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Chris Evans to co-star with Emily Blunt in Netflix’s ‘Pain Hustlers’

Chris Evans is set to co-star opposite Emily Blunt in Netflix’s Pain Hustlers.  According to the Hollywood Reporter, David Yates will direct the film.

Blunt will portray ‘high-school dropout Liza, who lands a job with a failing pharmaceutical start-up in a strip mall in Central Florida. Liza’s charm, guts and drive catapult the company and her into the high life, where she soon finds herself at the center of a criminal conspiracy with deadly consequences.’

Pain Hustlers is being produced by Lawrence Grey through his Grey Matter Productions banner, along with Yates and Yvonne Walcott’s Wychwood Pictures. Filming is set to start in August.

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Janai Norman named co-anchor at ABC’s Weekend Edition of ‘Good Morning America’

ABC News president Kim Godwin told staff that Janai Norman will join the weekend edition of Good Morning America as its new co-anchor, working alongside anchors Whit Johnson and Eva Pilgrim. Norman succeeds Dan Harris, who left the weekend edition of GMA last summer to focus on his meditation company.

Godwin wrote in her memo:  “Janai is a versatile and talented journalist, whether she is anchoring at the desk, conducting a one-on-one interview with a newsmaker of the day or reporting in the field on breaking news. She puts her heart into her work and makes it a priority to cover the most important underreported issues of our time, including the maternal mortality crisis facing Black women and the stigma of mental health.”

Norman started at ABC News as an intern at News One in 2011, and has worked as a correspondent and anchor at ABC News. As a host and anchor, she led Pop News on the weekend, and was the overnight anchor for World News Now and America This Morning.

Janai Norman Named New Co-Anchor For ‘Good Morning America’ On Saturday And Sunday

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Justice Department sues Arizona over proof of citizenship voting law in presidential elections

The Justice Department has filed suit against Arizona challenging its recently enacted voting law that requires proof of citizenship in order to vote in presidential elections. The Department of Justice announced the lawsuit Tuesday, contending that Arizona’s House Bill 2492, which is set to take effect in January, directly violates Section 6 of the National Voter Registration Act and Section 101 of the Civil Rights Act. The Supreme Court previously rejected an effort by Arizona in 2013 to require its residents to provide proof of citizenship in order to participate in federal elections.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement Tuesday announcing the lawsuit: “House Bill 2492’s onerous documentary proof of citizenship requirement for certain federal elections constitutes a textbook violation of the National Voter Registration Act. For nearly three decades, the National Voter Registration Act has helped to move states in the right direction by eliminating unnecessary requirements that have historically made it harder for eligible voters to access the registration rolls. Arizona has passed a law that turns the clock back on progress by imposing unlawful and unnecessary requirements that would block eligible voters from the registration rolls for certain federal elections.”

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who signed the law in March, said it was necessary for “prohibiting any attempt to illegally cast a vote. H.B. 2492 is a balanced approach that honors Arizona’s history of making voting accessible without sacrificing security in our elections.”

Arizona is the only state that requires voters to prove they are a U.S. citizen when they register to vote, by providing a government-issued identification, like a driver’s license, tribal ID or passport. The 2013 Supreme Court ruling allowed the requirement for state elections, but Arizona cannot require proof of citizenship for federal elections, like president.

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Grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia subpoenas Lindsey Graham, Rudy Giuliani and others in probe into election interference

The Fulton County special grand jury investigating possible criminal interference in Georgia’s 2020 elections has issued subpoenas for Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and several others in former President Donald Trump’s team. The special grand jury also subpoenaed attorney and podcast host Jacki Pick Deason.

The subpoenas, which were filed Tuesday in Fulton County, cite appearances in December 2020 by Giuliani and Eastman before Georgia’s state Senate where they blamed Trump’s loss to Democrat Joe Biden on disproven claims of widespread voter fraud. Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney, testified in front of Georgia lawmakers on several occasions in late 2020.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been investigating whether Trump broke Georgia’s election laws, specifically citing audio of a separate call in which Trump urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes” to overturn the state’s certified election results because “we won the state.”

The 23-person special grand jury, which was seated in May from a pool of 200 candidates, has begun hearing evidence. Raffensperger and Georgia Attorney Chris Carr testified in June, while Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is scheduled to give video testimony later this month.

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Country Daypop

Little Big Town debut their new song “All Summer”

Little Big Town have shared their new single, “All Summer.”  The beloved country quartet — comprised of Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet and Jimi Westbrook — called their latest release “the perfect summer anthem for ‘drinking wine on the water.’”  In an Instagram post, they shared the song with the caption, “Cheers y’all.”

“All Summer” comes shortly after Little Big Town debuted their song “Hell Yeah,” performing it live for the first time at the 2022 CMT Music Awards in April, and releasing a new music video for that single just last month.

Take a listen to the new single, “All Summer,” here.

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Country Daypop

Reba McEntire to star in Lifetime movie with boyfriend, Rex Linn

Reba McEntire is set to star in a new Lifetime movie with her longtime boyfriend, Rex Linn. Titled ‘The Hammer,’ the film was inspired by the life of traveling circuit judge, Kim Wanker.  The film also stars McEntire’s good friend and former Reba co-star, Melissa Peterman. McEntire will also co-produce the project.

According to a press release from Lifetime, McEntire will play the role of Kim Wheeler, who is described as an “outspoken, firecracker lawyer” who is appointed Judge of the 5th District of Nevada. Linn will portray Bart Crawford, “a mysterious cowboy with unknown motives.”

The plot description of the film reads: “As one of the few traveling judges left in America, Wheeler finds herself covering a new circuit after the reigning judge passes away under what is described as “suspicious circumstances.”  With gavel in hand, she lays down the law with a no-nonsense brand of justice, that quickly earns her the nickname ‘The Hammer.’ As the investigation of the former judge’s death heats up, Kim’s sister Kris (Peterman), who runs the local brothel, suddenly becomes the prime suspect, and Kim must work even harder to make certain the appropriate justice is served.”

McEntire previously worked with Lifetime in 2021, starring and executive producing the holiday film, Reba McEntire’s Christmas in Tune. The country music icon will also be joining Season 3 of ABC’s Big Sky as a series regular.

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Emma Roberts join the cast of ‘Spider-Man’ spinoff ‘Madame Web’

According to Deadline, Emma Roberts has joined the cast of Marvel’s ‘Spider-Man’ spin-off, Madame Web.  Roberts, 31, joins previously announced stars Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Celeste O’Connor, Isabela Merced and Tahar Rahim.

Madame Web serves as an origin story for the Marvel Comics character of the same name. In the comics, Madame Web is a clairvoyant whose psychic abilities prove to be greatly beneficial to Spider-Man; she is depicted as an elderly woman with myasthenia gravis, connected to a life-support system that looked like a spider web. Details about Roberts’ character are being kept under wraps.

This will be Roberts first Marvel picture; she recently wrapped production on the upcoming rom-com Maybe I Do, also starring Diane Keaton, Susan Sarandon and Richard Gere.

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‘Minions: Rise of Gru’ breaks 4th of July record earning $125.1 Million domestically at the box office in its opening weekend

‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’ broke records over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, earning $125.2 million domestically over the extended 4-day holiday break. Overseas, the movie earned $86 million by Sunday, bringing the film over $200 million in earnings globally.

Minions: The Rise of Gru is a sequel to 2015’s Minions and the fifth installment in the ‘Despicable Me’ franchise, the top-grossing animated series in history. The film voice cast features Steve Carell, Pierre Coffin, Alan Arkin, Michelle Yeoh, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews, Taraji P. Henson, Lucy Lawless, Dolph Lundgren, RZA, Danny Trejo and Jean-Claude Van Damme. The origin story reveals how the supervillain Gru (Carell) and the Minions met when Gru was a young boy growing up in a 1970s suburb.

Rise of Gru will become only the 10th animated Hollywood film to debut to $100 million or more, a list led by Incredibles 2 ($182.7 million).

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Suspected gunman is in custody after mass shooting at 4th of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois kills 6, injures over 20 more

A suspect is in custody in connection with the mass shooting at an Independence Day parade in Illinois on Monday that killed 6 people, and injured over 20 more.  The shooting took place just after 10 a.m. along a holiday parade route in suburban Highland Park, about 30 miles north of Chicago. Authorities said that in addition to the six deaths, 26 people were taken to NorthShore University Health System with injuries, ranging from 8 years old to 85 years old.

Police Chief Louis Jogmen told reporters that 22-year-old Robert Crimo III, identified as a “person of interest” in connection the mass shooting, was arrested without incident in Lake Forest, Ill. after a brief pursuit by car, Highland Park, Ill.  Crimo was into custody by Highland Park officers, and no charges had been filed against Crimo as of press time. Authorities offered no immediate motives for the shootings. Lake County Major Crime Task Force Sgt. Christopher Covelli told reporters that investigators recovered the rifle used in the shooting from the scene. He said it appeared the gunman was “shooting from a roof.”

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a statement: “There are no words for the kind of monster who lives in wait and fires into a crowd of families with children celebrating a holiday with their community. There are no words for the kind of evil that robs our neighbors of their hopes, their dreams, their futures. Prayers alone will not put a stop to the terror of rampant gun violence in our country. We must — and we will — end this plague of gun violence.”

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden also spoke out, saying they were “shocked by the senseless gun violence that has yet again brought grief to an American community on this Independence Day.”

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WNBA star Brittney Griner pens handwritten letter to President Biden from Russian prison, writing “I’m terrified I might be here forever”

WNBA star Brittney Griner sent a letter to the White House on Monday asking for President Joe Biden’s assistance in securing her release from Russia, where she has been detained for nearly five months. Griner has been held in a Russian prison since February, after she was arrested for allegedly carrying hashish oil in her luggage through a Russian airport. Griner’s trial began last Friday, and is scheduled to continue on July 7. If convicted, Griner faces up to 10 years in prison.

A portion of the letter was released by Griner’s representatives, saying in part: “as I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey, or any accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever.  I voted for the first time in 2020 and I voted for you. I believe in you. I still have so much good to do with my freedom that you can help restore. I miss my wife! I miss my family! I miss my teammates! It kills me to know they are suffering so much right now. I am grateful for whatever you can do at this moment to get me home.”

The U.S. State Department reclassified Griner as being “wrongfully detained” in May, and transferred her case to the office of the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. This change allows the U.S. government to negotiate for her release instead of waiting for her trial to conclude.

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