Just one of Britain’s finest actors of all time and generally a delight to watch in any role. Emma Thompson’s favourite role to date“My favourite film that I’ve ever done”, she said about the 2022 flick Good Luck to You, Leo Grande. In this film, Emma plays Nancy Stokes, a widower who hires a male sex worker named Leo Grande. Emma Thompson also discussed women’s sexual pleasureThe actress went on to say: “This thing of sexual pleasure, supposedly we had the sexual revolution in the ’60′s which really benefitted men more than women. Emma adds that when her character does have an orgasm through masturbation, this felt like a ‘super important’ part of the film.

LOADING ERROR LOADINGThis December, we’re championing kindness in all its forms through HuffPost UK’s Kindness Advent Calendar. When Just Imagine Day Nursery Maldon, part of the Family First Nurseries group, put out a call for toys, they naturally hoped for a strong response. Their efforts will help make Christmas brighter for so many families.”AdvertisementBut the children at the Just Imagine Day Nursery, Maldon, weren’t done there. And Michigan State University pointed out that both giving and receiving kindness can improve a child’s health, self-esteem, and happiness, too. Sophie Killick, nursery manager, said “in the lead-up to Christmas, we always look for ways to give back to our community”.

The measure, put forth by Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), would undo an executive order Trump signed earlier this year nullifying collective bargaining agreements covering up to 1 million workers. AdvertisementThe legislation is unlikely to go anywhere in the GOP-controlled Senate, but its success in the House shows some moderate Republicans don’t support Trump’s unprecedented union-busting at federal agencies. Trump’s March executive order aims to exempt workers at a slew of federal departments from collective bargaining rights that have been enshrined in law for decades. U.S. Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) led Democrats in the House effort to undo Trump's executive orders. Federal unions and the AFL-CIO labor federation worked to build support on both sides of the aisle leading up to the House vote.

LOADING ERROR LOADINGPresident Donald Trump’s furious effort to force Indiana Republicans to adopt a new congressional map designed to eliminate the state’s only two House seats held by Democrats failed on Thursday after enough Republican state senators voted against it. Democrats have fought Republicans to a draw after California matched Texas by redrawing the lines of five House seats and likely blocked a Missouri map that eliminated one Democratic seat. The pressure from the White House and the violent threats escalated after the Indiana Senate adjourned the first special session on redistricting called by Gov. State Sen. Greg Goode, a Republican from Indiana, was one of several GOP state senators to face violent threats for opposing Trump's redistricting push. These threats flowed from Trump’s increasingly angry diatribes against Republicans who would not do as he demands.

TSA officers and other “exempted” federal workers eventually received lump-sum backpay, but not until after the record-long shutdown ended. The complaint is a collective-action lawsuit that other TSA officers may be able to opt into. AdvertisementRodgers might not have been able to bring a case at all if not for some political gamesmanship by the Trump administration. In general, federal employees go without pay during a government shutdown, since Congress has not appropriated money for agencies to operate. Whether they were furloughed or working without pay, federal employees across the country felt like pawns in a political game.

WASHINGTON – Democrats’ impeachment season has begun. Rep. Al Green (D-Texas), who introduced the resolution, has already had one attempt at impeachment rejected this year and has been introducing impeachment resolutions against the president ever since Trump first took office in 2017. (House Democratic leadership, then led by Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, was similarly suspicious of the first effort to impeach Trump.) If Democrats retake the House in next year’s midterm elections, however, impeachment could be on the table. Democrats would likely write articles of impeachment through a committee process rather than rushing to the floor for a vote, however.

LOADING ERROR LOADINGALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A grand jury declined for a second time to re-indict New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday, refusing to resurrect a mortgage fraud prosecution encouraged by President Donald Trump, according to a person familiar with the matter. It’s another major blow to the Justice Department after the dismissal of earlier charges against James and another longtime Trump foe, former FBI Director James Comey, in a stunning rebuke of the Trump administration’s efforts to prosecute the president’s political opponents. The Justice Department asked a grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, to return an indictment Thursday after a different grand jury in Norfolk last week refused to do so. The allegations related to James’ purchase of modest house in Norfolk, where she has family. The judge dismissed them without prejudice, allowing the Justice Department to try to file the charges again.

When state Republicans did this, they were following Texas’s lead, where Trump had pressured the state legislature to redraw five congressional districts to be more favorable to the GOP. Meanwhile, a court in Utah forced the state to draw a new safe Democratic seat for the 2026 elections. With Missouri’s map likely suspended for 2026, it appears that the redistricting war has been fought to a draw ― for now. People Not Politicians challenged Hoskins’ decision in the Missouri state court. People Not Politicians would plan to challenge any effort to reject the initiative in court if that happens.

LOADING ERROR LOADINGPHILIPSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Kilmar Abrego Garcia has been released from an immigration detention center in Pennsylvania following an order from a federal judge issued Thursday, according to his attorney’s office. His federal suit claims the Trump administration is illegally using the removal process to punish Abrego Garcia for the public embarrassment caused by his deportation. Advertisement“But Costa Rica had never wavered in its commitment to receive Abrego Garcia, just as Abrego Garcia never wavered in his commitment to resettle there,” the judge wrote. Xinis also rejected the government’s argument that she lacked jurisdiction to intervene on a final removal order for Abrego Garcia, because she found no final order had been filed. Separately, Abrego Garcia is asking an immigration court to reopen his case so he can seek asylum in the United States.

When done right, good gift giving is close to an art form. “Being a good gift giver is about listening and paying attention,” she told HuffPost. “This is someone who understands the importance of the thought going into the gift,” Smith said, adding that her grandma was the perfect example of this kind of gift giver. The listener is "someone who understands the importance of the thought going into the gift," Smith said. “Instead of making gift giving a gauntlet for him to pass, I started asking if he would like me to give him a wish list,” she said.

The 51-48 vote capped a bitter months-long battle in Congress over health care that included the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Golden seemed optimistic that more Democrats would sign on, but almost all House Democrats are already backing another health care discharge petition by Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). The Jeffries bill would extend the Obamacare subsidies for three years; the Fitzpatrick-Golden bill would extend them for two years with some restrictions. Government funding expires Jan. 30, giving Senate Democrats another leverage point over the issue. A few Senate Republicans have suggested addressing the issue of the ACA tax credits in another partisan reconciliation bill next year.

“I’ll leave no town unturned in Minnesota,” Lindell told The Associated Press in an interview ahead of a news conference set for Thursday. The fraud issue has particularly dogged Walz, who announced in September that he’s seeking a third term in the 2026 election. MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell exits the West Wing of the White House, Thursday, July 3, 2025, in Washington. He served as a warm-up speaker at dozens of Trump rallies and co-chaired Trump’s campaign in Minnesota. A federal judge in Minnesota ruled in September that Lindell defamed Smartmatic with 51 false statements.

LOADING ERROR LOADINGWASHINGTON — A leading House Republican is sharply questioning a top priority of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Make America Healthy Again movement, arguing the proposal could raise grocery prices. AdvertisementHouse Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.) said the policy will increase grocery prices. Thompson’s committee oversees the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, often referred to as SNAP or food stamps. Grocery prices have kept going up as overall inflation remains a full percentage point above the government’s target 2% rate. More than 42 million Americans in 22 million households receive SNAP benefits, which can be used for almost any food item in grocery stores.

LOADING ERROR LOADINGA federal judge on Thursday ordered Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man the Trump administration erroneously sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador, to be immediately freed from immigration detention. In the order, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis said Abrego Garcia was held at a notorious El Salvador prison known as CECOT without “lawful authority.”AdvertisementXinis noted that after the experience he had at CECOT, Abrego Garcia had been re-detained illegally and that his case demanded immediate intervention. In October, the government said it wished to send Abrego Garcia to Liberia. AdvertisementAfter spending months at CECOT, Abrego Garcia was first returned to the U.S. in June to face his indictment. Once there, Abrego Garcia said guards would assault him with wooden batons or force him and fellow prisoners to kneel from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m.

Stephen Miller told Sean Hannity on Wednesday that CNN has banned him. Politics: As Trump Moves Toward Autocracy, Top Aide Stephen Miller Is Way Ahead Of Him“So, this is a completely true story,” Miller said on Hannity’s Fox News show. “Members of the administration are welcome on our air,” CNN said, but didn’t specify whether Miller would be among them. But in a later version on Mediaite, a more direct answer appeared: “Members of the administration, including Stephen Miller, are welcome to come on our air. Miller and CNN’s Boris Sanchez sparred after the latter asked the White House official if “brown people” were being profiled.