A bit nicer for Friday

A bit nicer for Friday

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  • Fox News pundits outraged that word ‘mistress’ has been ‘canceled’

    ‘They could not break one of the 10 commandments and just be faithful to their marrieds,’ host says

  • A new 'Fast & Furious 9' trailer is here, and it shows Dom and his family going to war with his long lost little brother

    Universal Pictures released a new "Fast 9" trailer Wednesday morning featuring the long-awaited return of Dominic Toretto.

  • W Galen Weston, retail tycoon behind Selfridges, dies aged 80

    W.G. Galen Weston, the entrepreneur who built an Atlantic-spanning business network that made him one of the richest Canadians, has died. He was 80. Weston died on Monday “peacefully at home after a long illness faced with courage and dignity,” the Weston family said in a statement. “In our business and in his life he built a legacy of extraordinary accomplishment and joy,” his son, Galen G. Weston, chief executive officer of George Weston Limited, said. His daughter, Alannah Weston, the chairman of Selfridges Group, added: “The luxury retail industry has lost a great visionary.” A friend of Prince Charles and lover of polo and art, Weston oversaw and expanded a high-end family retail empire that includes Selfridges, Canada’s Holt Renfrew, Brown Thomas in Ireland and de Bijenkorf of the Netherlands. Through George Weston Ltd., the company named for his grandfather, the family holds the biggest stake in Canada’s largest food retailer, Loblaw Cos. Willard Gordon Galen Weston was born in Buckinghamshire, England, on Oct. 29, 1940, the youngest of nine children in a prominent family. His father, Willard Garfield Weston, had helped expand the family’s bakery company into a multinational food empire, and served as a member of Parliament during World War II. One brother, Garry H. Weston, who died in 2002, was one of the richest people in Britain, and chairman of Associated British Foods Plc. In 1962, Weston graduated from the University of Western Ontario and moved to Ireland where he met Hilary Frayne, an Irish fashion model; they married in 1966. With financial help from his grandmother, according to a 2014 article in the Irish Times, he bought a grocery store, building it into the Power Supermarkets chain, and then began acquiring clothing stores. At his father’s request, Weston returned to Canada in the early 1970s, taking the helm of Loblaw Cos., which he is credited with saving from near-bankruptcy and subsequently turning into the country’s largest grocer. Weston, who had two children, continued to make business a family affair. His son Galen G. Weston became executive chairman of Loblaw in 2006, and CEO at George Weston Ltd. in 2017 – the fourth generation to lead the business. His daughter Alannah Weston has also served as a director on George Weston’s board, as well as deputy chairman of Selfridges Group Ltd., which Weston acquired in 2003 and under which the family’s other luxury department stores are held. Weston had a net worth of $10.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His wealth sometimes came at a cost. In 1983, police tipped off Weston and his family about a planned kidnapping attempt at their estate in Ireland. During a police ambush, several members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army were reportedly shot and captured. Despite his prominence in society circles on both sides of the Atlantic, the incident led Westin to keep a low media profile throughout much of the rest of his life. He has continued to lease the historic Fort Belvedere in Windsor Great Park in southeast England, a 17th-century “folly” where Edward VIII abdicated. In 1989, Weston and his wife founded Windsor, a wealthy resort community in Vero Beach, Florida, helping design the lay-out of the community, golf course and polo field. A 2013 article in Toronto Life described the enclave as a “plutocrats’ playground,” where a tight-knit group of jet-setters convene in a not-quite-retirement community to “play polo, hit the links, plan corporate takeovers and party.” The Westons also maintained ties to Toronto, keeping a house in the tony Forest Hill neighbourhood where members of the royal family sometimes stayed when they visited Canada. The couple worked in philanthropy, and Hilary Weston served as lieutenant-governor of Ontario – the Queen’s representative in the province – from 1997 to 2002. “He and Hilary were an incredible team,” Nixon said. “He did so much for his country.”

  • Son, father appear in court for hearing in 1996 killing

    A former California college student charged with murder in the 1996 disappearance of classmate Kristin Smart and the defendant's father, who is accused of helping hide the young woman's body, made their first court appearance Thursday but did not enter pleas. Paul Flores, 44, was charged with first-degree murder for the killing that allegedly happened as he tried to rape Smart in his dorm room at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo after an off-campus party. Witnesses said Smart was intoxicated and Flores had said he would walk her home.

  • Biden expels Russian diplomats and announces new sanctions in retaliation for hacking

    Sanctions follow allegations of election interference and a hacking campaign

  • Police are investigating an alleged mugging and assault caught on a YouTuber's livestream

    YouTube streamer Sherwin says he saw someone trying to steal a man's bicycle, and he stepped in to chase them away. Police are investigating.

  • France urges citizens to leave Pakistan amid anti-French protests

    An email from the French embassy warns of "serious threats" after anti-blasphemy protests.

  • Human-monkey embryo created in bid to learn how cells communicate

    Scientists have grown human cells in monkey embryos with the aim to understand more about how cells develop and communicate with each other. Researchers from the Salk Institute in California have produced what is known as monkey-human chimeras, with human stem cells - special cells that have the ability to develop into many different cell types - inserted in macaque embryos in petri dishes in the lab. However, some ethicists in the UK have raised concerns, saying this type of work "poses significant ethical and legal challenges" and "opens Pandora's box to human-nonhuman chimeras". They are calling for a public discussion about the ethical and regulatory challenges associated with human-animal chimeras. Chimeras are organisms whose cells come from two or more individuals. In humans, chimerism can naturally occur following organ transplants, where cells from that organ start growing in other parts of the body. The scientists, led by Professor Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, say their work could pave the way in addressing the severe shortage in transplantable organs as well as help understand more about early human development, disease progression and ageing.

  • Russian intelligence agent linked to Trump campaign among Kremlin figures sanctioned by Biden

    A Russian intelligence agent accused of attempting to undermine US election integrity and sow disinformation was among Kremlin-linked figures targeted in Russian sanctions announced on Thursday. Federal authorities alleged that Konstantin Kilimnik "provided the Russian Intelligence Services with sensitive information on polling and campaign strategy" for former president Donald Trump in 2016. The allegations connect to findings from Robert Mueller's investigation and congressional investigations that assessed Mr Kilimnik was fed information by former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort.

  • ‘Typical crazy conspiracy theory’: Dr Fauci blasts Tucker Carlson

    President’s chief medical adviser says Fox News host’s critique is ‘certainly not helpful to public health of this nation or globally’

  • Democrats to unveil bill adding four new justices to the Supreme Court

    The bill aims to expand the number of Supreme Court justices from nine to 13

  • ‘Congress itself is the target’: Capitol police overlooked intel and were ordered to hold back during riot, report finds

    Days before attack, law enforcement officials were warned Stop the Steal campaign could attract ‘white supremacists, militia members’ and other violent groups

  • Geophysicist accused in Capitol riot named flight risk for trying to flee to Switzerland

    The alleged rioter claims he was just trying to help the police and that Donald Trump lied to him

  • SolarWinds: Russian intelligence behind major cyber attack, Raab reveals as US expels diplomats

    ‘We see what Russia is doing to undermine our democracies’, foreign minister says

  • Will Derek Chauvin take the stand and when will we have verdict on George Floyd case?

    Chauvin refuses to testify despite facing three charges

  • Michael Corn is out as senior executive producer of ABC's 'Good Morning America'

    ABC News staffers were informed Thursday that Corn no longer works at the network.

  • America facing vaccine passport ‘mess’, experts warn

    ‘I think it’s going to be a tidal wave that’s going to be very difficult to stop’

  • Lexington health department cancels Friday COVID-19 vaccination clinic

    The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department has canceled its Friday vaccination clinic to administer doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, following the statewide halt on use of the single-dose vaccine.

  • China represents 'unparalleled,' 'severe' threat, US intelligence officials warn

    "China increasingly is a near-peer competitor... pushing to revise global norms in ways that favor the authoritarian Chinese system," officials said.

  • 'Younger' began as a millennial gag. Bridging the generation gap made it a classic

    "We're not the young kids on the block anymore," one character says as the final season begins. But age has never been what gave the series soul.