Election Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

William Earl CalPERS, the influential California pension fund, has voted to shake up the Disney board by backing the election of activist investors Nelson Peltz and Jay Rasulo who have waged a months-long battle with CEO Bob Iger and the incumbent board of directors. The California Public Employees Retirement System told Reuters that the fund had cast its vote for Trian Partners’ Peltz and Rasulo as alternative directors to join the Disney board,.

A councillor who appeared before a court after being caught drink driving says he won't resign. Matt Bryan, an independent Cheshire West and Chester councillor, was hauled before magistrates this week after pleading guilty to drink driving.

Larry David has slammed Donald Trump as a “sociopath”.In a interview between the Curb Your Enthusiasm creator and journalist Chris Wallace previewed by CNN, David gave his thoughts on the upcoming 2024 US election and Trump’s potential presidency.When Wallace asked David how “pissed” the 2020 election made him, David replied he “can’t go a day without thinking about what he’s done to this country because he’s such a little baby.”“He’s thrown 250 years of democracy out the window by not accepting the results of [the election],” he continued. “I mean, it’s so crazy.

It’s not enough they tamper with our elections, they have to go after our princesses, too??

One month ago, all eyes were firmly fixed on Rochdale for a by-election like no other. Firebrand former MP George Galloway, who won a thumping majority with 40 per cent of the vote, returned to Parliament for a seventh time in his career the following week.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Larry David railed against “little baby” Donald Trump in a recent interview on CNN’s “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?” The “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Seinfeld” creator has long spoken out against Trump, even having his fictionalized “Curb” self wear a Make America Great Hat in a Season 10 episode because it’s a “a great people repellant.” “How much has the 2020 election — and everything that has flowed from it — pissed you off?” Wallace asked David. David fired back that he “can’t go a day without thinking about what [Trump has] done to this country because he’s such a little baby.” “He’s thrown 250 years of democracy out the window by not accepting the results of [the election]. I mean, it’s so crazy.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor One of the benefits of hosting any sort of news or discussion program on TV is an authorization to talk. Now some TV journalists and personalities are also being given permission to bite. NBCUniversal needs to get out the proverbial Bactine after being savaged earlier this week by many of its top news personalities over the hire made by NBC News executives of former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel.

It's the seaside resort famous for its illuminations - where Rishi Sunak's electoral woes could soon be lit up for all to see.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Civil War,” the A24 action-thriller about a violently divided United States, isn’t offering up much in the way of escapism. Though it takes place in the dystopian future, it not-so-subtly feeds into the blue-state/red-state rift that’s sure to widen as the race for the White House heats up. That strategy is prominent in the movie’s patriotic-tinged marketing materials, which include a blood-soaked trailer featuring a missile that blows up the Lincoln Memorial, a poster of soldiers sandbagging the Statue of Liberty’s flame and references to successionist forces of California and Texas.

The future of six new youth centres in Manchester is in doubt after the town hall was told that government funding has been pulled. Manchester council was told last week that there is no more money available this year with no guarantees of any funding after that.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Busan International Film Festival has postponed the appointment of a permanent festival director. A new leader may be appointed after this year’s edition in October.Pak Dosin, a former senior programmer, has been appointed as co-deputy director in a dual-leadership structure, alongside co-deputy director Kang Seung-ah. That means that this year’s festival will be held under the leadership of chairperson Park Kwang-su, the recently appointed ACFM director Ellen Y.

Joe Lieberman has passed away.

Angela Rayner has blasted a Tory levelling up promise as a 'sham and a scam'.

Humza Yousaf must be "bold" if he is to be viewed by the public as a leader and not just a commentator on politics, an SNP veteran has said.

Ronna McDaniel is out at NBC News.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor A long line of MSNBC‘s most popular anchors spent Monday calling out the network’s corporate sibling, NBC News, for its hire of former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel in a stunning display of internal rifts laid bare on the TV screen. The hire of McDaniel as a contributor is “inexplicable,” Rachel Maddow said on MSNBC Monday night as part of a half-hour commercial-free monologue that painted the former politico as one in a line of fascists and would-be usurpers who have tried to take over America’s political process.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Ronna McDaniel was supposed to be the new star contributor at NBC News. Now her position there is looking increasingly untenable. NBC News hired the former Republican National Committee chief last week, betting that her recent access to the Trump campaign and Republican politicians would make her a valuable analyst as the 2024 election cycle intensified.

Donald Trump‘s first criminal trial is now scheduled to start on April 15.

Blackpool South will face a byelection after former Tory MP Scott Benton has announced his resignation from Parliament.

Nelson Peltz said today that his bitter proxy fight with Disney is “not about Mr. Iger, nor is it a referendum about his leadership” even as CNBC reported that his firm, Trian Partners, has withheld votes from the CEO, who is also a board nominee.

MSNBC‘s Morning Joe co-anchors Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski called on NBC News to reconsider its decision to hire former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel as a paid contributor.

Yellow buses will now be seen buzzing through Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Bury and north Manchester following the launch of the Bee Network’s second phase.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor UPDATED: Nelson Peltz claims Disney‘s board, not CEO Bob Iger, is the problem. But his investment firm, Trian Group, withheld its votes for Iger’s reelection to the Disney board. With just over a week before Disney’s annual shareholder meeting on April 3, Peltz’s Trian — which has been aggressively campaigning to get two seats on the Mouse House’s board — issued a new statement Monday saying the battle is not about any dispute with Iger but rather about forcing change on the board’s composition to boost the company’s financial returns.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Chuck Todd left moderating duties at “Meet The Press” behind several months ago, but he isn’t through with the show yet. During a surprising appearance on Sunday’s broadcast of the program on NBC, Todd took issue with a decision to hire former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel as an NBC News contributor, then put her on “Meet The Press” for an interview with current moderator Kristen Welker, who had booked McDaniel prior to the hiring becoming known.

NBC News is facing an internal and external backlash over its hiring of former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel as a paid contributor, with critics blasting the decision given her past support of Donald Trump’s unfounded election claims.

A senior Labour MP has refused to commit to giving compensation to women born in the 1950s affected by changes to the state pension age.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Ronna McDaniel is no doubt going to create a lot of sound and fury over at NBC News. Shakespeare could tell you what it’s all going to signify.

Nicola Sturgeon's sister appeared to break news of Princess Kate's illness on social media - 25 minutes before the official announcement.

An insider is speaking out about where Ivanka Trump stands with her dad Donald Trump as he heads into the 2024 presidential election and deals with a multitude of legal scandals.

EXCLUSIVE: MSNBC Films has unveiled its spring and summer slate including a Dave Eggers documentary about book-banning.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Disney was handed a setback in its boardroom fight with activist investor Nelson Peltz after proxy-advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services recommended that shareholders vote him onto the Mouse House’s board. ISS, whose recommendations are influential among institutional investors, cited Disney’s “failed” succession planning in the CEO role in its report backing Peltz, whose Trian Partners.

A Stirling councillor is continuing to highlight the importance of properly fitted child car seats after he and his family escaped a horror accident.

The Conservative candidate standing to become Greater Manchester mayor has defected to Reform UK. Dan Barker, who was selected to stand for the Tories against Andy Burnham, has now joined the party founded by Nigel Farage.

Ben Croll Of the many politically-tinged projects premiering at this year’s Series Mania, French thriller “In the Shadows” could very well claim the best pedigree. While showrunner Pierre Schoeller has spent a career tracing his country’s corridors of power through films like “Versailles” and “The Minister,” he found a most opportune creative partner working with politician Edouard Philippe to adapt the latter’s 2011 novel. Perhaps the name rings a bell.

Residents across Greater Manchester have been issued with an important warning - or they could face losing a basic right.

Governor Gavin Newsom and politicians in Sacramento may still have a long way to go to conquering California‘s budget deficit, but they now finally have the go-ahead from voters to get $6.4 billion to revamp the state’s busted mental health system and combat homelessness.