CHEAT SHEET

01

‘A TEACHER TO THE WORLD’

Actress Who Became Famous at 60 Dies at 91

Irma P. Hall, who had a decades-long career as a schoolteacher before becoming a Hollywood hit, has died.

Irma. P. Hall, known for her matriarchal roles, has died at 91 in Dallas, Texas, her family announced on Wednesday. Hall was renowned for her role as Big Mama in the 1997 film Soul Food, which won her an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress. She also received a Cannes Film Festival Prize for her performance as Marva Munson in the Coen brothers’ 2004 film, The Lady Killers. After more than twenty years as a teacher in Dallas public schools, Hall landed her first major film role at age 60, playing Aunt T. in A Family Thing, opposite James Earl Jones and Robert Duvall. Raymond St. Jacques noticed her reciting poetry in Dallas and cast her in the 1973 film A Book of Numbers. She would eventually make acting a full-time career in 1980 and went on to establish the Dallas Minority Repertory Theatre, where she developed young artists. She was a longtime member of the Inspiring Body of Christ Church in Dallas, where she read to children and was active in theater ministry. “She started as a teacher in the classroom but ended up being a teacher to the world,” her daughter, Irma Hall Crayton, wrote in a statement.

02

HOLIDAY HORROR

Deaths Reported After New York Building Suddenly Collapses

A building collapse in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn has killed two people and injured at least 17 others.

A building collapse in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn has led to at least two deaths and 17 injuries, authorities say. The collapse occurred early Wednesday afternoon, damaging the wall of an adjacent three-story building and leaving its bedrooms exposed to the air. Around 250 firefighters and other emergency responders have attempted to clear rubble and make rescues, with three people reportedly being pulled from the rubble hours later, including a pregnant woman. The area is largely residential, and more people may have been home for Veterans Day than any regular November weekday. During a news conference, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani told reporters, “This has been an incredibly challenging and fast-moving situation.” Fire Department Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said firefighters were unaware of how many people were in the building that collapsed. “This is such a very fragile situation,” the commissioner added. John Esposito, the city’s fire chief, said the main concern is a “secondary collapse,” adding that crews were working to mitigate further damage. The cause of the collapse is yet to be identified.

03

CANNED

Quentin Tarantino Reveals Why He Fired Actress on the Spot

The director has no patience for stars who skip a table read.

Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino reveals why he suddenly fired French actress Isabelle Huppert while making Inglourious Basterds. In the behind-the-scenes new book, The Making of Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, Tarantino says he fired Huppert, originally cast as Madame Ada Mimieux, because she missed a table read. “She didn’t show up, so f--- it. I fired her,” the director said, according to an excerpt published by People. “I mean, I love Isabelle Huppert—Heaven’s Gate and all that—but there were issues with her contract. It just kept stalling. And then not coming to the table read. Well, we cast Maggie Cheung instead,” Tarantino continued. ”As far as I’m concerned, if you’re cast and you are not at that table, I don’t owe you jack s--t! You can be fired, especially if I get excited by what somebody else did in your absence.” During editing, Cheung’s scenes were cut after Tarantino decided the character wasn’t needed in the story.

04

LUCKY ESCAPE

Pilots Take Drastic Measures to Avoid Runway Disaster

Pilots had to think quickly when they saw another plane blocking the runway.

An Alaska Airlines flight had to scrap its landing at San Francisco International Airport on Tuesday after a pilot saw another plane blocking the runway. Alaska Flight 528 performed a go-around before eventually landing at SFO. “There was an airplane that was taxiing across the end of the runway that was questionable, in terms of the proximity to our arrival runway,” the pilot said. “It wasn’t a gentle motion. It wasn’t like we came down, and then gently went up. We were coming down, and then the up was a bit of a jerk,” said Jake Milstein, a passenger on the Boeing 737. “Everybody looked at each other on the plane like, what’s happening here,” he said. Aborted landings or “go-arounds” occur in about one to three out of every 1,000 flights, the Federal Aviation Administration reports. The move usually involves a plane climbing back into the air, canceling the planned landing to avoid a collision.

05

BAD CALL

NFL Coach Turns Himself in for Nashville Hit-and-Run

His $6,000 bond was scrapped.

NFL analyst and former New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan turned himself in to authorities Wednesday morning for running two people over in his truck in downtown Nashville and fleeing the scene. Authorities arrested Ryan, 63, on a $6,000 bond, but he was later released as he qualified for pretrial release on nonfinancial conditions. He now faces two counts of leaving the scene of an accident, two counts of failing to give information or render aid, and two counts of failing to obey a traffic control signal. Ryan allegedly turned right at an intersection shortly before midnight Thursday, running over both victims’ feet and striking one of their legs. Both suffered injuries, although not critical. Ryan stopped at a red light where the pedestrians confronted him. He allegedly then got out of the vehicle and argued with the pedestrians before returning to his truck and driving away. Ryan coached the Jets for six seasons, leading them to consecutive AFC Championship Games in his first two seasons. He later coached the Buffalo Bills in 2015 and 2016. ESPN said in a statement that they’re “aware and in touch” with Ryan.

06

A LIFE ON SCREEN

Soap Opera Actor Dead at 75

The star also appeared in Maroon 5’s “Sugar” music video.

Randall England, best known for playing the villain Jack Slater on General Hospital, has died at 75, his family announced. They said England died of esophageal cancer in Los Angeles. Born in 1951 in Oklahoma City, England launched a modeling career in the 1970s after moving to New York City, then began taking acting lessons. He appeared in movies such as Ruby and Oswald, Looker, Star Crystal, Dream Machine, Skyscraper, Hellborn, Cat City, Beverly Hills Chihuahua and Shiner, and on television in Dallas, The Young and the Restless and Baywatch, among other credits. In 1984, he landed his star role on General Hospital as villain Jack Slater, where he stayed for nearly a year before his character was killed in a shootout. England also appeared in Maroon 5’s “Sugar” music video. He later settled in Beverly Hills, where he lived for over forty years. England is survived by daughter Micaela Reed (Sam); grandchildren Katherine and Julian; mother Catherine Burgess; sister Linda Baker; and extended family.

07

OH DEAR

MAGA ‘Black Nazi’ Makes Humiliating Admission

He previously filed for bankruptcy in 2003.

North Carolina’s Trump-loving former lieutenant governor, who declared himself a “black NAZI!,” has filed for bankruptcy. Mark Robinson’s 2024 gubernatorial campaign for the Tar Heel state fell apart after messages he’d sent on a porn site’s chatboard were featured in a CNN article. It reported that, under a username, he used the term to describe himself, said he supported reinstating slavery, and professed a love for transgender porn. It was later reported by The Washington Post that he had described Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as a “good read” and “a real eye-opener.” The 58-year-old and his wife, Yolanda Hill, sought Chapter 13 protections this week under the federal bankruptcy code, according to filings obtained by WRAL-TV. The filing is reported to have shown he had $766.98 in liquid assets but owed creditors nearly $800,000. Robinson won the GOP’s nomination for governor of North Carolina in 2024 but was easily beaten by Attorney General Josh Stein after CNN’s report. Speaking on the After the Call podcast in March, Robinson admitted: “President Trump and I had become very good friends. And I realized how important it was for President Trump to win that race.” He added: “I certainly don’t want to be the person that costs the president of the United States the election.” He previously filed for bankruptcy in 2003.

08

CATASTROPHIC CRASH

Son of Hollywood Stars Arrested in Deadly Hit-and-Run

Sabàto allegedly fled the scene after fatally striking a man in Alaska.

The son of soap star Antonio Sabàto Jr. and Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen fled the scene after killing a man while driving in Anchorage, charging documents obtained by KTUU allege. Jack Sabàto, 32, was allegedly driving a white Chevy Tahoe when he hit Carl Simmonds, 42, near an intersection around 5:35 a.m. Monday. Simmonds was discovered in the road 15 minutes after the crash and declared dead at the scene. “We all just found out the terrible news and our family is digesting this horrible news and asking for privacy in this devastating news. Thank you,” Sabàto Jr. told TMZ. Sabàto was arrested and charged with leaving the scene of an accident without assisting the injured and leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in injury or death. Sabàto’s uncle is also the late Michael Madsen, who starred in Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, The Hateful Eight, and Kill Bill movies. Sabato Jr. and Madsen dated from 1993 to 1998. Police tracked down Sabàto’s car hours after the crash, with “fresh damage to the right front corner that was consistent with a pedestrian strike.”

09

OPENING UP

‘Days of Our Lives’ Star, 80, Reveals Parkinson’s Diagnosis

“I realized I was shaking all over the place,” the 80-year-old said.

“Days of Our Lives” star James Reynolds opened up about his Parkinson’s diagnosis in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. The TV actor said he hid his health struggles for years, until the soap opera’s writers began to notice his symptoms. “I realized I was shaking all over the place,” the 80-year-old said. Reynolds, who joined the show in 1981, said his diagnosis will be written into his character, Abe Carver’s, storyline. “There are many other characters who have gone through real-life issues that are then mirrored on the show,” the Daytime Emmy winner said. “This is an issue that is going to be mirrored on the show, and there is nothing any of us can really do about it.” Reynolds recently marked 45 years of playing Carver on the hit soap opera. He is the longest-running Black actor in a single series in TV history.

10

GOODBYE, L.A.

Angelina Jolie’s New Estate Location Revealed

The Hollywood actress is moving to the East Coast.

Angelina Jolie is fleeing Los Angeles and her ex, Brad Pitt, and is headed to Connecticut. The Oscar-winning actress sold her 11,000-square-foot L.A. mansion for $24.75 million after originally listing it for $29.85 million. Jolie, 51, purchased the six-bedroom, 10-bathroom home in 2017, after splitting from Pitt, 62, which was once home to legendary filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille. The Maleficent actress has long said she was only staying in L.A. to be close to family. “I am here because I have to be here from a divorce, but as soon as they’re 18, I’ll be able to leave,” Jolie told the Hollywood Reporter in 2024. She kept her word. Jolie and Pitt have six children, three adopted and three biological. Their youngest, biological twins Knox and Vivienne, turned 18 in July. She had previously implied she would move abroad after leaving California, telling reporters earlier this year that while she still “loves” America, she no longer “recognize[s]” it the way she once did. Jolie also owns property in Manhattan and in Cambodia.