Steve Pond's Blog, page 153

Lawrence O’Donnell Says Trump Is ‘Famously Too Stupid’ to Keep His Stories Straight on Qatari Jet Gift | Video

Lawrence O’Donnell mocked Donald Trump on Wednesday, saying that the president is “famously too stupid” to present a convincing argument of why he’s accepting a $400 million jet from Qatar.

“The first line of Donald Trump’s exclamation-point defense of accepting that plane tonight is: ‘The Boeing 747 is being given to the United States Air Force, Department of Defense, not to me!,'” O’Donnell noted, quoting the president’s post on Truth Social.

He then played a clip of Trump telling Fox News host Sean Hannity that he was accepting the gift personally and not on behalf of the Air Force, using the phrase, “Why wouldn’t I accept the gift?”

“He didn’t say anything about the Air Force accepting a gift there. [He said], Why shouldn’t I accept a gift?'”

O’Donnell went on to say, “Donald Trump is, of course, famously too stupid to keep his conspiracy story straight. The man is just too stupid to observe the theory of the conspiracy and say to Sean Hannity, ‘My attitude is, why shouldn’t the Air Force accept a gift?'”

He predicted that the plane changing hands will “never happen” because of the high costs of retooling a 13-year-old Qatari jet for US use — and due to the unprecedented outrage from even the most staunch of Trump supporters, including Laura Loomer, Ben Shapiro and Ted Cruz. The latter told press on Tuesday that accepting such a gift “poses significant espionage” concerns.

“I’m not a fan of Qatar. I think they have a really disturbing pattern of funding theocratic lunatics who want to murder us, funding Hamas and Hezbollah. And that’s a real problem,” Cruz said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Tuesday.

O’Donnell called the jet “the biggest payoff in the history of the presidency — and possibly the literally biggest payoff in world history.”

Watch the segment in the video embedded above.

The post Lawrence O’Donnell Says Trump Is ‘Famously Too Stupid’ to Keep His Stories Straight on Qatari Jet Gift | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

Kelly Clarkson to Host NBC Special ‘Songs & Stories’ Featuring Jonas Brothers, Lizzo and More

Kelly Clarkson will expand her “Songs & Stories” segment from the “The Kelly Clarkson Show” with an upcoming special for NBC, the network announced Wednesday.

“Songs & Stories with Kelly Clarkson” will consist of four hour-long episodes welcoming four guests: the Jonas Brothers, Lizzo, Gloria Estefan and Teddy Swims. “Clarkson will sit down with the artists as she examines their music and personal lives, providing a forum where iconic voices meet heartfelt storytelling through unfiltered conversation and sung in an intimate, unplugged setting,” per the official logline.

The special will premiere on Aug. 19 at 10 p.m. ET/PT and will debut a new episode weekly through Sept. 9. The episodes will stream on Peacock the day after their debut on NBC.

“Song & Stories” originated from a segment on “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” which has seen Babyface open up about his love songs, Miranda Lambert collaborate with Clarkson on a cover of Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!” Alanis Morissette reveal why she didn’t originally want “Ironic” on her album “Jagged Little Pill” and P!nk tease her yet-to-be-released “Trustfall.” 

“The Kelly Clarkson Show” averaged 1.2 million daily viewers during the 2024-25 TV season, and the daytime talk show consistently ranks among the top syndicated talk shows. Since the show’s 2019 launch, “The Kelly Clarkson Show” has earned 22 daytime Emmys, two People’s Choice Awards for Best Talk Show of the Year, as well as accolades from the Alliance for Women in Media’s Gracie Awards, with the show winning the Talk Show Entertainment category three times.

“Songs & Stories with Kelly Clarkson” is produced by Universal Television, with Clarkson, Alex Duda and Kareen Gunning serving as executive producers.

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‘Sullivan’s Crossing’ Season 2 Recap: What to Remember Before Season 3

If you’re ready for more idyllic scenery, swooning romance and life-or-death drama, good news: “Sullivan’s Crossing” Season 3 is finally here. Based on the novels by “Virgin River” author Robyn Carr, the series follows young neurosurgeon Maggie (Morgan Kohan) back to her hometown in Sullivan’s Crossing after her life in Boston falls apart.

Season 1 found her torn between small town charms and the life she built in Boston, but Maggie started to reconnect with her long estranged father, Sully (Scott Patterson), and found an unexpected connection with a new local, Cal (Chad Michael Murray), who left his practice as a lawyer and came to Sullivan’s Crossing after his own heartbreaking life upheavals.

Season 2 really honed in on Maggie’s pull between the two lives and deepened the roots she set down in Sullivan’s Crossing in Season 1, strengthening her bond with Sully and falling even more for Cal. By the end of the season, both Maggie and Cal commit to their new lives there — and to each other. But there’s a whole lot more that happened in “Sullivan’s Crossing” Season 2.

It’s been a while since Season 2 aired, so here’s a handy recap of everything you need to remember before Season 3.

Sully Survived His Health ScareScott Patterson in “Sullivan’s Crossing” (Chris Reardon/Freemantle/CW)

After collapsing at the end of the Season 1 finale, Sully spent the first couple of episodes of Season 2 cooped up in the hospital, where his doctor grew increasingly convinced he was showing signs of early-onset Alzheimer’s. Maggie, who knows a thing or two about the brain as a neurosurgeon, was unconvinced.

When she found his Alcoholics Anonymous sobriety chips, she realized her mom never told her the true story about Sully. She also put two and two together and deduced that Sully was actually suffering from Wernicke’s encephalopathy, a vitamin B1 deficiency that can occur in alcoholics. But not before Frank (Tom Jackson) broke him out of the hospital and the two wound up hunkered down during a hurricane, leading Sully to confess he was the one who hit her with his car all those years ago.

Sparks Flew Between Maggie and CalMorgan Kohan and Chad Michael Murray in “Sullivan’s Crossing” Season 2 (Chris Reardon/Fremantle)

Things got off to a rocky start in Season 2 for Maggie and Cal, who left town because he thought Maggie was moving back to Boston. He also left her a letter explaining his decision — except Lola (Amalia Williamson) intercepted it out of jealousy, so Maggie thought he just ghosted and bailed. They got past it and even shared some steamy kisses while taking shelter during the storm, but before their relationship could make much progress, Cal told Maggie he never wants to have kids, so she became convinced it would never work for them.

Maggie’s Pregnancy Complicated Her PlansAllan Hawco and Scott Patterson in “Sullivan’s Crossing” Season 2 (Chris Reardon/Fremantle)

… Because Maggie also learned in the first few episodes that she’s pregnant. The baby is Andrew’s (unfortunately for her and the audience, who both get to spend a lot of the middle season episodes with him back in town), but she was willing to give it a go with Cal until he plainly said he never wants any kids.

After that, she backed off, and when Maggie’s mother came back to town with Andrew in tow, she thought she might reconsider her decision to break things off with him. The problem? Andrew’s horrible. He was pushy and rude, making broad assumptions and decisions for her future without asking (assuming she would quit her career, for example), dismissing her life in Sullivan’s Crossing, announcing her pregnancy to a lot of people (including Cal) without her even being present, and barely making an effort to get along with Sully after they had a tiff.

It didn’t take long for them to realize they’re no longer a good match, despite Andrew’s wishes that the pregnancy would bring them back together, so he left.

Maggie’s Stepfather, Walter, Betrayed HerMorgan Kohan as Maggie Sullivan in “Sullivan’s Crossing” Season 2 (Chris Reardon/Fremantle)

While Maggie was trying to figure out what path to take toward her future, another of her ties to Boston got fractured when she learned that her beloved stepfather Walter (Peter Outerbridge), the man who was supposed to be the upstanding reliable dad in comparison to her experiences with Sully, was actually the one behind the billing fraud that brought down her firm.

That means Phoebe (Lynda Boyd) and Walter can’t help Sully with the financial troubles threatening his ownership of the Crossing (something he wouldn’t accept anyway), and it also brought Phoebe back to town, where she reconnected with the people she left behind when she left Sully.

She also rekindled her connection with her ex-husband, and the two shared a sweet kiss in the kitchen. However, soon after, Walter came to win back his wife and tell Maggie the full truth: he took out a dangerous loan after the stock market crashed so he could invest in her practice, and he only started committing fraud after the people he borrowed from threatened his family. He even gave a heartfelt apology to Sully (who wasn’t having it), and after a heart-to-heart with Phoebe, she agreed to take him back and went home with him to Boston.

Cal’s Sister Made a Surprise AppearanceChad Michael Murray and Meghan Ory (Chris Reardon/Fremantle)

Toward the end of Season 2, a mystery woman came calling on Cal, and it turned out to be his sister, Sedona (Meghan Ory). We got glimpses of their childhood and relationship with their volatile father through flashbacks earlier in the season, but we learn a lot more after Sedona comes to town. Their father was a schizophrenic, and Cal starts to fear Sedona might be too after she arrives, displaying erratic behavior and suffering from hallucinations.

After she had a seizure, Maggie performed a series of medical tests, including having Sedona draw the face of a clock — a moment that immediately had any “Hannibal” fan shouting “encephalitis!” Indeed, Maggie determined that Sedona likely has a brain infection of some kind and sent her to get more tests, and it turns out she has a teratoma, a tumor on her ovary that’s causing her body to attack her brain. It’s not schizophrenia and, after her surgery, she should be back to normal. Before she left, Sedona gave her brother a blunt talk about his feelings for Maggie, telling him she thinks he would be a good father.

Her visit also inspired Cal to call his mother, in what is evidently the first time in a long time, and while he didn’t reach her, he left a voicemail asking to get in touch.

Sydney Got Even in New York, But Came Home in the EndLindura as Sydney Shandon in “Sullivan’s Crossing” Season 2 (Chris Reardon/Fremantle)

Aspiring model Sydney made the tough decision to move back to New York and attempt to pick up her career where she left it when she went home to Sullivan’s Crossing. We quickly see that she didn’t leave because she was failing as a model, but because she was being manipulated and misrepresented by her ex, David, a top talent manager who played mind games with her and spread lies. He immediately tried to do it again when she came back, but she outed his misdeeds with a recording of him threatening her and regained control over her modeling career.

Just before the end of Season 2, Syd came back home to Sullivan’s Crossing, saying she doesn’t fit into that world anymore, and once she got to New York, she realized she never went back for the modeling. She just needed to face down David and hold him accountable. What’s more, once she did that, she realized she’s ready to move forward with Rafe (Dakota Taylor), promising a potential end to their on-again-off-again dynamic. He rebuffed her at first for leaving him and going to New York, but they reconciled in the finale after she opened up to him.

Sully Confessed to Lola, but There’s a Twist!Amalia Williamson and Chad Michael Murray (Chris Reardon/Fremantle)

At the end of Season 2, Sully finally decided it was time to unburden himself and confess the truth: he was the one who hit Lola when she was a child, causing her years of pain and hard recovery because of his drunk driving. He also planned to turn himself in, but first he confessed to Maggie, who recruited Cal to put his law expertise to use and consult first. Cal warned that there’s no statute of limitations on a hit-and-run and he could possibly face time in prison, but Sully is committed.

Heartbroken, Lola realized that’s why Sully had taken care of her all these years, and left in tears after telling him she never wanted to see him again. However, Sully’s confession also prompted Lola to finally make a trip back to the scene of the crime, for the first time since the accident, where she unlocked a new memory of the car that hit her … and it wasn’t Sully’s. She rushes to tell him and gets there just before he heads to the police department.

The Town Rallied to Save the CrossingChad Michael Murray and Morgan Kohan (Chris Reardon/Fremantle)

After Sully fell into financial woes, his ownership of the Crossing came into question in Season 2, and after he made a deal with a sketchy investor mid-season, he almost lost it all when the investor stabbed him in the back, changed the terms off the deal, and ultimately, tried to take the whole thing at auction.

Fortunately, the town rallied around Sully, everyone scrambled for what they could contribute, Maggie gave an impassioned speech that inspired several competitive local bidders to give their bids to Sully, and with a little help from Frank and Edna’s coin collection holding up a cash transfer at the bank, Sully had enough to hold onto ownership of the Crosssing.

With Sully’s home and livelihood no longer in question and Cal realizing he’s ready to start a new life in Sullivan’s Crossing, Maggie realized this is her home and decided to let go of her life in Boston. After telling Sully the good news, she goes to Cal and they finally tell each other that they love each other. The whole trio is finally set to be settled in and starting a new life together.

The Diner Burned Down in a Fiery CliffhangerChad Michael Murray in “Sullivan’s Crossing” Season 2 (The CW)

“Sullivan’s Crossing” Season 2 wrapped things up with a classic cliffhanger — specifically, a Sully-in-peril cliffhanger (which will officially become a pattern if we get the same ending in Season 3). A fire broke out at the diner while Rob was not there and quickly ravaged the building. Cal and Sully rushed in to save Finn, but Sully never came back out with the other two. By the end of the episode, they realized no one could find him and that’s when, boom, the diner exploded.

Anything Else to Remember Before Season 3?Frank and Edna (Andrea Menard), everyone’s most steadfast and sturdy couple, hit a rocky patch in Season 2. There were a couple of factors (Frank keeping Sully’s secret, as well as some disagreements about a dispute in Frank’s family over his mother’s regalia), but by the end of Season 2, the couple was back on steady ground. And in the finale, after the Crossing is saved, Sully brings them both in as business partners.Connie (Lauren Hammersley) spent the season getting more comfortable with her sexuality, almost sparking up a romance with Alysa (Michelle Nolden) before a humiliating encounter with some crass locals almost set her back. After a chat with Cal, she realized that he was living her dream of starting over, and she landed a job in Otter Lake. Connie and Alysa had a heart-to-heart at the end of the season, where she expressed she needed to figure out who she is first, and Alysa gave her a kiss “to remember her by” before they said goodbye.Rob fumbled through his own romance in Season 2. The widower started a new relationship with a mom from his son’s baseball team, he even really liked her, but he closed up after they got intimate. However, after a chat with Cal, he realized what he was doing and set it right, telling her he wasn’t ready for a relationship and they decided to keep it casual.

“Sullivan’s Crossing” Season 3 premieres May 14 on The CW.

The post ‘Sullivan’s Crossing’ Season 2 Recap: What to Remember Before Season 3 appeared first on TheWrap.

Austin Butler and Jeremy Allen White to Star in Crime Film ‘Enemies’ at A24

Academy-award nominated Austin Butler and Emmy-winning Jeremy Allen White are set to star in Henry Dunham’s new crime saga “Enemies” at A24, the company announced on Wednesday.

The upcoming film is written and directed by Dunham and will be his sophomore effort following his directorial debut “The Standoff at Sparrow Creek,” which was released in 2018.

The official logline for the film is as follows: A relentless detective and an infamous contract killer collide in a deadly game of cat and mouse.

The film kicks off production in Chicago this Summer.

Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen of Square Peg will produce alongside A24. Alejandro De Leon will also produce. Josh Bachove will executive produce. 

Ahead of the film’s debut at the Cannes Film Festival this week, A24 and Apple will also be unveiling “Highest 2 Lowest.” The new Spike Lee joint stars Denzel Washington as a music mogul with a reputation for having the “best ears in the business” who is targeted with a ransom plot.

Butler is repped by WME, Brillstein Entertainment Partners, The Lede Company and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern. Allen White is represented by WME, Entertainment 360 and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller, Gellman, Meigs & Fox. Dunham is represented by Anonymous Content and attorney Stephen Clark of Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Feldman, Rogal, Shikora & Clark.  

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Stephen Colbert Says Trump’s Saudi Arabia Trip Means ‘I Got Another Birthday President’ | Video

Donald Trump’s official visit to Saudi Arabia — which coincides with the constitution-violating acceptance of an private jet gifted to him by Qatar — happens to coincide with Stephen Colbert’s birthday. Naturally, the host of CBS’ “The Late Show” noticed the coincidence.

“According to several texts from my children, today is my birthday,” Colbert said during his monologue on Wednesday’s show. “Can we confirm that? Is it possible? Yes, we have fact-checked it. It is today may 13.”

Colbert then joked that he fact-checked it on a foot fetish website before continuing, “it’s also a big day for the President, because Donald Trump is on the first international trip of his new term, visiting Saudi Arabia.”

“Yes, yes. Donald Trump left the country today, so I got another birthday present,” Colbert joked.

“A president visiting Saudi Arabia on his first official trip is a bit unusual,” Colbert continued. “Normally, back when we had normal, presidents would make their first international trip to the UK or Canada or any close ally. But like everything, Trump’s decision seemed to come down to a highest bidder approach.”

At that, Colbert reminded viewers of previous praise Trump has had for the Saudi regime, implying that Trump has previously accepted bribes from it. Then Colbert noted that Trump received “a lavish welcome” from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “on a sumptuous carpet, purple made out of hand-harvested journalist nurple.”

That was a reference to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a subject Colbert returned to shortly after. But first, he made fun of Trump for the moment he appeared to fall asleep during a televised meeting with bin Salman.

“Just a, just a, just a gentle reminder,” Colbert added, “U.S. intelligence has determined that Mohammed bin Salman ordered the murder and dismemberment of Washington Post journalists and Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi,” he said. This is true of course, though it’s important to note that Trump was preceded in letting the Saudi autocrat off the hook by Joe Biden.

Meanwhile, Colbert continued talking about Trump’s visit, noting the McDonald’s truck, and how even Fox News personalities are questioning Trump’s acceptance of the aforementioned jet. Then he talked about how Robert F. Kennedy Jr. swam in a notoriously polluted stream over the weekend, and then he spent the rest of his monologue talking about the American Pope.

You can watch the whole thing below:

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Sony Warns of Potential $686 Million Profit Hit This Year From Trump Tariffs

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Sony, late on Tuesday night, reported its annual net profit increased 18% to 1.14 trillion yen, or $7.32 billion, for its fiscal 2024 year ending on March 31. The Japanese multinational conglomerate achieved that big profit jump despite a conspicuous drop in fourth quarter revenue, driven largely by a decline in sales from its gaming and consumer electronics sectors between January and March.

The Tokyo-based company also warned shareholders its 2025 operating profit could take a 100 billion yen — or $686 million — hit due to U.S. tariffs proposed by President Donald Trump. Sony, in its presentation to shareholders, said it is “responding quickly” to the tariffs and that it is confident it will “manage the impact” without much of an issue.

Here is a look at the key results:

Revenue: 2.63 trillion yen ($16.88 billion), down 24% year-over-year. Sony’s quarterly sales fell short of matching the $20.40 billion that analysts projected, according to estimates from Zacks Investment Research.

Net income: 197.7 billion yen, or about $1.27 billion, which was up 5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Total operating income: 203.60 billion yen, or about $1.31 billion, down 11% year over year.

The two sectors that played a major role in Sony’s drop in quarterly sales were its gaming division and entertainment, technology & services (ET&S), which covers a broad range of products, including TVs, cameras, and audio equipment. ET&S revenue for the most recent quarter dropped 9.12% year-over-year, to 484.1 billion yen, or $3.11 billion.

Sales for Sony gaming, which is driven primarily by its linchpin console, Playstation 5, were also down 4.19% during the quarter to 1.05 trillion yen, or about $6.75 billion. Even with the down quarter, Gaming’s sales for the financial year were still up nearly 10% annually, hitting 4.67 trillion yen, or about $30 billion.

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Both Sony’s music and pictures sectors helped offset those declines, with its movie business seeing a 2% jump in quarterly sales to $2.67 billion. For the financial year, Sony Pictures reported 1.51 trillion yen in sales, up slightly from the 1.49 yen in revenue it reported a year earlier. Sony pointed to “higher revenues for Crunchyroll,” its anime-focused streaming service, “mainly due to paid subscriber growth,” without offering further details.

Sony Music, meanwhile, contributed 470.7 billion yen, or a little more than $3 billion, in quarterly revenue — up 9.50% year-over-year.

From a Hollywood standpoint, Sony released a few notable flicks during the opening months of 2025, including “Paddington in Peru,” which brought in nearly $200 million at the box office and easily turned a profit. “One of Them Days,” starring Keke Palmer and SZA, was well-received by critics and audiences as well, pulling in more than $50 million during its theatrical run.

Looking ahead to what is coming out this quarter, Sony has “Karate Kids: Legends,” the sixth “Karate Kid” flick starring Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan, debuting in the U.S. at the end of May. And Danny Boyle’s post-apocalyptic “28 Years Later” is set to be released on June 20.

Heading into Tuesday night, Sony has had a nice start to the year on Wall Street, with the company’s share price up 16.36% since the calendar flipped to 2025; Sony was trading for $24.54 per share when markets closed on Tuesday.

Sony also said, in its fourth quarter report, that it expects U.S. tariffs to ding the company’s 2025 operating income by approximately 100 billion yen, or $642 million. Sony projected its 2025 operating income to essentially be flat at 1.28 trillion yen.

“We are responding quickly to the additional U.S. tariffs that have already been implemented and are considering responses to multiple possible future scenarios,” Sony said in its presentation to shareholders.

That 100 billion yen projection could change soon, though, after the U.S. rolled back its 145% tariff on China on Monday. As Sony said in a footnote, “the impact of the partial removal and temporary suspension of the additional and reciprocal tariffs on China by the United States announced on May 12 is not included in the assumptions used for estimating the relevant impact.”

Sony added: “The actual impact could vary significantly from this estimation if future tariff policy or other factors are changed.”

And in other Sony news, company President Hiroki Totoki was elevated to CEO on April 1. This will be his first quarter running the company, after nearly 40 years at Sony.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the U.S. dollar projected loss from tariff impacts to Sony. It is $686 million, not $642 million.

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DA Nathan Hochman Responds to Menendez Brothers Resentencing: ‘Justice Should Never Be Swayed by Spectacle’

Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman has responded to the ruling Tuesday granting a sentence reduction to the Menendez brothers, which makes Erik and Lyle Menendez eligible for parole.

At a hearing Tuesday, despite opposition from the DA’s office, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic reduced the brothers’ prison sentences from life without parole to 50 years to life. They are now eligible for parole because they committed their crimes before they turned 26, though a California parole board will still have the final call on early release. The board has a hearing scheduled for June 13.

“The decision to resentence Erik and Lyle Menendez was a monumental one that has significant implications for the families involved, the community, and the principles of justice,” Hochman said in a statement Tuesday night. “Our office’s motions to withdraw the resentencing motion filed by the previous administration ensured that the Court was presented with all the facts before making such a consequential decision.”

“The case of the Menendez brothers has long been a window for the public to better understand the judicial system. This case, like all cases — especially those that captivate the public — must be viewed with a critical eye,” Hochman continued. “Our opposition and analysis ensured that the Court received a complete and accurate record of the facts. Justice should never be swayed by spectacle.”

Hochman also thanked prosecutors who argued on behalf of the DA’s office.

The Menendez brothers have been behind bars since 1990 for the murder of their parents. Their first trial ended in a mistrial in 1994. They were convicted in a second, highly publicized trial in 1996 and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. The brothers maintained that they were sexually abused for years by their father Jose Menendez and their mother Kitty knew about it.

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How the ‘Andor’ Season 2 Finale Makes the ‘Rogue One’ Ending Even More Bittersweet

Note: This article contains major spoilers from “Andor” Season 2, Episode 12.

Throughout its entire second season, “Andor” viewers have worried about Bix (Adria Arjona). The Ferrix mechanic was tortured by the Empire in “Andor” Season 1, and while she fights and wins for herself several times throughout the “Star Wars” show’s second season, the odds always seemed slim that she would make it out of the “Rogue One” prequel alive. Her absence from that film, at least, seemed to suggest that she was not still breathing by the time “Rogue One” catches up with Cassian (Diego Luna), her partner in both love and revolution.

For all those reasons and more, it should come as a welcome surprise to “Star Wars” fans that Bix is still alive at the end of “Andor” Season 2. She is, in fact, the last character viewers see before the series cuts to black for the last time. In that final scene, a truth is revealed about Bix and Cassian’s relationship that does not so much change the ending of “Rogue One” as it adds new touches of optimism and bittersweet tragedy to that film’s conclusion.

Adria Arjona in “Andor” Season 2, Episode 9 (Lucasfilm)How does “Andor” Season 2 end?

After leaving Cassian in “Andor” Season 2, Episode 9, Bix returns in the final moments of the series’ finale. As Cassian leaves to meet up with his contact, Tivik (Daniel Mays), on the Ring of Kafrene, which is exactly where “Rogue One” first finds him, the “Andor” finale suddenly takes viewers back to Mina-Rau, the agricultural planet where Cassian, Bix, Wilmon (Muhannad Bhaier) and Brasso (Joplin Sibtain) were hiding out on at the start of “Andor” Season 2.

B2 (Dave Chapman) is still there. So is Bix.

Director Alonso Ruizpalacios slowly moves closer to Bix as she makes her way through one of Mina-Rau’s many expansive grain fields before finally revealing that she is not alone. In her arms, she is carrying a baby wrapped in a blanket. The child, implied to be Cassian’s, rests its head against Bix’s shoulder. When it starts to cry, she rubs and pats the child’s back, soothing it. “It’s okay. It’s okay,” Bix says, looking up at Mina-Rau’s sunny, clear skies, and it will be, thanks in no small part to Cassian’s efforts and many sacrifices.

Diego Luna in “Andor” Season 2, Episode 9 (Lucasfilm)

Viewers have known ever since “Rogue One” came out that Cassian dies at the end of that film, along with all of the rebels who go with him and Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) to steal the Death Star’s schematics from the Empire’s base on Scarif. That knowledge has tinged many of the events of “Andor” with an extra touch of tragedy. When Bix, for instance, tells Cassian in “Andor” Season 2, Episode 9 that she will find him again after the Empire is defeated, viewers’ hearts can’t help but break knowing she and Cassian are never actually going to see each other again.

Learning that Bix and Cassian’s love lives on in the form of a child, one whom Bix gets to raise, makes it easier to see Cassian’s story in a more triumphant light. At the same time, the fact that Cassian not only never got to see Bix again but also never got to meet their child only makes his death all the more tragic. The “Andor” finale, in other words, does the same thing the series has done from the very beginning, which is make an already bittersweet story of sacrifice, courage and revolution both more bitter and more sweet.

That said, Bix’s return and the reveal of Cassian’s baby is about as hopeful a final note as “Andor” could have ever ended on, if only because it gives viewers one last revelation to celebrate. After all, what does a child represent, if not hope? And rebellions are built on hope.

“Andor” Seasons 1-2 are streaming now on Disney+.

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New CNN Streaming Service to Launch This Fall With Free Subscriptions for Cable Subscribers

The upcoming new CNN streaming service will launch sometime this fall, CEO Mark Thompson informed employees on Tuesday.

The news, first reported by the New York Times, comes 3 years after CNN shuttered CNN+, the network’s previous attempt to enter the streaming marker, just one month after launch.

While speaking to staffers, Thompson revealed at least one major difference between the new service and CNN plus — that existing cable TV subscribers will receive a free subscription. He also said the new streaming service will be tied to the network’s new subscription product, according to NYT.

The new service will also offer a more stripped-down experience very similar to watching CNN on television, and will feature a great deal of content from CNN itself.

Details such as price and what the service will be called have not been made public. However, according to Oliver Darcy, the new service will simply be called CNN.

When asked for comment, representatives for CNN confirmed the accuracy of the Times report and indicated more details will be provided Wednesday during parent company Warner Bros. Discovery’s upfronts presentation.

CNN first announced the new streaming service in January as part of a post-election pivot to a more digital focus that also included more than 200 layoffs. According to the New York Times, Thompson has indicated plans to hire around that many people for the new service.

While CNN is expected to remain present on Max, this new streamer will be similar to its TV offerings. Another subscription-based model will be set around lifestyle content, such as food and fitness.

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‘The Rookie’ Creator Says That #Chenford Finale Scene Is a ‘Super Happy Ending’ After Season 7 Slow-Burn

Note: This article has spoilers for “The Rookie” through Season 7, Episode 18: “The Good, the Bad, and the Oscar.”

If you were hoping to see “The Rookie” duo Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil) and Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) back together in full swing by the end of Season 7, you might have been surprised to find that the finale left things a bit inconclusive. What’s more, fans are going to have to wait until 2026 to get their resolution after ABC announced Tuesday at Upfronts that the series will once again make a midseason return.

But don’t take it as a sign of doom or further disrepair for the fan-favorite couple’s romance (dubbed #Chenford by the passionate fandom). In fact, series creator Alexi Hawley sees it as a “super happy ending” for the pair, who slowly re-built the foundation of their relationship throughout Season 7 after Tim blew it all up in Season 6’s profound act of self-sabotage.

“Look, I feel like, even though we didn’t dot the i’s and cross the t’s, I think we’ve turned a corner. I think we built to a place where it is, for me, still a feel-good ending for their relationship,” Hawley told TheWrap. “It made me laugh that she fell asleep on him.”

When Lucy passed the sergeant exam (placing first, no less) in Episode 17, it was not just a big career step; it opened the road for Lucy and Tim to make things official again. But it also came with a catch — Lucy is now working the night shift, which left her too exhausted to hear Tim’s big profession and proposition at the end of the finale.

In their final scene of the season, Tim and Lucy finally found time to “catch up” after Lucy’s night shift switch. Tim was waiting at her apartment, where he laid out a rom-com level spread of Lucy’s favorites — pancakes, chocolate croissants, veggie burgers and even a seabass — and told her to relax. But that’s not all, he also had a big speech, telling her that he would never assume anything about their future and that, after a lot of therapy, he knows why he broke them up.

“I’ve been doing the work to fix what’s been broken inside me. So you can trust me when I tell you, Lucy, I will never hurt you like that again,” he told her, leading into his big move: if they’re going to get back together, he thinks she should move in with him so they can give their relationship “a real shot.” There’s just one problem — she passed out on the couch while he was talking and never heard it.

“I think ultimately, the journey that we’ve been on this season really has gotten us to a place where we really believe him, that he’s done the work and that he cares so much about her, and we know that she cares about him, but also needed to forgive him,” Hawley said. “We saw that process of moments where she had not quite done it yet, and that great Melissa moment of discovering ‘I already did’ in Episode 15.”

“I do feel like, even though we might not have gotten all the way to the end of the journey, it still feels like a super happy ending to me,” he added.

That happy ending comes after a long road to reconciliation, with some unexpected hookups and a lot of intense conversations (one while trapped under a raging fire and one while dosed up with truth serum, just to name a few). So why the slow burn for this chapter of their love story?

“It was really important to us that the bomb that he rolled in on the two of them was seismic, and it did not feel like something had to be wrapped up in three episodes,” Hawley said. “It said a lot about the character, and the characters were forced to grow and to deal with some unpleasant truths.”

“The Rookie” will return for Season 8 in 2026.

The post ‘The Rookie’ Creator Says That #Chenford Finale Scene Is a ‘Super Happy Ending’ After Season 7 Slow-Burn appeared first on TheWrap.