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Pete Buttigieg, Beto O’Rourke Trade Jabs Over Gun Reform Plans At Democratic Debate

One of the livelier exchanges at the Democratic primary debate on Tuesday night was a bitter back-and-forth between South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke.

O’Rourke has tied his candidacy recently to a mandatory AR-15 and AK-47 weapon buyback proposal to limit the number of firearms on the streets. At the last debate, when he was asked whether that meant he was proposing to take away guns, O’Rourke responded, “Hell yes.”

At Tuesday’s debate, sponsored by CNN and The New York Times, O’Rourke took issue with Buttigieg’s description of the plan as a “shiny object” that will distract from efforts to defeat Donald Trump.

O’Rourke called the comment “a slap in the face” to “every survivor of mass casualty assault.”

Buttigieg responded, “Congressman, you just made it clear that you don’t know how this is going to take weapons off the street. If you can develop the plan further, I think we can have a debate about it, but we can’t wait. People are dying in the streets right now but we can’t wait for universal background checks that we finally have a shot to get through.”

O’Rourke shot back: “This is a crisis and we have to do something about it.”

He pointed to the actions of the Parkland students in demanding urgent action on the issue.

“Let’s follow their inspiration and lead, and not be limited by the polls and the consultants and the focus groups,” O’Rourke said.

Buttigieg, however, took that as a dig on his own proposals.

“The problem isn’t in the polls. It is in the policy. I don’t need lessons from you in courage, political or personal,” Buttigieg said, adding that the problem is the National Rifle Association “and their enablers in Congress and we should be united in taking the fight to them.”

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Survivor fans have trouble with cast during Season 39 episodes

A lot of Survivor fans are a bit frustrated with the cold openings of Season 39. It has led to some struggles when it comes to getting familiar with the 20 new castaways.

A cold opening is when a show just starts up without an introduction, title sequence, or opening credits. It’s become a very familiar tactic for Saturday Night Live and several other shows, like NCIS, have followed that lead.

With the Survivor 39 cast, having no opening segment for the introduction of the new castaways has made it more difficult for fans to learn the names of these people. And with 20 new castaways taking part in Survivor: Island of the Idols, some viewers are having a tough time keeping up.

It’s made even worse for a viewer that might have missed an episode or two already because the show is jumping right into things without the familiar theme music and video footage. Normally, a second or two is spent showing each cast member with their name. Not this year.

Survivor: Island of the Idols Episode 4 preview

A new episode of the show is going to air on Wednesday night, with just 17 castaways left competing for the $1 million cash prize. During the last episode, a huge blindside took place at Tribal Council, sending an unsuspecting castaway home far earlier than they had expected.

According to CBS, the new episode is called “Plan Z” and it advertises another castaway getting to meet with Boston Rob and Sandra. They will have the chance to “seize an opportunity to prove the strength of the power of persuasion.”

It should be an interesting segment to watch if viewers can remember the name of this person.

The images below are from Episode 4 and it indicates that the blindfold challenge is back.

When the cast starts to thin out a bit more, it will be easier for Survivor fans to keep up with the Season 39 cast and what their names are this time. Until then, though, it will require paying very close attention, even if it is a tad frustrating.

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Here’s how much money Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper would have made in real life

Our whole universe was in a sad state when The Big Bang Theory cast took their final bow in 2019. By the final season, the principal actors Kaley Cuoco, Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kunal Nayyer and Simon Helberg were taking home a staggering $1 million per episode. In 2018, Parsons topped Forbes’ highest-paid TV actor list. The actor, who brought Sheldon Cooper to life for 12 years, raked in $26.5 million in 2018 alone. The show’s richest star might have pocketed quite a bit of cash over the course of the series, but the character he portrayed definitely wasn’t doing too shabby either. As an experimental physicist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., Professor Cooper would have been making a pretty penny himself. So if Sheldon Cooper really was a physicist at Caltech, exactly how much money would he have made?

Big Bang, big bucks

While Sheldon Cooper is most definitely not a multi-millionaire, his annual salary wouldn’t be anything to sneeze at. According to Glassdoor, the average base pay for a research scientist at Caltech is $89,818, while the average pay for a physicist in the United States is $102,286. Since Cooper is described throughout the show as a “senior theoretical physicist,” it’s probably safe to say that he would bring in over $100,000 a year. At one point during the series, Cooper was made a junior professor by the university, during which time he taught a graduate-level class on analytical mechanics. The Chronicle, which maintains academic salary records for universities across the country, lists the salary of an associate professor at Caltech at around $142,000 per year in 2014 — the year the episode announcing Cooper’s new position aired. That means that with the various positions he held at the university over the course of The Big Bang Theory, Cooper probably took home an annual salary of between $100,000 – $150,000. And seeing as he lived with Leonard Hofstadter throughout the series, he was cutting his rent in half, which translates to a whole lot more money for Thai food, comic books, and action figures.  

Now that the show has wrapped, the lights have dimmed on the lives of the characters. However, the dark secrets the cast hid over the years will live on. 

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Suits season 9 finale: 5 questions that remain after the final series

After nine years on the network, Suits was finally brought to an end last month. The finale saw two weddings, one birth and a big career move reveal, as well as plenty of bittersweet moments as the show finished for good. However, as fans said goodbye to the beloved characters as well as the legal firm, there were a few questions left lingering when the credits drew to a close.

1. Will Harvey be able to hack a smaller firm?

Fans of Suits will know that Harvey Specter (played by Gabriel Macht) is never one to shy away from big clients.

Sometimes morally dubious, Harvey was known to represent large corporations on the legal battlefield.

Therefore the reveal that he is switching sides by joining Mike Ross’ (Patrick J Adams) Seattle firm came as a shock to many left wondering how Harvey will deal with the smaller stakes.

However, actor Gabriel Macht has argued that this is the right time for his character to make the move.

He told Entertainment Weekly: “I think that Harvey recognises that it’s time. He’s done enough of the corporate deals, he’s worked for the man for many, many years, and now he wants to work for the everyman.

“Harvey has always had the best intentions of what’s just, and that’s why he’s always really believed in Mike, because he relates to him in that way. So I think it was the right idea for him to move to Seattle.”

2. What is next for the firm?

The finale also revealed a shake-up at the firm now that so many of the major players have left.

Over the past few seasons viewers saw Mike and Rachel Zane (Meghan Markle) leave the firm, along with Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres).

Now the final episode also revealed that Harvey and Donna Paulsen (Sarah Rafferty) were also saying their goodbyes while Katrina Bennett (Amanda Schull) was promoted to partner.

With so many fresh faces, the legal firm is sure to have a shake-up with its new staff in charge – but how extreme would this be?

3. Where was Jessica Pearson?

After she left in season six, Jessica Pearson’s presence on the show had been missed by many viewers.

Although she has gone on to star in her own spin-off called Pearson, some fans were hoping that she could make a return in the series finale.

However, Jessica did not turn up in the end at Louis Litt’s (Rick Hoffman) and Shelia Sazs’s (Rachael Harris) wedding.

Speaking about the decision not to include her, showrunner Aaron Korsh revealed it was a problem of scheduling.

He told Deadline: “Gina Torres, Jessica, she was worn out from the shooting of Pearson. We did have a scene for her.

“With her schedule, we couldn’t make it work. That’s really probably the one I would have liked to have had.”

4. How will Harvey deal with Mike being the boss?

The major dynamic for most of the show was that Harvey was the boss and Mike was his protégé.

Now that Harvey is heading to Seattle to work for Mike’s company, some have been wondering how they will deal with this new challenge.

Fans saw a hint of this when the pair reenacted their interview from the pilot episode with reversed roles.

However, Korsh has weighed in the new dynamic in an interview with Deadline: “First of all, we say new boss. I think they’re really going to be working side by side.”

5. Will fans see the characters again in the spin-off?

While it seems like a fitting goodbye to the cast of Suits, many are hoping that they could return again.

One way this could happen would be if they were to turn up in the spin-off series Pearson for a special episode.

Speaking to TV Guide, Korsh said he would leave it up to executive producer Daniel Arkin to decide but he won’t rule it out.

He said: “I could see any one of these characters either temporarily. Permanently might be a little bit more difficult, that’s from my point of view.”

Suits season 9 is now available to stream on Netflix.

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Strictly 2019: Katya Jones hits back at fans ‘drunk’ claims after falling over twice

Strictly Come Dancing 2019 professional dancer Katya Jones has come under fire from viewers after she fell twice during a live show two weeks ago. Speaking about the claims of ‘drunk behaviour’, she joined Loose Women to set the record straight about the calls for her to be ‘sacked’ by the BBC. 

Katya is partnered up with BBC Breakfast sports presenter Mike Bushell this year and the pair have had a rocky journey on the dance competition so far when it comes to judges scores. 

Nevertheless, they have escaped every single dance off and on Saturday night, they had their best dance yet. 

BBC One viewers tuned in to see them perform the Quickstep and they were awarded one seven, a nine and two eights from the judges giving them a combined total of 32 points, placing them fifth on the leaderboard at the end of the night. 

However, the week before was a different story. 

READ MORE

  • Strictly 2019: Shirley Ballas speaks out on judge controversy

During week three of the nation’s favourite dance show, Anneka Rice and professional dance partner Kevin Clifton were sent home. 

But this was not the biggest talking point; instead, Katya falling over twice was. 

The first time she dropped to the floor was during her Magic Mike routine where she lost her footing and balance and face planted the floor. 

While she tried to shrug off the incident, when she went to join Claudia Winkleman upstairs for the results, she fell again amongst the other pros

And apparently, those watching at home suggested she had been intoxicated and asked the BBC to consider letting her go. 

“Is Katya drunk on #StrictlyComeDancing?! Honestly…she must be – stumbling al all over the place! @bbcstrictly,” one said. 

Another wrote on Twitter: “Think Katya’s drunk #StrictlyComeDancing.” 

Katya spoke about this moment to today’s Loose Women panel and the comments she had received on her own social media profiles from viewers about her behaviour. 

“Katya the week of Magic Mike, there was the accident, I loved the way you styled it out,” Brendan said. 

“Everyone was saying you were drunk and you had a bit too much to drink because you did the stumble up the stairs as well.” 

“Well that was on purpose if people didn’t get that,” she explained to the live audience and those watching at home. 

“But in the dance, it was such a normal thing, all I cared about was for him to carry on and finish the dolphin!” 

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Loose Women then showed a clip of Katya falling for the second time and she remarked: “How good are my acting skills?” I think they’re pretty good. 

“Yes it’s a little bit sad to be honest with you, I got so many messages saying ‘oh she’s drunk and BBC shouldn’t hire her.’” She said seriously. 

“Sadly, people want me to slip up, literally and I did.” 

This weekend, Katy and Mike are going to dance the Samba to Jump On It by The Sugarhill Gang. 

As for whether or not they will make it to week six, there is chance their choice of dance will hinder them. 

Strictly Come Dancing 2019 returns to BBC One on Saturday at 6.40pm and It Takes Two airs weekday evenings at 6.30pm on BBC One. 

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Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige Adds Marvel Chief Creative Officer Title; He’ll Oversee All Creative & Story Initiatives

EXCLUSIVE: A major structural shift is taking place at Marvel. As the brand looks to put even more of its stamp on The Walt Disney Company with the upcoming launch of Disney +, all of Marvel’s creative personnel is moving under Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. Deadline hears that Feige is adding the title of Chief Creative Officer, Marvel, to his title. What that means for the brand is that all the company’s key creative executives across film and TV will now report to him, sources said. Already master of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Feige’s oversight will extend to the overall creative direction of Marvel’s storytelling and content creation platforms. As part of this, Marvel TV and animation generator Marvel Family Entertainment will move under Feige’s Marvel Studios banner.

I’ve heard this move is being finalized this week, and it makes strong sense that Feige would extend his oversight even further than it stretches now. He was a major presence at Investor Day, when Disney launched its OTT streamer Disney + plans and Feige mapped out Marvel’s series contributions to the service that includes The Falcon and Winter Soldier, Loki, She-Hulk, Moon Knight, Hawkeye, What If? and WandaVision. He was also the front man for Marvel’s upcoming product at D23 and San Diego Comic-Con.

Feige continues to report to Walt Disney Co-Chairman and Chief Creative Officer Alan Horn and Co-Chairman Alan Bergman.  The decision to place all film and television production and publishing under Marvel Studios comes at an important inflection point for the company: Marvel is moving into a second phase of its superhero film franchise launches, after an unprecedented record of success in its first decade. And the move comes as efforts to generate Marvel TV series for other platforms has wound down but will soon begin a new phase as Marvel creates premium content for Disney +.

Here is how the reporting structure will line up right under Feige: Dan Buckley will continue as President of Marvel Entertainment, where Ike Perlmutter remains Chairman. Long a creative collaborator for Feige in publishing and television, Buckley will have a dual reporting structure going forward, Deadline hears. He will continue to oversee publishing creative/editorial and in that capacity he will now report to Feige. Buckley is also responsible for publishing operations, sales, creative services, games, licensing and events. There, he will report to Perlmutter. It is expected that Joe Quesada will remain a creative lead for of Marvel Entertainment, reporting to Buckley. It is expected that all the creative execs in publishing will report to Buckley.

This streamlining of reporting structure at Marvel comes as Feige’s importance to the superhero factory got underscored several times this year. That included a summer-long standoff between Disney and Sony Pictures over his services as producer and major creative influence on Spider-Man, after Far From Home became Sony’s highest grossing film of all time at $1.13 billion. A truce was recently drawn that makes Disney a 25% co-financier and gives the studio a corresponding profit share for one movie. It also puts Spider-Man in one more separate Marvel movie, continuing the strategy that helped establish Tom Holland’s wall crawler after the character followed Spider-Man: Homecoming with appearances in Captain America: Civil War and the two Avengers films directed by Joe and Anthony Russo.

On the film front, Feige capped a first decade that saw myriad superhero franchise launches without a single misfire, helped by that cross pollination strategy. Those films had a collective global gross of $26.8 billion. This year, Feige produced all-time box office champ Avengers: Endgame, and two other billion dollar global grossers in Captain Marvel and Spider-Man: Far From Home. That on the heels of Black Panther becoming Marvel’s first Best Picture Oscar nominee, after grossing $1.3 billion. Feige separately was just set to produce and develop a Star Wars film under Lucasfilm’s Kathy Kennedy.

 

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Felicity Huffman Reports to Prison After College Admissions Scandal Guilty Plea

Actress begins 14-day sentence 10 days ahead of schedule

Paul Marotta/Getty Images

Felicity Huffman reported to prison on Tuesday to begin her two-week prison sentence for her role in the nationwide college admissions cheating case.

The actress was sentenced to 14 days last month by Judge Indira Talwani in a Boston federal court. Federal prosecutors had recommended a one-month sentence last week. Huffman had been ordered to report to the Bureau of Prison on Oct. 25. After her two weeks, she is sentenced to one year of probation and must pay a $30,000 fine.

“Felicity Huffman reported today for sentencing to the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, CA. Ms. Huffman is prepared to serve the term of imprisonment Judge Talwani ordered as one part of the punishment she imposed for Ms. Huffman’s actions,” a representative for the actress said in a statement. “She will begin serving the remainder of the sentence Judge Talwani imposed–one year of supervised release, with conditions including 250 hours of community service–when she is released.”

Huffman, along with actress Lori Loughlin, was arrested in March as part of a nationwide college admissions cheating case. In total, the people arrested were charged with paying bribes of up to $6 million to get their children into top universities like Yale, Stanford, Georgetown and USC in what authorities described as the “largest college admissions scam ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice.”

In May, Huffman pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. At that time, federal prosecutors recommended a sentence of four months.

Huffman and her spouse — “Shameless” star William H. Macy, who was not charged — made a charitable donation of $15,000 to participate in a college entrance exam cheating scheme led by Rick Singer, on behalf of her oldest daughter. Huffman had initially planned to do the same thing for her youngest daughter, before backing out.

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Avengers Endgame: Spider-Man Far From Home fan theory points out Iron Man ‘PLOT HOLE’

Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr) may have died in Avengers Endgame, but he was ever-present in Spider-Man Far From Home. Iron Man left behind tech such as E.D.I.T.H., his augmented reality security system to Peter Parker (Tom Holland). Spider-Man was able to use Stark’s resources through his sunglasses seen in Avengers Infinity War. And in one comical scene, Peter accidentally activates a weaponised drone. 

However, a new fan theory speculates such drones are a plot hole, because building them would not be in Tony’s character.

Reddit user iamre writes: “Why did Tony give the EDITH glasses, glasses that give the user access to the Stark Network; which include an extremely powerful AI, hacking/access to change and view basically any technology, person, etc… access to killer powerful weaponised drones you can call from space to kill anyone you want, etc… to a 16-year-old kid?

“Tony, who, in the VERY FIRST Iron Man movie swore off building weapons because he learned what they were capable of in the wrong hands. 

“Who, learns that lesson again in Iron Man 2. And again in Winter Soldier when Hydra literally takes over weapons from the sky that they can use to target anyone on earth (sound familiar?) 

The fan continues: “And again in Avengers Age of Ultron when he tries to create an ‘armour around the world’ and again it goes wrong…”

If anything Iron Man choosing the side of the Sokovia Accords, which allowed government oversight for the Avengers, in Captain America Civil War backs up this theory.

READ MORE: ROBERT DOWNEY JR ON MARTIN SCORSESE MARVEL SLAM

Despite the apparent plot hole, the fan proves a theory to help explain it.

They wrote: “Thanos and the events of Infinity War worried him so much that after he came back from Space in Endgame, he started building some weaponised drones so that even if he dies Earth is protected.”

Meanwhile, another popular theory guesses Tony Stark is still alive in his AI tech.

Reddit user ankitkvishwakarma argues that the hologram of Tony projected from his Iron Man helmet during the Avengers Endgame funeral scene wasn’t a recording but an AI of him. 

They argue: “When [the] hologram was about to end we saw that Tony stood up from his chair and came towards Morgan and made eye contact with [her] and said ‘I love you 3000’.”

They continue: “So the suspicious part about this scene is that if it was a prerecorded hologram how would Tony know that Morgan would be sitting on the sofa when Pepper and Morgan would be watching the hologram?

“And also how would he know the location from where the hologram was getting projected?

“Not just the location but how would a 3D hologram make eye contact with a human. How would Tony know the locations before recording? 

According to science, it isn’t possible for a pre-recorded message to be like this.

“What if? It was Tony’s A.I.? Backed up in his helmet?” they added. 

Viewers will have to wait and see if this theory is proved correct.

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Charlotte Church opens up about explosive family feud on This Morning

This Morning presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield spoke to singer Charlotte Church ahead of her documentary on her family later this week.

Viewers were stunned as Charlotte returned to screens for the first time in years as she discussed her family feud.

Charlotte and her mum Maria discussed their major fallout from when Charlotte was a teenager, which caused them to not speak for two years.

Maria told Holly and Phil: "Charlotte broke my heart, I had a nervous breakdown."

Charlotte added: "The documentary made me understand Mum and Dad more in a way I didn't think was possible.

"I realised what my success cost mum and dad."

However, the pair said they wouldn't change anything they had done in the past.

More to follow…

  • This Morning
  • Holly Willoughby
  • ITV
  • Family

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‘DWTS’ Recap: Celebrities Bring Magical Performances on Disney Night

The ABC dancing show aired its Disney Night on Monday, October 14, featuring celebrity contestants hitting the ballroom to pay tribute to classic movies from the Mouse House.

AceShowbiz -One of the best nights on “Dancing with the Stars” is here! The ABC dancing competition show aired its Disney Night on Monday, October 14, featuring celebrity contestants hitting the ballroom to pay tribute to classic movies from the Mouse House.

Kicking off the magical night were Sailor Brinkley Cook and Val Chmerkovskiy. The pair danced a Viennese Waltz to “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” from “Cinderella”. It was so beautiful that Len Goodman called the routine light and fluffy. Meanwhile, Bruno Tonioli called Sailor the “ideal Disney princess” before praising her for improving her spin. Sailor earned 24 points out of 30.

Karamo Brown and Jenna Johnson followed it up with an emotional performance of Samba to “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” from “The Lion King”. Bruno said that he liked that Karamo attacked it like a leader, though he noted that Karamo needed better footwork and “elasticity” during the Samba portions. Carrie Ann Inaba added that she liked the Afro-Cuban sections better than the samba one. The judges gave Karamo a 21.

Dancing Jazz to “Spoonful of Sugar” from “Marry Poppins” were Kate Flannery and Pasha Pashkov. Len loved it, describing the performance as “sweet and delicate,” adding, “You are back in the game.” For the routine, Kate was given 24 points.

Sean Spicer and Lindsay Arnold opted for a fun Quickstep to “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from “Toy Story“. It was a “pretty good” routine, according to Len. As for Carrie Ann, he admitted that Sean took her breath away at one point before adding that he did a “really good job.” The judges gave him 19 points.

The next performer were Ally Brooke, who danced a Contemporary to “Beauty and the Beast” from the movie of the same name alongside Sasha Farber. Bruno praised Ally for her “fearless commitment” and dubbed her “an honest performer.” Len gushed over the routine, saying that it was “smooth like butter on a hot muffin.” Ally got 27 points, marking the first 9s of the season.

Lauren Alaina and Gleb Savchenko hit the ballroom to dance a Samba to “Under the Sea” from “The Little Mermaid”. Len didn’t seem to be pleased with the performance as he said that there was a “little too much going on” throughout the performance. Bruno added that there were a few “weird” moments. The judges gave Lauren a 23.

Kel Mitchell and Witney Carson brought energy with a jazz routine to “We’re All in This Together” from “High School Musical“. “That was a dance that really suited you,” Len raved. Bruno and Carrie Ann also agreed with Len, adding that it was a “non-stop high octane dancing.” Kel got 26 points as everyone but Len gave him a 9.

For the Disney Night, Hannah Brown opted to dance a magnificent Foxtrot to “A Whole New World” from “Aladdin“. Bruno loved the routine but he couldn’t see some of the footwork because of the fog. Carrie Ann also liked the “stunning” performance. The pair earned a 25.

Concluding the night was James Van Der Beek who danced a Paso Doble to the “Pirates of the Caribbean” theme song along with Emma Slater. Of the fierce routing, Carrie Ann said, “That was insane.” Bruno then called it a “big hit.” The judges gave James 26 points.

It was later time for the results. Much to everyone’s joy, no one was eliminated!

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