Telling stories about post war britain popular individualism and the crisis of the 1970s

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 In the wake of Hulu's series "Pam and Tommy," it feels apt for Pamela Anderson to tell her story without talk show hosts interjecting jokes about her breasts. Coinciding with the release of Anderson's memoir, "Love, Pamela," the documentary "Pamela, a Love Story" strips Anderson down without sexualizing her, something that has been woefully missing from her narrative. Years of the "Baywatch" star's diaries, VHS tapes and personal photos provide unpolished snapshots of her life, leaving audiences with a rough portrait of the person behind the packaging. Director Ryan White ("Good Night Oppy") pieces together Anderson's life chronologically, though all roads seem to lead back to her ex-husband Tommy Lee. Their short-lived relationship blemishes so much of Anderson's story, which is punctuated by comments from the pair's two adult sons. It's not a happy story. Rather, it's the … [Read more...] about New movies to stream this week: ‘Pamela, a Love Story’ and more

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 15 LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England announced another “forceful” increase in interest rates Thursday, saying it was too soon to declare victory against inflation that has slowed slightly but is still fueling a cost-of-living crisis, public-sector strikes and fears of recession. The bank raised its key rate by half a percentage point, to 4%, resisting the temptation to follow the U.S. Federal Reserve in easing its response to the crisis. The British central bank has approved four straight increases of a half-point or more since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered sharp rises in food and energy prices. “We have done a lot on rates already … but it is too soon to declare victory just yet,” bank Gov. Andrew Bailey said at a news conference. “Inflationary pressures are still there … and we need to be absolutely sure … [Read more...] about Bank of England rate hike says ‘too soon to declare victory’

Against the Wind: Edward Kennedy and the Rise of Conservatism, 1976-2009 By Neal Gabler Crown. 1,227 pp. $45 - - - By John A. Farrell Penguin Press. 738 pp. $40 - - - In his 47 years in the United States Senate - from the high promise of his brother Jack's presidency to the hard slog of Barack Obama's first months in the White House - Edward M. Kennedy accomplished as much as anyone who ever served in that body. During that half-century, Kennedy's large extended family was at the center of a cascade of unimaginable tragedies, including his brothers' assassinations, his near-fatal plane crash, cancer diagnoses for two of his children, divorce, drug addiction, sex scandals and the premature deaths of several other relatives. Perhaps most important, Ted Kennedy emerged after his brother Robert's death in 1968 as the chief torchbearer of American liberalism, even as it came under attack from an insurgent political right. Kennedy's rich, dramatic, consequential life … [Read more...] about Book World: Two books capture the messy, monumental life of Ted Kennedy

Rian Johnson's 2019 mystery "Knives Out" features an unlikely but convenient fact: The protagonist vomits whenever she lies. This advisedly clunky emphasis on fibs and their detection is something of a Johnson trademark. One non-villainous character in his 2022 Netflix film "Glass Onion," for instance, indicts some others with a tellingly ornate accusation: "You would lie for a lie, but you won't lie for the truth." The point isn't honesty, exactly; Johnson's approach is a little more complex. "Poker Face," Johnson's new Peacock series, takes this preoccupation - and the director's longtime love of mysteries and detectives - to its logical conclusion. Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne), the amateur sleuth in this case-of-the-week procedural, is a human lie detector. The show, which debuted last week, is delightful, nostalgic, surprising and funny. Animated by quick and effective world-building, it uses Lyonne's particular star power to great effect. As detective fiction, however, … [Read more...] about Natasha Lyonne soars in ‘Poker Face.’ If only the mysteries did.

FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. - Some nights, Tara Boyd wishes she and her husband had just given up when the eight-foot storm surge from Hurricane Ian flooded their mobile home, forcing them to swim out into the storm. It would have been "easy to let go and just drift away," she said. But they fought to survive. And they've been doing that ever since. She hates to admit that living after Ian feels harder than living through its terror. She can't help it, especially on the really hard, frustrating days spent at a Federal Emergency Management Agency recovery center obtaining no real answers about the progress of their aid applications and then getting into their black Dodge Nitro, which they've been living out of since November. Boyd, 43, thinks about it when she watches her husband, Gerald Boyd, a veteran who was still recovering from a stroke when the storm hit in September, squeeze his long, hulking frame into the passenger seat at night to sleep. To deal with his cramping legs and … [Read more...] about For some, life after Ian is ‘more tragic than the hurricane itself’

WASHINGTON - Almost from the day news broke that classified documents had turned up in the home and former office of President Biden, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has responded to questions about the matter by essentially not responding. "I would refer you to the White House Counsel's Office," she has said repeatedly. At Friday's press briefing, Jean-Pierre invoked the phrase or some variation of it eight times - including in response to a question about whether the White House has done an effective job communicating about the lingering controversy. As monotonous as it was, it wasn't even a record. A few days earlier, she fell back on the same response 25 times. On Wednesday, after FBI agents conducted a search of Biden's beach home, reporters repeatedly asked if the White House had been "transparent" about the investigation. "What should the public take away from the fact that you're keeping information like this from the public?" asked Associated Press … [Read more...] about Questioned on Biden documents, his press secretary has only one answer