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The Hill
4 days ago
- Business
- The Hill
Trump's pulled NASA nomination
The Big Story The aerospace community was caught off guard this week by President Trump's withdrawal of tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman's NASA nomination. © AP Photo/John Raoux, File Announced days before the Senate's likely confirmation of Isaacman, the withdrawal sparked a swirl of rumors and concerns, as budget cuts loom and NASA stretches into its sixth month without a leader. Trump, in a social media post over the weekend, offered few details but said his decision was made after a 'thorough review of prior associations.' One space policy executive called the reasoning 'complete bulls—.' 'That's like the worst excuse in the world,' said the executive, who was granted anonymity to speak freely about the withdrawal. Isaacman's nomination had already advanced through the Senate Commerce Committee in a 19-9 vote and was expected to hit the full floor this week. 'I was frankly gobsmacked,' Mark Whittington, an author who studies space, politics and policy, told The Hill. 'Jared Isaacman is well regarded by just about everybody.' Rumors quickly circulated over the weekend that the decision might have something to do with Isaacman's ally, Elon Musk, who stepped down from his role leading Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) last week. Two sources close to the White House suggested Isaacman's ties to Musk may have also contributed to his removal as the pick to lead NASA. Musk, the sources said, rubbed many people in the administration the wrong way. And with his official departure from government, Isaacman lost a strong ally in the White House. Isaacman worked alongside Musk at SpaceX to fund the company's first private spacewalk, and he was one of four astronauts aboard the Polaris Dawn flight last year. 'It was a real bummer,' Isaacman said on the 'All In' podcast about the decision. 'It was certainly disappointing. But the president needs to have his person that he counts on to fulfill the agenda.' 'I'm not … [playing] dumb on this. I had a pretty good idea,' he added. 'I don't think the timing was much of a coincidence that there were other changes going on the same day, and it was obviously a little bit of a disappointment.' Musk, in a series of posts criticizing Trump on Thursday, signaled his frustrations with the decision by reposting the president's initial nomination announcement in December. Attached to the repost, he wrote, 'This is what he said about Jared.' Read more in a full report at Welcome to The Hill's Technology newsletter, we're Miranda Nazzaro and Julia Shapero — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. Essential Reads How policy will be impacting the tech sector now and in the future: Musk backs call to impeach Trump, replace him with Vance Tech billionaire Elon Musk backed a call to impeach President Trump on Thursday, one of the latest swipes at the president by the billionaire in an ongoing war of words between the former allies. 'President vs Elon. Who wins? My money's on Elon. Trump should be impeached and JD Vance should replace him,' Ian Miles Cheong, a Malaysia-based right-wing writer, said in a Thursday afternoon post on Musk's social platform … Lawmakers sit back to watch Trump-Musk blowup drama Members of Congress are sitting back and watching the show. The bromance that's captivated Washington for months — President Trump and Elon Musk — blew up on Thursday, a breakup between the world's most powerful man and richest person that is leaving the White House's legislative agenda hanging in the balance. The implosion played out in public: Trump — in his first remarks since Musk trashed the 'big, beautiful bill' … Senate proposes alternative to AI moratorium in Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' Senate Commerce Committee Republicans are proposing an alternative to a controversial provision in President Trump's tax and spending bill about states' regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) after concerns arose from some GOP members. The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee unveiled its proposed text for Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' Thursday. The new text altered the House … Bannon: Musk should be 'deported from the country immediately' MAGA insider and former White House adviser Steve Bannon called on President Trump to investigate Elon Musk's immigration status and deport the South African tech billionaire after the bitter implosion of the president's relationship with Musk on Thursday. 'They should initiate a formal investigation of his immigration status because I am of the strong belief that he is an illegal alien, and he should be deported … {{if !contains( Report')} {/if}}{{if !contains( Report')} {/if}} The Refresh News we've flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics: Crypto Corner Stablecoin issuer Circle goes public Welcome to Crypto Corner, a daily feature focused on digital currency and its outlook in Washington. Stablecoin issuer Circle made its stock market debut Thursday. Circle's shares opened at $69, well above the initial listing price of $31. Its stock surged to nearly $100 before settling around $83 at the close of trading. 'It's a momentous day for Circle, it's a momentous day for the industry, and it's a momentous day, I think, for the future of the financial system and the U.S. dollar,' Circle President Heath Tarbert told The Hill. The stablecoin issuer's initial public offering (IPO) comes as the crypto industry has received a much warmer reception in Washington under President Trump and a GOP-led Congress. The administration and Republican lawmakers have made crypto legislation, including a bill estabilshing a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins, a key priority. Tarbert underscored Thursday that Circle has long planned to go public but described the shift in Washington as 'welcome news.' 'I think it certainly has aided in the investor base being even more supportive,' he added. In Other News Branch out with other reads on The Hill: 5 takeaways from the explosive Trump-Musk divorce The feud between President Trump and Elon Musk grew exponentially more bitter on Thursday. The two exchanged volleys of insults that reached their pinnacle — or nadir, depending upon one's perspective — when Musk alleged that files on the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein were being kept secret to protect Trump. The fissure between the two men now yawns wide, less than a week after Musk officially left his position spearheading … What Others are Reading Two key stories on The Hill right now: Live updates: Musk retaliates against Trump, claiming he is in Epstein files, backs impeachment A fight between President Trump and Elon Musk that broke into the open over the 'big, beautiful bill' earlier in the week escalated quickly … Read more Noem ending TSA Quiet Skies traveler surveillance program Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem announced Thursday she is ending the Transportation Safety Administration's (TSA) 'Quiet … Read more You're all caught up. See you tomorrow!
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AG Pam Bondi sold more than $1 million in Trump Media stock the day sweeping tariffs were announced
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during her confirmation hearing on Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by) Attorney General Pam Bondi sold between $1 million and $5 million worth of shares of Trump Media the same day that President Donald Trump unveiled bruising new tariffs that caused the stock market to plummet, according to records obtained Wednesday by ProPublica. Trump Media, which runs the social media platform Truth Social, fell 13% in the following days, before rebounding. Trump's 'Liberation Day' press conference from the White House Rose Garden unveiling the tariffs came after the market closed on April 2. Bondi's disclosure forms showing her Trump Media sales say the transactions were made on April 2 but do not disclose whether they occurred before or after the market closed. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. Trades by government officials informed by nonpublic information learned through work could violate the law. But cases against government officials are legally challenging, and in recent years judges have largely narrowed what constitutes illegal insider trading. It's unclear from the public record whether Bondi as attorney general would have known in advance any nonpublic details about the tariffs Trump was announcing that day. Trump, of course, publicly announced his plans to institute dramatic tariffs during the election campaign. But during the first weeks of his term, the market seemed to assume his campaign promises were bluster. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to questions about the trades. The disclosure forms do not include the specific amount of stocks sold or their worth but instead provide a rough range. The documents do not say exactly what time she sold the shares or at what price. The company's stock price closed on April 2 at $18.76 and opened the next morning, after the press conference, at $17.92 before falling more in the days ahead. In addition to selling between $1 million and $5 million worth of Trump Media shares, Bondi's disclosure form shows she also sold between $250,000 and $500,000 worth of warrants in Trump Media, which typically give a holder the right to purchase the shares. Bondi's ownership of Trump Media shares has previously been disclosed. Before she became attorney general, Bondi was a consultant for Digital World Acquisition Corp., the special purpose acquisition company that merged with Trump Media to take the president's social media company public. As part of her ethics agreement, Bondi had pledged to sell her stake of Trump Media within 90 days of her confirmation, a deadline that would have allowed her until early May to sell the shares. On April 1, Trump Media filed a disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission with details about holdings of various top shareholders, including Trump and Bondi. The purpose of the filing is unclear, as is whether it relates to Bondi's sales the next day. It appeared to reregister for sale shares held by several of the company's top shareholders. Alex Mierjeski contributed research. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
W NETWORK DEBUTS ITS SPRING SCHEDULE WITH THIS SEASON'S FRESHEST PICKS
New Series Include Peacock Comedy Laid, Sky Original Series Small Town, Big Story, Plus Hallmark Channel's The Chicken Sisters and Small Town Setup This Spring Will Also See the Season Finales of The Way Home, Season 3 and Based on a True Story, Season 2 Stream W Network on STACKTV For additional photography and press kit material visit: To share this release socially visit: TORONTO, March 10, 2025 /CNW/ - This spring, W Network, a Corus Entertainment top 10 specialty network*, is blooming with freshly picked new series featuring star-studded performances, humour and heart. This season, W Network ushers in new comedies such as Laid and Small Town, Big Story as well as Hallmark's family drama The Chicken Sisters and Hallmark's unscripted series Small Town Setup. All series are available to stream on STACKTV. First to spring onto the schedule is Peacock's twisted romantic comedy, Laid, starring Academy Award®-nominee Stephanie Hsu and Zosia Mamet. Premiering on Monday, March 24 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, a woman (Hsu) finds out her former lovers are dying in unusual ways and must go back through her sex timeline to confront her past in order to move forward. Laid is a dark rom-com where the answer to "why can't I find love, is there something wrong with me?" is a resounding "Yes. There is. The problem is definitely you." Up next is the dramatic comedy Small Town, Big Story premiering Thursday, March 27 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Created and directed by Emmy® Award winner Chris O'Dowd (Moone Boy), the series stars Emmy® nominee Christina Hendricks (Good Girls, Mad Men) and BAFTA award-winner Paddy Considine (House of the Dragon, The World's End), and looks at the untold chaos caused when a big budget Hollywood production rolls into a small, rural Irish town. Wendy Patterson (Hendricks) is a local girl who found success as a TV producer in Los Angeles, returns to her hometown in Ireland after over 20 years, having left under something of a cloud. Back in the chaotic microcosm of Drumbán, this time with a film crew in tow, Wendy is caught in between her past and her epic new production. Séamus Proctor (Considine) is the local doctor and pillar of the community. He has a neat and well-ordered life, or at least he thinks he does. Soon, he will find himself in the eye of a storm as a celluloid circus descends on the town, threatening to shine a spotlight on a secret he's been harbouring for ages. On Sunday, March 30 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, W Network serves up new Hallmark series, The Chicken Sisters, based on the New York Times bestseller and Reese's Book Club selection of the same name by KJ Dell'Antonia. Created for television and executive produced by Annie Mebane (Shrinking, Atypical, The Goldbergs), the eight-episode series is a family drama dipped in southern charm and served up with a saucy side of romance. The setting is the fictional town of Merinac, where a generations-old rift between dueling fried chicken restaurants – Mimi's and Frannie's – has left the founders' families fractured and the locals taking sides. When the popular cooking competition show Ultimate Kitchen Clash comes to town, it could be the recipe for ending this feud once and for all. But things are fixing to heat up both inside and outside of the kitchen as the reality show spotlight causes sparks to fly as secrets are spilled and feathers get ruffled. The series boasts an impressive cast, including Schuyler Fisk (Sam & Kate), Genevieve Angelson (The Handmaid's Tale), Lea Thompson (Back to the Future) and Wendie Malick (Just Shoot Me!) as the women at the heart of the restaurant rivalry. James Kot (Virgin River), Rukiya Bernard (Yellowjackets), Ektor Rivera (Groundswell) and Jake Foy (Ride) round out the supporting cast. Emmy® Award-winning actress Margo Martindale (Justified) lends her voice as the nearly omniscient narrator, who serves up history and offers country fried context the way only the best town gossip can. Following the premiere of The Chicken Sisters on March 30, Small Town Setup debuting at 9 p.m. ET/PT, explores the unique charm of small-town America and its welcoming community in this heartwarming unscripted, romantic comedy docu-style dating series, hosted by Ashley Williams. In each episode, viewers meet different hometown parents with a big problem – their successful adult child is living far away in a big city – and is still single. The couple gathers their neighbours and asks for help to find a match for them to go out with. Now, the entire community is on the hunt to find the best three daters for the "city single" to go on dates with, in the hope that they will fall in love, move back home and live happily ever after. This spring will also see the Season 3 finale of the multi-generational family drama and top 5 specialty entertainment program** The Way Home on Sunday, March 16 at 9 p.m. ET/PT and the Season 2 finale of the dark comedic thriller Based on a True Story on Monday, March 17 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. W Network can be streamed via STACKTV, available on Amazon Prime Video Channels, Bell Fibe TV app, Fubo, Rogers Ignite TV and Ignite Streaming. The network is also available through all major TV distributors, including: Shaw, Shaw Direct, Rogers, Bell, Videotron, Telus, Cogeco, Eastlink and SaskTel. *Source: Numeris PPM Data, Total Canada, FL'24 (Aug 26 – Dec29/24), SP'25 STD (Dec 30/24 – Feb 9/25) confirmed to Feb 2/25, A25-54, AMA(000), CDN SPEC COM ENG, M-Su 2a-2a**Source: Numeris PPM Data, Total Canada, SP'24 (Jan 1 – May 26/24), 3+ airings, SP'25 STD (Dec 30/24 – Feb 9/25) 2+ airings, confirmed to Feb 2/25, CDN SPEC COM ENG excluding sports SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS: Follow W Network on Facebook, InstagramFollow STACKTV on Instagram @stacktv W Network is a Corus Entertainment Network. About Corus Entertainment Inc. Corus Entertainment Inc. (TSX: CJR.B) is a leading media and content company that develops and delivers high quality brands and content across platforms for audiences around the world. Engaging audiences since 1999, the company's portfolio of multimedia offerings encompass 30 specialty television services, 37 radio stations, 15 conventional television stations, digital and streaming platforms, and social digital agency and media services. Corus' roster of premium brands includes Global Television, W Network, Flavour Network, Home Network, The HISTORY® Channel, Showcase, Adult Swim, National Geographic and Global News, along with streaming platforms STACKTV, TELETOON+, the Global TV App and Curiouscast. Corus is also the domestic advertising representative and an original content partner for Pluto TV, a Paramount Company, which is the leading free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) service. Corus is an internationally-renowned content creator, producer and distributor through Corus Studios and Nelvana. For more information visit SOURCE Corus Entertainment Inc. View original content:
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump is sending migrants to Guantanamo. One mother speaks out about her son's detention.
U.S. Marines with the 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2d Marine Division, disembark from a C-130 Hercules at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Feb. 1, 2025. The Marines have been deployed there as the Trump administration begins flights to Guantanamo Bay to detain up to 30,000 people who lack U.S. legal status. (U.S. Navy photo by Jovi Prevot) 'Trump is sending migrants from the U.S. to Guantanamo. One mother speaks out about her son's detention.' was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. This article is co-published with ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up for ProPublica's Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox as soon as they are published. Also, sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Less than a week after deporting Venezuelans detained at Guantanamo Bay, the Trump administration has again flown about two dozen migrants to the U.S. naval base in Cuba. This time, however, the migrants are from countries across the world, including from places that are willing to take them back, which has raised additional questions about whom the government is choosing to send there and why. ProPublica and The Texas Tribune interviewed Angela Sequera, the mother of one of the first migrants sent to Guantanamo. She described her fear and desperation upon learning that her son, Yoiker Sequera, had been transferred to the facility, which she knew only as a place where terrorists were held and tortured after the 9/11 attacks. On Feb. 9, Sequera was waiting for her daily phone call from Yoiker, who had been in an El Paso immigration detention facility since he was charged with entering the U.S. illegally late last year. When the phone finally rang, it wasn't her son but another detainee who told her that Yoiker had been taken to Guantanamo. 'It hit me like a bucket of cold water. I asked the man: 'Why? Why? Why?'' Sequera recalled. She said the detainee told her that the federal government was trying to link Yoiker to Tren de Aragua, a notorious Venezuelan gang known for migrant smuggling and other crimes in Latin America. She panicked. She couldn't understand why this was happening. She and some of the relatives of 178 Venezuelans who were among the first migrants transferred to Guantanamo by the U.S. government scrambled to try to establish contact with their loved ones, scoured the internet and exchanged messages on an impromptu WhatsApp group. ProPublica and The Texas Tribune obtained records about Yoiker and two other Venezuelans taken to Guantanamo. A search of U.S. federal court records found that Yoiker and another man had no crimes except for illegal entry, while a third had been convicted for assaulting a federal officer during a riot while in detention. 'My son is not a criminal. He has no record. He has nothing to do with gangs. He does not belong to any Tren de Aragua,' said Sequera, who shared documentation from Venezuelan authorities that stated he did not have a criminal history. On Feb. 21, after 13 days without hearing from her son, Sequera got a call from Yoiker. He had been released and was back in Venezuela, but he refused to discuss the time he spent detained at the naval base. 'I think he does it to not make me worry,' said Sequera, who is among the plaintiffs named in a lawsuit filed by immigrants' rights advocates seeking legal access to the migrants in Guantanamo. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said this week that nearly half of the Venezuelans originally detained at Guantanamo were members of the Tren de Aragua gang and that many had serious criminal records. DHS did not provide evidence to support that assertion. DHS also said in court filings this month that Guantanamo will continue to 'temporarily house' migrants before they are 'removed to their home country or a safe third country.' Migrants on recent flights to Guantanamo have come from El Salvador, Nicaragua, Egypt, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Guinea, Vietnam, Cambodia and Senegal, according to government data shared with ProPublica and the Tribune. DHS did not respond to multiple requests for comment about the most recent transfers. 'We continue to know very little about the conditions there, who the government is sending there and why this is happening,' said Zoe Bowman, an attorney with the El Paso-based Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, which is also a plaintiff in the lawsuit. We can't wait to welcome you to the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, Texas' breakout ideas and politics event happening Nov. 13–15 in downtown Austin. Step inside the conversations shaping the future of education, the economy, health care, energy, technology, public safety, culture, the arts and so much more. Hear from our CEO, Sonal Shah, on TribFest 2025. TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase. This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at
The Guardian
02-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The week in TV: Toxic Town; Small Town, Big Story; Israel and the Palestinians: The Road to 7th October; Dope Girls
Toxic Town (Netflix)Small Town, Big Story (Sky Max)Israel and the Palestinians: The Road to 7 October (BBC Two) | iPlayerDope Girls (BBC One) | iPlayer Sometimes TV drama has a job to do: drag skeletons out of closets and let them rattle. So it is with Toxic Town, the four-part Netflix real-life drama from Jack Thorne, initially set in the mid-1990s, about industrial poisonings in 1980s/90s Corby, Northamptonshire that led to birth defects, including missing limbs. The son of outspoken Susan (Jodie Whittaker) has a hand affected; the daughter of gentle Tracey (Aimee Lou Wood) dies soon after birth. Maggie, played by Claudia Jessie from Bridgerton, has a son with a disfigured foot. Many others are born with abnormalities, caused by lethal dust irresponsibly churned up by the protracted and mishandled clean-up and redevelopment of a former steel plant in the 1980s and 90s, leading to a 2009 court case that set a legal precedent for a link between airborne toxins and birth defects. Corby is another character here – an area struggling to regenerate, with some people prepared to cut health and safety corners to ensure it does so. Scottish accents are everywhere (so many Scots settled in Corby, it was dubbed 'Little Scotland'). Toxic Town also features male acting powerhouses: Downton Abbey's Brendan Coyle as the council boss ('New Labour, new Corby'); Robert Carlyle as a whistleblowing councillor; Michael Socha and Joe Dempsie as fathers; Rory Kinnear as a dogged decent lawyer. At heart, though, Toxic Town is about working-class mothers who refuse to belt up. In a drama so steeped in maternal anger and grief, it's crucial that the women are convincing, and they are, in particular Whittaker as fiery, lairy Susan ('Keep your wig on!'). At times, exposition billows around almost as much as the noxious dust, and there's too much emphasis on woolly legal minutiae. Nor is it quite at the level of Mr Bates vs the Post Office, though (spoiler alert) it is stirring to witness the mothers win their case (even if, as stated in a postscript, no one faced criminal charges and there are still toxic landfills everywhere). Those concerns aside, Toxic Town emerges as a complex, devastating story told with heart. Respect for its subjects pours from the screen. What exactly is Small Town, Big Story, the new Sky Max series created, written and directed by Chris O'Dowd (The IT Crowd)? It's a comedy-drama about a Hollywood TV production invading the fictional Irish town of Drumbán to make a terrible Games of Thrones-esque fantasy series called I Am Celt. It also has a sci-fi element, with dead birds falling from the sky, and an incident involving a Hollywood producer (Christina Hendricks of Mad Men fame) and Drumbán doctor (Paddy Considine) back when they were teenage sweethearts. O'Dowd shows up as a rascally creative, but the cast is led by Hendricks and Considine, whose wheelchair-user teacher wife (Eileen Walsh) steals the show with her unabashed sexual antics. Elsewhere, much of the humour lies in the eccentricity of the locals, which gets a little wearing (it's funniest when it's character-based and dry). At the end of six episodes, STBS remains confusing – kind of an Irish Local Hero meets Seth Rogen's Paul – but at its best it's entertaining – and the fantasy show spoofing ('Oi am Celt!') is genuinely funny. Any chance Sky could make it for real? Documentarian Norma Percy is known for tackling huge, serious subjects (from The Death of Yugoslavia to Putin vs the West). Her new three-part BBC Two docuseries, Israel and the Palestinians: The Road to 7 October, largely focuses on the two decades leading up to the Hamas atrocities in Israel in 2023. Some may consider this too tight a time-frame for such a sprawling, labyrinthine subject, but it enables Percy to focus on her speciality: accessing central players and letting them speak. Interviewees include former prime ministers (Israel's Ehud Omert and Tony Blair) and also, controversially, Hamas leaders Khaled Mashal and Ismail Haniyeh (the latter was assassinated weeks after his interview). Elsewhere, there are diplomats, politicians and former US secretaries of state Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice. 'American secretaries of state are like moths to a flame when it comes to the Middle East,' observes Rice, wryly. You watch as sundry US presidents (Obama, Trump, Biden) attempt to help establish the two-state solution with Palestine's former prime minister Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli prime ministers, including Ariel Sharon, Omert and Benjamin Netanyahu. As shown here, everything fails: from the time it is elected, Hamas refuses to recognise Israel as a state or lay down arms; in turn, there is the expansion of Israeli settlements on the West Bank in violation of international law, and the bombing of the Al-Aqsa mosque. A torrent of reasons are aired, too numerous and complicated to list here. The events of 7 October barely feature, which feels jarring (especially considering the ongoing hostage situation), but then neither is there much on the bombing of Gaza. In the main, this is a docuseries that opts to stay impartial and maintain strict focus on the two decades of Middle Eastern and international politics. Percy's take isn't perfect (you sense she was overwhelmed with material and could have easily included a fourth instalment), but as a detailed, measured overview, it delivers. Having caught up with new BBC drama Dope Girls, I've learned that it's not the failed female Peaky Blinders I was expecting. Created and written by Polly Stenham and Alex Warren, it's set in London in the chaotic, violent aftermath of the first world war and focuses on women embracing lawlessness to set up a nightclub while a vicious Italian crime family hovers in the background. Delivering a tale of butchered bodies, drugs, occultism, sexual excess and more, the cast is strong: Julianne Nicholson (Mare of Easttown) is a mother driven to desperate lengths; Umi Myers plays an avant-garde dancer; Eliza Scanlen (Sharp Objects) is a dead-eyed undercover policewoman. Over six episodes, Dope Girls is scuppered repeatedly by grating production flourishes (scribblings on the screen, and the like) and overcooked symbolism (the first episode has Nicholson wandering around in angel wings like a festival teenager addled on CBD gummies). But the atmosphere is less Steven Knight, more Sarah Waters meets Angela Carter: left-field, dreamlike, female-centric, wild. Dope Girls can be overblown and messy, but it's also passionate and promising. Star ratings (out of five) Toxic Town ★★★★Small Town, Big Story ★★★Israel and the Palestinians: The Road to 7th October ★★★★Dope Girls ★★★ 1923(Paramount+) Much-anticipated second series return for Taylor Sheridan's gnarled, gritty western (a Yellowstone prequel), starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren. David Frost Vs (Sky Documentaries) A fascinating retrospective series of excerpts from Frost interviews, in which he verbally spars with everyone from Muhammad Ali to the Beatles. One for fans of the classic 20th-century long-form television interview. Loch Ness: They Created a Monster(BBC Two) Offbeat documentary about 'Nessie' that's also about the people from all over the world, from scientific teams to eccentrics, who yearn to glimpse the beast of Scottish Highlands legend.
