USA Update

The iconic but controversial former host of Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson, has raised concerns about his life expectancy following a series of health complications. During an interview with The Guardian, Clarkson explained: “I don’t have long. I’ve probably only got what, 70,000 hours left, maybe?” Clarkson’s most recent health ordeal began with symptoms while vacationing […]

Two quick-thinking passengers on a Colorado transit bus stopped what could have turned into a tragic incident when the driver fell from their seat as the vehicle was moving, officials said.  The driver of the Mountain Metropolitan Transit (MMT) bus in Colorado Springs experienced a medical emergency around 7:45 a.m. on Oct. 14, the agency told […]

An American Civil Liberties Union lawyer will make history in December as the first openly transgender attorney to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court, opposing Tennessee’s Republican-backed law banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors. The ACLU’s Chase Strangio, 41, represents a group of transgender people who pursued a lawsuit challenging the measure that prohibits medical treatments including […]

A former Venezuelan oil minister with alleged ties to a United States intelligence-run firm has been arrested, days after he resigned. Pedro Tellechea, Venezuela’s onetime petroleum minister and a former state oil executive, was taken into custody on Sunday, the AFP news agency reported. Details of his arrest were announced on Monday. Tellechea and his […]

Perplexity, the hot AI startup aiming to compete with Google that has earned the ire of several prominent media organizations, is eyeing a massive funding round — which could mark its fourth raise this year. The AI-fueled search engine is in talks to raise $500 million at an $8 billion valuation, The Wall Street Journal […]

An economic collapse in the communist controlled economy of Cuba is straining its relations with communist China resulting in an unexpected report. Cuba experienced a massive electrical blackout due to deteriorating infrastructure and damaging embargoes from the U.S., but rather than implement free market solutions, the communist government insists on failing with ideological purity. ‘The […]

Stella Sexton, a lifelong Democrat, did something yesterday that at another time in American political history might have felt kind of weird. She removed one of the “Pennsylvania Democrats” campaign signs from the wall of the local party’s subterranean office in Lancaster County and, in its place, taped up one that said “Republicans for Harris.” […]

The White House announced a plan Monday for a new federal rule requiring that women’s health insurers pay for over-the-counter contraceptives. The regulation would cover condoms, spermicides, birth control sponges, so-called morning after pills and Perrigo’s Opill, the only non-prescription daily birth control pills approved by the Food and Drug Administration, according to Reuters. The […]

As Tropical Storm Oscar heads toward the Bahamas, meteorologists are eyeing an area in the Caribbean for activity that could become Tropical Storm Patty next week. AccuWeather published a report about the threat on Monday, noting that the report was for an advanced risk development zone in the Caribbean that could provide the right conditions […]

PADDINGTON Bear was provided with an official UK passport for filming of a new movie.

Bosses had appealed to the Home Office for permission to create a replica, but were shocked when the government department instead responded with a legal document.

Studio Canal

Paddington Bear was provided with an official UK passport for filming of a new movie[/caption]

Co-producer of Paddington in Peru, Rob Silva, told Radio Times: “We wrote to the Home Office, asking if we could get a replica, and they actually issued Paddington with an official passport – there’s only one of these.

“You wouldn’t think the Home Office would have a sense of humour, but under official observations, they’ve just listed him as Bear.”

The film follows the Marmalade-loving bear, brought to life through animation and voiced by Ben Whishaw, as he travels abroad to visit Aunt Lucy in his homeland.

It follows the box office success of Paddington and Paddington 2.

But campaigners are not convinced the Home Office’s gesture is the best use of hard-pressed resources.

William Yarwood, media campaign manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: “Taxpayers will be bewildered that a fictional bear received a passport.

“While Home Office mandarins might find this amusing, ordinary Brits who are suffering under the department’s inability to control immigration or bring down crime won’t.

“Civil servants need to be snapped back into reality.”