'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' cast reunion special gets trailer, premiere date

 

The "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" reunion now has a premiere date and a trailer.

Will Smith took to social media on Friday, Nov. 13, to reveal the one-time special will air on HBO Max on Thursday, Nov. 19, and to give fans a look at what to expect from when the cast got together again.

 

"The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" featured Smith playing a fictionalized version of himself named Will, a teen from West Philadelphia sent to live with his rich Uncle Phil (the late James Avery) and Aunt Viv (first played by Janet Hubert and later by Daphne Maxwell Reid) in their Bel-Air mansion with their butler, Geoffrey (Joseph Marcell), and their three children -- Hilary (Karyn Parsons), Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro) and Ashley (Tatyana Ali).

There are many nostalgic moments in the trailer, with the entire cast reminiscing about their time filming the iconic sitcom, which ran for six seasons, airing 148 episodes.

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States ramp up for biggest vaccination effort in US history

 

With a COVID-19 vaccine drawing closer, public health officials across the country are gearing up for the biggest vaccination effort in U.S. history — a monumental undertaking that must distribute hundreds of millions of doses, prioritize who’s first in line and ensure that people who get the initial shot return for the necessary second one.

The push could begin as early as next month, when federal officials say the first vaccine may be authorized for emergency use and immediately deployed to high-risk groups, such as health care workers.

“The cavalry is coming,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday on ABC’s “Good Morning America." He said he hopes shots will be available to all Americans in April, May and June.

Pfizer also boosted hopes this week, saying early data suggests its vaccine is 90% effective. But the good news came in one of the grimmest weeks of the pandemic so far. Deaths, hospitalizations and new infections are surging across the U.S. — and turning up the pressure to get the vaccine effort right.

In Philadelphia, the health department is counting how many health care workers and others would be among the first in line. In Louisiana, officials are planning a remote exercise this week to play out different scenarios exploring how the process might unfold.

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Nurse charged with murder of 8 babies in UK held in custody

 

LONDON -- A nurse accused of killing eight babies and trying to kill another 10 at a hospital in northwest England was remanded into custody Thursday, a day after she was charged with murder and attempted murder.

Lucy Letby, 30, was remanded in custody after appearing via video link during a brief 10-minute hearing at Warrington Magistrates’ Court. She sat behind a desk, next to her lawyer, and confirmed her name, date of birth and home address.

No pleas were entered and Letby will appear at Chester Crown Court on Friday.

Letby was arrested Tuesday following an investigation into deaths at the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital, south of Liverpool. The deaths relate to the period between June 2015 and June 2016.

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The Trump campaign is reportedly planning a way to bypass the 2020 election results in key swing states

 

• The Trump campaign is weighing a postelection strategy that would bypass the results in key swing states by installing electors who would vote for the president in the Electoral College even if he loses, according to a report by The Atlantic.
• Election experts have said that moves by state legislatures to appoint their own slate of presidential electors after the fact would violate federal law.
• The Trump campaign's plan would focus on swing states with Republican-led legislatures, including Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, The Atlantic reported.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The Trump campaign is weighing a postelection strategy that would bypass the results in key swing states by installing electors who would vote for the president in the Electoral College even if he loses, The Atlantic reported.

Using a rationale of baseless claims about widespread voter fraud and other irregularities with mail ballots, President Donald Trump "would ask state legislators to set aside the popular vote and exercise their power to choose a slate of electors directly," The Atlantic's Barton Gellman wrote, adding that "the longer Trump succeeds in keeping the vote count in doubt, the more pressure legislators will feel to act before the safe-harbor deadline expires."

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Got there just in the nick of time': 200 queens were in first 'murder hornet' nest. But there could be more out there

 

A nest of a massive, and potentially deadly, invasive hornet species in Washington state likely isn't the only one in the U.S., a state entomologist said.

A team with the Washington State Department of Agriculture that destroyed the first discovered nest in the U.S. found about 500 hornets at various stages of their life cycles in the nest — including approximately 200 queens.

Some of the queens could have escaped, mated and formed new colonies next year had they not been captured.

"We got there just in the nick of time," said Sven-Erik Spichiger, an entomologist with the state Department of Agriculture.

However, other sightings of hornets around the area indicate that the team's work might not be finished.

"We do believe there are additional nests," he said at a virtual news conference Tuesday.

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Tens of thousands left the president option blank, though 'undervotes' were down from 2016

 

Betty Robertshaw paused for a few moments in the voting booth, the last four years of Donald Trump’s polarizing presidency and the campaign blitzes from recent months still fresh in her mind.

A registered Independent, the 73-year-old from the suburbs of Philadelphia had voted for candidates on both sides of the ticket, leaning slightly to the right. She quickly went down the list, filling in her favorites for Congress, state and local races. 

Then, Robertshaw left without casting a vote for either of the presidential candidates headlining the ballot. 

She did not support Trump’s policies on social issues and erratic behavior from the White House. But she worried President-elect Joe Biden was too old and she was not a fan of his pick for vice president.

“I just felt that I could not give my vote to either person,” said Robertshaw, who did not vote for president four years ago either. “I just couldn’t do it. I did what I had to do for my conscience.”

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Biden calls Trump's refusal to concede 'an embarrassment'

 

President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday called President Donald Trump's refusal to concede "an embarrassment."

Speaking to reporters in Wilmington, Delaware, Biden, in his first comments on Trump not acknowledging his election, said, "I just think it's an embarrassment, quite frankly. How can I say this tactfully? I think it will not help the president's legacy."

 

ABC News' Mary Bruce asked Biden if he had reached out to President Trump. "And if he is watching right now, what would you say to him?" she asked.

Biden grinned widely and spoke directly to the camera. “Mr. President, I look forward to speaking with you," he said.

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'Jeopardy!' pays tribute to Alex Trebek in its first episode since his death

 

"Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek, who died Sunday following a battle with pancreatic cancer, was honored during the quiz show Monday.

Executive producer Mike Richards delivered an emotional message at the top of the show on behalf of the "Jeopardy!" family, memorializing Trebek and thanking him for all that he did.

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How Pfizer vaccine could help lift economy out of COVID-19 pandemic rut

 

The possibility that Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine candidate qualifies as a breakthrough is generating optimism that the economy could rebound swiftly in 2021 and beyond.

While Pfizer's vaccine still has multiple hurdles to surmount before it receives regulatory approval, hopes are rising for the airline industry, hotels, restaurants and retailers.

For effectively any business that has historically been done in person, optimism is surging. That could translate into job growth for millions of Americans who have lost their positions during the coronavirus pandemic.

Investors appeared positively giddy on Monday, driving the Dow Jones Industrial Average up more than 1,550 points, or about 5.4%, and bolstering the S&P 500 Index by 3.8%.

"This is the news we've all been waiting for," Craig Erlam, a senior market analyst at OANDA, wrote Monday morning in a research note. "This is the light at the end of the tunnel moment and just look at the reaction in the markets. One of incredible relief."

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Excitement mounts for 2nd crewed SpaceX launch as astronauts arrive in Florida

 

The astronauts who are set to launch into orbit later this week in SpaceX's second crewed mission have arrived at the Kennedy Space Center and are in their last days of preparation ahead of Saturday's big launch.

"As you can imagine, we are very excited to be here in Florida at the Kennedy Space Center for the final days before our launch to the International Space Station," Michael Hopkins, the commander of the mission, said at a news conference Monday.

 

"We’ve been here less than 24 hours, and in that time we have seen our rocket, we have seen our space vehicle Resilience, and we’ve seen our space suits," he added. "For an astronaut, that’s considered a pretty good day."

Last month, the crew announced that they were calling their spacecraft "Resilience" after a difficult year for a world that has been marked by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Election 2020 live updates: Biden warns of 'dark winter,' pushes masks in pandemic plan

 

Joe Biden is set to become the 46th president of the United States, capping a tumultuous and tension-filled campaign during a historic pandemic against President Donald Trump. ABC News characterized Joe Biden as the apparent winner of his home state of Pennsylvania, putting him over the 270 vote threshold needed to capture the presidency.

The hard-fought battle against the president was set against the backdrop of racial unrest and the coronavirus pandemic and bitter divisions among the electorate.

 Trump had falsely declared on election night, when he held a lead in several key states, that he won the contest and alleged without evidence, after the count started to swing the other way, that the election was being stolen from him and that fraud had been committed.

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Republican Blunt acknowledges presidential result 'unlikely' to change; Biden ally Coons predicts transition outreach to GOP

 

A pair of senators who may find themselves at the center of the presidential transition process offered their outlook Sunday on the coming weeks, with both a peaceful transfer of power and progress on pandemic relief legislation at the top of the agenda.

Republican Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., acknowledged a reality that several of his party colleagues have been reluctant to accept, that President Donald Trump's effort to expose unsubstantiated voter fraud and alter the outcome of the election is not expected to succeed.

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4.0 earthquake reported in Massachusetts

 

An earthquake struck Sunday off the coast of Massachusetts, jolting residents throughout New England, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The earthquake measuring 4.0 on the Richter scale struck at 9:10 a.m. in the Atlantic Ocean about 8 miles off the coast of New Bedford in Buzzards Bay, the USGS reported.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

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