Texas Man Sentenced to 48 Years for Murdering Muhlaysia Booker

EXCLUSIVE: Whale with Steve Backshall, the latest high-end natural history series out of the UK is racking up international sales, as the Sky Nature show’s executive producer Wendy Darke talked up the importance of distribution and tax credits in getting such programs made.

A new 750-place high school is to be built in Radcliffe after Bury Council’s planning committee unanimously passed proposals on Tuesday evening, which will see children from the town able to attend school there for the first time since 2014.

Greater Manchester will get nearly £300m to fix potholes over 11 years with funds coming from the money saved by cancelling the northern leg of HS2. The city-region is set to receive £296m in total with an additional £8.9m available for this year and next year.

Alison Herman TV Critic The typical season of “Fargo” starts at a simmer. Thanks to the famous opening disclaimer (“at the request of the survivors”; “out of respect for the dead”), borrowed wholesale from the Coen Brothers’ original masterpiece, the audience knows violence is in the offing. In translating “Fargo” into an anthology series, an interpretive exercise that now spans five different installments over nearly a decade, creator Noah Hawley has stuck to this structure.

Almost 50 years before “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and “Pose,” Sir Lady Java was a pioneering transgender activist fighting against a Los Angeles law that restricted drag performance. Photo: Sir Lady Java

barring a transgender student from playing a male role in his high school’s production of Oklahoma! has reversed course, allowing the original casting decisions to stand.On November 13, the Sherman Independent School District board voted to reinstate the original script and cast for the musical after local community members flooded the board’s regularly scheduled meeting to defend the casting of Max Hightower, a transgender male, as the peddler Ali Hakim.According to Dallas-area ABC affiliate WFAA, more than 60 people spoke in support of Hightower and slammed the board’s decision to prohibit not only Hightower but all students from playing roles that don’t match their assigned sex at birth.Administrators had interceded after several students were cast in cross-gender roles, citing a nonexistent district policy as justification for recasting the musical.Sherman High School administrators also insisted that the musical contained “mature adult themes, profane language, and sexual content,” and the production would have to be postponed for a month while the musical was rewritten to create a more “age-appropriate version.”But local community members weren’t buying the administrators’ explanation, with speaker after speaker denouncing the recasting decision and the decision to rewrite the musical.Speakers criticized the board for caving to perceived political and social pressure to enforce rigid gender roles in school productions.“I’ve played male roles in the past and it was no big deal — and guess what, that’s theater!” one actress told the board.“Reinstate the real version of Oklahoma! and let the students sing!” said another commenter.Following the public comment section of the meeting, the board went into a private,

Trick or treaters may have finished off their Halloween sweets, and the sparklers and fireworks have fizzled out after Bonfire Night, but we've got plenty to look forward to in the weeks ahead. November and December in Manchester is full of festivities - from the markets and winter chalets to the carol concerts and pantomime shows.

The family of the woman at the centre of a murder investigation in Salford - attacked in front of her horrified children - say she was 'cruelly' taken from them 'due to domestic violence'. An investigation into the death of Perseverance Ncube, 35, in Little Hulton is ongoing.

Oklahoma!But soon after, the school’s principal called Hightower’s father to inform him of a new district policy.“He said we’re instituting a new policy where only males can play males, and only females can play females,” Phillip Hightower told Dallas-Fort Worth NBC affiliate KXAS-TV.The elder Hightower was “devastated” by the decision, noting that Max has never been treated differently because of his gender identity — until now.Aside from being absurd — cross-gender casting has been a reality in the theater world dating back centuries — the school district’s purported policy will likely prove logistically difficult if it tries to avoid cross-gender casting, in part because there’s frequently a dearth of males in high school production casting pools.Illustrating that point, the sudden policy change also reportedly cost several other cast members their roles, according to the New York Post.Max Hightower’s adult sister, Gracie, recounted the events involving her brother, writing that some female students cast as “cowboys” were told they could not participate in the play due to the school district’s decision to intervene in casting.“Many opportunities were ripped away from kids not for bad grades, not for bad behavior, not for attendance, but for something that has absolutely nothing to do with the production whatsoever,” she wrote.A group of parents, including Phillip Hightower, plan to appeal the decision to the school board. “I’m not an activist.

Paul Scholes has urged Bruno Fernandes to 'get closer' to Manchester United teammate Rasmus Hojlund in a bid to get the striker firing.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Video game fans got a huge surprise when Nintendo announced Nov. 7 that it is developing a live-action film based on The Legend of Zelda alongside Sony Pictures. The film is being directed by Wes Ball, best known for helming three “Maze Runner” movies.

Pep Guardiola believes Jack Grealish could play in a central role for Manchester City after finishing the win against Young Boys at the Etihad in that role.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Ashley Gorley is always the odds-on favorite to win the songwriter of the year award at the ASCAP Country Music Awards. With the wind of a healthy amount of fresh Morgan Wallen tracks at his back, he was again shooed in for the top honor as the winners were announced Monday night in Nashville.

letter demanding that the NCAA ban transgender female athletes from competing in women’s sports.The letter’s signatories are Governors Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas, Tate Reeves of Mississippi, Mike Parson of Missouri, Greg Gianforte of Montana, Joe Lombardo of Nevada, Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Greg Abbott of Texas, and Mark Gordon of Wyoming.All except Lombardo — who is saddled with a Democratic-led state legislature — represent states that have passed laws banning transgender participation on female-designated sports teams.The governors decry the NCAA’s current policy on transgender athletes, which allows the individual national governing body of each sport to determine criteria for eligibility.Some of those sporting bodies, including track and field and swimming, have barred transgender competitors from female events.Both bodies have also suggested holding a third “open” category in which transgender swimmers could compete at the elite or post-collegiate levels.“The NCAA has the chance to guarantee an environment where female college athletes can thrive without the concern of inequities,” the letter reads. “We trust that you also want to guarantee just such an environment.

A woman paid almost £900 for a pet detective after her beloved cat escaped through a window and went missing for 40 days.

A woman who met her boyfriend on Tinder has told how she had planned to "milk him dry" - but now they're in love. Carrie, 30, had more than romance on her mind when she came across Randy, 63, on the dating app.

A man has been charged with the murder of a woman found dead at a tower block in Wigan. Caroline Gore, 44, was discovered by officers who were called to Douglas House in Scholes near the town centre at around 8pm on Monday night (October 30).

Neil Wood helped 17 academy players make their first-team debuts at Manchester United during his tenure at the club.

A 21-year-old man has been charged with murder following the death of Badri Issa in Moss Side. Raami Mohamed, of Fairly Lane, Manchester, has been remanded into custody to appear at Manchester Magistrates Court today (October 31).

If you're heading out this weekend then you should definitely pack a brolly just in case with the region most likely to see some rainfall. According to the Met Office, Saturday will be a cloudy start to the weekend with remnants of fog from the past week still in the air.