Western Copper & Gold ( NYSE:WRN – Get Free Report ) and Lithium ( OTCMKTS:LTUM – Get Free Report ) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and institutional ownership. Earnings and Valuation This table compares Western Copper & Gold and Lithium”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation. Risk & Volatility Analyst Recommendations This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Western Copper & Gold and Lithium, as provided by MarketBeat. Western Copper & Gold currently has a consensus price target of $4.25, suggesting a potential upside of 304.76%. Given Western Copper & Gold’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Western Copper & Gold is more favorable than Lithium. Insider and Institutional Ownership 22.0% of Western Copper & Gold shares are held by institutional investors. 4.6% of Western Copper & Gold shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.8% of Lithium shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term. Profitability This table compares Western Copper & Gold and Lithium’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Summary Western Copper & Gold beats Lithium on 8 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks. About Western Copper & Gold ( Get Free Report ) Western Copper and Gold Corporation, an exploration stage company, engages in the exploration and development of mineral properties in Canada. The company explores for gold, copper, silver, and molybdenum deposits. Its principal property is the Casino mineral property that comprise 1,136 full and partial quartz claims, and 55 placer claims located in Yukon, Canada. The company was formerly known as Western Copper Corporation and changed its name to Western Copper and Gold Corporation in October 2011. Western Copper and Gold Corporation was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. About Lithium ( Get Free Report ) Lithium Corporation, an exploration stage mining company, engages in the identification, acquisition, and exploration of metals and minerals in Nevada and British Columbia. It explores for lithium/boron/potassium, graphite, gold, and silver deposits, as well as titanium and rare earth elements. The company was formerly known as Utalk Communications Inc. and changed its name to Lithium Corporation in September 2009. Lithium Corporation was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Elko, Nevada. Receive News & Ratings for Western Copper & Gold Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Western Copper & Gold and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .
FANS of I'm A Celebrity have spotted how there is a missing part of the show, with many pleading for it to be reintroduced. The iconic ITV show made a triumphant return last weekend, with a selection of famous faces uniting in the Australian jungle in the name of reality TV. But fans have noticed that a fan-favourite part of the show is missing and has been since the show began on Sunday. On Reddit, fans have spotted how the celebrities in this year's series are yet to do a proper eating trial. "We’ve now had 4 trails and none of them have been an eating trail, just seems kinda strange as there is usually one in the first 4 or so," said one person. Another agreed, "Yeah all they have had is confined space trials this year." Read More about I'm A Celeb "They're probably so desperate for a bit of animal protein thanks to Dean they'd probably wolf down whatever was put in front of them without thinking too much," said a third. A fourth then penned, "Has it only been like 4 days, and it started with a gross milkshake," referring to the disgusting shake the celebrities were given when they arrived. While a fifth said, "Eating trials seem to be quite popular. They maybe waiting for the right time. I'm guessing Saturday to help gain the viewers maybe?" And a sixth added, "I'm glad. I think they are the most boring." Most read in I’m A Celebrity 2024 FANS PLEAD FOR EATING TRIAL Meanwhile, on X, formerly known as Twitter, fans are also questioning when an eating trial might take place. "Me patiently waiting for the eating trial," said one, along with a meme. "We can't be far away from the eating trial??" asked a second. And a third echoed, "Why no eating trial yet?" This comes after two new arrivals joined the 2024 lineup of the beloved show. NEW ARRIVALS Last night, former Love Island star Maura Higgins entered the jungle with Reverand Richard Coles. i'm A Celebrity is back for its 24th series, with a batch of famous faces living in the Aussie jungle. The Sun's Jake Penkethman takes a look at the stars on the show this year.. Coleen Rooney - Arguably the most famous name in the camp, the leading WAG, known for her marriage to Wayne Rooney , has made a grand return to TV as she looks to put the Wagatha Christie scandal behind her. The Sun revealed the mum-of-four had bagged an eye-watering deal worth over £1.5million to be on the show this year making her the highest-paid contestant ever. Tulisa - The popstar and former X Factor judge has made her triumphant TV comeback by signing up to this year's I'm A Celeb after shunning TV shows for many years. Known for being a member of the trio, N-Dubz , Tulisa became a household name back in 2011 when she signed on to replace Cheryl on ITV show The X Factor in a multi-million pound deal. Alan Halsall - The actor, known for playing the long-running role of Tyrone Dobbs on ITV soap opera Coronation Street , was originally signed up to head Down Under last year but an operation threw his scheduled appearance off-course. Now he has become the latest Corrie star to win over both the viewers and his fellow celebrities. Melvin Odoom - The Radio DJ has become a regular face on TV screens after rising to fame with presenting roles on Kiss FM, BBC Radio 1 and 4Music. Melvin has already been for a spin on the Strictly dancefloor and co-hosted The Xtra Factor with Rochelle Humes in 2015 but now he is facing up to his biggest challenge yet - the Aussie jungle . GK Barry - The UK's biggest social media personality, GK, whose real name is Grace Keeling, has transformed her TikTok stardom into a lucrative career. Aside from her popular social media channels, she hosts the weekly podcast, Saving Grace, and regularly appears on ITV talk show, Loose Women . She has even gone on to endorse popular brands such as PrettyLittleThing, KFC and Ann Summers. Dean McCullough - A rising star amongst this year's bunch of celebs , Dean first achieved notability through his radio appearances on Gaydio and BBC Radio 1. He was chosen to join the BBC station permanently in 2021 and has featured prominently ever since. He has enjoyed a crossover to ITV over the past year thanks to his guest slots on Big Brother spin-off show, Late & Live. Oti Mabuse - The pro dancer has signed up to her latest TV show after making her way through the biggest programmes on the box. She originally found fame on Strictly Come Dancing but has since branched out into the world of TV judging with appearances on former BBC show The Greatest Dancer as well as her current role on ITV's Dancing On Ice . Danny Jones - The McFly star was drafted into the programme last minute as a replacement for Tommy Fury. Danny is the second member of McFly to enter the jungle , after Dougie Poynter won the show in 2011. He is also considered a rising star on ITV as he's now one of the mentors on their Saturday night talent show, The Voice , along with bandmate Tom Fletcher . Jane Moore - The Loose Women star and The Sun columnist is braving the creepy crawlies this year. The star is ready for a new challenge - having recently split from her husband . It will be Jane's first foray into reality TV with the telly favourite having always said no to reality shows in the past. Barry McGuigan - Former pro boxer Barry is the latest fighting champ to head Down Under following in the footsteps of Tony Bellew and Amir Khan . It comes after a tough few years for Irish star Barry, who lost his daughter Danika to bowel cancer . He told The Late Late Show in 2021: "She was such an intrinsic part of the family that every day we ache." Maura Higgins - The Irish TV beauty first found fame on Love Island where she found a brief connection with dancer Curtis Pritchard . Since then, she has competed on Dancing On Ice as well as hosting the Irish version of the beauty contest, Glow Up. Since last year, she has been working on building up her career in the US by being the social media correspondent and host of Aftersun to accompany Love Island USA. She even guest hosted an episode of the spin-off, Love Island Games, in place of Maya Jama last year. Rev. Richard Coles - Former BBC radio host the Rev Richard Coles is a late arrival on I’m A Celebrity , and he's ready to spill the beans on his former employer. The former Communards and Strictly star , said the BBC did not know its a**e from its elbow last year. An insider said: "Rev Coles will have a variety of tales to tell from his wild days as a pop star in the Eighties, through to performing on Strictly and his later life as a man of the cloth." When they arrived, the duo was thrown straight into the Jungle Junkyard - which may have looked disgusting, but actually had hidden advantages. When Maura arrived at the camp, she was fuming over the living conditions. READ MORE SUN STORIES "It’s not liveable, we have nothing, this camp sucks," she fumed after seeing the camp for the first time. She then added, "I’m going to ask Richard to say a prayer for us tonight because I’m gonna need one."Finding and accessing capital investment continues to be a challenge for many small businesses in Manitoba. In an effort to address this issue, among other funding activities and policy initiatives, the Government of Manitoba can be credited with implementing the Small Business Venture Capital Tax Credit Program (the “Program”). This innovative program offers eligible investors a 45% tax credit on taxes payable in Manitoba for investments made in approved small businesses in the province. Under the Program, each investor making the maximum investment allowed of $500,000 per eligible small business is entitled to a $225,000 tax credit. As the Program is effective for generating capital investment for Manitoba small businesses, we’ve observed its use among our clients continue to expand. The Program has two notable limitations, however, that likely make it inaccessible to most Manitoban investors: First, the eligible investors must either qualify as an accredited investor under applicable securities laws (they meet a prescribed income or financial asset threshold that would allow them to sustain risky investments), or qualify for another exemption under applicable securities laws, such as being a close friend, family member and/or business associate of an officer, director or founder of the issuer company. Second, the minimum investment under the Program is $10,000. An individual is an accredited investor if they earned over $200,000 net income, or $300,000 including their spouse’s income, in the two recent calendar years with the expectation of earning the same for the current year. They are also viewed as such if they have financial assets with an aggregate realizable value of more than $1 million, before taxes but net of any related liabilities. Financial assets are cash and securities and therefore, exclude the value of an individual’s house, cottage and other assets. According to Statistics Canada’s census data, in 2021, only 2.3% of Manitobans of working age earned more than $150,000. We thereby assume that the percentage of Manitobans that individually earn over $200,000 a year, or who have a household income of more than $300,000, is substantially lower. While securities laws are, in part, designed to protect people from high-risk and/or speculative investments that could be unsuitable, the current rules create a situation where highly educated, experienced and sophisticated investors are prohibited from taking advantage of offerings qualified and approved under the Program. There are two practical solutions that are potentially available: Implementing the self-certified investor exemption in Manitoba and allowing the self-certified investor exemption to be used concurrently with the Program and lowering the minimum investment in the Program from $10,000 to $5,000. The exemption was implemented on a trial-run basis in Alberta and Saskatchewan in 2021 and in Ontario in 2022. All three provinces have since extended these exemptions. The exemption allows issuers to raise capital without a prospectus from investors who may not meet the test to qualify as an accredited investor, subject to a number of technical requirements. In order to use the exemption, in Ontario, the investor must sign prescribed certificates to the issuer certifying that they possess certain knowledge, skills or experience, and they acknowledge that they have read and understood a regulated list of risks that are associated with investing. The issuer cannot know or would reasonably be expected to know that the statements made by the investor in the certificates are false. In Ontario, the exemption may also only be used for a maximum of $30,000, in the aggregate, in any and all businesses in Ontario in any 12-month period. To that end, the subscription agreement between the investor and the company for the investment must include a contractual representation from the investor to the company that the aggregate acquisition cost of the securities of all companies acquired by that investor in the preceding 12 months as a self-certified investor does not exceed $30,000. In Ontario, to be considered qualified under the self-certified exemption, investors need to have at least one of the following: • A designation as a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Chartered Investment Manager (CIM), Chartered Business Valuator (CBV), Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), Certified International Wealth Manager (CIWM) from the Canadian Securities Institute, or Certified Financial Planner (CFP) from FP Canada; • A Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree focused on finance, a finance degree or a business and/or commerce degree focused on finance or investment from a Canadian university or accredited foreign university; • Admitted to practice law and actively practises with at least one-third of the practice in securities law or mergers and acquisitions; • Passed the Canadian Securities Course Exam administered by the Canadian Securities Institute; • Passed the Exempt Market Products Exam administered by the IFSE Institute; • Passed the Canadian Investment Funds Course Exam administered by the IFSE Institute; • Passed the Investment Funds in Canada Course Exam administered by the Canadian Securities Institute; • Passed the Series 7 Exam administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority in the United States; • Holds a financial planner or financial advisor credential from a credentialling body approved by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario; or • Has management, policy-making, engineering, product or other relevant operational experience at a business that operates in the same industry or sector as the company that the investor wishes to invest in. As a result of this experience, the individual is able to adequately assess and understand the risk of investment in that company. There are some notable differences between the exemptions in Alberta and Saskatchewan and Ontario. We note that in Alberta and Saskatchewan: • The list of potential qualified investors in Saskatchewan and Alberta is smaller than Ontario; • There is a limitation on the exemption of $10,000 per year in any one single company in a year, provided that the $30,000 aggregate limitation and the $10,000 single company limitation does not apply if the company is listed on a Canadian stock exchange and that investor receives advice regarding suitability of the investment from a qualified advisor. • A distribution to anyone that is using the self-certified exemption must occur concurrently with a distribution to an accredited investor and the self-certified investor must have access to the same information about the distributed securities as any accredited investor. • In addition to the prescribed certificates certifying the investor’s eligibility and that the investor has read and understood the risks of investing, as in is the case in Ontario, in Alberta and Saskatchewan, investors must also provide to the issuer a statutory declaration in a prescribed form. The statutory declaration cannot be older than 36 months from the date of distribution and the issuer must hold a copy of that acknowledgement and statutory declaration for a period of 8 years after the distribution. • Special purpose vehicles may be considered self-certified investors if certain technical conditions are met. The self-certified investor exemption is designed to strike an appropriate balance between lowering the high barrier of entry for investors to participate in private placement offerings, while ensuring that those investors have the requisite knowledge, experience and skill to do so. If the Government of Manitoba and The Manitoba Securities Commission consider and deem the self-certified exemption to be appropriate for Manitoba, they could adopt either of the existing models or take a customized approach. Implementing the exemption and allowing it to be used concurrently with the Program would effectively unlock a whole new pool of prospective investors for Manitoba small businesses to access and allow more Manitobans to use and take advantage of the Program. — Kyle Mirecki is private equity and securities lawyer in the Winnipeg office at MLT Aikins LLP. This article is of a general nature only and is not exhaustive of all possible legal rights or remedies. In addition, laws may change over time and should be interpreted only in the context of particular circumstances such that these materials are not intended to be relied upon or taken as legal advice or opinion. Readers should consult a legal professional for specific advice in any particular situation.Fox News' Trey Yingst provides details on the search for Austin Tice following the fall of Assad. Sisters Meagan and Naomi Tice express frustration with the Biden administration's failure to locate their brother, who they believe is still alive. Countries in Europe are slamming the brakes on asylum cases filed by Syrian migrants in the wake of the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad, but it is not yet clear whether the U.S. will take similar action. The U.K. and Norway, along with E.U. countries of Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Finland, Ireland and Sweden, have suspended applications from Syrians after the fall of the Assad regime. While it does not necessarily mean those people will be returned to Syria, it puts those applications in limbo in a continent that saw a massive surge of Syrian migration during the 2015 European migration crisis. TRUMP'S PLEDGE AGAINST ‘FOREVER WARS’ COULD BE TESTED WITH SYRIA IN HANDS OF JIHADIST FACTIONS The European Union has also said that conditions are not currently in place for the safe return of nationals to Syria. Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, seen during the Signing of the comprehensive program of strategic and long-term cooperation between Iran and Syria, on May 3, 2023, In Damascus, Syria. (Photo by Borna News/Matin Ghasemi/Aksonline ATPImages/Getty Images) (Getty Images) While Europe has seen a considerably more sizeable influx of migrants from Syria than the U.S., it is not clear how those cases in the U.S. will change, if at all, given the changing political dynamics in the Middle Eastern country. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services handle asylum cases, and asylum officers are instructed to consider changes in circumstances when considering those cases. So, if an applicant’s country becomes more stable, then the consideration of that case changes dynamically. Therefore, if Syria stabilizes, it may make it harder for Syrians to receive a positive ruling on their cases. US GROUP LOOKS FOR KIDNAPPED AMERICANS IN SYRIA AFTER FALL OF ASSAD REGIME: WON'T ‘LEAVE A STONE UNTURNED' But so far, there have been no pauses of Syrian asylum cases announced by the Biden administration. The White House did not respond to requests for comment on the matter. Migrants and refugees line up at the central registration center for refugees and asylum seekers LaGeSo (Landesamt fuer Gesundheit und Soziales - State Office for Health and Social Affairs) LaGeSo in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Jan. 4, 2016. ((AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)) One factor that could change in the next year is Temporary Protected Status, which grants deportation protection and work permits for nationals of countries deemed unsafe. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas extended and redesignated Syria for TPS in January, and that lasts until September 2025. Should the Trump administration choose not to extend or redesignate Syria for TPS, it would require those who are no longer protected from deportation and who do not have another legal status to leave the U.S. or face deportation. However, the number of Syrians protected under TPS is relatively few, compared to other nationalities and the situation in Europe. DHS estimated that around 8,000 Syrians were eligible for TPS in January. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The Center for Immigration Studies cited statistics showing that the number of Syrians granted asylum between 2011 and 2023 was just over 7,000. Meanwhile, data obtained by Fox News Digital this week shows that there are 741 Syrians with deportation orders on Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) non-detained docket. In Europe, around 183,000 Syrians applied for asylum in 2023, according to the Associated Press. The U.N. refugee agency has called for "patience and vigilance" for Syrian migrants, arguing that much will depend on whether Syria's new government is respectful of law and order. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital, primarily covering immigration and border security. He can be reached at adam.shaw2@fox.com or on Twitter .
Several of President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees this week were on the receiving end of bomb threats and a form of criminal harassment called "swatting," his camp said. According to a statement from Trump transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, the bomb and swatting threats were made on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. “Law enforcement and other authorities acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted,” Leavitt said. “President Trump and the entire Transition team are grateful for their swift action. An FBI official told USA TODAY the agency is aware of the incidents and is actively investigating. "We take all potential threats seriously, and as always, encourage members of the public to immediately report anything they consider suspicious to law enforcement," the official said. Among the nominees saying they were targeted were New York Rep. Elise Stafanik, Trump's pick to be the next ambassador of the United Nations; Matt Gaetz, Trump's initial attorney general selection; former New York congressman Lee Zeldin, who was tapped to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. But what is swatting? Here's what to know. What is swatting? The FBI describes “swatting” as a prank designed to draw an emergency law enforcement response to a hoax victim, often creating a situation where a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team arrives ready for a possible violent encounter. “The individuals who engage in this activity use technology to make it appear that the emergency call is coming from the victim’s phone,” said one FBI public announcement in 2013, titled, “ The Crime of 'Swatting': Fake 9-1-1 Calls Have Real Consequences — FBI . "Sometimes swatting is done for revenge, sometimes as a prank. Either way, it is a serious crime, and one that has potentially dangerous consequences.” The FBI first warned about the phone hacking phenomenon in 2008 and has arrested hundreds of people over the years on federal charges stemming from swatting incidents. It says most are handled by local and state law enforcement agencies, but that the FBI often provides resources and guidance in these investigations. “The FBI looks at these crimes as a public safety issue,” Kevin Kolbye, an assistant special agent in charge of its Dallas Division, said in the 2013 public warning. “It’s only a matter of time before somebody gets seriously injured as a result of one of these incidents.” Swatting incidents increased as 2024 presidential election approached Federal cybersecurity officials warned of a significant increase in swatting incidents in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election and said numerous incidents had targeted election workers and polling places to disrupt the electoral process. In May 2024, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a joint warning about the threat to elections, noting “multiple swatting incidents specifically targeting election workers” in late 2023 and early 2024. The frequency of the attacks increased dramatically in the weeks before the election and on election day, federal officials said in briefings and public postings. “Both foreign and domestic actors use swatting as a method to harass or intimidate individuals and businesses, including U.S. government officials, faith-based institutions, schools, journalists, company executives, and celebrities,” the agencies said in the May 2024 warning, which provided detailed guidance on how election workers and law enforcement agencies could prevent and respond to swatting incidents. “They may also seek to disrupt critical infrastructure operations, induce fear or chaos, divert law enforcement from other crimes or emergencies, or simply gain attention or notoriety,” the joint warning said. Contributing: Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY49ers QB Brock Purdy remains severely limited by injury to his throwing shoulder
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Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) yesterday said that there was a need for massive intervention in Nigeria’s agricultural sector to reduce the 40 per cent seasonal post-harvest losses for farm produce in-country. In a communiqué in Abuja, read by the NSE’s President, Margaret Oguntala, the umbrella body for all engineers in the country, stated that storage facilities, cold chains, and transportation networks were needed to ensure food security. The release of the communiqué marked the end of the 2024 edition of the NSE’s 57th International Engineering Conference, Exhibition and Annual General Meeting, themed: ‘Sustainable Engineering Solutions to Food Security and Climate Change’. Besides, the conference observed that about 70 per cent of Nigeria’s agriculture produce is from rural areas, where poor road network hinders transportation and distribution of produce from farms to market, causing spoilage, raising costs and reducing accessibility to consumers. Oguntala said, “With substantial post-harvest losses representing about 40 per cent of food produced in Nigeria challenging food security, conference underscored the importance of improved storage facilities, cold chains, and transportation networks. “Such infrastructure reduces food spoilage, ensures better market access, and strengthens the resilience of food supply chains.” According to her, water scarcity and inadequate irrigation systems are significant constraints to sustainable agriculture in Nigeria, stressing that out of over 84 million hectares of arable land, only about 1.6 million hectares are irrigated, leaving the rest reliant on unpredictable rainfall. The conference therefore observed the need for advanced water management solutions, including water-efficient irrigation, rainwater harvesting, and wastewater reuse. The NSE also called for the deployment of solar and wind energy to power irrigation, mechanised farming, and cold storage, reducing dependence on fossil fuels and contributing to sustainable food security. On how environmental pollution was affecting food production, the organisation said that oil spills have devastating effects on farmland and ecosystems. It explained that with engineering innovation, oil companies should adopt technology to prevent oil spills and minimise damages to agricultural land in their operational areas. The NSE also lauded President Bola Tinubu for the pronouncement to establish the National Engineering and Innovation Fund which is purposely designed to provide grants and resources to engineers and technologists working on solutions for Nigeria’s unique challenges. According to the engineers, government and relevant stakeholders, including research institutes, food processors, aggregators, exporters among others, should embrace and promote innovations and technologies that enhance agricultural productivity and reduce greenhouse gas emission. The NSE further recommended that there should be synergy among stakeholders in mitigating climate change at both individual and societal levels. “Also, relevant government agencies should implement recommendations on different climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies relevant to Nigeria as contained in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report of Conference of Parties (COPs). “It recommends that government policies should prioritise funding for research, capacity-building, and incentives for adopting sustainable practices in agriculture through Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Bank of Industry (BOI) and other funding bodies,” the NSE added."There’s just no weakness this man has": Manjrekar on Jasprit Bumrah
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As a smooth-talking media and political pundit, Colman Domingo ’s Muncie Daniels is used to commenting on politics and the news — not becoming the news — in The Madness . However, his fate will quickly change for the worse when we meet him in the new series. When the CNN personality discovers the dead body of a white supremacist in the woods near where he’s staying in the Poconos, he winds up in the crosshairs of law enforcement and possibly framed for murder — and even his lawyer friend Kwesi (Deon Cole) warns the silver-tongued Muncie, “You’re not going to be able to talk your way out of this.... They are going to pin all this on you.” In this paranoia-inducing Netflix thriller, Daniels finds himself in the middle of a sprawling conspiracy that delves into the darkest corners of society and explores the intersections between the wealthy and powerful, the alt-right, and other fringe movements. “[The series] is examining the climate we’re in right now,” Domingo teased to TV Insider. “Who sows those seeds of disinformation? Who’s puppeteering all of this?” To clear his name, Muncie must figure out whether to trust FBI agent Franco Quiñones (John Ortiz) and reconnect with his working-class, activist roots in Philadelphia while reuniting with his family, which includes teenage son Demetrius (Thaddeus J. Mixson), estranged wife Elena (Marsha Stephanie Blake), and daughter Kallie (Gabrielle Graham) from a previous relationship. “He’s trying to solve a crime,” creator Stephen Belber previews, “but at the same time he’s trying to solve something inside of himself.” To find out what else we should know about the new thrill ride, we spoke to The Color Purple and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom star Colman Domingo — who played Victor Strand on Fear the Walking Dead for eight seasons, won an Emmy for Euphoria , and was nominated for a 2024 Oscar for the civil rights drama Rustin — about the bind in which Muncie finds himself in The Madness , the similarities he shares with the character, and the resonance of a story that speaks to our age of online disinformation and conspiracy theories. Why were you drawn to this series and this character? What about it made you say yes to it? Colman Domingo: There’s so much about it that is raising questions about who are we in America right now. What do you believe in? And what are you believing? What’s being fed to you? These are questions that I have deep in my heart, and the series is bringing out those thoughts I have in the back of my head. Like who is manipulating all of us? I do believe there’s people feeding the public misinformation, but it benefits people with money, power, and position. Are there similarities you share with Muncie? Wildly enough, he’s from my neighborhood, from West Philly. He’s a college professor. So am I. There’s a lot of similarities. He’s a public-facing person. Even some of his ideology, where he believes that if you just get people at the table to sit and have a civil conversation, things will get better. I do believe that. I actively do that in my life. And I thought, “Oh, I understand Muncie. I understand what he’s trying to do.” But then the series takes him on another journey to actually go more full-throttle and understand all the dynamics he’s been espousing but not really having to get in the mud with. Is Muncie’s journey in the series a metaphor for how we’re all trying to make sense of this firehose of facts and information, along with disinformation, conspiracy-mongering, and lies that are coming at us 24/7? Yeah. It’s your modern-day North By Northwest, your modern-day Three Days of the Condor. He’s an everyman who has to go on this journey that he’s not ready to go on. He didn’t even know he’s been preparing for it. He was just living his best life, has a great position at CNN, and has been studying jujitsu for his own health. But he didn’t know that he’d need all that to go down the rabbit hole for real. What’s Muncie’s relationship like with his estranged wife, son Demetrius, and his older daughter Kallie from another relationship? All of it is precarious. What’s going on between he and his wife, we made it a gray area. Maybe they both started out as young activists, and the other one moved into celebrity, and the other one is a college professor, and they’re just not meeting [each other] where they used to be. It was more about having a crisis of faith in each other. Then with his daughter [Kallie], he made choices when he was younger, in a relationship he was in before he went to an Ivy League school. So he’s sort of been a deadbeat dad in that way. Then with his younger son, he’s sort of an absentee father. He believes he’s doing the best that he can by providing financially and showing up when he can. But I think he’s been a bit selfish. So this whole crisis is helping him examine not only who he is, but who has he been—and not been—to his family. Now he’s got to do some relationship repair; at the same time, he’s trying to advocate and save his own life and protect his family. Has he lost himself a bit over the years in pursuit of success and ambition? I think so. But I think if you asked Muncie, he wouldn’t say that. I think he believed, no, it’s okay to change. It’s OK to have access and agency. But I think at some point he didn’t realize even in the position that he had, he was just all talk. He was just a talking head. He wasn’t actually doing anything but adding to the noise of the media circuit business. In the crisis that he goes through, how does his family help him to survive? I think he didn’t realize how much he needed them. When we meet him, he’s in a place of stasis. He’s been trying to write this book for years. So he decided to go to the Pocono mountains to try and start writing something. Then he goes on this journey. I think it’s a beautiful hero’s journey. He didn’t know he needed all these things. He didn’t know he needed a heart. He didn’t know he needed a brain...It is ‘no place like home.’ But he realized that his home was attached to other things like celebrity, clothing, and having access. But all of that became more superficial than he even imagined. Amanda Matlovich / Netflix Muncie was a housing activist in his youth, and he reconnects with his West Philly roots and the people in his life from that time. How does he change during the course of the series? I think it’s about helping him to bridge the two parts of himself. It’s one of the first arguments that my character has with the fantastic Eisa Davis, who plays Renee, while hosting a show on CNN. And it’s at the core of the problem. For me, it’s a question of, “What’s the best way?” He’s like, “I am Black and I don’t have to actually be out on the streets anymore. I have more access here on television where I can affect a lot of more people.” And so for me, it’s raising the question of, “Is that right or is that wrong? Or is there a balance of both?” How do race and systemic racism factor into the story of a Black man who gets blamed for the death of a white supremacist? How do you think that will be eye-opening for some viewers? Race plays into it a great deal. Muncie is someone who is probably very adept at code-switching [adjusting one’s style of speech, appearance, and expression to conform to a given community and reduce the potential for discrimination]. When you have celebrity and access, you live more in a bubble where you’re probably not perceived in certain ways. But when all of that goes away, once Muncie has to let go of his Range Rover, his Tom Ford suits, and his position at CNN, he’s perceived as just another ordinary Black man on the street. So even when he goes into that New York shop and changes into a T-shirt, baseball cap, and hoodie [to disguise himself], he’s trying to normalize. Before, he believed was a bit more elevated in some way. I love the question that [his estranged wife] Elena asked him: “What were you doing going over to this white man’s house out in the woods? You felt like you had the privilege to do that? You have to always be careful. You don’t know what’s on the other side. You’re a Black man in America.” He forgot for a moment. What does the title, The Madness , refer to? I think it’s about the madness that we’re all living in when it comes to the 24-hour news cycle and trying to download and sift through information. It’s maddening! And also, I think the madness is also internal, that internal struggle of like, “Who are you, and what do you believe in? Who is real, and who is not?” I think that’s the madness. The Madness , Series Premiere, Thursday, November 28, Netflix More Headlines:49ers QB Brock Purdy remains severely limited by injury to his throwing shoulderFormer President Jimmy Carter dead at 100West Virginia knocks off No. 3 Gonzaga 86-78 in overtime in the Battle 4 Atlantis
RICHMOND — He boasts that he can ring up Snoop Dogg on speed dial. Samuel L. Jackson depicted him in a Hollywood blockbuster. He commands speaking fees in all corners of the country, carrying trading cards and copies of his own book that he autographs for anyone who asks (and even some who don’t). And on Thursday night, Ken Carter was one of about two dozen people inside a basketball gym, where the only signs a game was taking place were the squeaks of sneakers and four buzzers to signal the end of each quarter. The stands were empty. There was no band, no students but for a few stragglers on their cell phones. Coach Carter is . Now 65, a grandfather and 25 years removed from the 1999 season depicted in the 2005 box-office hit, he faces a distinctly different challenge this time around. Look no further than the final score in his first game back on the bench, a 55-31 loss to a seven-player team from a small private Oakland academy. “Back in the day, the stands were full. I mean, totally full,” Carter said. “But I guarantee by our sixth game, we’re going to have this place full.” It was the Oilers’ fourth game of the season and their fourth loss. Carter had other engagements that prevented him from attending the previous three, forcing them to forfeit twice, and at first glance, he didn’t appear to be there Thursday, either. In his initial run with the program, from 1997-2002, Carter gained a reputation for wearing a suit and tie on game days and requiring his players to do the same. It was one of a number of rules set forth, as well as maintaining at least a 2.3 GPA, in a contract he had all of his players sign. Things have changed, and so has Carter’s wardrobe, which featured a navy blue, school-branded sweatsuit and unlaced white sneakers. He pledged to turn boys into men when he took over the program the first time around. Now, it’s about turning boys into basketball players. Back then, he inherited a team that had 45 players to fill out varsity, JV and freshman rosters. The team he took over this fall has 10 members, most of whom were struggling to fill out their jerseys. “Our kids are undersized, some of them their first year ever playing basketball,” Carter said. “I enjoy coaching here now more than I ever did, with the kids and their attitudes. The attitude of the kids is just wonderful. ... We have no problems academically. We’re just physically not a big team. But I think that’s going to change next year. I think we’re going to be pretty good next year.” Richmond has cycled through four coaches the past four years while posting one winning season, including a 1-21 finish last year while being outscored by an average of 48.5 points per game. Senior Jayden Briscoe said he believes Carter, a star player at Richmond in the 1970s, is dedicated to rebuilding the program. While it was Carter’s first time on the sidelines for a game, he has been coaching the team through practice all summer. “He makes us work a lot harder,” Briscoe said. “The other coaches, no hate to them, but their practices were a lot different. It’s a different work ethic. Carter, he’ll have us (scheduled to) practice for two hours and we’ll end up being there for four hours. The other coaches, it would be an hour and 30 minutes.” Carter plans to put his own resources into the program and hopes that his name recognition can prevent some of the area’s most talented players from opting for private school, such as Salesian, the private power just down the road that qualified for the state Open Division tournament. “There’s not a college coach in America that I can’t call that’s not going to return my call,” he said. The setting that inspired the film, where he returned Thursday night, couldn’t feel further from the bright lights of Hollywood. No player on the court had been born when the movie was released. But Carter clearly still carried weight with the current generation. Related Articles “I wanted to see him so bad,” said Irvelle Winchester, a freshman guard for the opposing Envision Academy. “It was something that was local, so I liked the movie a lot. I didn’t know who he was until I watched it, but I was like, ‘Dang.’ How he turned a trash team into a good team. I lowkey look up to him.” After one physical play, Winchester fell to the floor and Carter jumped from his seat on the bench to go check on him. Afterward, Carter stuck around to take photos, sign autographs and chat with the entire opposing team and its coaches. After the handshake line, he made a beeline for the parking lot and returned with a stack of cards that he signed and passed around, along with a few copies of his book. “I’m one of the so-called celebrities that you can touch,” he said. “People ask me, ‘Why did I return to Richmond?’ First of all, it was just the love of Richmond. I’d like to see this school be extremely successful. Now I have a Rolodex of resources, so we can get things done. ... This completes the circle.”NFL Week 15 injury tracker: Latest updates on Joe Burrow, Breece Hall, George Pickens and others banged-upHow to Watch Top 25 College Basketball Games – Monday, December 30
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