The Walt Disney Co. initially took heat for not taking a public position on Florida’s so-called “don’t say gay” bill — and now they are under fire for doing just that. Others studios, though, have largely steered clear of the furor in the Sunshine State. NBCUniversal, with its rival theme park presence in Orlando, has
Business
The Treasury has blocked a proposal to expand the energy scheme to upgrade household insulation and energy efficiency, Sky News understands. It had been reported that Number 10 and business ministers were calling for an expansion of the Energy Company Obligation (Eco) scheme – which uses money raised from a levy on energy bills to
Kristina Schake, who has led the Biden administration’s Covid vaccination education efforts and previously served as communications director for First Lady Michelle Obama and later in a top role in Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, is joining The Walt Disney Co. as its lead spokesperson. Schake will report to Geoff Morrell, the company’s chief corporate affairs
The cost of filling a family car with petrol was a third higher in March than it was a year ago, while a diesel car cost 40% more – and the chancellor’s 5p fuel duty cut has done little to help. That is the verdict from RAC’s Fuel Watch, which found that the average litre
Billionaire Elon Musk has joined Twitter’s board of directors, a day after it was announced he had become the social media company’s largest shareholder. CEO Parag Agrawal shared the news in a series of tweets after Musk’s appointment was made official in an SEC filing. “Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear
A rise in demand for leisure and entertainment activities last month helped the UK economy grow more than had been expected, according to a closely watched survey, as fears intensify that soaring inflation will apply the brakes. The S&P Global/CIPS UK Services PMI, which measures the sector accounting for 80% of the country’s economy bar
NBCUniversal and investment partner Atairos have paid $293 million for a 30% stake in fabled country music brand the Grand Ole Opry and a cluster of related Nashville-based live entertainment and assets. The Opry’s home, Ryman Auditorium, is known for hosting the Country Music Awards. It is a cornerstone of Opry Entertainment Group, the division
The government has decided to push ahead with plans to privatise Channel 4. Ministers have concluded, following a consultation, that while the broadcaster is “currently performing well” its public ownership is “holding it back in the face of a rapidly-changing and competitive media landscape”, a government source said. A spokesperson for Channel 4 said it
Paradise Square makes quite the reach. A musical about the build-up to New York’s horrific Draft Riots of 1863 reaches to the past to tell us about the present. It reaches across cultures to tell us about assimilation and appropriation. It reaches across styles of music and dance to celebrate diversity and commonality. It reaches
Shares in social media giant Twitter have surged by a quarter after it was revealed that Tesla billionaire Elon Musk had bought a 9.2% stake. A regulatory filing showed the tycoon had snapped up 73,486,938 Twitter shares. The stake is worth $2.89bn (£2.2bn), based on Twitter’s closing price on Friday. Musk is a frequent user
“We’re going to be keeping people’s names out of our mouths,” said Grammys host Trevor Noah during his hopening monologue to maybe his biggest laugh line and huge applause. Ironically, if Noah is good to his word, it may be the last time he mentions the fracas. Shortly thereafter Questlove, whose Summer of Soul Oscars
The government is preparing to nationalise Gazprom’s British supply arm within days amid a stand-off between the Russian state-controlled energy firm and a Wall Street banking giant. Sky News has learnt that ministers are drawing up plans to take Gazprom Marketing & Trading Retail (GM&T) into public hands if it fails to reassure financial counterparties
Estelle Harris, who played George Costanza’s (Jason Alexander) mother Estelle on the iconic NBC sitcom Seinfeld, died Saturday evening of natural causes in Palm Desert, California, just weeks before her 94th birthday. “It is with the greatest remorse and sadness to announce that Estelle Harris has passed on this evening at 6:25pm,” her son Glen
NatWest Group is contemplating an audacious takeover bid for one of Britain’s biggest wealth managers in a move that would represent its biggest corporate acquisition since it was rescued by taxpayers nearly 15 years ago. Sky News has learnt that NatWest is in the early stages of considering an offer for Tilney Smith & Williamson,
Lee Daniels and Mo’Nique again demonstrated that they’ve moved on from their longtime feud on Friday night, with the former crashing a New York comedy event put on by his Precious star, and teasing their upcoming collaboration on the Netflix film, Demon House. “I am so sorry for hurting you in any way that I
The owners of the American basketball team the Cleveland Cavaliers have joined forces with one of the four remaining bidders for Chelsea Football Club as the auction of last season’s Champions League-winners enters its final stages. Sky News can exclusively reveal that Rock Entertainment Group (REG), which owns a string of US sports teams, has
If Will Smith is to be disciplined by SAG-AFTRA for slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars, the union’s constitution spells out in great detail how that disciplinary process will play out. SAG-AFTRA covers performers at the Academy Awards, where Rock was a presenter Sunday night and, as such, deems it a workplace incident subject to
The Indian tech firm in which Rishi Sunak’s wife owns shares believed to be worth hundreds of millions of pounds is closing its office in Russia, Sky News understands. The chancellor’s wife Akshata Murthy has a 0.91% stake in Infosys, a company founded by her father, which had continued to operate in Russia since the
Redbox, which went public via a SPAC last year, said it will lay off 150 employees, about 10% of its workforce. In an SEC filing, the company said “a number of potential strategic alternatives with respect to the company’s corporate or capital structure.” The “ongoing adverse effects” of Covid are to blame for the measures,
The government’s business misconduct watchdog has launched criminal and civil probes into P&O Ferries, adding to pressure on the embattled company. The move comes two weeks after P&O Ferries sacked nearly 800 workers and replaced them with lower-paid crew, a decision that the government called illegal. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng confirmed on Friday afternoon that