Category: US

CNN
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The trailer for Disney’s “Peter Pan & Wendy” – based on the Mouse House’s 1953 animated classic “Peter Pan” – dropped on Tuesday, and it certainly presents a movie that looks far more inclusive than past retellings of the original J.M. Barrie tale.

“But you’re not all boys,” Ever Anderson’s Wendy Darling says to a group of kids in Neverland who tell her they’re the “Lost Boys” in the clip.

Those kids are, in fact, not all boys. Two girls then appear on screen to respond to Wendy’s observation with a simple and spirited, “So!?”

“Blackish” star Yara Shahidi is also seen in the trailer as Tinker Bell, Peter’s fairy friend who accompanies him and the Darlings through Neverland. Shahidi is the first Black woman to portray the tiny fairy on screen.

The movie also stars Alexander Molony in his feature film debut as Peter Pan, and Jude Law as a very creepy-looking Captain Hook, who is seen in the trailer sporting his signature hook, red coat and twisted mustache as he asks Wendy, “Where is Peter Pan?”

The trailer shows all of the classic figures from the ’53 film, including the Darlings’ beloved dog Nana and a faithful representation of John Darling (Joshua Pickering) in his top hat and rounded spectacles.

An aerial view of the mermaids shimmering and splashing in the sea beneath Wendy and her brothers, who are soaring the skies above, is shown in the trailer. And Tiger Lily, played by Alyssa Wapanatâhk, is seen telling Wendy, “Hold the past in your heart, but where you go from here is up to you.”

From the 1991 cult classic “Hook” starring Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman and Julia Roberts to NBC’s 2014 “Peter Pan Live” telecast starring Allison Williams and the 2015 “Pan” film, Peter Pan and Wendy’s adventure is a story that’s been previously visualized on screen in countless ways.

The new “Peter Pan & Wendy” presents an inclusive version of the classic tale, one that blends Pan’s fantasy world into a landscape for today.

“Peter Pan & Wendy” will begin streaming on Disney+ on April 28.

New York
CNN
 — 

Baked goods company Entenmann’s is bringing back its cellophane window packaging after a two-year absence caused by flood damage at the factory that produces the iconic white and blue cartons.

The cellophane window has been a recognizable feature for more than 70 years, allowing shoppers to view the tasty treats they’re buying.

“Entenmann’s is thrilled to return to our iconic window boxes,” the company said in a statement, adding that the company “always planned” to return to its signature packaging. “We are happy that time has arrived and love that our consumers are excited as well,” it added.

The windows were temporarily eliminated in September 2021 when its Pennsylvania facility sustained flooding damage from Hurricane Ida. At the time, the company said the flooding “destroyed 5,000 tons of packaging inventory and caused critical damage to the machinery that produces the cartons and boxes.”

Since then, Entenmann’s has used either a photo of the product in place of the window or clear clamshell packaging as a temporary solution.

“You can’t really tell by the photo but I feel personally attacked that Entenmann’s took away the little window & replaced it with a printed picture. Not cool,” tweeted a customer last year. Another person tweeted in rage that the company eliminated the “yum yum” window.

Charles Entenmann, who helped to turn his family’s Long Island, New York, bakery into a baked goods behemoth, died last year. He and his brothers introduced the brand’s see-through packaging in the 1950s to entice shoppers to sample the sweets.

Bimbo Bakeries USA, a unit of Mexican multinational Grupo Bimbo, purchased the company in 2002. Entenmann’s produces more than 100 varieties of baked goods in the United States and makes 1 billion donuts annually.

Ivins, Utah
CNN
 — 

In a bright-red county in a state allergic to regulations, there is a ban on growing grass outside new businesses. Only 8% of a home’s landscaping can have a grass lawn in this booming corner of Utah, about a hundred miles northeast of Las Vegas.

And if any developers want to add another country club to this golfing mecca, “I don’t know where they would get the water from,” said Zach Renstrom, general manager of the Washington County Water Conservancy District. “And I’m telling you, I know where every drop of water is.”

Like lots of spots in the West, the combination of more people and less water makes for an uncertain future around St. George, Utah. While this winter’s generous snowpack could buy precious time, the entire Colorado River system remains in danger of crashing if water gets too low at Lakes Powell and Mead.

But that reality hasn’t stopped St. George from booming into the fastest growing metro area in the US two years running, according to the US Census Bureau, and Renstrom says that unless Utah builds a long-promised pipeline to pump water 140 miles from Lake Powell, their growth will turn to pain.

In the meantime, Lake Powell – the country’s second-largest reservoir – has struggled to serve even the places it currently provides water to. Last week it sank to the lowest water level since the reservoir was filled in the 1960s, and since 2000 has lost more than 150 feet.

“If we stop construction water, that act alone would lay off about 20% of our county,” Renstrom said. “We’ve made a commitment that we’re going to make sure to be good stewards of every single drop of water that’s already here and make sure we’re utilizing that. But when we look at our long-term growth and you know how much water we need, (the Lake Powell Pipeline) is still in our long-term plan.”

Washington County said it consumed about 50,000 acre feet of water in 2022, all of it supplied by the Virgin River which flows into the Colorado system and out of taps from Vegas to LA. An acre-foot is the amount of water needed to cover one acre to the depth of one foot – roughly 326,000 gallons.

A plan to pump 80,000 acre feet of water a year from Lake Powell to Sand Hollow Reservoir passed the Utah legislature in 2006 and met immediate opposition from environmental groups worried about fragile desert ecosystems. Fourteen dry years later in 2020, the Trump administration tried to fast-track the project’s environmental review but water managers from the other six Colorado River Basin states banded together to block it.

“The system is crashing and to be honest, it’s kind of incomprehensible to think of a diversion of that size that would serve 200,000 people in one county in southern Utah at this moment in time. There’s just not the water,” Matt Rice, Southwest Region Director of the nonprofit American Rivers told CNN. “We’re worried about every molecule of water that that we can deliver to Lake Powell and Lake Mead to protect critical hydroelectric infrastructure.”

While in legal limbo, the controversy brought fresh headlines in January when the mayor of the small Washington County town of Ivins called it “the Lake Powell pipe dream” during a public meeting.

“Shame on me,” Ivins Mayor Chris Hart laughed about his words as he welcomed CNN to Ivins, proudly pointing out the irrigation-free desert xeriscape around the new city hall.

“The motivation for that comment is that this project has faced a lot of obstacles and continues to with the shortage impacting all of the basin states,” Hart explained. “There are groups who believe that we can that we can work our way out of it through conservation and other ways. The studies show us that eventually the Lake Powell pipeline will be necessary for us to continue to develop in the county. So, I actually used that word tongue-in-cheek, because the serious side of it is that it is an essential part of our plan.”

Hart also said it’s Utah’s turn to grow, after the growth in California, Arizona and Nevada. “They’ve had their enormous growth spurts through the years and the water has been made available for them to do that. And now here we are,” he said. “I think our perspective, from the state of Utah, is we’re entitled to that, to our share, whatever that is,” he said.

Hart and Renstrom are evangelists for water conservation in a county allergic to rules and regulations and where 74% voted for Donald Trump in 2020. “We’re a red state and in Utah, this is a red county. And so we like our independence, we like our freedoms,” Renstrom said. “If I step in and say, ‘I just want more government regulations,’ it’s immediately dead.”

But Renstrom has managed to help pass some of the strictest water laws in the West. “It is causing a lot of friction,” he said, “Because we’re asking people that have had a certain type of lifestyle or a certain way of living and asking them to radically change that, to make sure that we have additional water for our economy. And it’s hard.”

Rice at American Rivers says a shift in mindset — especially among Eastern transplants ignorant to living with drought — is vital to future desert survival. Instead of focusing on the pipeline, he hopes desert leaders like Mayor Hart will tap into the unprecedented federal funding for water reclamation projects in both the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act.

“There’s about $12 billion that could be deployed in the Colorado River Basin not only for municipal needs but agricultural needs and watershed restoration,” he said.

Hart acknowledged that item is on the wish list.

“One thing that we haven’t done a lot of here that Vegas have become masters at is to recapture the water that flows through our buildings and run it through a treatment plant and then recycle it,” Hart said. “So the few drops of rain that we get, if we can use them four or five times, that’s a whole different thing than the drop of rain comes, you use it and off it goes down the river and it’s gone.”

CNN
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Dozens of parents, students and alumni spoke out against Florida’s conservative takeover of New College during a meeting of the board of trustees on Tuesday.

Several speakers approached the microphone during the public comment session, most expressing outrage at Gov. Ron DeSantis’ decision to move the school in a more conservative direction by handpicking leaders who agree with his vision.

In January, DeSantis replaced six of the 13 members on the college’s board of trustees with conservative allies, including Christopher Rufo, who has fueled the fight against critical race theory. The new board forced out the college’s president and appointed DeSantis ally Richard Corcoran as interim president. Corcoran will earn a base salary of $699,000.

DeSantis’ office insists that the New College of Florida in Sarasota has seen declining enrollment and focuses too heavily on diversity and inclusion, critical race theory and gender ideology.

New College of Florida has offered an environment where members of the LGBTQ community can freely express themselves, students say. Student Sam Sharf said during public comments that the new leadership was launching a “hostile takeover” of the school and has neglected students’ concerns.

“Regardless of your attempts to suppress our educational freedom we will continue to learn the subjects that you want to ban,” Sharf said. “We reject the social inequalities that your ideology defends.”

As public comment closed, the crowd chanted “Shame on you!” toward the board of trustees.

The meeting came after hundreds of people rallied on campus Tuesday, holding signs with phrases such as “protect diversity, equity and inclusion” and “stand up for students.”

The school community has been up in arms for weeks, with many students saying they fear the college will no longer be a safe place for the LGBTQ community or other marginalized groups. Several protests have been held on campus since the leadership changes happened, including a walkout by students last week.

“A lot of us are hurting right now,” said third-year student Chai Leffler, who is studying Chinese and urban studies at the college.

Leffler said New College of Florida has always been a school that has encouraged “free academic thought.” Lawmakers, he said, are trying to strip away that freedom by telling students what they can and can’t study.

“I don’t think politicians should really be the ones making that decision,” Leffler told CNN. “And I really don’t think that’s an unpopular opinion.”

DeSantis said last month that he intends to defund all diversity, equity and inclusion programs at state colleges and universities in Florida. These policies and programs are created to promote representation for people who have historically faced discrimination because of their race, ethnicity, disability, gender, religion or sexual orientation.

Hear Florida student protesters’ message to DeSantis following statewide walkouts

Tuesday’s meeting followed the introduction of a bill in the Florida House that mirrors DeSantis’ ideas for an overhaul of higher education.

The bill, filed by a Republican lawmaker last week, would put board of trustee members in charge of faculty hiring; defund diversity, equity and inclusion programs; eliminate majors or minors related to critical race theory or gender studies; and authorize boards of trustees to review tenure of faculty.

The bill was praised by Rufo, who said on Twitter that it restores the “principle of colorblind equality in higher ed.” Rufo is a senior fellow and director of the initiative on critical race theory at the conservative Manhattan Institute.

“This would be the most ambitious reform to higher education in a half-century,” Rufo tweeted. “Gov. DeSantis is channeling the sentiment of the voters, who have demanded that taxpayer dollars stop subsidizing left-wing racialist ideology and partisan political activism. Democracy returns.”

Some students and advocates say they believe DeSantis has proposed sweeping changes to Florida’s colleges and universities for political gain because he is expected to run for president in 2024.

But they fear the lasting impacts could be Florida colleges struggling to retain students and recruit faculty.

People pursuing graduate degrees might opt for schools in other states that support academic freedom, Irene Mulvey, president of the American Association of University Professors, told CNN earlier this month.

“The consequences for students are enormous,” Mulvey said. “They are denied the opportunity to learn and grow, students are denied the opportunity to hear important perspectives. That’s the real tragedy.”

Police officers walk outside the Supreme Court on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Tuesday.

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in two challenges to President Joe Biden’s student debt relief plan, with several conservative justices appearing skeptical of the government’s authority to discharge millions of dollars in federally held loans.

If the conservatives do ultimately rule in favor of the policy’s challengers, the hearing made clear they will have to grapple with the legal questions around why states and individual borrowers should be allowed to sue over the program – questions that emerged as a flash point during the arguments.

Millions of qualifying student loan borrowers could see up to $20,000 of their debt canceled depending on the outcome of the arguments. How and when the justices rule will also determine when payments on federal student loans will resume after a pandemic-related pause was put in place nearly three years ago.

In Biden v. Nebraska, a group of Republican-led states argued the administration exceeded its authority by using the pandemic as a pretext to mask the true goal of fulfilling a campaign promise to erase student-loan debt.

The second case is Department of Education v. Brown, which was initially brought by two individuals who did not qualify for the program and argue the government failed to follow proper rulemaking process when putting it in place.

Here are some takeaways from the oral arguments:

Conservatives see this case as another chance to rein in aggressive actions by Biden: In the questions the conservative justices posed, they signaled that they see the GOP states’ case as presenting the court with another chance to draw the lines around when the executive branch can and cannot act without Congress.

Several of the exchanges concerned the application of the so-called “Major Questions Doctrine,” a legal theory embraced by the court’s Republican appointees that says Congress can be expected to speak with specificity when it gives an agency power to do something of great political or economic significance.

The states are arguing that under the doctrine, the Biden student debt program should be blocked.

Lawyer for GOP state gets grilled on standing: Whether the GOP states are threatened by the type of harm that makes it appropriate for a court to intervene was a major theme. Campbell received a series of questions – from justices on both sides of the ideological spectrum – about whether the states had overcome this procedural threshold, which is known as “standing.”

A particular flashpoint in the hearing was the states’ arguments that the loan forgiveness program’s potential harms to MOHELA – the Missouri-created entity that services loans in the state – gives Missouri standing. Several justices noted that MOHELA could have filed its own lawsuit challenging the program, but has not.

Barrett may be a justice to watch: Justice Amy Coney Barrett has stood out among the conservatives for asking particularly pointed questions of the GOP states about their standing arguments, setting her apart as a potential pick up vote for the court’s three liberal members.

“If MOHELA is an arm of the state, why didn’t you just strong-arm MOHELA and say you’ve got to pursue this suit,” Barrett asked Campbell, among several questions she asked him about the states’ standing claims.

Even if Barrett swings to the liberals to vote that the lawsuit should be rejected because of the standing concerns, the Biden administration will need the vote of one more GOP-appointed justice.

Sotomayor raises the practical stakes of the case: In extended remarks to Campbell, Justice Sonia Sotomayor laid out the practical implications of the case in stark terms.

“There’s 50 million students who are – who will benefit from this. Who today will struggle. Many of them don’t have assets sufficient to bail them out after the pandemic. They don’t have friends or families or others who can help them make these payments,” she remarked. Those debtors will suffer in ways others won’t because of the pandemic, she said.

Read more takeaways here.