Disney has been on the lookout for two talented people to fill the roles of Rapunzel and Flynn Rider in the popular animation "Tangled." They have been planning to recreate this beloved film since 2024, and, after much research, they finally set their sights on  "Titans" actress Teagan Croft and "Zombies" star Milo Manheim.

Disney started the new year off by delivering the exciting announcement on January 7, 2026 and marking a hopeful release date falling in the year 2027. Filming is expected to begin mid-2026 in the UK. The animation was released on November 24, 2010, making its 16 year anniversary later this year.

The director of this upcoming production is Michael Gracey, who also directed the well known movie, "The Greatest Showman." Jennifer Kaytin Robinson is the writer of the new movie, after just wrapping up her recent work, "I Know What You Did Last Summer."

While Croft and Manheim are the only two confirmed actors so far, there have been rumors of Disney trying to recruit Kathryn Hahn, and earlier, Scarlett Johansson.

Netflix just released a film adaptation of Emily Henry's best selling book, "People We Meet on Vacation." The book was published in 2021 and quickly became a fan favorite. Soon after, Netflix announced they were going to be turning the admired book into a movie. Popular "Hunger Games" star Tom Blyth was cast as the male main character, Alex, and Emily Bladder was cast as the female main character, Poppy. 

The movie has many different settings as it goes back and forth between the past nine years of their friendship. Poppy is a travel writer, reviewing and encouraging people to visit various vacation spots. Whereas, Alex is an English Teacher in Linfield, Ohio, the town both Alex and Poppy come from. The two are polar opposites, but they soon learn that opposites attract. Their story is full of love and hardship, but at the end of the day, they always find their way back to each other. 

As someone who has both read the book and watched the movie, they are both great and well worth your time. 

As round 1 of the NFL playoffs are wrapping up, these are the remaining teams left:

Saturday January 17, 2025:

Bills vs. Broncos at 3:30 pm streaming on Fubo, Hulu TV Live, NFL+, and Youtube TV

49ers vs. Seahawks at 7:00 pm streaming on FOX, Fubo, Hulu Live TV, and NFL+

Sunday January 18, 2025:

Texans vs. Patriots at 2:00 pm streaming on ESPN, Fubo, Hulu Live TV, Sling TV, NFL+ and Youtube TV

Rams vs. Bears at 5:30 pm streaming on NBC

At halftime, the score was 21-3—Packers taking the lead. All hope for the Bears winning a playoff game was lost. Fans were accepting their fate. Then the final score ended in 27-31 with the Bears claiming the victory. How in the world did this happen?

At the end of the first quarter, the Bears only secured 3 points with a successful field goal from Cairo Santos. The Packers had a touchdown made by Christian Watson and a field goal from Brandon McManus, earning that extra point. The score was 7-3.

Then halftime ended, with the score listed from before. The Packers scored 2 touchdowns, one from Jayden Reed and the other from Romeo Doubs, both earning an extra point from McManus. The Bears were predicted to lose at this point. The third quarter carried that same disappointment, with the Bears only scoring another 3 points thanks to Santos.

And then madness struck in the fourth quarter. Santos makes another field goal, placing the score at 21-9. Just a few minutes later, D’Andre Swift scores a touchdown (Score: 21-16). The Packers then score a touchdown as well, thanks to Matthew Golden; however, the field goal was incomplete (Score: 27-16). Olamide Zaccheaus then scores a touchdown for the Bears, and Colston Loveland catches the ball for the 2-point conversion (Score: 27-24). Finally, to end the game, D.J. Moore scores a touchdown, with the extra point following. The final score, as previously stated, was 27-31.

The Packers unfortunately had their season end, but the Bears advanced in the playoffs. This was one of the craziest comebacks in NFL history.

So on Tiktok there is this influencer named Benny, he started off the new year with a video that had some very offensive language and he posted it. After a few hours of it going viral and people are screen shooting the video and sharing it to everyone it gets deleted. Now after it all being deleted he gets exposed by tons of different influencers that have multiple things to say about him. This girl named Sky was hanging out at this one girl's house and Benny was saying he was going to expose her, so she smacked his wrist to get him to stop while he was calling it abuse. He went live multiple times on youtube and tiktok with all these random people that are defending him. He is now banned on tiktok until further notice, but there are still stories going around about what else he has done.

Since the beginning of our school, roughly around September, I have covered several major protests all across the world such as Nepal, Madagascar, and Bulgaria all throughout our school year. Once more another nation has joined the list of mass protests. 

Shortly before the New Year, protests in Iran broke out, after a few days the protests turned deadly. For nearly 3 weeks protests have gone on and for 3 weeks the Iranian people have been getting severely punished by the nation's security forces.

The protest started on December 28th. The protest began over the fact that the Iranian Currency, the Rial, once again collapsed. At this point so many people were sick of economic instability after going through it many times before. Before they knew it people began taking to the streets. The economic unrest gave thousands of others a chance to go out and protest their own movements, specifically many people who showed disdain against the nation’s theocracy.

A theocratic style of government, or simply a theocracy, is a form of government used primarily in the middle east. Its form of government is unique as rather than having a dictator or a group of people ruling, the nation is controlled by religious officials and powers and many laws are based on religion. This form of government at times unfortunately leads to religious supremacy, and oppression of other groups, so when given the chance the activists took it.

When protests became violent about 2 weeks ago the Iranian Government forced a nationwide internet black out and cut off electricity for much of the major cities in order to further prevent the organization of protests, movement groups, and other combatants.

Since the start of the protests, it is reported that over 2,500 people have been brutally murdered, with several thousand more incarcerated by the nation's security forces. The protesters did not go willingly however as the police and military guard death toll has surpassed 100. 

We are witnessing some of the most extreme history of our time. This has been not only the biggest but also one of the deadliest demonstrations in Iranian history. During the 1979 Iranian revolution, only about 2000-2500 were killed in 13 months. At the time you are reading this, 2600 people currently lay dead in Iran, with hundreds, even thousands more unconfirmed deaths. All of those Iranians were killed within 17 Days.

As the people continue to protest, officials from all over the world consider intervening, specifically American president, Donald Trump. United Nations officials and international humanitarian efforts attempt to make their way into Iran but with not as much success. 

My heart goes out to all the families and friends who lost loved ones fighting for justice. We can only hope and pray for the people of Iran that this conflict may hopefully come to an end soon, and that hopefully the Iranians can be rid of their tyrants.

After months of speculation in the Broadway community, it has been officially announced that Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey will star in a revival of Stephen Sondheim’s musical Sunday in the Park with George at the Barbican Theatre in London.

The pair recently starred in the two-part film adaptation of Wicked. Grande played Glinda Upland, the eventual Good Witch of the North, and Bailey played Prince Fiyero Tigelaar. Their performances won critical acclaim and Grande’s portrayal of Glinda led to an Oscar nomination.

This musical will mark the first time in 14 years that Grande has performed in a stage-musical, previously starring in 13 and A Snow White Christmas, and her first time performing in a show in London. Bailey will be returning to London theatres after previously winning an Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor in Musical for his performance in Company.

Sunday in the Park with George was first staged on Broadway in 1984 with Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin. The original production was nominated for 10 Tony Awards, ultimately winning 2, and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The show is based off of George Seurat’s painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte and revolves around a fictionalized version of the famous artist and his complicated relationship with his mistress Dot.

This newest production opens up many possibilities for the pair. It’s possible that come 2027, Ariana Grande may become an Olivier Award winning actress for her performance as Dot. The Olivier Awards are the highest honor someone could achieve in British theatre. If the London run is successful, a Broadway transfer could even materialize, offering Tony Award possibilities for both.

The musical will officially open in the Summer of 2027. Tickets will go on sale in May of this year.