Comment on California Inc.: From a galaxy far, far away ... heeere's Han!

Moon Alert: There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions today. The Moon is in Leo. Happy Birthday for Tuesday, April 16, 2024: You are charming, witty and warm. You have a deep understanding of life and its challenges, which makes you sympathetic to others. This year is a fresh beginning for you, because you’re starting a new nine-year cycle.

As the University of Southern California’s Class of 2024 prepares to graduate next month, when some 65,000 people are expected to gather at the Los Angeles campus for its May 10 commencement ceremony, the school has sparked controversy over its cancellation on Monday of the undergraduate valedictorian’s planned speech amid concerns about her pro-Palestinian activism.

Warning: This post contains spoilers for episode 9 of Shōgun. With just one episode to go in the sprawling, action-packed, emotional journey that is FX’s Shōgun—loosely inspired by real events that took place in turn-of-the-17th-century feudal Japan—the miniseries has reached one of the most devastating and pivotal moments in the best-selling 1975 James Clavell novel on which it’s based: the death of Mariko (Anna Sawei). [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] In the run-up to the penultimate episode, we saw Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) lose the trust of a number of allies, including Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) and Yabu (Tadanobu Asano), by feigning as though he truly meant to surrender to Ishido (Takehiro Hira) in Osaka.

Stephen Colbert covers the latest in the news. He touches on unsafe solar eclipse glasses, seeking drivers for the nutmobiles, home-invading alligators, the junk people are finding on Jersey Shore (the beach, not the inane reality show). Meanwhile, you know there's more. There's always more. Open thread below. read more

The U. K. will criminalize the creation of sexually explicit deepfake images as part of plans to tackle violence against women. People convicted of creating such deepfakes without consent, even if they don’t intend to share the images, will face prosecution and an unlimited fine under a new law, the Ministry of Justice said in a statement.

Caitlin Clark admitted she was a bit nervous before being chosen with the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever, even though it was no surprise. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] “I dreamed of this moment since I was in second grade, and it’s taken a lot of hard work, a lot of ups and downs, but more than anything, just trying to soak it in,” Clark said. The former Iowa star became a household name among basketball fans during her record-breaking college career, and she will now try and help revive the Indiana franchise along with last season’s No.