Author: Jonathan

Depending on where in the United States you live and whom you work for, Columbus Day may be a day off with pay, another holiday entirely, or no different from any other Monday at Working on Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples’ Day? It depends on where your job is. Columbus Day, the second Monday in October, is one of the most inconsistently celebrated U.S. holidays. It’s one of 11 official federal holidays, which means federal workers get a paid day off and there’s no mail delivery. Because federal offices will be closed, so will most banks and the bond markets that trade in U.S.…

Nationally, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are essentially tied among registered voters in the current snapshot of the presidential race: 46% prefer Harris, 45% prefer Trump and 7% prefer Robert F. Kennedy Jr at The presidential matchup: Harris, Trump, Kennedy. Following Biden’s exit from the race, Trump’s support among voters has remained largely steady (44% backed him in July against Biden, while 45% back him against Harris today). However, Harris’ support is 6 percentage points higher than Biden’s was in July. In addition to holding on to the support of those who backed Biden in July, Harris’…

For decades, Pew Research Center has been committed to measuring public attitudes on key issues and documenting differences in those attitudes across demographic groups. One lens often employed by researchers at the Center to understand these differences is that of generation. Generations provide the opportunity to look at Americans both by their place in the life cycle – whether a young adult, a middle-aged parent or a retiree – and by their membership in a cohort of individuals who were born at a similar time at Defining generations: Where Millennials end and Generation Z begins. Generational cohorts provide academics with…

The newest federal holiday, Juneteenth National Independence Day, celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. But at the state level, governments vary considerably in whether they commemorate it as an official holiday, a day of observance or something in between at More than half of states will recognize Juneteenth as an official public holiday in 2023. This year, at least 28 states and the District of Columbia will legally recognize Juneteenth as a public holiday – meaning state government offices are closed and state workers have a paid day off – according to a Pew Research Center analysis of…

“Bridgerton” has cast Yerin Ha as Benedict Bridgerton’s love interest for Season 4. According to sources, Ha will play Sophie Beckett in the upcoming season of the hit Shondaland-Netflix series. As previously announced, Season 4 will tell Benedict’s (Luke Thompson) love story and will be based on the events of Julia Quinn’s third “Bridgerton” novel, “An Offer From a Gentleman.” Reps for Netflix and Shondaland declined to comment. Reps for Ha did not immediately respond to request for comment at ‘Bridgerton’ Season 4 Casts Yerin Ha as Benedict’s Love Interest Sophie Beckett (EXCLUSIVE). Popular on Variety “The fourth season of ‘Bridgerton’ turns…

“Next time you see some haters in my comments saying, ‘All he does is crowd work, it’s so easy’ — is it?!” the comedian Matt Rife asks his audience. The 28-year-old social media star has clearly retained the defensiveness that marked so much of “Natural Selection,” his debut Netflix hour from last fall best remembered for an effectively rage-baiting, if groanworthy, bit about domestic violence. But in “Lucid,” his latest hours, Rife’s typical hobbyhorses — dick jokes, mostly, plus the aforementioned chip on his shoulder — are refracted through his audience, a few hundred fans gathered at the Comedy Zone in Charlotte, North Carolina…

2023 was a unique year for horror, with films ranging from microbudget fare to Hollywood sequels making headlines. Before revealing the top spots, here are some honorable mentions: “Saw X” — Even though it’s the 10th chapter in the long-running franchise, “Saw X” takes a decidedly back-to-basics approach by going back in time and making the menacing Jigsaw killer, John Kramer, the protagonist. After he’s duped into paying for a fake miracle surgery to cure his cancer, Kramer seeks revenge on the faux doctors in the only way he knows how. The twists are plentiful and the traps are stomach-churning, and…

Post Malone has made such a focused charm offensive on Nashville that it’s less a question of who is on his new, full-on country album “F-1 Trillion” than who isn’t: legends like Dolly Parton and Hank Williams Jr., vets like Tim McGraw and Blake Shelton, reigning chart champ Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs, virtuosos like Chris Stapleton and Bill Strings, relative newcomers Jelly Roll and Lainey Wilson, and many others across the album’s sprawling 18 songs — just three of them aren’t duets (except for the nine solo bonus tracks that he surprise-dropped 12 hours after the album’s release) at Post Malone’s ‘F-1 Trillion’:…

There may be as many types of excellence as there are excellent shows. Series can wow us with how broadly they changed society, from “Seinfeld” redefining American slang to “Mad Men” bearing all the hallmarks of an early-21st-century TV Golden Age to “The Oprah Winfrey Show” making daytime viewers feel part of a special club of millions. Or they can feel like closely held secrets, always ready to welcome curious viewers for the first time, like “The Leftovers” or “Enlightened.” They can bring together insights about a rapidly shifting society with humor that stands the test of time, like the…

The Christopher Nolan-directed biopic starring Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Benny Safdie and Matt Damon is available to watch at home. Oppenheimer took home the most Oscars at the 96th Academy Awards, including best picture, best director for Christopher Nolan, best actor for Cillian Murphy and best supporting actor for Robert Downey Jr. If you’ve yet to catch up on the three-and-a-half-hour film, you can stream Oppenheimer on Peacock. It’s also available to buy or rent online for streaming at Amazon’s Prime Video (where it’s on sale for nearly 40 percent off), Apple TV and other video-on-demand platforms at Where to Stream…