Editors note: Dan Neely is a serial entrepreneur who was recently named to the Time 100 list of the most influential people in AI. He is CEO of Vermillio, a company that uses AI tools to identify and eliminate unauthorized content for clients that include public figures, performers, creators and IP owners. He advocates for greater IP protection and monetization standards around AI.

“Nothing in his life became him like the leaving it.” OK, that’s the wrong play since it’s a line from “Macbeth,” but it best sums up Jonathan Bailey’s performance in the new London production of “Richard II”: The actor cranks up several gears the moment his character is forced by usurper Henry Bullingbrook to give up the throne of England for a life of imprisonment in the second half of director Nicholas Hytner’s staging of Shakespeare’s history play. But the fact that Bailey takes time to catch fire is not entirely his fault, since neither Shakespeare nor Hytner make life easy for him. Given that the play is set at the close of the 14th century, it’s no surprise that Hytner believes the play, which depicts the ushering in of a nation’s decades-long succession crisis, needs contemporary reference points. That explains composer Grant Olding’s doom-laden, grinding, low strings that herald a driving rhythm and a light-touch, bitter piano melody opening the production, a clear hat-tip to Nicholas Britell’s Beethoven-tinged theme to “Succession.” It also governs Bob Crowley’s crisp men-in-black-suits design. The antithesis of the exuberantly colored “Guys and Dolls,” the last show to play at Hytner’s physically versatile Bridge Theatre (and which ran almost two years), this limited run of “Richard II” is stripped-down and stern. Gone is the expected heraldry and splendor of the English court in which King Richard traditionally basks. Instead, the audience is arranged in the round observing a traverse-style black runway staging with changing, minimal locations being lifted up through the floor on hydraulics. It makes for welcome fluidity, highly useful in a play that, for the first half at least, moves through an uncomfortable number of locations and a load of exposition.This is a story about the threat to the kingdom and, specifically, Richard, who ruled neither wisely nor well with absolute power by ancient Divine Right. The nation is torn apart by the plots and counterplots of men and their forces loyal to the crown and those backing Henry Bullingbrook, the Duke of Hereford who, successfully as it turns out, puts his eyes on the ultimate prize and steals it.That the tussle for dominance between the men is so potentially dramatic is illustrated by the fact that around fifty years ago, Richard Pasco and Ian Richardson, two leading Shakespeareans of their day, alternated the roles when they led the play in a celebrated RSC production. Here, alas, the balance is uneven. Royce Pierreson is nicely forthright and determined but his performance is unvarying. The wonderfully character-driven abdication scene between the two men is the production’s highpoint, but elsewhere Pierreson’s determination is too one-note. Anyone questioning the wisdom of the star-casting of “Bridgerton” and “Wicked” talent Bailey should bear in mind that he played Cassio in Hytner’s riveting “Othello” at the National Theatre back in 2013 and followed that with an arresting Edgar/Mad Tom opposite Ian McKellen’s King Lear for director Jonathan Munby. As a result, his handling of the language and, crucially, the intent behind it, is entirely easeful. His king is self-satisfied and perfectly petulant, dispatching orders, and often men’s lives, with gleaming disdain. He’s even better when he’s calmly and quietly coming to understand himself and the nature of his previous selfishness in the play’s highly reflective and tender final scenes.But between those extremes of temperament, the living center of the character remains unseen, robbing the production of strength. That’s partly because he has to energize scenes that here lack force. Hytner is unquestionably one of the great directors of Shakespeare, but this production is uncharacteristically undercast in places. Some of the acting proves more proficient than powerful.

University of Mississippi Medical Center/Facebook (3)

If you’ve been on SkinTok lately, you’ve probably seen beauty influencers basking in the glow of big red LED panels or sporting “Tron”-esque face masks. They claim red light therapy is the secret to firmer skin, fewer wrinkles, faster healing and less acne. And the best part is, it’s all completely non-invasive.

Tori Spelling doesn't drink water. The former 'Beverly Hills 90210' star, 51, has confessed she has an "aversion" to the drink and does everything she can to avoid it - revealing she opts for coconut water or soda instead and joking she's like a "cacti". During an appearance on her 'MisSPELLING' podcast, she explained: "I don't drink water. And when I say I don't drink water, I don't drink water. "How I'm still living, no one knows. I'm like a cacti. Just water me once in a while, and I somehow survive. But I have an aversion to it." She added: "I'm trying this new thing since I don't like water. I'm like, okay, I actually enjoy the taste of coconut water. "I can guzzle, like, a glass of wine in, like, two seconds. No problem. But I take a few sips of water and swallow gently, and all of a sudden, I'm like, 'I wanna puke.' " Tori - who is mom to five children with her ex Dean McDermott - went on to admit she did try drinking water during her pregnancies but it was tough. She said: "[I tried] because you have to hydrate the baby growing in you. But in my mind, I was like: 'I'm drinking for them, not myself'." The TV star also confessed she struggles with an "irrational" fear of being poisoned whenever someone hands her a drink -which baffled her ex Dean - and she joked it stems from her late father Aaron Spelling's dramatic TV shows. She explained: "I’m Aaron Spelling's daughter, hello. The creator of drama-rama storytelling ... "[Dean said] 'You're the mother of my children. Why would I want to poison you?’ And I was like: ‘Listen. It's not personal. I think this about everybody.’ " However, Tori is convinced the fear does stem from her childhood when her mom Candy would attempt to get her to take medicine by hiding it in a drink. She said: "I would say: ‘What'd you put in here? Like, what are you giving me?’ And she would say the same thing: ‘What, you think I'm trying to poison you?’ ” "This goes back to childhood. This crazy, irrational fear of handed over liquids from other people. I don't drink water. I don't call it a fear of water. I just like to say I hate water. I have an allergy to water."

Experiencing joy in wartime might sound like an impossibility, but members of the LGBTQ community in Ukraine are proving it’s not only achievable, but even a form of resistance.

毎日の生活を支える家計管理。実は夫婦間でのやり方ひとつで、将来に大きな差が生まれることをご存知ですか？今回は、現代夫婦の家計管理事情と、意外な盲点について詳しく解説します。

Actors Mike Ferguson and Twana Barnett have joined the cast of “Last Hit,” a new action thriller that also stars Joe Davison, who appeared in the second season of “Stranger Things,” and Levee Duplay, who was in “The Tailor of Sin City.”

President Trump told Congress Tuesday he expects “a little disturbance” as he broadens his trade war, less than a day after imposing 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico.

Canadians and other foreign nationals who plan to stay in the U.S. for 30 days or longer will soon be required to apply for registration and fingerprinting with the Department of Homeland Security.

Hours after imposing sweeping new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, President Trump will deliver a nationally broadcast speech tonight to a joint session of Congress, the first such address of his second term.

LAS VEGAS -- The Golden Knights fell behind early for the second straight game, and their late surge in Pittsburgh wouldn't be enough.

GLENDALE, Ariz. — It’s not too often a sellout crowd is in attendance to see a pitcher who's not starting, but that was the case Tuesday as the world waited to finally watch Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki make his spring training debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Cincinnati Reds. It’s been a slow ramp-up to game action for Sasaki, who signed a minor-league deal with the Dodgers this winter. And after pitching in a simulated game last week, he got his first take of game action under the lights at Camelback Ranch.

Wildfires erupted in Texas on Tuesday afternoon in San Patricio County, and in Buda, a town just south of Austin. Strong winds have knocked out power to more than 20,000 customers.

Luka Dončić and the Los Angeles Lakers had no issues Monday night.

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By Helen Reid

U.S. President Donald Trump’s attempt to recast American foreign trade has been a rollercoaster ride for Canadian investors. For those looking to tune out the noise from south of the border, CIBC Capital Markets chief market technician Sid Mokhtari has a top 10 “best ideas” list for investors in February 2025.

Sonja Flemming/CBS via Getty

With Montreal playing its 15th game of the season, the last team to do so, and with no more breaks before the World Championship, I thought it was a good timing to put out my version of the mid-season awards.