Ken Shepherd

Amy Schumer drops off live-action ‘Barbie’ movie project: Report

Comedian Amy Schumer has dropped off a planned live-action Barbie movie project, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

March 24, 2017

American Conservative Union endorses Ryan-backed Obamacare replacement plan

While admitting that conservatives are "in a difficult spot" with a less-than-perfect reform plan, the American Conservative Union on Thursday called on House Republicans to pass the Paul Ryan-backed American Health Care Act (AHCA).

March 24, 2017

Instagram introduces blurred-photo feature to shield viewers from sensitive material

Photo-sharing app Instagram has introduced a feature to prevent viewers from seeing disturbing or offensive material without prior warning.

March 23, 2017

Eli Rosenberger, naval officer, bungles ‘Jeopardy!’ clue about U.S. Navy’s birthday

Lt. Cmdr. Eli Rosenberger may never live this down at work, but at least he made off with a few grand for his trouble.

March 22, 2017

Malaysia, conservative Muslim country, won’t censor ‘Power Rangers’ movie over gay character: Report

Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim country that criminalizes homosexuality, will not censor the new live-action "Power Rangers" film, despite a main character being openly gay, said The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday.

March 22, 2017

Gary Goldman sues Disney over ‘Zootopia’ copyright infringement: Report

Screenwriter Gary Goldman is taking Disney to court for copyright infringement, claiming he pitched the studio on a cartoon movie strikingly similar to 2016's "Zootopia."

March 21, 2017

Larry Hogan, Republican governor of Maryland, announces support for fracking ban

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, announced his support Friday for a statewide ban on fracking, WBFF-TV in Baltimore is reporting.

March 17, 2017

Only 38 percent of Americans say Supreme Court is ‘serious’ in interpretation of Constitution: Poll

As confirmation hearings begin Monday for Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, a poll finds that most Americans think the highest court in the land acts in a partisan manner, not trying to engage in a "serious" interpretation of the Constitution.

March 17, 2017

Bethel University urges faculty, students to not use gendered language like ‘mankind’: Report

A Baptist university in Minnesota is urging its students and faculty to eschew words like "man" or "mankind" where referring to the human race, even though most Bible translations use those terms.

March 17, 2017

Netflix changes ratings system to simple thumbs-up, thumbs-down model

Video streaming service Netflix is ditching its 5-star rating system for a simpler thumbs-up, thumbs-down model, Variety reported Friday. While unrelated, the announced change comes as liberal comedian Amy Schumer complains that "alt-right" trolls have organized to skew the ratings for her new comedy special downward.

March 17, 2017

Alexa voice assistant now featured on Amazon shopping app for iOS: Report

You will now be able to use Alexa on your iPhone, thanks to an update to Amazon's iOS app.

March 16, 2017

Chuck Todd of NBC: Trump voters tell me their vote for him is ‘my middle finger to you’

Many Donald Trump voters cast their votes for the president because he's "authentically inauthentic" and serves as a "middle finger" to the mainstream news media, according to NBC's Chuck Todd.

March 16, 2017

Campaign TV ads had significant impact in swaying voters in 2016: Study

A survey by the Wesleyan Media Project finds that televised campaign ads were crucial in winning over undecided voters in the 2016 presidential election.

March 16, 2017

Kendall Jenner reports $200,000 missing in burglary of home: Report

Model Kendall Jenner appears to be the victim of a burglary, TMZ reports.

March 16, 2017

Ivana Trump, Donald Trump’s ex-wife, writing memoir set for September release: Report

Ivana Trump, an ex-wife of the president's and mother to three of his children, is writing a book slated for publication in September, ABC News reported Thursday.

March 16, 2017

Leah Remini’s anti-Scientology TV series renewed for season 2: Report

Leah Remini's documentary series casting a critical examination on the Church of Scientology will come back for a second season at the A&E network, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

March 15, 2017

Taylor Swift files paperwork to launch ‘Swifties,’ a music-streaming service: Report

It looks like Taylor Swift may well never, ever get back together with Spotify.

March 15, 2017

Kal Penn tweets old TV scripts showing offensive Indian stereotypes

Kal Penn, an Indian-American actor perhaps best known for his role in the stoner comedy "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle," took to Twitter to share old TV scripts for shows he auditioned for that called for Indian characters.

March 15, 2017

Eighty percent of Catholics ‘comfortable’ with idea of women priests: Barna Group research

Survey data from the Barna Group, which specializes in polling Americans on issues of religious concern, finds that eight out of 10 Catholics are "comfortable" with the notion of having a woman priest.

March 15, 2017

Muirfield, men-only golf club in Scotland, votes to open membership to women: Report

With some 80 percent of members voting for allowing women to join, the Muirfield golf club in Scotland will end its longstanding men-only membership policy, ESPN reported Tuesday.

March 14, 2017