Anna Paquin a posté une photo sur les réseaux sociaux de son Oscar, remporté il y a vingt ans. Un portrait cocasse où l’on peut voir la récompense personnalisée de faux-cils.

Elle a été révélée à l’âge de 11 ans dans La leçon de piano, réalisé par Jane Campion en 1993. Un film qui a valu à Anna Paquin le titre de meilleur second rôle féminin à la cérémonie des Oscars. À ce titre, elle est devenue l’une des lauréates les plus jeunes de l’histoire du cinéma puisqu’elle n’avait que 11 ans. Elle se souvient d’ailleurs parfaitement de cette soirée: « J’étais d’une très grande timidité à l’âge de 11 ans. Je ne me souvenais pas d’avoir vu autant de personnes réunies autour de moi, qui attendaient que je dise quelque chose. C’était horrible. ».

La statuette « est dans [sa] cuisine, où @amynadine lui a appliqué de faux-cils, pour la nuit des Oscars cette année », tweete Anna Paquin en réponse à un fan qui s’interrogeait sur l’emplacement de son Oscar. La star a également retweeté la photo postée par cette fameuse Amy Nadine (une maquilleuse), où l’on peut voir la récompense affublée de faux-cils.

Depuis, la trentenaire a enchaîné les productions, notamment dans la saga des X-Men. On la retrouve ainsi dans X-Men (2000), puis dans la suite X-Men 2 (2003) et X-Men : L’Affrontement final (2006). L’actrice obtient en 2007 le rôle principal de la série créée par Alan Ball, True Blood. Une série où Anna Paquin a rencontré son mari Stephen Moyer. Ils sont les heureux parents de jumeaux de 22 mois. Elle est également la belle-mère des enfants de son compagnon, issus d’un précédent mariage.

Left-wing actress-comedian Sarah Silverman couldn’t contain herself Sunday at the sight of a billboard in Israel that showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump shaking hands.

“PUKE,” Sarah Silverman exclaimed in a social media post. “All I can offer is this: How much Netanyahu represents the hearts and minds of all Israelis = how much Trump represents the hearts and minds of all Americans.”

“I only ask we condemn the administrations not the people,” she said.

Indeed, Netanyahu, currently running for re-election, has put up massive billboards promoting his connection to President Trump in major Israeli cities.

The Israeli PM has previously praised Trump for his support of Israel and Jews, saying, “I’ve known the president and I’ve known his family and his team for a long time.”

“There is no greater supporter of the Jewish people and the Jewish state than president Donald Trump.”

Silverman’s social media tirade may be a result of her having more time on her hands since her Hulu show I Love You, America was cancelled last month.

Since then, the 48-year-old has been keeping herself busy by posting hot takes like how transgender troops are more heroic than the rest of the military.

“our trans military are heroes like the rest — more so  — because they have to deal with this shit from people whose lives & way of life they are protecting,” she said in January.

The School of Rock actress’ dislike for the president getting such a warm treatment in Israel may also be due to her previous unhinged comparisons of Trump to Hitler.

MIDDAY BRIEF, IN BRIEF

Today at Commission, Italian banks and Bloomberg talks

Juncker to discuss climate issues with former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The main takeaway from last week’s summit of EU leaders was that “Europe is back!” On Monday, the European Commission joined in with the optimistic tone.

Chief spokesman Margaritis Schinas said Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker was happy with how the talks on Thursday and Friday went, and reiterated a statement by Juncker saying Europe remains the most accessible trade market in the world.

The Commission is “analyzing all the details” on an Italian decision to wind down troubled lenders Veneto Banca and Banca Popolare di Vicenza. Brussels does believe at this stage that the decision complies with EU banking rules.

Schinas said the Commission and its chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier will study a British position paper on European citizens’ rights, to be unveiled later Monday, and will work with EU countries and the European Parliament to establish the EU’s position. Citizens rights will be the main item on the agenda for the second round of the Brexit talks on July 17.

Juncker will on Tuesday meet with billionaire former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to discuss climate issues.

Check here for the full agenda of the 28 European commissioners.

Five underage teens were arrested Friday and charged with the alleged murder of a local Nashville musician in what police are calling a robbery that went bad.

The five kids, ages 12 to 16, were arrested for the alleged shooting death of Nashville musician Kyle Yorlets, 24, who was gunned down outside his home on February 7. Yorlets was a member of the Nashville-based pop-rock band Carverton and was also a bartender.

Police say the five kids allegedly confronted the Belmont University graduate outside his home on Thursday. On Friday, Metropolitan Nashville Police arrested Roniyah McKnight, 14, Diamond Lewis, 15, and Decorrius Wright, 16, along with a 12- and 13-year-old, whose names were not released because of their age.

The five kids allegedly approached Yorlets outside his home, drew their guns, and demanded his wallet and car keys. The singer reportedly refused to hand over the keys, whereupon the teens allegedly opened fire.

Yorlets made it inside his house where he fell unconscious. His roommate then found him unresponsive and called for an ambulance. The shooting victim was pronounced dead at Vanderbilt University Medical Center shortly after 3:00 p.m.

The victim’s band released a statement to fans on Facebook:

“On February 7, 2019, we lost our brother, best friend, and bandmate Kyle Yorlets. We are in a state of shock and are having to grasp the reality that is now in front of us. We are heartbroken. Our condolences for his family and loved ones and all the lives that he touched. We will never forget Kyle, and though he is gone too soon, his legacy is here to stay. We thank you for your support and will talk to you soon.”

The statement was signed by surviving bandmates Michael, Christian, and Wiebell.

Laments poured in on social media:

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.

Romania’s new PM dogged by old election promises

Mihai Tudose has only just started in the job but is already putting out fires.

Romania’s new prime minister made his first official trip abroad to Brussels this week, keen to escape backlash over a controversial tax plan that has marred his first days in office.

Mihai Tudose — the second prime minister from the ruling Social Democrats (PSD) in six months — has faced criticism for a tax hike his party proposed for companies and high earners that’s seen as a major U-turn from the tax-cutting, wage-hiking platform that helped the PSD win 46 percent of votes in December’s parliamentary election.

Backed by a strong majority in parliament, with no elections scheduled and riding on the highest economic growth in the EU, Tudose’s government should face a smooth ride. But Romanian politics rarely follows the script.

The reason behind the tax U-turn was “the protest,” said Otilia Dhand, senior vice president at the consultancy Teneo Intelligence. “The PSD had to backtrack [on the decree that sparked the protests] and make sure they ensure a sustainable level of support” by ensuring that election promises were fulfilled. And for that, the PSD needs more money in the public purse.

The protest in question rocked Romania in February. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets against a government decree that could have seen many politicians and senior public officials avoid prosecution for graft.

Sorin Grindeanu, prime minister at the time, withdrew the decree, but it was too late to alter the perception of the PSD as being an opponent of the fight against corruption. (Former PSD Prime Minister Victor Ponta became the first sitting PM to be indicted for corruption, in 2015. On Wednesday, prosecutors closed a corruption case against him.)

Months later, Grindeanu lost his job after a no-confidence vote initiated by his own party.

Tudose said on Tuesday that he had promised EU leaders his government would not pull any surprises like the corruption decree, which was approved late at night in January.

In exchange, he said he hoped the European Commission would end a monitoring scheme on corruption and judicial reform it runs in Romania by the time his country takes over the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU in early 2019.

But while Tudose was in Brussels promising not to rock the boat, his party leader Liviu Dragnea was fighting fresh corruption allegations back home. Dragnea is accused of having connections to a private company that’s been doing work for public authorities, accusations he denies. Dragnea would likely be prime minister himself if it weren’t for a suspended jail sentence that prevents him from taking on the role. He remains the most powerful man in the PSD.

Tudose, 50, was appointed as prime minister in late June, following the ousting of Grindeanu. Tudose was economy minister in Grindeanu’s cabinet but resigned before the no-confidence vote against his former boss, as did most of the cabinet.

“The PSD has a tall election order that they have a problem fulfilling,” said Dhand. She added that plans to finance pension and public wage increases have never been fully costed, which in part explains the controversial new taxes the party wants to impose, which would see turnover rather than profits subject to taxation.

The tax plan already looks dead in the water. “It is becoming more and more clear that the tax cannot be introduced as such,” Tudose said on Tuesday in Brussels.

He also promised to keep in check Romania’s budget deficit, which the European Commission warned in May would overshoot the 3 percent of GDP limit this year. “The main risk to the outlook is the possibility of a further fiscal stimulus in line with the government program, which may boost domestic demand in the short-run, but at the expense of posing additional risk to the sustainability of public finances,” the Commission said.

In 2016, Romania’s GDP grew by 4.8 percent — an eight-year high — but it would not continue at the same pace without “structural reforms to support competitiveness,” the Commission said.

Tudose was keen to talk about more positive news during the Brussels trip, however, telling reporters that some €600 million in European funds would start flowing to Romania in the next few days, to be used for infrastructure and environment projects.

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According some research, there are up to 250,000 rapes a year in the United States. Today, Madonna reported “one more.” Well, sort of.

The pop icon recently insisted that she felt like she was “raped” when someone leaked her song few years ago before its release date. Madonna’s comments came in a wide-ranging, June 5 interview with the New York Times Magazine where the pop singer talks of her life at sixty years of age, and now after stardom.

After noting how Madonna has been more interested in following her son around as he works to become a professional soccer player, Madonna noted she was hard hit when one of her songs leaked ahead of her 2015 album, “Rebel Heart.”

“She told me she wasn’t yet over the release of her last album,” Vanessa Grigoriadis wrote, “which sold less than her others. The songs had leaked online several months early, far from perfection.”

“There are no words to describe how devastated I was,” Madonna told the writer. “It took me a while to recover and put such a bad taste in my mouth. I wasn’t really interested in making music.”

Then came the admission of just how violated she felt: “I felt raped,” Madonna insisted.

But the Times writer felt uncomfortable with Madonna’s rhetoric.

“It didn’t feel right to explain that women these days were trying not to use that word metaphorically,” Grigoriadis added.

The song leak was not the first time the singer had a problem with the Internet. Only a few years ago she was thoroughly mocked online for posting a semi-nude photo of herself wrapped in a U.S. flag supposedly to celebrate Independence Day.

Madonna has also been involved in other dustups. Last year the “Material Girl” got in a spat with reigning pop queen Lady GaGa when she claimed that GaGa stole an old Madonna quote and made it her own. The “Vogue” singer was also slammed last year for making her appearance at Aretha Franklin’s funeral an excuse to push herself instead of commemorating the gospel icon.

Madonna commonly wades into politics. In 2018 she claimed she moved to Portugal because Donald Trump was elected to the White House. A year earlier she exclaimed that she still has “erotic dreams” about the time she met Barack Obama.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.

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The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Monday in a case that could lead to Sudan paying U.S. victims of terrorist attacks $4.3 billion for its role in supporting the bombings of American embassies in 1998.

Resolution of the case is a key requirement for Sudan’s removal from the U.S. list of State Sponsors of Terrorism and part of its efforts to rejoin the international community following a grass-roots revolution in the country.

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But lawyers for Sudan have given no signs of backing down in the Supreme Court fight, testing the boundaries of U.S. laws created to help victims and hold state actors accountable for financing terrorist attacks.

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The case, Opati vs. Sudan, is unique because the plaintiff is seeking compensation for the local employees of the U.S. embassies attacked in Kenya and Tanzania in addition to the Americans killed and injured in the attack. Approximately 600 people are party to the civil suit.

“This is important because it sends a strong signal to the people that the U.S. government hires all over the world – the staff of embassies – that your families are going to be protected if you’re killed or injured in service to the United States,” said Steven Perles, co-counsel for the plaintiff and one of the foremost litigators in holding foreign governments accountable for sponsoring terrorism.

Perles has helped Holocaust victims who were U.S. nationals while in Nazi concentration camps receive compensation from Germany; won hundred million dollar judgements against Iran on behalf of victims of terrorism, settled cases for the victims of Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya; and brought cases against the Syrian government for Americans brutally murdered by the Islamic State.

The case against Sudan centers on whether the punitive damages provision of a law passed by Congress in 2008 can apply retroactively to compensate non-American employees of U.S. embassies. A lower court ruled in favor of the Sudanese government and vacated the $4.3 billion in punitive damages.

Perles said a ruling in favor of the plaintiff will bring justice and compensation but also serve as a strong deterrent.

“Bad actors really pay attention to this litigation,” he said. “I can tell you from discussions I’ve had with other terrorist states, they read every filing. This litigation has a real deterrent effect.”

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U.S. courts have established that the Sudanese government is guilty of materially financing al Qaeda terrorists responsible for bombing the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania on Aug. 7, 1998.

The bombings killed 224 people, including 12 Americans, and wounded more than 4,500 people.

One of those injured included Doreen Oport, a U.S. embassy employee from Kenya who was working in the office of immigration at the time of the attack and was rescued from beneath collapsed rubble.

Now living in Texas, Oport said she carries the physical and emotional pain of the terrorist bombing everyday of her life. She has permanent scarring on her scalp from the burns of the explosion and pieces of glass remain embedded all over her body, falling out over time as her own body expels it.

“The 1998 embassy bombing has forever changed our lives and it killed so many of my friends and my colleagues who worked at the embassy,” she said in a phone interview. “We just expect that Sudan can satisfy the current judgement that is in front of the Supreme Court and we can be able to get something out of it and have closure.”

White & Case LLP, the law firm representing Sudan, declined to comment after being contacted by The Hill.

Sudan is in the midst of a revolutionary transition, having overthrown the three-decade dictatorship of Omar al-Bashir in April that was largely responsible for the country’s ties to terrorist organizations.

An interim civilian-military government is leading the country until democratic elections can be held. Those are expected to be held sometime next year.

The U.S. has welcomed Sudan’s new government by establishing diplomatic ties, promoting the exchange of ambassadors and bringing the country into the fold of geopolitical alliances. Sudan participated in a bilateral meeting with Israel and it closed the offices of terrorist organizations Hamas and Hezbollah in Khartoum.

The steps were part of Sudan’s efforts to have the State Sponsors of Terrorism (SST) designation removed, a pariah status that severely limits its ability to engage the global economy and receive badly needed loans from the International Monetary Fund.

Sudan’s Finance Minister Ibrahim al-Badawi has said the nation’s debt stands at $60 billion.

The interim government has said that Sudan intends to settle claims with the victims of the embassy bombings as part of its requirements to have the SST designation removed.

Sudan’s Justice Ministry announced on Feb. 13 that it settled with victims of the 2000 U.S.S. Cole bombing, an attack by al Qaeda on a U.S. naval destroyer in Yemen’s Port of Aden that killed 17 Americans and wounded 39.

That settlement came despite an earlier court ruling in Sudan’s favor vacating punitive damages of more than $300 million.

The Associated Press reported Sudan agreed to pay $70 million to the victims.

Perles, however, said Sudan has failed to reach out to discuss any talks of settlements in his case.

“I have not been involved in a single settlement negotiation with the Sudanese, they haven’t invited us,” he said.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced Sunday that it would bar employees from using the social media app TikTok to create content for the agency after a security review of the app.

A spokesperson for the TSA told The Associated Press that a “small number” of agency employees had previously used the app to create videos for outreach purposes, but that the practice would be “discontinued.”

A “small number of TSA employees have previously used TikTok on their personal devices to create videos for use in TSA’s social media outreach, but that practice has since been discontinued,” said the spokesperson.

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While the content was created using TikTok it was never posted directly to the platform, instead appearing on other social media sites, according to the TSA.

TikTok representatives did not immediately return a request for comment from The Hill.

The move comes after other federal agencies as well as the U.S. Army have banned use of the app, which was created by a Chinese company. Senate Minority Leader Charles SchumerCharles (Chuck) Ellis SchumerWhite House preparing to ask Congress for funds to combat coronavirus: report Schumer cites security, DHS ban in questioning TSA use of TikTok Russian interference reports rock Capitol Hill MORE (D-N.Y.) previously called on the agency to halt its use in a statement to the AP on Saturday.

“Given the widely reported threats, the already-in-place agency bans, and the existing concerns posed by TikTok, the feds cannot continue to allow the TSA’s use of the platform to fly,” he said.

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Roger StoneRoger Jason StoneRoger Stone moves to disqualify judge Roger Stone deserves a new trial Hillicon Valley: Facebook, Twitter split on Bloomberg video | Sanders briefed on Russian efforts to help campaign | Barr to meet with Republicans ahead of surveillance fight MORE, a convicted former campaign adviser to President TrumpDonald John TrumpWhere do we go from here? Conservation can show the way Gov. Ron DeSantis more popular in Florida than Trump Sotomayor accuses Supreme Court of bias in favor of Trump administration MORE, moved Friday to disqualify the judge in his case after being sentenced to more than three years in prison.

In an effort to score a new trial, Stone’s lawyers are saying that Judge Amy Berman Jackson’s assertion that the jurors served with integrity is untrue and that the jury’s foreperson was biased against Stone.

“Stone’s Motion for New Trial is directly related to the integrity of a juror,” the motion reads. “It is alleged that a juror misled the Court regarding her ability to be unbiased and fair and the juror attempted to cover up evidence that would directly contradict her false claims of impartiality.”

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Jackson made the remarks during the trial in a heated exchange between Stone’s legal team.

“Sure, the defense is free to say, ‘So what? Who cares?’ But I’ll say this: Congress cared,” Jackson said. “The United States Department of Justice and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia that prosecuted the case and is still prosecuting the case cared. The jurors who served with integrity under difficult circumstances cared. The American people cared. And I care.”

Stone was convicted in November of seven counts of obstructing and lying to Congress and witness tampering related to his efforts to provide the Trump campaign with inside information about WikiLeaks in 2016. 

Last week, all four prosecutors on the Stone case quit after the Department of Justice asked for a lighter sentence than what the prosecutors recommended. Stone’s roughly three-year sentence is less than half of what prosecutors recommended based on the penal code — seven to nine years. 

Stone was sentenced on Thursday by Jackson, who said Stone’s sentence will be delayed from going into effect until after she rules on his motion for a new trial.

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Welcome to Friday’s Overnight Health Care. There are now 34 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the U.S., health officials said Friday. Sen. Martha McSallyMartha Elizabeth McSallyTrump seeks to boost vulnerable GOP senator with Colorado rally Democratic Senate campaign arm raised more than .5 million in January On the Trail: Senate GOP hopefuls tie themselves to Trump MORE (R-Ariz.) introduced a bill aimed at lowering drug prices as she faces a tough reelection campaign. Meanwhile, ObamaCare’s popularity has hit its highest level.

Let’s start with the latest coronavirus news… 

 

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Officials confirm 34 total coronavirus cases in U.S.

U.S. health officials said Friday there are 34 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States as the virus continues to spread from its epicenter in China. 

Officials broke the number down, saying 21 cases are people repatriated by the State Department, many of whom were evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. 

There are also a separate 13 cases not affiliated with the State Department repatriations. 

Officials said the virus is still not spreading among the general public in the United States, but left open the possibility that could happen.  

“It’s very possible, even likely, that it may eventually happen,” said Dr. Nancy Messonier, a top official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

Read more here.

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ObamaCare favorability hits highest level: poll 

Some good news for ObamaCare supporters ahead of the law’s 10th anniversary next month: The law’s favorability hit a record high in a new poll released Friday. 

A Kaiser Family Foundation poll finds that 55 percent of the public views the health law favorably, the highest level since KFF began polling the question about 10 years ago. Just 37 percent said they view it unfavorably.

The history: ObamaCare was long viewed more unfavorably than favorably, especially during the troubled rollout of the healthcare.gov website in late 2013.

But that changed with President TrumpDonald John TrumpComey responds to Trump with Mariah Carey gif: ‘Why are you so obsessed with me?’ Congress to get election security briefing next month amid Intel drama New York man accused of making death threats against Schumer, Schiff MORE‘s election in 2016, when favorability began rising amid the Republican push to repeal the law in 2017. 

The health care law has now become a political asset for Democrats, who highlighted Republican repeal attempts to help win back the House in 2018. The law’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions have been particularly popular.  

Other poll findings: 

• In 2016, 29 percent of Republican voters listed ObamaCare repeal as their top health care issue. Now it’s 3 percent. 
• 52 percent of the public favors Medicare for All, while 66 percent favor an optional government health insurance plan.
• 26 percent of independents and 27 percent of Republicans favor a public option, while the numbers for full-scale Medicare for All are just 6 percent and 4 percent, respectively. 

Read more here. 

 

McSally unveils bill to lower drug prices amid tough campaign

There’s a pretty interesting drug pricing bill from Sen. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.), who is facing a tough election campaign this year. 

The bill is noteworthy because it includes some ideas usually more associated with Democrats, including allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, but only in limited instances where there is a lack of market competition after a patent expires but when the company still has a monopoly. 

Details of that proposal, which will be key for understanding its breadth, were not available yet on Friday. McSally’s office said legislative text will be available next week. 

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The politics: McSally is putting an increased focus on drug prices as she faces the campaign this year. 

Jacob Peters, a spokesman for the expected Democratic Arizona Senate nominee, Mark Kelly, said McSally is trying to undue her past health care record, including voting to repeal the Affordable Care Act. 

Read more here. 

 

Wednesday, February 26: America’s Opioid Epidemic: Lessons Learned & A Way Forward 

Join The Hill on Wednesday, February 26th in downtown Washington, D.C. as we host a conversation about expanding access to treatment and helping those battling opioid addiction begin the journey toward long-term recovery. We will be speaking with Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Rep. David JoyceDavid Patrick JoyceThe Hill’s Morning Report — Sanders, Dems zero in on Super Tuesday Overnight Health Care: Americans with coronavirus reportedly flown home over CDC advice | Dem fight over ‘Medicare for All’ heats up at debate | House to vote next week on flavored vaping ban The Hill’s Morning Report – Democrats duke it out during Nevada debate MORE (R-Ohio) and Rep. Paul TonkoPaul David TonkoThe Hill’s Morning Report — Sanders, Dems zero in on Super Tuesday Overnight Health Care: Americans with coronavirus reportedly flown home over CDC advice | Dem fight over ‘Medicare for All’ heats up at debate | House to vote next week on flavored vaping ban The Hill’s Morning Report – Democrats duke it out during Nevada debate MORE (D-N.Y.). RSVP today!

 

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Next week

It will be a busy week on the hill next week when Congress returns from President’s Day recess. Here’s what we’re watching: 

 

Wednesday

9:30 a.m.: Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar will testify on the agency’s budget request before the House Appropriations Committee. 

1:30 p.m.: Azar will also testify on the budget request and the coronavirus before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

 

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Thursday 

9 am: The House Committee on Oversight and Reform will hold a hearing titled “the administration’s religious liberty assault on LGBT rights.” 

10 a.m.: Azar will testify on the HHS budget request before the House Ways and Means Committee. 

2 p.m.: The House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the coronavirus response, with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield testifying. 

 

What we’re reading: 

Harmed before birth, America’s ‘lost children’ overshadowed by opioid crisis (Politico) 

The coronavirus is spreading outside China, narrowing hope to eliminate it (STAT)

Stalled initiatives to curb drug prices frustrate Trump (The Wall Street Journal)

 

State by state 

Will Virginia get a full Medicaid dental benefit? Advocates say it could be life-altering for poor patients. (Virginia Mercury) 

Senate panel advances bill to provide birth control to more under Medicaid (ksl.com)  

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