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Whoopi Goldberg absent from ‘The View’ after testing positive for COVID-19

Whoopi Goldberg has tested positive for COVID-19 with a breakthrough case of the virus. Joy Behar, Goldberg’s co-host on ‘The View,’ announced the news on the show Monday. Said Behar: “Why am I here instead of Whoopi? Well, Whoopi, unfortunately, tested positive over the break but she’ll be back probably next week. Since she’s vaxxed and boosted, her symptoms have been very, very, mild. But we’re being super cautious here at The View.”

Behar, co-hosts Sunny Hostin and Sara Haines, and guest host Ana Navarro are filming ‘The View’ from home ‘out of an abundance of caution’ this week. Hostin said on Monday that she and her mom also tested positive for COVID-19 over the holiday break but have since recovered. Navarro’s father also tested positive for the virus but was able to join the family for New Years.

The 66-year-old Goldberg is fully vaccinated and boosted. Goldberg and Hostin’s positive diagnoses come amid the surge of COVID-19 cases due in part to the highly contagious omicron variant.

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Entertainment Daypop

‘Squid Game’ creator says he’s in talks with Netflix about Season 3 of the hit series

‘Squid Game’ creator Hwang Dong-hyuk confirmed in a recent interview that he’s presently in talks with Netflix over a second and third season of the show.  Following its Sept. 17 debut, the South Korean show became the Netflix’s biggest series in its history — reaching 142 million member households globally and becoming the first to surpass 100 million views.

According to The Korea Times, Hwang said:“I’m in talks with Netflix over season 2 as well as season 3. We will come to a conclusion any time soon.”  During a November special screening and Q&A for the series, Hwang shared that he had been working on a season two storyline and was currently in talks with Netflix over another season.   The writer-director shared: “I do have a basic storyline for season two — it’s all in my head — and I am currently in the brainstorming stage. It will happen, someday, but as for when I cannot tell you the details.”

Squid Game follows Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), who receives a mysterious invitation to join a tournament of traditional Korean children’s games with a deadly twist. Held in a secret location, the games offer its 456 participants a shot at winning 45.6 billion in prize money.

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Twitter permanently suspends Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s personal account for spreading COVID-19 misinformation

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s personal Twitter account has been suspended for repeated violations of the platform’s policies regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.  Greene still has access to her official congressional account — @RepMTG — which was not found to have violated the company policies. A Twitter spokesperson said in a statement: “We permanently suspended the account you referenced(@mtgreenee) for repeated violations of our COVID-19 misinformation policy. We’ve been clear that, per our strike system for this policy, we will permanently suspend accounts for repeated violations of the policy.”  Greene had shared a tweet Saturday that included a misleading chart created from unverified data pulled from a government database.  The post falsely said that there have been “extremely high amounts of COVID vaccine deaths.”

Twitter introduced its strike system in March to “educate the public on our policies and further reduce the spread of potentially harmful and misleading information on Twitter.” The strike system features five levels, with an escalating series of locks on a user’s Twitter account, beginning with a 12-hour suspension after receiving a second strike.  The 47-year-old Greene had landed her fifth strike after Twitter issued her the fourth one in August, suspending her account for a week. In the past, Greene has been suspended for publishing false information about COVID-19 vaccinations and wearing face masks.

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Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin tests positive for COVID-19

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin confirmed in a statement on Sunday evening that he has tested positive for COVID-19. Austin, who is fully vaccinated and boosted, said:  “I tested positive this morning for COVID-19. I requested the test today after exhibiting symptoms while at home on leave.”  He added that his symptoms are mild and he is following his physician’s directions, referring to the CDC’s recently-updated isolation guidelines: “In keeping with those directions, and in accordance with CDC guidelines, I will quarantine myself at home for the next five days.”

Austin said he will be attending virtual meetings if possible while in quarantine: “I have informed my leadership team of my positive test result, as well as the President. My staff has begun contact tracing and testing of all those with whom I have come into contact over the last week.” Austin said that his last meeting with President Biden was on Dec. 21, “more than a week before I began to experience symptoms. I tested negative that very morning. I have not been in the Pentagon since Thursday, where I met briefly – and only – with a few members of my staff. We were properly masked and socially distanced throughout.”

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Country Daypop

Dolly Parton pays tribute to the late Betty White

Dolly Parton took to social media to pay tribute to Betty White, who died on Friday morning (Dec. 31) at the age of 99. In a post on Saturday morning (Jan. 1) on Twitter, Parton says White “will live forever.”  She tweeted: “While watching the news last night I learned of Betty White’s passing. Betty will live forever not only in this world but the world here after. I will always love her as we all will!”   The feeling was mutual.  In a 2010 interview, White revealed that she was a country music fan, adding that Parton’s “9 to 5” was one of her favorite songs.  Said Betty: “I like Dolly’s whole approach to life with ongoing and uplifting songs. I never met Dolly but everything I ever heard about her she was a great gal to know and you could kind of get it in her music and her voice and her approach to lyrics.”

White was a television pioneer, becoming one of the first women to take control of her own career in a male-dominated industry. She became the first woman to produce a sitcom, and her work in sitcoms, as well as her extensive appearances on TV game shows, earned her eight Emmy Awards, three American Comedy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Grammy Award. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and the Television Hall of Fame inducted White in 1985.

White also devoted much of her life to animal activism. She “died peacefully in her sleep” at her home on Friday morning, her agent, Jeff Witjas, said in a statement.  White would have celebrated her 100th birthday on Jan. 17.

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Country Daypop

Kane Brown and wife Katelyn welcome surprise second baby, daughter Kodi Jane

Kane Brown and his wife Katelyn surprised fans by welcoming their second daughter on Thursday in a Nashville hospital. “New Year, new family member,” Brown wrote on social media. “Welcome to the family Kodi Jane. Secret (is) finally out.”  Kodi weighed 7 lbs., 9 oz. and was 20.5 inches long. She joins big sister Kingsley Rose, 2.  Katelyn posted“Blessed with another beautiful angel Kodi Jane Brown… we love you so much 💕

Kane and Katelyn Brown didn’t disclose the pregnancy.The couple married in October 2018 and welcomed their first child, daughter Kingsley Rose, one year later. This time around, the Browns chose to keep their pregnancy with Kodi private.

Shortly after their daughter was born, Brown opened up about wanting to have more children, adding that he hopes to also add a son to the family one day: “Kingsley has changed my life. She smiles at me and my heart melts.  I want a boy, too. I want a boy and a girl.”  However on Saturday, Brown embraced being a #girldad and added a family maternity photo to his Instagram, captioning it, “Been holding on to these pics ❤ I’ve always wanted a son until I had Kingsley and now I’m good with all my girls 😘

Kane Brown and Wife Katelyn Welcome Baby Daughter Kodi Jane

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100th Birthday documentary on the late Betty White will be released as planned

The producers of the documentary film “Betty White: 100 Years Young” say a theatrical screening will proceed as scheduled on the comedy legend’s 100th birthday, despite her death on December 31st, just a few weeks shy of that milestone.

Producers/directors Steve Boettcher and Mike Trinklein said in a joint statement: “Our hearts mourn today with the passing of Betty White. During the many years we worked with her, we developed a great love and admiration for Betty as a person, and as an accomplished entertainer. We are thankful for the many decades of delight she brought to everyone. Betty always said she was the ‘luckiest broad on two feet’ to have had a career as long as she did. And honestly, we were the lucky ones to have had her for so long. We will go forward with our plans to show the film on January 17 in hopes our film will provide a way for all who loved her to celebrate her life—and experience what made her such a national treasure.”

The documentary will feature appearances by Ryan Reynolds, Tina Fey, Robert Redford, Morgan Freeman, Carol Burnett, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Clint Eastwood, Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, and many more.   The film was expected to screen at 900 theaters across the U.S. on White’s birthday, Jan. 17, 2022. You can learn more about the documentary at Fathom Events’ website.

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Michael Keaton to reprise his role as Batman in HBO Max’s ‘Batgirl’

Michael Keaton is set to reprise his role in the upcoming HBO Max movie, “Batgirl.” Keaton, who starred in Tim Burton’s 1989 “Batman” and the 1992 sequel “Batman Returns,” will return as Bruce Wayne alongside Leslie Grace, who will play Batgirl, in addition to J.K. Simmons, Brendan Fraser and Jacob Scipio.  “Batgirl” has no scheduled release date, but is set to debut in 2022;  the film centers on the heroine whose real identity is Barbara Gordon, the daughter of Gotham police commissioner Jim Gordon (Simmons).

Keaton will be seen as the Caped Crusader in the upcoming Warner Bros. adventure “The Flash” (in theaters Nov. 4), a multiverse-spanning story directed by Andy Muschietti (“It”).  The movie features Ezra Miller reprising his role as the title character, and will catch up with Keaton’s Batman 30 years after moviegoers last saw him in the role.  “The Flash” also will feature the return of Ben Affleck as the Batman from “Justice League.”

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