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If you're looking for a gripping new TV series with a superstar cast and a hefty dose of drama, an upcoming BBC 2 show could be just the ticket. TV aficionados are going wild on Twitter for the upcoming TV adaptation of E.M. Forster's 1910 novel, Howards End. The dark TV drama explores the changing landscape of social and class divisions in turn of the century England through the tales of three families: the intellectual and idealistic Schlegels, the wealthy Wilcoxes from the world of business, and the working class Basts.

Two-time Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson weighed in on the #OscarsSoWhite controversy this week, and suggested the industry’s diversity issues could be remedied by “killing off” the Academy’s many older, white members. “It’s hilarious,” the British actress told the Belfast Telegraph earlier this week in regards to the Oscars nominating controversy. In January, the controversy was renewed after the Academy announced its acting nominations included no people of color for a second straight year. “It’s no change there. It’s not as if it’s ever been awash with people of color. Let’s face it, the Oscar membership is mainly old, white men,”...

You'd think Chris Matthews might wish Howard Wolfson well on the news that the former top aide to Hillary Clinton has joined Fox News as a Dem analyst. Think again. The Hardball host has ungraciously predicted that the move to Fox could spell the end of Wolfson—and in doing so revealed his own pop-culture roots. Here was Matthews on this evening's Hardball: CHRIS MATTHEWS: Fox News loves presenting itself as the alternative to the other news networks. Roger Ailes, the guy behind the network, figures that the Hillary campaign needs a new home, now that she's out of the race...

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia has hit back at France over its threat to impose a tax on industrial goods from countries that ignore the Kyoto Protocol on global warming. Prime Minister John Howard described the plan as "silly", while the mass-circulation Daily Telegraph headlined its report: "Back off, Frogs". Running across a picture of a French nuclear bomb explosion in the Pacific in 1971, a subheading read: "The French did this to our backyard and they have de Gaulle to attack us on Kyoto." Australia, like the United States, has refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on reducing the emission...

Apparently, the reviews of Tom Hanks latest movie have been less than kind. Maybe his new look is behind it all...

The Dean implosion up close, from the vantage point of the candidate's pollster.The 2004 Democratic nomination was decided in Iowa. John Kerry's decision to focus his efforts in the Hawkeye State, with the support of a $6.4 million loan secured by his home, paid off handsomely: Kerry rallied in the final two weeks to upset Howard Dean, and surged to an easy win in New Hampshire just eight days later. The rest of the states then fell like dominoes.Dean and his chief strategists—Joe Trippi, the campaign manager; the media consultants Steve McMahon and Mark Squier; and I—were not surprised: winning...

Many years ago, shortly after getting my driver's license, I rounded up two buddies and went for a drive. Sorry to say, but while traveling on a two-lane road, as a random juvenile prank, I refused to allow another driver to pass me -- speeding up when he got beside me -- and was charged with failure to yield right-of-way. When the officer asked for my statement, I reeled off an elaborate spin about how I was protecting the other guy -- he really didn't have room to pass, or some such nonsense. The nugget in this story, however, was...

The 2004 Democratic nomination was decided in Iowa. John Kerry's decision to focus his efforts in the Hawkeye State, with the support of a $6.4 million loan secured by his home, paid off handsomely: Kerry rallied in the final two weeks to upset Howard Dean, and surged to an easy win in New Hampshire just eight days later. The rest of the states then fell like dominoes. Dean and his chief strategists—Joe Trippi, the campaign manager; the media consultants Steve McMahon and Mark Squier; and I—were not surprised: winning Iowa had been the heart of our own victory plan. As...

<p>The party bosses slipped the stiletto into his back, just in case his own gaffes and free-spending campaign guru weren't enough Poor Howard Dean. The Icarus of the Democratic Party is back in Vermont now with what drippings are left of his wax-winged candidacy. But, to torture this allegory further, one question remains: Did Dean fly too close to the sun -- or just too close to the power source of the Democratic Party? The pundits of the Media Establishment and the jokesters of late-night TV would have us believe that Dr. Fury imploded, that he got so mad that he stamped himself into a political grave. Dean wasn't temperamentally suited to be President, they said, his message wasn't sunny, he was a loose canon, he wasn't electable, and the electorate sensed that. Yada, yada, yada. But was any of that true?</p>

Probably the most astute remark of this political season came from Gwen Ifill, senior correspondent for PBS' "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer." Commenting on Howard Dean's fall from front-runner to also-ran in the Democratic presidential primaries, Ifill said: "He was going great guns right until the voters got involved." True, true. But why was he going great guns before a single vote was taken? How did he get anointed? If not the voters, who made him the front-runner in the first place? You know the answer — "the media." "The Note," an irreverent online ramble by the ABC News political...

Pale and sweatyThe first televised presidential debate in 1960 proved a godsend for the photogenic John Kennedy and the opposite for the rather less attractive Vice-President Richard Nixon. Looking back, Nixon wrote: "After the programme ended, callers, including my mother, wanted to know if anything was wrong, because I did not look well". The impression lingered; Nixon lost. Day of TearsDemocrat Senator Ed Muskie was immensely frustrated by a number of nasty remarks published about his wife, and, speaking outside the office of the offending newspaper in 1972, allegedly shed a few tears. Whether he did or not is...

Where the 'Deaniacs' go nowBy Liz Marlantes | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor WASHINGTON - Hours after Howard Dean made his exit from a presidential race that he, more than anyone, had dominated and defined, his online supporters began grappling with the obvious question: What next?"I've been thinking about this all day long," posted one. "I will still write in Howard Dean in November.""Maybe this is for the best," suggested another. "It will be easier to effect change from the outside than as president with an uncooperative congress and entrenched special interests.""Here is my message to the Democratic...

What's Howard Dean's legacy? Embracing Bush hatred and moving the Democratrs to the left. WHAT HAS HOWARD DEAN WROUGHT? The answer is not what he's been credited with. Sure, he raised money on the Internet, activated some previously inactive Democratic voters, and built an impressive database. Fine. But his most important legacy was pulling the Democratic presidential candidates to the left and encouraging Democrats to criticize President Bush with venom. This hasn't improved their chances of ousting President Bush. In his appearance after the Wisconsin primary Tuesday, Dean boasted of influencing the other candidates on the war in Iraq, the...

<p>Howard Dean's withdrawal from the Democratic primaries yesterday ends one of the more remarkable flameouts in Presidential history. But while the former Vermont governor won't be his party's nominee, he deserves to be recognized as the most consequential loser since Barry Goldwater.</p>

February 19, 2004 Howard's EndBy JON MARGOLIS ARTON, Vt. For Vermonters, the portrayal of their centrist former governor as the left-winger in the Democratic presidential race was the second biggest surprise of Howard Dean's brief span of political glory. The biggest was the apparent transformation of a campaign clod into a fiery orator who inspired a movement. He never tried that at home. In Vermont, Dr. Dean was never a very good politician. He was quite a good governor. He was a prudent steward of the state's finances. He expanded social services while reducing taxes. During the debate over civil...

Dean Ends Campaign, Vows to Back Nominee 11 minutes ago Add Politics - AP to My Yahoo! By ROSS SNEYD, Associated Press Writer BURLINGTON, Vt. - Howard Dean (news - web sites), bowing to the political realities of a 17-contest losing streak, ended his Democratic presidential campaign Wednesday but promised to keep his "campaign for change" alive while supporting his party's eventual nominee. AP Photo (AP Video) Related Links • 'A Beginning Not An End' (DeanforAmerica.com) Latest headlines: · Dean Ends Campaign, Vows to Back Nominee AP - 11 minutes ago · Kerry, Edwards in Two-Man Dash; Dean QuitsReuters...

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - Howard Dean, bowing to the political realities of a 17-contest losing streak, ended his Democratic presidential campaign Wednesday but promised to keep his "campaign for change" alive while supporting his party's eventual nominee. For now, the former Vermont governor did not endorse either of his top rivals, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts or Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina. He called both men before his announcement to tell them his decision. "I am no longer actively pursuing the presidency," Dean told a crowd of cheering, flag-waving supporters. "We will, however, continue to build a new organization...

BURLINGTON, Vt. - Howard Dean (news - web sites) will end his campaign for the presidential nomination and launch a new "campaign for change" within the Democratic Party to keep his issues alive and his supporters organized, a key campaign aide said Wednesday. The former Vermont governor, who went winless in 17 caucuses and primaries after falling from leading contender early in the year, does not intend to endorse either John Kerry (news - web sites) or John Edwards (news - web sites), the aide said on condition of anonymity. Dean has been impressed with Edwards and suggested on the...

AP NewsBreak: Dean to End His Campaign 34 minutes ago By RON FOURNIER and JOHN SOLOMON, Associated Press Writers WASHINGTON - Howard Dean (news - web sites) will end his campaign for the presidential nomination and oversee a new effort to keep his issues alive and his supporters organized on behalf of Democratic causes, two party officials said Wednesday. Dean was to announce his plans at a news conference Wednesday afternoon, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The sources said the shape of the new effort is still to be determined but that Dean would eventually support...