U.S. Orders Americans Out of Iraq as Threat Escalates

American citizens have been ordered to leave parts of the Middle East as aggression fueled by President Donald Trump’s war on Iran continues to spread throughout the region. An alert was sent by the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, on Saturday, ordering Americans out of the country entirely. “Iran-aligned terrorist militias have encouraged and carried out indiscriminate attacks against U.S. citizens and U.S.-associated targets throughout Iraq, including in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq,” the Arabic message reads. “U.S. citizens should leave Iraq immediately.” Since the start of Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28, the U.S. has issued an unprecedented number of Level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisories. Americans in at least 16 different countries and territories have been issued “depart now” orders, including Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. At least four major embassies have suspended operations across the region as Iranian retaliation for the war continues to rage. “President Trump, Secretary of State Rubio, and the Department of State have no higher priority than the safety and security of American citizens,” the Baghdad Embassy wrote.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer will remain in its coffin, according to the iconic ‘90s TV show’s star. Sarah Michelle Gellar updated fans on Instagram that the planned reboot of the supernatural series is no longer going ahead. “I am really sad to have to share this, but I wanted you all to hear it from me,” Gellar, 48, said in a video posted to the platform. “Unfortunately, Hulu has decided not to move forward with Buffy: New Sunnydale.” The I Know What You Did Last Summer actor was scheduled to work as an executive producer on the revival of her breakout show, which ran between 1997 and 2003. Oscar-winning filmmaker Chloé Zhao (Hamnet, Nomadland) had been pegged to direct the series, which has been in development since February of last year, and Gellar thanked her for the opportunity to reprise her role. “I want to thank Chloé Zhao, because I never thought I would find myself back in Buffy’s stylish yet affordable boots,” she said. “And thanks to Chloé, I was reminded how much I love her and how much she means not only to me but to all of you.” Gellar led Buffy for seven seasons and told fans that “if the apocalypse actually comes, you can still beep me.”

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Awards season’s biggest night is here: the Academy Awards will once again take place live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The ceremony will be broadcast live on ABC and streamed through ABC.com and Hulu (for Hulu subscribers, including those on the base plan), bringing together Hollywood’s biggest stars to celebrate the best films of the past year.

If you’re planning to tune in live, the broadcast begins at 7:00 p.m. EDT/ 4 p.m. PDT, with pre-show and red carpet coverage starting at 3:00 p.m. EDT/ 12 p.m. PDT. Cable subscribers can watch the ceremony live by logging into their account at ABC.com, but if you’ve cut the cord, you still have plenty of options for streaming the Oscars in real time. Several live TV streaming platforms carry ABC in their channel lineups, allowing viewers to watch the ceremony without a traditional cable subscription, including DirecTV and Sling TV.

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We like DirecTV because it is currently offering its MyNews Genre Pack for $34.99 per month (normally $39.99) for the first two months, which includes live access to ABC so you can stream the 2026 Oscars (valid only for new subscribers. Meanwhile, Sling TV’s Blue plan starts at $55/month. Just make sure ABC is available in your area before subscribing, since the network is only offered in select markets on Sling TV.

Whether you’re tuning in for the red carpet fashion, viral acceptance speeches, or to see which film takes home the coveted Best Picture trophy, there are plenty of ways to watch the Oscars live—with or without cable.

A man paid by Texas Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s campaign for security services was shot and killed by police during a dramatic standoff in Dallas. The man, identified by authorities as Mike King, had been wanted by police over allegations he was impersonating a law enforcement officer while operating a private security service, according to CBS. Police said the situation escalated when officers attempted to confront King, who fled and ultimately barricaded himself inside a vehicle in a hospital parking garage. Officers deployed tear gas after King allegedly pulled a gun on them during the standoff. King was shot and killed during the confrontation. Investigators told the outlet King had been driving what appeared to be a replica police vehicle and was allegedly using stolen license plates taken from cars parked outside military recruiting offices. Campaign finance records reviewed by CBS show Crockett’s campaign paid King for “security services,” with the last payment made in 2025. The Daily Beast has reached out to Crockett’s office and the Dallas Police for comment.

A man calling himself “Catman” completed a 4,000-mile walk across Australia while dressed in a full-body cat costume. Viral sensation Kentaro Jin set out from Carnarvon in Western Australia in November 2023 and reached his destination of the Sydney Opera House on the other side of the country on Saturday evening, local time. Jin pushed a yellow wheelbarrow across the coastline of the vast, arid country, raising roughly $50,000 for children’s cancer research along the way. At the finish line, Catman was met by thousands of supporters and well-wishers, many of whom had followed his journey online. Jin has amassed nearly 850,000 followers on Instagram, where he has been sharing his humorous interactions with Australian locals along his journey. The former construction worker is notable for his now-iconic good humour and cheerful demeanor. " I don’t want to be a hero trapped in a screen—I want to be a real presence that brings hope into the real world," Jin wrote on his GoFundMe account. Not content with the walk, he is now planning to cycle back to where he started, eventually completing a full lap of the country.

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After a few years of doing home workouts, I realized they never yielded the same results I used to get from working out at the gym. Recently, I excitedly returned to the gym, determined to get back into the shape I was in pre-pandemic. Ironically, I hurt myself badly each time I jumped back into my old routine. I was breaking down my joints or inadvertently causing injury by pushing myself to work out the same way I had a few years ago. So, I decided to look for a more low-impact fitness routine that I could do in the studio *and* at home without compromising results. Enter Pvolve.

After a bit of research (and finding out that Jennifer Aniston is a fan), I decided to order a Pvolve home fitness kit. Pvolve’s fitness approach is “an innovative low-impact toning workout designed to help you break a sweat, not your body.” Yes, please. This sounded like exactly what I needed, so I decided to give it a shot. I chose the Essentials Kit, which includes three months of online classes. After the trial period, classes start at as little as $7.50 a month—less than two oat milk lattes and way less than my gym membership. The Pvolve kits include a range of easy-to-use workout equipment, including patented P.ball, P.band, ankle weights, and more.

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After trying a class or two (which I viewed on my smart TV using a browser, though they also have apps), I was hooked on Pvolve’s gentle fitness approach—and the results I was seeing. The beginner classes are under “Get Started,” and even in these gentle workouts, I felt like my core was being engaged in new ways. I also appreciate that the workouts limber up areas that get sore while working at a desk all day, like the shoulders and hips. I’ve now been doing Pvolve’s workouts for almost two years, and it’s safe to say I understand why Jennifer Aniston loves the brand’s workouts.

If you’re looking for a low-impact strength-training routine that builds you up instead of breaking you down, Pvolve is a solid choice. Best of all? Right now, you can score 15 percent off sitewide with the code FF15.

Two-time Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times correspondent John F. Burns, one of the paper’s most celebrated foreign reporters, has died at 81. Burns died Thursday of pneumonia at a care facility in Cambridge, according to The New York Times. Born in Nottingham in 1944, Burns began his journalism career in 1971 at The Globe and Mail in Toronto, covering Beijing, China. He joined The New York Times in 1975 and spent the next four decades reporting from some of the world’s most dangerous conflict zones, including Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He was once described at the Times as the “consummate Foreign Desk fireman,” for his reputation for quickly getting to breaking news across the world. Over the course of his career, he also served in bureaus across South Africa, the Soviet Union, India, Pakistan, and London. During his tenure at the Times, he earned two Pulitzer Prize awards—first in 1993 for coverage of the Bosnian conflict and again in 1997 for reporting from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. He retired from the Times in 2015 with a career spanning 10 bureaus; his final assignment was covering the reburial of King Richard III. Burns is survived by his children, Jamie and Emily Scott-Long, from his first marriage, as well as a stepson and two sisters, Caroline and Bridget.

Heavy metal guitarist Phil Campbell—best known for his long run with Motörhead—has died at 64, according to a statement from his family. Loved ones announced the rocker’s death in a heartfelt Facebook tribute, remembering him as a “devoted husband, a wonderful father, and a proud and loving grandfather.” Campbell spent more than a decade shredding for Motörhead, joining the legendary metal group during one of its most influential eras alongside frontman Lemmy Kilmister. After Motörhead disbanded in 2015, Campbell formed a new band with his three sons and continued touring. The “Bastard Sons” group even returned to his hometown of Pontypridd in 2025, where they played a sold-out show at the Muni Arts Centre. Family members said the guitarist—affectionately known as “Bampi”—left behind a powerful legacy in both music and family. “His legacy, music and the memories he created with so many will live on forever,” the tribute read.

Prosecutors in Georgia dropped homicide charges against a teenager accused of fatally running over his teacher with his truck when a high school prank turned tragic. Jayden Wallace, 18, and a group of other students came to the Gainesville home of teacher and coach Jason Hughes, 40, to cover his property with toilet paper as part of an annual upperclassmen prank. Wallace struck Hughes with his truck after Hughes slipped and fell on the wet ground outside. Wallace, who viewed Hughes as a mentor, initially faced charges of vehicular homicide and reckless driving. The state then dropped the counts—a move supported by Hughes’ widow, Laura, who wanted to prevent “a separate tragedy... ruining the lives of these students.” Wallace’s attorney added that the charges were not appropriate because Wallace was not driving improperly at the time of Hughes’ death. “In the end, there was no crime—only an extremely sad and devastating accident,” defense attorney Graham McKinnon said. Though he is avoiding a potentially lengthy prison sentence, McKinnon said that “Jayden is still grieving deeply.” But that the teen “is determined to move forward eventually to live a life that would make Jason Hughes proud.” As for Hughes, his widow said he was “excited” to catch students playing pranks. His funeral is scheduled for March 14.

The escalating U.S. conflict with Iran is now spilling over into the world of Formula 1. Two highly anticipated Middle East races—the Bahrain Grand Prix and the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix—have been canceled amid growing regional instability, according to Sky News. The races had been scheduled for April 12 in Bahrain and April 19 in Saudi Arabia. But recent Iranian drone and missile attacks across the region—including strikes near Manama, where many F1 team personnel would have been staying—prompted officials to pull the plug on the events. Security concerns appear to have made the decision inevitable as the broader conflict shows no signs of cooling. During a briefing on Sunday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, 45, warned that recent U.S. strikes were “just the beginning,” suggesting the fighting could stretch on. The abrupt cancellation came just days before a March 20 freight deadline for transporting equipment to Bahrain for the race weekend. With the two races scrapped, the 2026 F1 calendar shrinks from 24 to 22 events. The shakeup also leaves a five-week gap in the schedule before the next stop on the circuit, the Miami Grand Prix on May 3.

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British actress Jane Lapotaire has died, aged 81, according to The Guardian. Her cause of death has not been announced. She is survived by her screenwriter son Rowan Joffe, 53, whom she shared with ex-husband, movie director Roland Joffe. The actress got her TV break in the BBC series Marie Curie in 1977, before playing the title role in Pam Gems’ Edith Piaf musical Piaf in London’s West End in 1978, winning an Olivier Award. Two years later, Piaf moved to Broadway, where Lapotaire won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play, beating out Elizabeth Taylor. It was her only appearance on Broadway. In recent years, Lapotaire played Princess Irina Kuragin in the fifth season of Downton Abbey and Princess Alice of Battenberg, the mother of Prince Philip, in season three of royal drama The Crown. Her death was announced on Thursday by The Royal Shakespeare Company, where she was an Honorary Associate Artist. “A truly brilliant actress, Jane joined the RSC in 1974 to play Viola in Twelfth Night,” the company said in a tribute. “A few years later, she took the title role in Piaf, winning Olivier and Tony Best Actress awards." In 2000, Lapotaire suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage while preparing to teach a course on Shakespeare in Paris. She wrote about her harrowing recovery, which involved a month in the ICU, in the 2004 memoir Time Out of Mind. Last month, Lapotaire was made a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) for services to drama.

Justice hurts sometimes. So do extremely spicy tacos. One German man has felt the sting of both after a federal judge dismissed his lawsuit against a Mexican restaurant in Times Square which he said failed to warn him of the spice level of its food. Faycal Manz stopped by Los Tacos No. 1 in October 2024, buying three tacos and a Diet Coke. After heaping a “hefty portion” of salsa on his dish, Manz was so overwhelmed by its heat that he suffered both physical and emotional distress. Food in Germany just doesn’t have the same kick, he said. His remedy to the trauma? Seek a $100,000 in federal court. That quest came to an end this week, as Judge Dale Ho excortiated his legal argument, ruling that Manz had failed to show that the restaurant had a duty to warn him of the spice levels of the salsa he added to the tacos. In a further shock to the tourist’s case, court documents reveal that a doctor had previously warned Manz to stay away from spicy foods. In addition, he never spoke to the fine folks at Los Tacos No. 1 about his emotional and physical turmoil. Case closed.