The internet and social media we have can be pretty devastating sometimes, so to come together and celebrate more of the internet we want is a dream,” Johnson said in part in a statement in which he noted he was “honored” to be hosting the show.

    Johnson started out as a writer on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, making his late-night debut in 2017. Since then, he’s worked at The Daily Show as a writer and correspondent and currently a rotating host (he’s hosting Tuesday-Thursday of this week). He’s also an actor and stand-up comedian who recently wrapped up his sold-out Flowers tour.

    “We couldn’t be more excited to have Josh Johnson host this year’s 30th Annual Webby Awards,” Webby Media Group executive director Jesse Feister said in a separate statement. “Josh continues to push boundaries and earn acclaim for himself, combining sharp wit with an empathetic instinct for championing the voices in our community. His point of view and humor come from a real understanding of the Internet and everything that comes with it.”

    The Webby Awards, known for its signature five-word acceptance speeches, celebrates the best of the internet across websites, podcasts, AI, social media, games, apps, creators, ads, software, video and film. Nominees for this year’s Webby Awards will be announced on Tuesday, March 31.

    Past Webby Awards hosts have included Ilana Glazer, Amber Ruffin, Roy Wood Jr., Patton Oswalt, Jenny Slate and Nick Offerman.

  • Woman convicted of manslaughter for administering illegal gluteal injections to Kim Kardashian lookalike

    A Florida woman was convicted of involuntary manslaughter Monday for administering illegal gluteal injections to a woman — cultivating a career as a Kim Kardashian lookalike — who then died the next day due to complications from the procedure, prosecutors said.

    Vivian Alexandra Gomez, 53, was also convicted of practicing medicine without a license and enhancements for causing great bodily injury related to the procedure that caused the death of Christina Gourkani, 34, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.

    Gourkani, who had nearly 140,000 followers on Instagram and more than 200,000 on Twitter, posted photos of herself as a Kardashian lookalike and was open about her passion for plastic surgery. Shortly after her death, her father told Bay Area News Group that she had worked for a Walnut Creek-based cosmetic surgeon, where she underwent procedures to amplify her natural resemblance to the reality TV star.

    “This is one where we don’t have a lot of experience. We’ve done involuntary manslaughters loads of times, but one like this was new for us,” said San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe. “We weren’t confident which way the jury would go, but the jury clearly had no trouble with it. They deliberated for just three hours and arrived at their guilty verdicts.”

    “The bottom line to it was that, this time (Gomez) injected not silicone, but a drug into a human being, and that human being immediately reacted and was dead the next day,” he added. “A human being lost their life.”

    Geoff Carr and May Mar, Gomez’s defense attorneys, said that Gomez took the news of her conviction “stoically.” Carr added that Gomez feels “sad” and “personally responsible.”

    During the trial, they argued that there were “interesting issues about causation” – whether the gluteal injections of a product called Biosil directly caused the medical issues that killed Gourkani, Carr said.

    “The question was, what exactly had killed the woman?” Carr said. “Not whether our client did something, but whether what our client did actually kill her.”

    Carr added that there was also not further investigation into what was actually in what Gomez injected. She believed it was Biosil, which is at times marketed as being made with silicone and at times marketed as not being made with silicone. Gomez “may have been injecting silicone not knowing about it,” or the product may have not been what it was represented as, he said.

    The drug that Gomez injected was “something in the silicon family,” Wagstaffe said.

    The procedure is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration due to its health danger, prosecutors said.

    “She had no license at all to do it,” Wagstaffe added.

    Carr said that Gomez learned to do the procedure in Colombia, where it is legal, and had been offering it on and off for about ten years.

    Gomez could face up to seven years in prison pending her sentencing, prosecutors said.

    The jury came to its verdict after a 15 day trial, prosecutors said. The trial was overseen by San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Leland Davis.

    Gomez, a resident of Palm Beach, Florida, ran an unlicensed cosmetology business in her home state, prosecutors said. On April 19, 2023, Gomez flew to San Francisco International Airport to meet Gourkani, who hired her to administer the gluteal injections.

    Gomez, Gourkani and Gourkani’s fiancé met at a hotel in Burlingame, where Gomez administered the injections, prosecutors said.

    Gourkani “quickly fell very ill,” prosecutors added, prompting her fiancé to call 911. Gourkani was taken to the Mills Peninsula Hospital, where she died one day later due to a pulmonary embolism and respiratory failure.

    Gomez left California and returned to Florida, where she was soon arrested and extradited to San Mateo County.

    Wagstaffe said that other women Gomez had previously done the procedure on complained that it made them “feel poorly.” Carr added that previous clients of the procedure developed infections and lumpiness at the site of the injections.

    Gomez will next appear in court May 5 for her sentencing. She remains in custody on no bail status. She was previously out on $200,000 bail.

    Wagstaffe said that Davis’ decision to remand Gomez into custody is indicative that he “equally views this as a very serious conviction.”

  • ‘Morning Joe’ Duo Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski Inks New Long-Term Deal With MS NOW

    ‘Morning Joe’ Duo Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski Inks New Long-Term Deal With MS NOW

    MS NOW is sticking with Morning Joe.

    The cable channel has inked new long-term deals with Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

    Axios, which first reported on the deal, says the contracts will run through the end of 2029.

    The new deal keeps the power duo, and arguably two of its most powerful on-air personalities, on the channel past the 2028 election. Not bad for a show that was originally a fill-in program when it launched on MSNBC nearly 20 years ago in 2007. That temporary show has since become a flagship of MS NOW’s lineup.

    Last week MS NOW president Rebecca Kutler announced a significant overhaul of its lineup, including trimming Morning Joe from four hours back to its original three.

    But Scarborough has also begun to push beyond the TV, launching a newsletter called The Tea, which expands the show’s reach to the afternoons.

    Scarborough told THR last year that he wants to do more than just the show, and that MS NOW’s new home within Versant will enable them to do that faster. Cutting back on the on-air hours will allow them to develop more ideas.

    “When you’re in General Electric or Comcast, there’s layer after layer after layer,” Scarborough said. “What CEO Mark [Lazarus] is so excited about, and what Rebecca is so excited about, and what I’m now really excited about is how entrepreneurial they’re going to be.”

  • British Singer Duffy to Share Kidnap and Sexual Assault Story After Withdrawing From the Public Eye in New Disney+ Doc

    British Singer Duffy to Share Kidnap and Sexual Assault Story After Withdrawing From the Public Eye in New Disney+ Doc

    Welsh singer Duffy, who in 2020 revealed she had been drugged, raped and held hostage over several weeks, will share her story in a new Disney+ documentary.

    Disney+’s EMEA content chief Angela Jain announced the feature-length Hulu Original at Series Mania on Wednesday, saying that the Grammy-winning artist feels finally ready to speak.

    In the late 2000s, Duffy was one of the biggest names in music, with her multi-platinum album Rockferry and its lead single “Mercy” hitting the top of the charts across the globe. Then, she disappeared.

    For 10 years, Duffy vanished from the public eye. And in 2020, in a harrowing Instagram post that shocked Britain, the musician shared that a decade earlier, she had been drugged, kidnapped, and taken to another country, where she was violently and sexually abused.

    “She’s barely been seen or heard from since,” said Disney+. “Until now.”

    “Documenting her life in this way for the first time, the documentary will be a retrospective film traversing Duffy’s life, from her upbringing in Wales, through to her meteoric rise to fame and her withdrawal from public life following her unfathomable experience,” according to the streamer. “The original documentary film will be driven by new, unprecedented access to Duffy, along with a rich and nostalgic archive, and interviews with family, friends and close peers in the music industry.”

    The documentary is executive produced by Fernando De Jesus for Rare TV, who will produce the film in partnership with executive producer Matthew Worthy for Stellify Media. The film was commissioned out of the U.K. for Disney+ by Angela Jain, head of content, and Sean Doyle, vp, unscripted for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It’ll be directed by Gill Callan from Northern Ireland.

    “Fifteen years ago, Duffy was one of the most famous singers in the world. Her voice was distinctly recognizable and powerful. Songs “Mercy” and “Warwick Avenue” from her debut album led to three Brit Awards, a Grammy and Duffy being at the peak of her career. And then she disappeared,” said Doyle. “This film will give Duffy the chance to tell her story in her own words. I am grateful to our collaborators at Rare TV for this unprecedented access, along with Stellify Media for handling this project with sensitivity and care. We set out in a search for impactful, female-led stories in collaboration with Northern Ireland Screen, and it’s a privilege that Duffy’s is the first we’re able to help tell.”

    “But above all, I’m especially in awe of Duffy — for her honesty and courage to share her story,” he added.

  • Democrat captures Florida House seat in Trump’s Mar-a-Lago district

    Democrat captures Florida House seat in Trump’s Mar-a-Lago district

    Emily Gregory’s victory in the previously GOP-held district is the latest Democratic upset before the November midterms.

    Published On 25 Mar 2026

    Democratic candidate Emily Gregory is projected to win a special election for a Florida state House of Representatives seat that includes United States President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, in the latest sign of strain for Trump’s Republican Party.

    With almost all votes counted from the Tuesday election, Gregory led her Trump-endorsed opponent Jon Maples by 2.4 percentage points, reported the AP news agency.

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    Democrats hailed the victory in the previously Republican-controlled House District 87 as a sign voters are turning against Republicans and Trump before November’s midterm elections. Democrats registered electoral gains in the November 2025 gubernatorial and mayoral elections, with the cost of living cited as a major issue on people’s minds.

    The US decision to join Israel in attacking Iran has driven up oil and gas prices, putting further inflationary pressures on Americans.

    “If Mar-a-Lago is vulnerable, imagine what’s possible this November,” said Heather Williams, president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. She said Tuesday’s race was the 29th seat that Democrats have flipped from Republican control since Trump took office.

    “Gas prices are spiking, grocery costs are up, and families can’t get by – it’s clear voters at the polls are fed up with Republicans,” Williams said.

    Gregory grew up north of Palm Beach in Stuart. She’s the owner of a fitness company that works with pregnant and postpartum women, and she has never run for elected office before.

    Speaking to MSNOW after her victory, she said she was “pretty shocked” and “having a fairly out-of-body experience”.

    Gregory’s victory is the latest in a series of improbable special election outcomes across the country since Trump returned to the White House more than a year ago, including several notable Democratic wins in Republican-controlled Florida.

    In December, Eileen Higgins won the race for Miami mayor, the first time a Democrat had led the city in nearly three decades. She defeated a Trump-endorsed Republican in a campaign that leaned heavily into criticism of the president’s immigration crackdown, a message that resonated with the city’s large Hispanic population.

    Further west in Texas, Democrat Taylor Rehmet flipped a reliably Republican state Senate district in a special election in January.

    Trump immediately distanced himself from the loss in a district he’d won by 17 points in 2024, saying “I’m not involved in that” even though he had endorsed the Republican candidate.

    Trump, who keeps Mar-a-Lago as his official residence, voted by mail in the Tuesday election, and his ballot was counted, Palm Beach County voter records show. He chose a mail ballot despite publicly bashing the voting method as a source of fraud and pushing Congress to curtail the practice.

  • Circle Stock Dives as Rival Tether Secures Big Four Audit, Crypto Bill Threatens Stablecoin Yield

    Circle Stock Dives as Rival Tether Secures Big Four Audit, Crypto Bill Threatens Stablecoin Yield

    In brief

    • Circle’s CRCL shares dropped 20% on Tuesday following a recent surge in value for the firm’s stock.
    • Stablecoin giant Tether announced a long-awaited agreement for an audit from a “Big Four” accounting firm.
    • Lawmakers are reviewing compromise language to the Clarity Act market structure bill that could impact stablecoin yield.

    Stablecoin issuer Circle saw its stock take a 20% dive Tuesday following a double shot of potentially concerning news for the firm behind the prominent USDC stablecoin.

    As of the close of trading, CRCL changed hands for $101.24, falling just over 20% on the day—and it’s ticking down further in after-hours trading thus far, as of this writing. Shares of the closely aligned crypto exchange Coinbase also fell nearly 10% on the day, finishing at $181.04.

    Early Tuesday, stablecoin rival Tether—issuer of the largest stablecoin by market cap, USDT—said that it had agreed to undergo a full audit by an unnamed “Big Four” accounting firm, one of the last potential hurdles to compliance with the U.S. GENIUS Act. That could make Tether a bigger domestic threat to Circle in the future.

    Circle’s share price may also have been impacted by the latest developments with another piece of legislation, the proposed Clarity Act market structure bill that’s still being revised by lawmakers. Crypto lobbyists reviewed compromise language regarding stablecoin yield on Monday, with the banking lobby currently reviewing to see if they’ll get onboard with the version of the language put together by Senators Alsobrooks and Tillis and the White House.

    Speculation over the reported Clarity Act draft has echoed across social media as crypto industry players grapple with the potential impacts if restrictions on stablecoin yield make it into the final version of the bill—and it’s ultimately passed.

    At the time of writing, Coinbase has been offering 3.5% rewards for USDC balances held on its premium Coinbase One platform. The company just ended its USDC rewards program for free exchange users in December. At the time, it had been advertising 4.5% rewards for Coinbase One users, but has since adjusted its rewards rate.

    Coinbase competitor Kraken has been offering up to 5% rewards on USDC balances held on its platform. And Binance, the largest centralized crypto exchange by volume, pays users 5.63% on USDC balances held in its wallets. Binance used to offer its own stablecoin, BUSD, but stopped minting new tokens after its issuing partner Paxos ran afoul of New York regulators, who alleged the firm hadn’t done enough due diligence.

    Analysts have otherwise been optimistic about Circle. The company’s shares have gained 170% since early February, far outpacing other crypto stocks and the struggling broader stock market.

    Just last week, Clear Street analyst Owen Lau raised the firm’s price target for CRCL to $152 after noting that Mastercard’s $1.8 billion acquisition of BVNK, a stablecoin payments infrastructure firm, was bullish for the space.

    The CRCL surge had also been driven by a blowout earnings report. Circle announced 72% growth in its USDC stablecoin to $75.3 billion and 77% revenue growth to $770 million in the fourth quarter of 2025, triggering a 35% single-day gain that rippled across crypto markets.

    A higher-for-longer interest-rate outlook, reinforced by geopolitical tensions and rising oil prices, had also boosted Circle’s earnings prospects, since the company earns substantial interest on reserves backing its USDC stablecoin.

    At the time of writing, there’s more than $78 billion worth of USDC tokens in circulation, and an equivalent worth of cash or cash-like investments being held by its issuer to back those stablecoins.

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