In an early November interview with Focus Features—the studio behind the film—and an opinion piece published in the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday, Howard revealed when he first began pitching the script for Harriet, which released nationwide on November 1, he was advised to give the leading role to Roberts, despite the fact that the award-winning actress is a white woman and Tubman, a former black slave. “I was told how one studio head said in a meeting, ‘This script is fantastic....

Foaming at the mouth is more like it. Hollywood’s appetite for books has turned the New York publishing industry into an ant farm with agents, producers and scouts scurrying for properties. Studios have been book-happy for years, but they’ve never reached so deeply or so frantically into their pockets. Michael Crichton’s airline thriller “Airframe,” in stores this week, was sold to Disney in October for a record-breaking $8 million to $10 million....

As first reported by Israel’s Channel 12 News, Simon and Salim Matari went to the home of 95-year-old Rosa Meir in the northern port city of Haifa following a call regarding a leaky pipe. But after arriving at the address and learning of her arduous past, the Matari brothers said “they couldn’t take a cent from her” and waived all costs. “When we got there, we saw there was a large blast of water and we started fixing it,” Simon told the news outlet....

A team of scientists led by James Dorey, a Ph.D. candidate from Flinders University in Australia, identified nine new species described in a study published in the journal Zootaxa. The new species all belong to the genus known as Homalictus Cockerell, which scientists have not reviewed in Fiji from a taxonomic perspective for 40 years. “The new bee species have been discovered over several years worth of field work in Fiji and DNA barcoding,” Dorey told Newsweek....

On Monday, officials in Hong Kong declared the U.K. an “extremely high risk” due to its “recent rebound of the epidemic situation in the U.K. and the widespread delta variant virus strain there.” It is the second time that the Hong Kong government has banned flights from the U.K., following a restriction imposed last December. Meanwhile, Hong Kong also planned on loosening restrictions from other countries such as the U....

Video footage obtained by the Hong Kong Free Press appears to show not only uniformed police making arrests, but officers dressed in the black t-shirts and hard hats that have become a symbol of the resistance. The clash took place Sunday night in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay neighborhood. After receiving reports of infighting among demonstrators, riot police charged at a group at the intersection of Percival Street and Hennessy Road....

While the bystander was killed after taking photos on his lunch break, many protesters deaths have been recorded allegedly as the result of police actions. Alex Chow, a 22-year-old student, fell to his death as police cleared a parking garage on November 8, which sparked many of the protests, BBC reported. NPR also reported that a student found dead in a parking garage is believed to also be a victim of police brutality....

The decision comes just days after Hong Kong’s pro-democracy newspaper, Apple Daily, was forced to fold due to $2.3 million of its assets being frozen as part of China’s crackdown on pro-democracy sentiments in Hong Kong that have been considered a threat to national security. Though there has been no confirmation that Stand News would be shut down by police, the website’s deputy assignment editor Ronson Chan said Hong Kong citizens were concerned, as the recent closure of Apple Daily is seen as a significant blow to freedom of the press....

All candidates seeking a seat had to undergo a vetting process by a committee that was for the most part pro-Beijing. Additionally, just 20 roles on the 90-seat council were elected directly by voters, while others were appointed by mostly pro-Beijing bodies. Politicians with the support of China’s ruling Communist Party swept the Sunday elections, which earned Chinese President Xi Jinping’s endorsement on Wednesday. He told Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam that now he believes residents of the city will join in “realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation....

The most useful explanation goes beyond Gingrich’s ideology and background to an American public still sorting out ambivalent feelings toward conflict and commonality in the 1990s. In that sense, the new speaker and the O.J. Simpson trial (you didn’t really think you could read this far without a reference to it, did you?) are of a piece-blood sports that compel and repel at the same time. We listen for the clang, and wince at it....

Just like any other bone in the body, the carpal bones can be fractured when they experience abnormal stress or trauma. The hamate bone is an unusually shaped bone. Most of the bone is square-shaped, but there is a projection on the palm side of the bone called the “hook of the hamate.” The hook is a small, narrow projection of bone, and is the attachment of ligaments and tendons in the wrist....

From her “Baby One More Time” music video, to playing for Parklane Academy in Mississippi, the princess of pop really loves to hoop it up. The 35-year-old reminded the world of her fondness for the sport on Wednesday, when she shared video of herself making free-throws and attempting between-the-legs passes. MORE: GIFs show NBA stars transforming from rookies to veterans Spears has had several great basketball moments over her career, including this appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in the early 2000s....

From Episode 1, The Last Dance cast Krause as the chief villain, with various interviewees describing him as suffering from a short-man syndrome and whose resentful and petty nature was detrimental to the team’s success. Former Bulls head coach Phil Jackson recalled how Krause made clear to him that not even winning a sixth title in eight years would be enough to retain his job. Scottie Pippen labeled Krause a “compulsive liar” after feeling he had been underpaid for years....

We cannot begin to fathom what the commissioner’s office will do to Hornets’ rookie P.J. Hairston after they watch footage of his hilariously egregious flop against the Spurs on Wednesday night. MORE: Hairston fined $5k for flop | Injury bug hits rookies | Cavs predictions If Hairston had gone to Duke and not North Carolina, perhaps he would have been able to take a charge and make it look believable....

And not just any old movie stars. Over the next few months, Hilary Swank, Halle Berry, Nicole Kidman and Renée Zellweger—all of them Oscar winners—will topline scary movies. “Grindhouse” features Bruce Willis (“Planet Terror”) as well as Rosario Dawson (“Death Proof”). Luke Wilson, known for boyish comedies such as “Old School,” will appear on April 20 in “Vacancy,” a shocker about a couple marooned with a psycho at a backwater motel....

On January 23, Mubarak’s son Alaa had tweeted that his father underwent an undisclosed surgery but was “stable.” But a month later, Alaa Mubarak tweeted that his father was still in intensive care, adding: “Oh, God.” Mubarak had led the country as it doubled its population even as the the social contract collapsed under his stringently autocratic rule. His ousting in 2011 magnified the Arab Spring from nationwide demonstrations in Tunisia into a regional geopolitical phenomenon, the impact of which still reverberates today from Yemen to Syria and beyond....

This is called dysesthesia. This word describes abnormal sensations that can be painful. Dysesthesia is a common MS symptom. These sensations can occur anywhere on the body. They are most common in the legs and feet, though. This article looks at the symptoms, causes, and diagnosis of hot feet in MS. It also looks at some of the ways this symptom can be treated. What Hot Feet in MS May Feel Like The hot feet sensation can vary from person to person....

After all, both of those coaches won in Week 10. Some other coaches, however, weren’t so fortunate. Some of these coaches are safe. Some are not. Who is feeling the heat? The damage: Georgia (6-2) allowed 418 rushing yards in a 38-20 loss to Florida and might have lost a shot at the four-team College Football Playoff. The damning stat: Richt fell to 5-9 against Florida. The fallout: Richt’s job certainly isn’t up for grabs, but this another reminder that despite the Golden Age of the SEC, the Bulldogs still haven’t claimed a national championship since 1980....

Ambience: The charming inner courtyard houses several tables amid sculpted trees and a wood-fired oven. But don’t fret if you can’t score one of those; the interior dining rooms—with their plush chairs, marble floors and floor-to-ceiling draperies—are elegant and comfortable. Food: Internationally acclaimed chef Francis Mallmann blends Patagonian and French cuisines, using fresh local ingredients to change the menu every two weeks. For starters, pumpkin gives an appealing new twist to traditional bruschetta....