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US actress Gena Rowlands, star of The Notebook, dies at 94

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US actress Gena Rowlands, star of The Notebook, dies at 94

Gena Rowlands, the acclaimed American actress, three-time Emmy winner and Oscar nominee for her vivid portrayals of strong, troubled women in the crime drama Gloria and A Woman Under the Influence, has died at the age of 94.

Rowlands, whose death was reported on Wednesday by Entertainment Weekly citing her son Nick Cassevetes, starred in dozens of films during a career that began on stage and television in the 1950s and included award-winning roles in movies directed by her first husband, actor, writer and director John Cassavetes.

Nick Cassavetes revealed in June that Rowlands had Alzheimer’s, like her own mother and the character she portrayed in the 2004 film The Notebook.

“She’s in full dementia. And it’s so crazy – we lived it, she acted it, and now it’s on us,” her son, who directed the film, told Entertainment Weekly.

Rowlands and Cassavetes were the golden couple of independent films in the United States in the 1970s and 80s. Cassavetes was a pioneer in cinema verite, a technique that aimed to capture natural reactions and events, and Rowlands was his muse.

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“Independent filmmaking existed before Cassavetes, but Cassavetes, working with Rowlands, managed to make an independent cinema that borrowed from Hollywood – not in plots or styles but in actorly allure and dramatic power,” The New Yorker said in 2016.

The tall, blonde actress made 10 films with Cassavetes before his death in 1989, including the psychological drama Opening Night (1977), the marital saga Faces (1968) and 1984’s Love Streams, in which she played his sister.

“There was always a manic energy to the performances she gave in her late husband’s films, a fear of failure, a desire to love,” the awards website Golden Derby said of Rowlands.

In A Woman Under the Influence, which Cassavetes originally wrote as a play and which is considered among her best performances, Rowlands played Mabel Longhetti, a housewife struggling with mental illness.

As the tough, determined title character in Cassavetes’s 1980 film Gloria, she rescued and protected a young, orphaned boy from mobsters determined to kill him.

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Although she did not win an Oscar for either role, Rowlands received an Honorary Academy Award in 2015.

Director and writer Nick Cassavetes poses with his mother at the world premiere of Alpha Dog [File: Mario Anzuoni/Reuters]

Always wanted to act

Virginia Cathryn “Gena” Rowlands was born on June 19, 1930, in Cambria, Wisconsin. Her father was a banker and politician, and her mother was an actress.

After college, she moved to New York, where she studied drama at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and met fellow student Cassavetes.

“I always wanted to be an actress; I read so much when I was little, and it revealed to me there were other things to be. You can live a lot of lives and have a lot of fun and see a lot of things,” she told The New York Times in 2016.

Rowlands worked in regional theatre and TV before making her Broadway debut in Middle of the Night in 1956. Two years later she landed her first film role in The High Cost of Loving and appeared in Cassavetes’s directorial debut Shadows.

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“It was not like working for anybody else,” she told film critic Roger Ebert about her husband in 2016. “The freedom that John gave his actors was astounding.”

Rowlands continued to work in films, including Woody Allen’s 1988 drama Another Woman, and television following Cassavetes’s death.

She won best actress Emmys for The Betty Ford Story (1987) and the drama Face of a Stranger (1992) and took home a best supporting trophy in a miniseries or movie for Hysterical Blindness (2002).

The independent film icon found a new audience when she returned to the big screen in 2004 as the older version of actress Rachel McAdams’s character in The Notebook.

Rowlands was married to Cassavetes from 1954 until his death. They had three children. In 2012, she wed businessman Robert Forrest.

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“It’s a tricky life but it was so exciting and wonderful because you were doing what you really wanted do it,” she said about acting and making independent films.

Actor Gena Rowlands poses for a portrait at the London West Hollywood hotel in West Hollywood
Actress Gena Rowlands poses for a portrait in West Hollywood [File: Chris Pizzello/Invision via AP]
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Beyoncé NFL Halftime Show Will Be Available to Rewatch on Netflix as a Stand-Alone Special

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Beyoncé NFL Halftime Show Will Be Available to Rewatch on Netflix as a Stand-Alone Special

UPDATE, 12/25, 4:30 p.m. PT: Netflix said it will provide on-demand access to the full halftime performance of “Beyoncé Bowl” as a stand-alone special “later this week.” The 20-minute spectacle — her first live TV performance in four years — featured Post Malone, Shaboozey and her daughter Blue Ivy Carter to debut tracks from “Cowboy Carter” for the first time in a live setting.

EARLIER:

Beyoncé will light up the Houston night on Christmas with a halftime performance during the Ravens-Texans game on Netflix. To watch it, you’ll have to tune in live on Dec. 25 — otherwise, you’ll have only a few hours to catch the replay on Netflix.

Queen Bey’s Xmas performance will feature her first live performances of songs from “Cowboy Carter.” She’ll take the stage in her hometown during halftime of the Baltimore Ravens-Houston Texans matchup at NRG Stadium in Houston.

Netflix, as part of its accelerating push into live sports, snagged global rights to the NFL’s two Christmas Day 2024 games: the Kansas City Chiefs at the Pittsburgh Steelers (starting at 1 p.m. ET), followed by the Ravens-Texans game (4:30 p.m. ET).

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Under Netflix’s agreement with the NFL, in the U.S., the two Christmas games expire three hours after the livestream ends (meaning Beyoncé’s performance and the Ravens-Texans game will no longer be available to rewatch on Netflix as of around 11 p.m. ET). Outside the U.S., the games expire on Netflix 24 hours after the livestream ends. The NFL livestreams will include ad breaks, even for Netflix subscribers on no-ads plans.

Few details are available for Beyoncé’s Christmas halftime show, but according to Netflix she is expected to bring along some “special guests” who are featured on “Cowboy Carter.” She’s a veteran of two Super Bowls: Beyoncé was the halftime performer for the 2013 game in New Orleans, which featured a Destiny’s Child reunion; and in 2016, she sang “Formation” when Coldplay was the headliner act.

On Christmas Day, Netflix’s pregame coverage will kick off at 11 a.m. ET, from NFL Network’s studios in L.A. and Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh. The streamer has tapped Mariah Carey to deliver a recorded performance of her record-breaking holiday hit “All I Want for Christmas Is You” before both of the day’s two games.

If you missed the window for Netflix’s NFL livestreams, you still have the chance to catch the reruns. As it stands right now, NFL Network is scheduled to re-air Ravens-Texans on Wednesday, Dec. 25, at 11:30 p.m. ET and Thursday, Dec. 26, at 5 a.m. ET. The channel will re-air Chiefs-Steelers on Dec. 25 at 8:30 p.m. ET and Dec. 26 at 2 a.m. ET. There is the possibility for additional re-airs but portions of the NFL Network’s programming schedule are still being determined. In addition, replays of both games will be available with NFL+ Premium ($14.99/month) in the U.S. and via DAZN internationally.

Note also that the two Netflix Christmas Day games will air on broadcast TV in the competing teams’ local markets and will be available live on U.S. mobile devices with an NFL+ subscription.

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Zelenskyy lambastes Putin over Christmas strikes: 'What could be more inhumane?'

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Zelenskyy lambastes Putin over Christmas strikes: 'What could be more inhumane?'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy excoriated Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday for launching attacks against energy infrastructure on Christmas Day.

Zelenskyy suggested the attacks were “inhumane,” but said they would not ruin Christmas.

“Today, Putin deliberately chose Christmas for an attack. What could be more inhumane? Over 70 missiles, including ballistic ones, and more than a hundred attack drones. The targets are our energy infrastructure. They continue to fight for a blackout in Ukraine,” he declared in a post on X.

The Russian Defence Ministry acknowledged a “massive strike” on its part, saying it hit energy facilities that supported Ukraine’s “military-industrial complex,” Reuters reported.

“The aim of the strike was achieved. All facilities have been hit,” the ministry said.

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RUSSIA BATTERS UKRAINE POWER GRID AMID RISING CONCERN PUTIN COULD ORDER BALLISTIC MISSILE ATTACK THIS WEEKEND

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy talks with the media during the European Council Meeting in Brussels on Thursday. (Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)

Strikes against Ukrainian fuel and energy sources involved 78 air, ground and sea-launched missiles, in addition to 106 Shaheds and other kinds of drones, Ukraine’s air force claimed, according to The Associated Press.

“Unfortunately, there have been hits. As of now, there are power outages in several regions. Power engineers are working to restore power supply as soon as possible,” Zelenskyy noted. 

Still, the Ukrainian leader declared that “Russian evil will not break Ukraine and will not spoil Christmas.”

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US CITIZEN IMPRISONED IN RUSSIA GIVEN NEW 15-YEAR SENTENCE IN WAKE OF ESPIONAGE CONVICTION

Russian President Vladimir Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin holds his annual end-of-year press conference in Moscow on Thursday. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images)

The U.S. has provided billions of dollars’ worth of aid to help Ukraine fight the Russian onslaught that erupted in 2022, but Americans and their congressional representatives have been divided regarding whether the U.S. should continue supplying aid to Ukraine.

President-elect Trump, who will take office on Jan. 20, has called for a cease-fire and negotiations.

TRUMP MEETS WITH MACRON, ZELENSKYY AHEAD OF NOTRE DAME REOPENING CEREMONY IN PARIS

President-elect Trump

President-elect Trump looks on during Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix on Sunday.  (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

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In a post on Truth Social this month, Trump declared that “Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness. They have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians. There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin.”

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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Five journalists killed in Israeli strike near Gaza hospital

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Five journalists killed in Israeli strike near Gaza hospital

Journalists from Al-Quds Today were covering events at al-Awda Hospital when their vehicle was struck.

Five journalists have been killed in an Israeli strike in the vicinity of a hospital in central Gaza, according to Palestinian authorities and media reports.

The journalists from the Al-Quds Today channel were covering events near al-Awda Hospital, located in the Nuseirat refugee camp, when their broadcasting van was hit by an Israeli air strike, Al Jazeera’s Anas al-Sharif reported early on Thursday morning.

Footage from the scene circulating on social media shows a vehicle engulfed in flames.

A screenshot taken from a video of the white-coloured van shows the word “press” in large red lettering across the back of the vehicle.

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The deceased journalists have been named as Fadi Hassouna, Ibrahim al-Sheikh Ali, Mohammed al-Ladah, Faisal Abu al-Qumsan and Ayman al-Jadi.

Al Jazeera’s Anas al-Sharif said that Ayman al-Jadi had been waiting for his wife in front of the hospital while she was in labour to give birth to their first child.

Civil defence teams retrieved the bodies of the victims and extinguished a fire at the scene, the Quds News Network said.

There was no immediate comment from Israeli authorities.

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The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) earlier this month condemned Israel’s killing of four Palestinian journalists in the space of a week, calling on the international community to hold the country accountable for its attacks against the media.

At least 141 journalists have been killed in Israel’s war in Gaza since October 7, 2023, according to the CPJ.

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