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Julie Andrews and Her Daughter Pen New Children's Book

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  Princess Diaries and Mary Poppins star Julie Andrews is back at it again with another whimsical and wonderful children’s book. Written with her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton, The Enchanted Symphony is an inspiring picture book about the power of art, nature and community. Illustrated by Elly MacKay, the colorful tome centers around a lively village beset by a mysterious fog. The town turns dull and silent; melancholy neighbors stop visiting each other and even going outside. Until one day, when a boy’s simple melody strikes a chord, reminding everyone of what matters most—even in the darkest of times. Suitable for readers ages 4-8, Andrews and Hamilton drew their inspiration for the book from an opera house in Barcelona that was closed down during the pandemic but was brought back to life after a man had a quartet from the symphony play for a concert hall full of 2,000 houseplants. “There’s a little video of it, isn’t there?” Andrews told Scary Mommy in an interview. “And you sw...
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Blue Jays' Jose Berrios: Strikes out 10 in loss

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  Berrios (11-12) took the loss Wednesday, allowing four runs on five hits and three walks over six innings against the Yankees. He struck out 10. While Berrios ended his campaign with a season-high 10 strikeouts, he gave up two runs on an Aaron Judge homer in the fourth inning before surrendering two more runs in the fifth, as the Yankees handed him a second straight loss. Berrios has allowed four runs in consecutive starts against New York after holding opponents to two runs or fewer in each of his previous three outings. The 29-year-old right-hander will finish the year with a 3.65 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 184 strikeouts across 32 starts (189.2 innings).
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Prince William and Kate Middleton now ‘outweigh’ Harry and Meghan in Hollywood

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  Prince William and Kate Middleton may be upping their PR strategies to upstage Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on their turf in Hollywood. Ahead of the Prince of Wales’ upcoming New York trip, to promote his annual Earthshot Prize, there are speculations that Hollywood may have begun favouring the Wales over the Sussexes following the bad press that has hounded them for months. Per the latest YouGov quarterly poll last month, Harry and Meghan’s popularity is plummeting in America. Last month the poll revealed that the former  Suits  actress is now by far the least popular of the four royals in her own home country. According to global PR and branding guru Mark Borkowski told  Express.co.uk,  “[William and Kate’s] image now far outweighs Harry and Meghan’s social media issues and their attempt to conquer Hollywood.” He added that the “charm offensive” and “master class in image branding” of the Waleses has left the Duke and Duchess of Sussex “in the shade.” Roya...
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Standing ovation for a Ukrainian who fought with the Nazis sparks anger and an apology in Canada

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  It seemed like a touching and timely tribute by Canadian lawmakers to a 98-year-old war “hero” who fought for   Ukraine’s independence during World War II . But it soon emerged that the man was in fact part of a notorious Nazi unit, leading to fury at the standing ovation he was given in the presence of   Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy . Yaroslav Hunka wiped away tears on receiving the rousing recognition from the Canadian House of Commons on Friday. He was singled out by Speaker Anthony Rota, who called him a “hero” following a speech by  the visiting Ukrainian leader , who in turn raised a fist during the applause. But Rota apologized Sunday after he said he “subsequently became aware of more information” about Hunka’s past. The Ukrainian nonagenarian did fight the Soviet Union, but as part of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, “a Nazi military unit whose crimes against humanity during the Holocaust are well-documented,” according to the Frien...
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‘History’s greatest robbery’: Jewish cabaret star’s heirs get back artwork stolen by Nazis

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Artwork stolen by the   Nazis   from a   Jewish   cabaret star who openly derided   Adolf Hitler   and was later pushed into a   concentration camp   has finally been returned to his heirs. Seven pieces of art made by  Austrian  expressionist  Egon Schiele  that were looted from Fritz Grünbaum by the Nazis have been returned to his heirs more than 80 years after they were taken. Valued collectively at $9.5m, the pieces of art were returned to Grünbaum’s family during a ceremony and press conference Wednesday in New York. The family had been fighting to reclaim the looted art. Grünbaum, a popular Austrian cabaret performer and songwriter, had amassed a trove of almost 450 pieces of art before the Second World War began. This trove included 81 sketches and paintings by Schiele, a protege of Gustav Klimt. Grünbaum’s routines openly derided Nazism and Hitler and were banned. He was arrested in 1938 and imprisoned at Dachau concentr...
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#TrudeauMustResign vs. #IStandWithTrudeau

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 Everyone was yelling on Twitter after the ethics commissioner report. Who yelled the the loudest? Negative Trudeau hashtags received more mentions than positive ones. After Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion released a bombshell report this week that found Prime Minister Justin Trudeau violated the Conflict of Interest Act in the SNC-Lavalin scandal, many Canadians on all sides of the political spectrum took to—where else?—Twitter.  As conversation around the topic raged on, various Trudeau-related hashtags trended, which only fanned the flames of anger and retaliation on the platform. #TrudeauMustGo, #TrudeauMustGoToJail, #TrudeauMustResign and #IStandWithTrudeau were all trending on Wednesday night and into Thursday. #TrudeauMustResign and #IStandWithTrudeau were competing hashtags that appeared to be neck and neck at some point during the report’s fallout. For its part, according to Twitter data, #TrudeauMustGo received the most mentions. This graph illustrates the tweet ...
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McDavid scores OT winner, Oilers edge Canucks in pre-season game

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  EDMONTON — Connor McDavid was having a quiet game by his standards Wednesday night, but the   Edmonton Oilers   captain was a factor when it mattered the most. He scored the overtime winner for the Oilers in a 2-1 pre-season win over the visiting  Vancouver Canucks . Defenceman Evan Bouchard sent the puck up ice to McDavid, who made no mistake on the breakaway with a backhand goal just 55 seconds into overtime. “I didn’t see a lot of polish offensively, but in the end, we found a way to score enough to win the game,” Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft said. ‘There were a lot of hard efforts.” “I thought we did a lot of really good things defensively. After two periods, we had given up 10 shots. Gave up a little bit more in the third. I didn’t love the fact that we were in the box as much as we were, but the penalty kill dug in.” Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored for Edmonton (1-1-1). Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner made 21 saves for the win. “I felt pretty good. It took ...
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