Oprah Winfrey’s “The Color Purple” remake has continued to struggle at the box office following an impressive opening over the Christmas holiday after its release on December 25. The Broadway musical adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel by the same name opened on Christmas day to $18.5 million‚ thanks to group sales‚ the New York Times reported. The 2023 version stars Taraji P. Henson‚ Colman Domingo‚ and Danielle Brooks.  Winfrey‚ who produced the film with Steven Spielberg‚ celebrated the response with a post on Instagram‚ “I’m overwhelmed with gratitude. … For y’all to buy tickets‚ dress up in purple‚ and show up in droves is filling me up.” “The Color Purple‚” which cost at least $90 million to make and $40 million to market‚ struggled at the box office in its second weekend‚ selling less than $5 million in tickets in its second weekend after nearly setting a record when it opened on Dec. 25. https://t.co/DAVbfeeu4I — The New York Times (@nytimes) January 7‚ 2024 However‚ the film’s initial response appears to have been short-lived: the movie finished the New Year’s holiday weekend with a domestic total of just $47.2 million — after Warner Bros. spent at least $90 million to make it plus another $40 million to market the movie‚ the New York Times reported. The film fell 62% in sales from its opening‚ and is currently in 7th place behind George Clooney’s “The Boys in the Boat‚” FrontPage mag noted. It has earned‚ to date‚ a total of $55 million. In comparison‚ the original 1985 Spielberg version of “The Color Purple” — starring Whoopi Goldberg — did very well in theaters‚ scoring nearly $100 million at the box office‚ not adjusted for inflation‚ Box Office Mojo noted. One difference between the two movies was a decision to play up certain parts of Walker’s story‚ primarily the lesbian relationship‚ FrontPage mag noted. The Times suggested that the reason for the film’s lackluster performance was what it called the movie’s inability to reach outside a “specialty audience.” While it has been well received by Black moviegoers‚ it needs more than those film watchers to really succeed in the box office game‚ the NYT noted. On opening weekend‚ the audience was 65 percent Black‚ 19 percent white‚ 8 percent Hispanic‚ and about 5 percent Asian‚ according to PostTrak‚ a service that provides demographics of ticket buyers‚ the NYT noted. Jeff Goldstein‚ Warner’s president of domestic distribution‚ told the Times it was too early to decide whether the film was a box office failure or not. “I think the jury is going to be out for several weeks‚ as people talk to their friends about what movies they have seen and enjoyed — what has moved them and uplifted them — and the film continues to be honored by awards groups‚” Goldstein said. “What we know about older audiences is that they don’t rush out to theaters‚” he added. Related: ‘The Color Purple’ Actress Cries While Claiming She’s Underpaid In Hollywood: ‘The Math Ain’t Mathing’

Congress is a waste of space and time. Congress should be clawing back its own authority from the executive branch and actually doing things from time to time. But they’re not focused on what matters. Instead‚ they are focused on camera spots. Yesterday‚ Hunter Biden showed up on the Hill. The goal for him in showing up on the Hill was to try to demonstrate Republicans would not allow him to testify openly; they want him to testify behind closed doors. Originally‚ the committee said he could pick to testify behind closed doors or to testify openly‚ and then they said they actually wanted him to do both. They want him to testify behind closed doors in order to testify openly. Realistically‚ you really want people to testify behind closed doors because otherwise you end up with grandstanding. So‚ what did we get yesterday from both sides of the aisle? Grandstanding‚ instead of actually doing the work of legislating. Nancy Mace did her part‚ ripping Hunter Biden. She began: My first question is who bribed Hunter Biden to be here today? That’s my first question.” Then she continued: “Second question‚ you are the epitome of white privilege. Coming into the Oversight Committee‚ spitting in our face‚ ignoring a congressional subpoena to be deposed. What are you afraid of? You have no balls to come up here. Mr. Chairman‚ I think that Hunter Biden should be arrested right here and right now and go straight to jail. This is the kind of stuff that gets sent out in fundraising emails and achieves absolutely nothing. WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show Not only that‚ but Republicans should stop accusing people of being beneficiaries of white privilege because the real privilege that Hunter Biden has is not that he is white. It’s that he’s Joe Biden’s son. All you end up doing when you make white privilege references is opening the door to dolts like AOC to grandstand. And so she did‚ responding: I’m just going to address briefly‚ quickly‚ that moment about privilege and all of this that we’re seeing here. And it was a very beautiful speech by the gentlelady who‚ as she mentioned‚ helped lead on the majority‚ the now-majority‚ side on the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Subcommittee. But I think it’s so exemplary of the point that she also oversaw the elimination of Civil Rights Subcommittee on this committee‚ which really kind of gives the whole game away. We show up‚ we give speeches‚ we give flowery words‚ but‚ at the end of the day‚ participate in the structural erosion of the rights and representation of people that are marginalized: women‚ people of color‚ people that just need to see their due process and civil liberties protected in this country.  How is it possible that Congress gets worse with each and every passing year? Then Hunter Biden stormed out of the room as Marjorie Taylor Greene was yelling at him: Apparently you’re afraid of my words. That’s too bad. And I think it’s clear and obvious for everyone watching this hearing today that Hunter Biden is terrified of strong conservative Republican women because he can’t even face my words‚ as I was about to speak to him. What a coward. Meanwhile‚ on the Left side of the aisle‚ Jared Moskowitz was doing the same thing as he combated the Hunter Biden debacle by holding up a photo of Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein. This is where we are. This is our Congress. This is all great for our Republic‚ by the way. This is all just wonderful‚ and I’m so glad that we can do all this on camera and everybody can get their minute of face time. It’s great. I know that they like to say things on camera and that’s wonderful. But they are elected officials on the public dime. So at a certain point‚ maybe they could actually pass legislation or hold someone actually accountable. Maybe. And what do they do for a living? I’m just wondering‚ at some point‚ if they will do something useful? It’s all kayfabe. All Congress is at this point is a waste of space in kayfabe. Congress is full of clowns in the circus. CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP This all demonstrates we have an irresponsible political party‚ a deeply irresponsible political class‚ and a broken congressional system. It is broken because the polarization of the parties makes it so. No conversation actually takes place between the parties. Instead‚ the goal of politicians is to eventually get out of politics and go make money elsewhere. Something needs to be done about the political system of the legislature because it is full-scale‚ full-stop‚ a disaster area.

Todd and Julie Chrisley have won a legal victory after being awarded a $1 million settlement following a tax evasion investigation against the two reality TV stars. An attorney for the Chrisleys — who both remain behind bars after being convicted for fraud and tax evasion in 2022 — announced Tuesday that the state of Georgia paid the stars of “Chrisley Knows Best” the million dollar settlement‚ People magazine reported. It resolves their federal lawsuit filed in 2019 against Joshua Waites‚ the former Director of Special Investigations of the state’s Department of Revenue. The Chrisleys filed a lawsuit against Waites for “specifically targeting” their family after being cleared of a state tax evasion charge in GA‚ the outlet noted. “We have been saying for months that the criminal case against the Chrisleys was highly unusual and had real problems‚” the family’s attorney‚ Alex Little of Burr &; Forman LLP‚ said in a statement. “This settlement is an encouraging sign.” “It’s nearly unprecedented for one arm of the government to pay money to defendants when another arm is fighting to keep them in jail‚” the statement added. ‘This Should Scare All of You’: Todd and Julie Chrisley’s Daughter Savannah Claims Jailed Parents’ $1 Million Settlement Award Is Proof of Corruption https://t.co/tQWgUCCD31 Click the image for details: — Radar Online (@radar_online) January 10‚ 2024 However‚ despite being cleared in Georgia the reality pair did end up being indicted in August 2019. In June 2022‚ the pair were convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud‚ bank fraud‚ tax fraud‚ and conspiracy to defraud the United States. In addition‚ Julie was also convicted on a charge of wire fraud and obstruction of justice. They have denied the charges. The couple was sentenced in November 2022 to a total of 19 years behind bars after they were convicted for their multimillion-dollar bank fraud and tax evasion scheme‚ People noted.  Both were also ordered to serve an additional 16 months of probation following their releases. The Chrisleys reported in Jan. 2023 to begin their individual sentences.  Later in the year‚ a judge reduced Todd’s 12-year sentence by two years and reduced Julie’s 7-year sentence by 14 months‚ as previously reported. The Chrisleys’ attorney will be back in court in April to deal with an appeal of their criminal convictions‚ which will take place in Atlanta. Related: Reality TV Stars Todd And Julie Chrisley React To Divorce Rumors While In Prison

Diagnoses of “gender dysphoria” rose in every state except one over the last several years. South Dakota was the only state that did not see a rise in gender dysphoria diagnoses between 2018 and 2022‚ according to new data from Definitive Healthcare. In fact‚ South Dakota saw a 23% decrease in gender dysphoria diagnoses‚ while every other state saw their diagnoses rise by at least 6%. Last year‚ South Dakota restricted transgender medical interventions for minors. At least 23 states have similar bans‚ but they are only currently in effect in 14 states. South Dakota lawmakers also pushed for such a ban back in 2020‚ which likely had “the dual chilling effects of reduced access to sympathetic providers and the self-directed seeking of care in states where long-term access was protected‚” Definitive Healthcare said. Virginia saw the steepest rise in gender dysphoria diagnoses at 274%. Indiana was next with a 247% rise‚ and Utah was third at 193%. Hawaii had the lowest increase with a 6% rise‚ followed by Connecticut with a 10% rise. Other states with bans saw a drop in gender dysphoria diagnoses as well‚ suggesting that minors may previously have been the ones receiving these diagnoses but are now seeking transgender services elsewhere. In recent years‚ many medical professionals have lent their full-throated support to minors receiving puberty blockers‚ cross-sex hormones‚ and in some cases‚ surgical transitions‚ which can mean double mastectomies and genital surgery. Meanwhile‚ critics have sounded the alarm about the permanent effects of these treatments and procedures‚ especially on children. The number of gender surgeries nearly tripled in the U.S. from 2016 to 2019‚ according to an August analysis published in JAMA Network Open. In 2016‚ there were about 4‚550 procedures‚ and that number spiked to around 13‚000 in 2019. Hundreds of teen girls in the U.S.‚ some as young as 12‚ have gotten elective‚ gender-related double mastectomies to remove their healthy breasts over the last few years. Both puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones come with serious health risks. Puberty blockers can affect bone growth and density and cause sexual dysfunction‚ voice damage‚ and infertility‚ among other issues. Cross-sex hormones can cause infertility‚ deadly blood clots‚ heart attacks‚ increased cancer risks of the breasts and ovaries‚ liver dysfunction‚ worsening psychological illness‚ and other serious conditions. Today‚ it is more popular than ever for youth to adopt new gender identities. An estimated 300‚000 minors aged 13 to 17 identified as transgender as of 2022‚ and the number has only continued to rise. Back in 2018‚ minors made up 17.5% of those being diagnosed with gender dysphoria. By 2022‚ they made up 20.4% of those diagnoses‚ which the report suggests could be caused by transgender identities being “more accepted by society.” Young people are now 18% if the trans-identifying population‚ up from 10% in 2016. Meanwhile‚ the percentage of trans-identifying adults has remained the same‚ previous research from The Williams Institute shows. About 1.6 million Americans 13 and older now identify as transgender‚ about 0.5% of the total U.S. population‚ according to the Definitive Healthcare report.

Multiple trans activists

'We‚ the African Bishops‚ do not consider it appropriate'

"Fuck Israel‚ there is no way to put it really‚ just fuck them"

Corrupt but admirable

With 38 states (plus Washington‚ D.C.) joining the fray‚ sports betting is just about everywhere.  If you’re new to the game‚ there’s a dizzying menu of options every time you open the sportsbook app of your choice. It can be overwhelming. Sides‚ totals‚ props‚ futures‚ in-game bets‚ parlays‚ teasers. It’s a lot to figure out. […]

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