The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum announced Wednesday that it was launching a presale for its new Smith bobbleheads.

An artistic rendering of the $30 figures shows an unsmiling Smith, dressed in a black suit and tie with his arms at his side. The individually numbered bobbleheads are expected to ship in November, the museum said.

National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder Phil Sklar said the Smith-inspired products were created following a “growing number of requests.”

“The Special Counsel’s investigations are unprecedented and a bobblehead is one fun and unique way for people to commemorate these unique historic events,” Sklar said in a statement.

The debut of the Smith bobbleheads came a day after Trump said he had been notified that he is a target of the Justice Department’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol and efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

The former president has already pleaded not guilty to federal charges related to his handling of classified documents, another case that came out of Smith's office.

Trump has frequently blasted Smith, calling the special counsel “deranged” and a “thug.”

The Wisconsin-based museum frequently features famed political and high-profile figures on its lineup of bobbleheads. In January it announced a mini version of Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) that played an audio recording of some of the congressman’s “biggest lies.”

Other bobbleheads have been crafted to represent Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and even President Biden and Jill Biden’s cat, Willow.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) said she was “shocked” over the backlash country music singer Jason Aldean received over the music video for his new single “Try that in a Small Town.”

"I am shocked by what I'm seeing in this country, with people attempting to cancel the song and cancel Jason and his beliefs,” she said in a video posted to Twitter. “And him and Brittany [Aldean] are outspoken about their love for law and order and for their love of this country and I'm just grateful for them.”

“I think a lot of times people that go out and fight every day on these important issues and have an opinion and remember the freedom and liberty that this country was founded on, get persecuted from it. And we're seeing that with the Aldeans right now and the songwriters that worked so hard on this,” she continued. “And I just want them to know that we support them. We love them. Thank you for writing a song that America can get behind.”

Noem said she praised the song's release when it came out in May, saying she wished the music video was filmed in South Dakota. She added that Aldean could come to play in South Dakota any time and invited him to play on the governor’s residence front lawn.

Aldean has been heavily criticized in recent days over the release of the music video for his latest single. It was filmed in front of a courthouse in Columbia, Tenn., where a Black man was lynched in the 1920s. The video also includes images of protests and demonstrations that took place during the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.

Aldean took to Twitter to defend himself and his song Tuesday, saying allegations that he released a “pro-lynching song” are “not only meritless, but dangerous.”

“There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it — and there isn’t a single video clip that isn’t real news footage — and while I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music — this one goes too far,” he said.

A Country Music Television spokesperson confirmed to The Hill on Tuesday that it pulled the song’s music video, but did not offer a reason for doing so.

A new program aims to take “one small step” toward bridging the partisan divide in Congress, simply by having lawmakers talk to each other.  

For 20 years, the nonprofit StoryCorps has been documenting the stories of some 700,000 ordinary Americans, with a copy of the audio recordings going to both the participant and the Library of Congress as part of a nationwide oral history effort.  

“People think of it as, ‘If I had 40 minutes left to live, what would I say to this person who means so much to me?’ We're kind of collecting the wisdom of humanity,” Dave Isay, StoryCorps’s founder and president, told ITK.  

Another initiative, called One Small Step, emerged from the nonprofit in 2017 when, Isay said, “Things really began fracturing in the country.”  

“We started experimenting with putting people or strangers across the divide together, not to talk about politics, but just to get to know each other as human beings under the premise that it's hard to get up close,” said Isay.  

Now, StoryCorps’s One Small Step, in partnership with The Hill, is going a step further, by facilitating conversations in Congress. The new project pairs up lawmakers, along with senior staff members at the Capitol, for chats with their political opposites.   

The political odd couples engage in 30-minute talks with each other, either in-person or virtually.  

Isay, a Peabody Award winner, admitted he was at first “very resistant” to trying to take One Small Step to the halls of Congress: “I think that we all have our own biases. [Mine] was that members of Congress couldn't and wouldn't do this and wouldn't be able to get off their script.”  

Larry Kramer, the president of the Hewlett Foundation, funded the project and ultimately was able to convince Isay to give the congressional sit-downs a go.  

One of the first conversations, which debuted at an event hosted by StoryCorps and The Hill earlier this month, happened between Reps. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) and Dean Phillips (D-Minn.).  

Burchett recalled how polarization has even infiltrated the elevators at the Capitol.  

“I don't know if you've seen this, but I've been in elevators when people will get in and see somebody in there, and then they'll turn around and get out,” Burchett exclaimed to Phillips. “I’m like, ‘Are y'all 12? We got a frickin’ country to run, man.’”  

“Frankly, I think it's a dereliction of duty to avoid conversation in a place that's designed to provoke it and promote it,” responded Phillips.  

“The people unwilling to talk to one another are the problem. Period. Doesn't matter your politics,” Phillips told his GOP colleague. The two even joked about their vast political differences.  

“I'm a conservative. I mean, look at my voting record,” Burchett said.   

“I can't even see your record because it's so far to the right — my peripheral vision,” Phillips quipped.  

“At the end of the interview, the spoiler is, they say, ‘I love you,’ to each other,” Isay said of the conversation between Burchett and Phillips. “I've heard every kind of interview through StoryCorps that you could possibly hear, and this one made me so happy it made me want to cry. You know anything is possible.”  

Right now, StoryCorps is gathering more volunteers in Congress, mostly through word of mouth.   

The majority of Americans, Isay said, want to see elected officials come together and not treating their political opponents as “as enemy to be vanquished.”  

A 2019 Public Agenda-USA Today-Ipsos poll found that 90 percent of respondents said that it was important for Americans to try to seek common ground with their political foes, with another 83 percent calling divisiveness a “big problem.”  

Lawmakers, Isay said, must find a way to “not just respond to the loudest voices and most extreme voices, but regular people who just want us to find a way forward.”  

“Our democracy can't survive in a swamp of mutual contempt,” Isay, 57, said. “So we have to fix this problem or our entire democracy is at risk.”  

One Small Step Congress, Isay said, “is not about centrism at all” or lawmakers singing kumbaya with one another.  

“It's just about treating each other as human beings,” Isay said, “no matter where you are on the political spectrum.”  

The former first lady’s press office announced Wednesday that she’ll be selling a “limited-edition collectible celebrating Apollo 11’s successful lunar landing,” called “Man on the Moon.”

The NFTs — being sold for $75 each — mark July 20, 1969’s “giant leap for mankind,” when NASA astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong landed on the moon in the spaceflight piloted by Michael Collins.

The digital item “includes the iconic image of the American astronaut walking on the Moon, with an embedded audio file,” according to the announcement from Trump. “Collectors will unlock surprise audio upon purchase,” a sales page said.

 “I am proud to celebrate the great achievement of these astronauts and remain inspired by American ingenuity,” Trump said in a statement about the space-inspired product.

It’s not the first time that Trump, a 53-year-old former model, has doubled as a purveyor of digital products since her husband exited the White House in 2021. Last month, Trump hawked $50 Americana-themed digital art, dubbed “The 1776 Collection,” timed to the Fourth of July. She’s also released a Christmas NFT collection, as well as an artist’s watercolor painting of her eyes, called “Melania’s Vision.”

Another NFT collection from the ex-executive mansion resident that went on sale last year highlighted “iconic moments from President Trump’s administration.”

Emhoff will visit Samoa from July 23-24, where he will meet with government officials and community leaders, his office announced Wednesday.

"In particular, the Second Gentleman will highlight our shared work to address the climate crisis, enhance disaster preparedness, promote sustainable and inclusive economic development, and invest in the economic empowerment of women," Liza Acevedo, Emhoff's communications director, said in a statement. "The Second Gentleman’s visit will underscore the strong U.S. relationship with Samoa and the commitment of the United States to the Pacific Islands."

The visit to Samoa will follow Emhoff's trip to New Zealand, where he is leading the U.S. delegation at the Women's World Cup. That event kicks off Thursday in Auckland.

The second gentleman will also attend the U.S. team’s first match against Vietnam on Friday. While in New Zealand, he will meet with private-sector and community leaders to highlight the partnership between the two countries.

Emhoff's trip to Samoa reflects how the Biden administration has sought to build stronger ties with the island and the region as a whole.

Earlier this year, the Peace Corps returned to Samoa for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the U.S. Coast Guard has helped Samoa patrol its economic zone.

Reid, who jumped from CBS News to CNN in 2021, recalls holding strongly coveted tickets to see Swift with her friends in Philadelphia as part of the “Karma” singer’s “Eras” concert tour. 

“I had been in Manhattan for about six of eight weeks covering various Trump stories. And I just didn't feel that I could leave for the weekend — leave my husband and my daughter at home. So my friends resold the tickets,” Reid said. 

“That’s just an example of where I'm at right now: You have to be ruthless in terms of your priorities.” 

But while she’s breaking off plans to belt out Swift’s hits, Reid’s also breaking news. 

Last month, she and CNN colleague Sara Murray were first to report that former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani was interviewed by investigators with the Justice Department’s special counsel’s office as part of its probe into attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. 

She was also a part of a team of CNN reporters to break the news in May that the Justice Department had an audio recording of former President Trump discussing a classified Pentagon document he took from the White House. 

“It was a game-changer in terms of how we saw the story, because before we knew there was a tape, we weren't sure if the former president would be charged,” said Reid, speaking from Fort Pierce, Fla., where she was getting ready to cover a pretrial conference in the case over Trump’s handling of classified documents. 

The journalist and her husband, management consultant Jason Reid, just celebrated their daughter Jordan’s first birthday. While motherhood and a demanding beat can be “challenging,” Jordan has already given her mom a job assist at least once. 

“I had one individual that I had reached out to who was quite upset with me. I was home. My daughter was nearby, and for whatever reason she just started giggling. And he stopped yelling for a second and he's like, ‘Well, how am I supposed to be mad when there's a baby giggling?’ So you know, sometimes Jordan can really help me out in that way.” 

And don’t count Reid, 40, out of attending a future Swift show.  

“I look forward to taking my daughter to the ‘Eras Two’ tour in 10 years or so,” she quipped. 

ITK wanted to know more about this Swift and country music-loving correspondent, who may one day add “author” to her résumé, so we asked her to answer these questions. 

Hometown: I was born in Akron, Ohio, and when I was around 2 years old, we moved to the North Shore of Massachusetts to be closer to my mom's family. 

College attended: College of William and Mary and Villanova Law School 

What did you want to be as a kid: I wanted to be, at one point, a marine biologist. 

We lived close to the water [and I spent] a lot of time doing field trips to the wetlands. The marine life is a big part of life on the north shore of Massachusetts. 

I did at one point go to camp at the New England Aquarium, which was a big deal, because it was expensive and it was sort of a big sacrifice for me to go there, and it was like the highlight of my young life. But at some point, I clearly got off that track. 

Favorite hobby: I really enjoy going to various national parks. Our daughter is named after Jordan Pond in Acadia National Park. Now with a 1-year-old, our ambitions aren't as lofty as they used to be in terms of going hiking. But we'll go to Shenandoah, we’ll go to Great Falls. 

Favorite movie: “A League of Their Own” 

What you like most about D.C.: It's a beautiful city just in terms of the architecture. I think it's a really beautiful city, full of people who are really passionate about what they do, be it international affairs, government, journalism. I love that about D.C. 

What you like least about D.C.: I mean, everybody says it, right? It's the weather. The weather is terrible. And the cost of living is brutal. And the worst part about that is it's driven out a lot of our close friends. They've moved elsewhere, which, you know, that's the downside. 

Something on your bucket list that you haven’t completed yet: Writing a book — nonfiction. 

My long-term goal is — right now I cover legal cases day-to-day, incremental, breaking news — but to take a few steps back at some of the major legal issues and legal cases and do more long-form with books, maybe podcasts, things like that. 

The ruthless time management does not allow for it. 

Biggest accomplishment: I didn’t realize I wanted to go into journalism until I was about 25. 

I was in my last year of law school, and I saw Jan Crawford — who's the legal journalist at CBS, at the time she was at ABC — give a talk at a law school event about [Supreme Court] Justice Clarence Thomas. And it just crystallized for me that telling stories about the law could be a vocation and was something I wanted to pursue. And shortly after law school, I made the jump to journalism. 

In seven years, I went from being an intern at CBS News —I was doing all the intern things making photocopies, fetching pizza for Armen Keteyian, who’s lovely, and all the intern stuff — to sitting in the front row of the White House for CBS News. So I think following that dream and making it happen was probably my greatest accomplishment. 

Most embarrassing moment: So the day the news broke that [Supreme Court] Justice Antonin Scalia had died [in 2016], I got that news confirmed for CBS. That was also the night CBS was hosting a big presidential debate. 

I had only been on-camera reporting for a couple of months at that point, but as a sort of nod to the fact that I got this reporting on this pivotal day, they let me lead the evening news that night. The live shot was a disaster. It was mostly because of a technical issue that I had no control over, but a more seasoned correspondent probably would have handled it better. And I think it was embarrassing not only because it was such a big night for the network, but also I felt like I had let down people who were opening doors to opportunities that usually didn't come that soon because I had all this great reporting. 

But after that scarring experience, I took every single holiday shift, weekend shift, overnight shift — whatever it took to get those reps to get my on-camera presence and experience to the same place as my national-level reporting. 

I’m happiest when: When I'm with my husband and my daughter. 

My husband's a phenomenal cook and he’ll make us an amazing food. My daughter is such a little foodie. She will eat anything and love it. 

Just being with them, enjoying a home life that after a decade of traveling for work I haven't really had the opportunity to enjoy that. 

Something few people know about you: I think it's my obsession with ‘80s and ‘90s country music. I'm a regular at Dollywood. I didn't go to the “Eras” tour, but I did make it to The Judds reunion tour this year. That tells you where my priorities are. It’s the only concert I've seen since my daughter was born. 

Best advice given: Major Garrett told me at a time that was very chaotic and complicated at work covering the Trump administration, he said: ‘Just always bring it back to the work and to the reporting. No matter what is going on at your organization, who’s in the White House and the outside world, if you always just focus on the work and the reporting, things will work out.’ 

The other one is from [former CBS News President] Susan Zinrinsky, who was very much the architect of the early part of my career and a wonderful mentor. She had this saying when it comes to sources: “No is hello.” I can't tell you how many times I have called people, they said, “No, I don't want to talk to you,” and over eight months ignore you and tell you to bug off. And then eventually they talk to you once, twice, three times, and then you develop a relationship. And so many of the sources that I have now and that I'm breaking huge scoops with, that's the result of relationships that started years ago and playing the long game, and people who often didn't want to talk to you. 

Your superhero name would be: At CBS I somehow got the nickname “Danger Reid.” And this was because I came to this occupation very inexperienced, and so no matter what the assignment was, I would always say yes. 

One time it was climbing up a fence on the outside of a landfill that was surrounding one of those compounding pharmacies in Massachusetts that had contaminated shots. I climbed over the fence to get a picture of the landfill — I signed up to do that. I would do anything just to get an opportunity. So I think that's how I got that nickname. 

Country music singer Jason Aldean sought to defend his latest single "Try That in a Small Town" Tuesday after Country Music Television (CMT) pulled the song's music video.

The song, released in May, has been heavily criticized in recent days after the release of the video, which was filmed in front of a courthouse in Columbia, Tenn., where a Black man was famously lynched in the 1920s. In the video, the courthouse is projected with images of violent protests, criminal acts and footage of demonstrations that took place during the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.

"Cuss out a cop, spit in his face
Stomp on the flag and light it up
Yeah, ya think you're tough," Aldean sings.

"Well, try that in a small town
See how far ya make it down the road."

A CMT spokesperson confirmed to The Hill that the video “has been removed” but did not offer additional information on the decision to pull it.

Aldean took to Twitter to defend the song and the video.

“In the past 24 hours I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song (a song that has been out since May) and was subject to the comparison that I (direct quote) was not too pleased with the nationwide BLM protests. These references are not only meritless, but dangerous.

“There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it — and there isn’t a single video clip that isn’t real news footage — and while I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music — this one goes too far," he said.

Aside from widespread criticism that the single is racially motivated and politically charged, many have pointed to references of common rhetoric used by those who oppose gun control.

"Got a gun that my granddad gave me
They say one day they're gonna round up
Well, that shit might fly in the city, good luck," the song goes.

Some listeners have pointed to the country star's tragic history with gun violence. Aldean performed at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival in Las Vegas in 2017 when a gunman opened fire and killed 58 people.

Following the performance, Aldean talked about his experience and signaled he was open to gun control legislation, calling for stronger background checks.

Aldean acknowledged the shooting in his post.

"As so many pointed out, I was present at Route 91 — where so many lost their lives — and our community recently suffered another heartbreaking tragedy. NO ONE, including me, wants to continue to see senseless headlines or families ripped apart,” he said.

"Try That In A Small Town, for me, refers to the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief," Aldean wrote. "Because they were our neighbors, and that was above any differences."

— Judy Kurtz contributed.

The “All Eyez on Me” rapper, who used the stage name 2Pac, was killed in a Las Vegas drive-by shooting at 25. His death remains unsolved.

“LVMPD can confirm a search warrant was served in Henderson, Nevada, on July 17,” police said in a statement to ITK.

The search warrant, the department said, was “part of the ongoing Tupac Shakur homicide investigation.”

The LVMPD said it would not comment further on the search warrant, served more than two decades after the famed performer’s death.

Basketball legend Charles Barkley went on a profanity-filled rant over the weekend against those who have criticized Bud Light over its partnership with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney. 

In video that circulated on social media on Monday, Barkley offered to buy a round of drinks for the crowd at a bar in Lake Tahoe, Calif., where he was reportedly competing in a celebrity golf tournament. 

“So I’m gonna buy some drinks for y’all and I’m gonna buy Bud Light,” he said.

“Hey, lemme tell you something. All you rednecks or a--holes who don’t want to drink Bud Light, f--- y’all. Hey, y’all can’t cancel me!” he added to a mixture of cheers and boos. 

“Hey, I ain’t worried about getting canceled because lemme tell you something, if y’all fire me and gimme all that money, I’m gonna be playing golf every f---ing day. So listen, as I said last night: If you’re gay, God bless you. If you’re trans, God bless you. And if you have a problem with them, f--- you.”

Conservatives have dug in against Bud Light over an Instagram ad featuring Mulvaney earlier this year. The brand recently fell from its spot as the top-selling beer brand in the U.S. for the first time in more than two decades.

Marcel Marcondes, Anheuser-Busch’s global chief marketing officer, said that the controversy was a “wake-up call” to how things can get “divisive and controversial so easily.”

In a video posted to TikTok last month, Mulvaney accused Anheuser-Busch of not having her back amid the right-wing backlash.

“For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse in my opinion than not hiring a trans person at all because it gives customers permission to be as transphobic and hateful as they want,” Mulvaney said in her video. “And the hate doesn’t end with me.”

“I should have made this video months ago, but I didn’t. And I was scared. And I was scared of more backlash and I felt personally guilty for what transpired,” she added. “So I patiently waited for things to get better. But surprise — they haven’t really. And I was waiting for the brand to reach out to me, but they never did.”

“Over the last six years, our democracy has been tested like never before. And in those dark times, Adam gave me hope,” a Monday email from Schiff’s Senate campaign and signed by Hamill said.

“Hope that our democracy would survive. Hope that not only would we get through this, but that we would come out on the other side and our democracy could be strong again,” said the actor.

Schiff is facing California Reps. Barbara Lee and Katie Porter in a closely watched Democratic primary for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D).

“Here’s the thing — it would have been easy for Adam to stay on the sidelines, and let someone else take all the heat for defending our democracy against [former President Trump’s] many abuses of office,” the 71-year-old performer said of Schiff, who led the first impeachment inquiry against the 45th president in 2020.

“But instead he stood up, and led us through dark times. And as I got to know Adam better during those years, I saw true character and determination. A willingness to put himself and his career on the line to hold a dangerous demagogue accountable,” Hamill said.

Hamill has been a frequent Trump critic, saying in 2018 that the “Star Wars” villain Darth Vader wasn’t as bad as the then-commander in chief and 2024 White House hopeful.

Noting that he is a “lifelong Californian,” Hamill said, “I know we need someone who will get stuff done.”

“And nobody will be a more fearless or tireless fighter for our democracy and our state than Adam Schiff. Nobody,” Hamill said. “And with Trump running again, Adam is the best person possible to keep holding him accountable.”

John appeared briefly in the London court by video link from Monaco after his husband, David Furnish, testified that Spacey did not attend an annual gala ball at their Windsor home at the time that the accuser said he was attacked in a car.

John was the final witness for the defense and was followed by character testimonials from colleagues, friends and family that had Spacey in tears in the dock when they were read aloud by his lawyer in Southwark Crown Court.

Spacey, 63, has pleaded not guilty to a dozen charges that include sexual and indecent assault counts and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.

One of the alleged victims said he was driving Spacey to the White Tie & Tiara Ball in 2004 or 2005 when the actor grabbed his crotch so forcefully that he almost ran off the road.

Furnish supported Spacey's own testimony that the only year he had attended the event was 2001. Furnish said he had reviewed photographs taken at the party from 2001 to 2005 and Spacey only appeared in images that one year. He said all guests were photographed each year.

John, who was wearing yellow tinted glasses, a dark jacket and light blue open-collar shirt, said the actor attended the party once in the early 2000s and arrived after flying to England on a private jet.

Spacey’s appearance was a surprise and memorable because it was a big deal, said Furnish, a filmmaker and John’s manager, who also appeared from Monaco.

“He was an Oscar-winning actor and there was a lot of buzz and excitement that he was at the ball," said Furnish.

John said the actor spent the night at their house after the event. He also confirmed that Spacey bought a Mini Cooper at the auction held that night for the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

Spacey said he spent the most money “ever” on that model of car and he kept it in John's garage until he could pick it up later.

The alleged victim said he may have gotten the year wrong, but that he would not have forgotten the incident because it took his breath away and he was driving and almost crashed the car.

The timeline, however, is important because the man testified that Spacey had fondled him over several years beginning in the early 2000s. The incident was the final occasion, he said. He threatened to hit the actor and after that avoided him.

Spacey said the two were friends and they engaged in some romantic contact but the man was straight, so the actor respected his wishes not to go further. He said he was crushed when he learned the man had complained to police about him and said the man had “reimagined” what had been consensual touching.

Furnish said he was familiar with the accuser and described him as “charming,” the same term Spacey used.

Over two days of testimony last week, the two-time Academy Award winner insisted that he never sexually assaulted three of the four accusers who described disturbing encounters between 2001 and 2013. The acts allegedly escalated from unwanted touching to aggressive fondling to one instance of performing oral sex act on an unconscious man.

Spacey dismissed one man’s fondling claims as “pure fantasy” and said he shared consensual encounters with two others who later regretted it. He accepted the claims of a fourth man, saying he had made a “clumsy pass” during a night of heavy drinking, but he took exception to the “crotch-grabbing” characterization.

Defense lawyer Patrick Gibbs rested his case after reading statements from 10 character witnesses who praised the actor’s work and compassion toward others.

Spacey dabbed at his eyes with a tissue as Gibbs read the words of actor Robert Sean Leonard, known for his role on the TV show “House” and the movie “Dead Poets Society.” Leonard said Spacey was "positive, supportive and respectful” and someone he admired greatly.

“He’s more than a successful actor, he’s a movie star, but unlike every other movie star I’ve worked with, he doesn’t know it,” Leonard said. “Stardom was never his goal. He loves and respects the work, and he loves and respects the people he works with."

Closing arguments are expected later in the week. Spacey is free on bail.

John's testimony came just over a week after he wrapped up his 50-year touring career with a show in Stockholm.

It’s the second time the “Rocket Man” star and Furnish have made appearances in a London courtroom this year. The two also showed for hearings in March at the High Court in their phone hacking lawsuit with Prince Harry against the publisher of the Daily Mail newspaper.

The first lady will head to Paris from July 23-26, where she will deliver remarks at a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) flag-raising ceremony.

While there, Biden will highlight the United States' commitment to education leadership on the global stage, the White House said.

The event in France comes after the U.S. in 2019 officially withdrew from UNESCO, two years after the Trump administration cited anti-Israel bias for the decision to leave the group. The withdrawal was largely procedural, and came as the Trump administration more broadly raised concerns about the United Nations' agenda and attitudes toward Israel.

UNESCO was co-founded by the United States after World War II.

The organization "contributes to peace and security by promoting international cooperation in education, sciences, culture, communication and information," according to the United Nations website.

“These conditions will potentially produce an absolute collapse of an entire industry,” the former chief executive of Paramount Pictures said in a Sunday interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation” with Margaret Brennan. 

SAG-AFTRA, the union representing many actors in Hollywood, joined the Writers Guild of America on strike Friday after contract negotiations with film studios failed to be resolved. It's the first time the two labor groups have both been been on strike in decades. 

Diller warned that timing is a key issue in settling this strike. If it doesn’t get resolved until Christmas, for example, there will not be as many programs produced next year, and subscriptions will get pulled. That would result in less money for the movie and television studios to invest in further offerings just when the strike is resolved. 

“So this actually will have devastating effects if it is not settled soon,” he said, noting that he is not particularly hopeful because he sees “no trust” between the two parties. 

The actors share many of the demands of the writers. They say they want higher wages and better compensation for streaming programs, which do not pay as well as traditionally distributed programs. The union wants more pension and health funds support, and it also argued inflation has lowered wages. 

The actors also want to end the practice of self-taped auditions, and they have expressed concerns about artificial intelligence, which Diller argued is most likely overhyped. 

Diller suggested a good solution might be for the top paid actors and top executives to take a 25 percent pay cut, which he described as a “good-faith measure” to try and “narrow the difference between those who get highly paid and those that don't.”

Emhoff will attend the event to kick off the quadrennial tournament Thursday in Auckland. The U.S. team enters as the defending champion, having won the last Women's World Cup in 2019.

The second gentleman will also attend the U.S. team's first match against Vietnam on Friday. While in New Zealand, he will meet with private-sector and community leaders to highlight the partnership between the two countries.

Emhoff will also host a roundtable discussion on promoting tolerance and interfaith dialogue, the White House said, building on what has been a major focus for the second gentleman both domestically and on international trips.

Other members of the U.S. delegation include Tom Udall, the U.S. ambassador to New Zealand; Emmy Ruiz, director of the White House Office of Political Strategy and Outreach; and Tina Flournoy, former chief of staff to Vice President Harris who serves on the President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition.

The Women's World Cup is set to take place from July 20 through Aug. 20, with 32 teams participating.

She scored 18 points, including her team's first six, and put down two dunks in the league's All-Star Game on Saturday night.

The sellout crowd roared when Griner was introduced and, clearly moved by the ovation, she tapped her chest over her heart with her right hand. There was no doubt that a year after being forced to miss this event while detained in Russia, Griner was the star of the show.

“To have that ovation and all those little memories that I can cherish now, it means the world," Griner said. “So it was no question I was going to come and play. They have never wavered in their support.”

Griner led Team Stewart, captained by the New York Liberty's Breanna Stewart, to a 143-127 victory over Team Wilson, led by the Las Vegas Aces' A'ja Wilson. The 143 points and 270 combined points are All-Star Game records.

Team Stewart's Jewell Loyd of the Seattle Storm broke the All-Star Game scoring record with 31 points, setting the mark on a pass from Griner. Maya Moore and Kelsey Plum shared the previous record of 30 points. Loyd earned MVP honors for the game.

“I played hard because of my parents; I didn't get them a gift for their anniversary,” Loyd said. “So I think this was acceptable. I hope it is.”

Plum actually tied her own record with 30 points, one of four Aces competing for Team Wilson, who received loud ovations from the home crowd in pregame introductions. Plum, who also had five assists, said sponsors pledged to donate $1,000 to a Las Vegas charity for each basket and assist.

“So I was gunning,” Plum said. “I mean 17 shots in 21 minutes is wild.”

She raised $16,000.

Griner, at this time last year, was being held in Russia on drug charges, sparking international outrage that she was being wrongfully detained. The WNBA named her an honorary starter, with every player wearing her No. 42 jersey in the second half of last year's game.

This year, Griner was in the starting lineup — the only one wearing that jersey number — overshadowing almost everything that happened on the court.

Team Stewart made Griner the focal point from the beginning. She delivered a dunk with 3:50 remaining in the first quarter off an outlet pass from Stewart. Griner also had a dunk 25 seconds into the second half.

“I called my knees and talked to them and gave them a little pep talk,” the 32-year-old Griner said of her dunks.

She displayed that same jumping ability afterward, leaping up on the riser for the postgame news conference.

Griner at one point in the first quarter challenged Team Wilson point guard Chelsea Gray of the Aces, but Gray drove past the nine-time All-Star from the Phoenix Mercury and dropped in a reverse layup from high off the glass. It was one of the few plays that didn't work out for Griner.

At the first media timeout, Griner was shown on the video board as she sat on the bench with the words, “WELCOME BACK BRITTNEY GRINER” on the screen below her face.

Griner was among the players who wore microphones during the game, joking after missing a 3-pointer that she “got something in my eye.”

The game was played with a 20-second shot clock rather than the usual 24, two 4-point spots on each side of the court were added and there were no free throws. The teams combined to hit 12 4-point shots.

New York’s Sabrina Ionescu, representing Team Stewart, made all three of her attempts from 4-point range in the first half, carrying over her extraordinary shooting from the previous day. Ionescu set a WNBA and NBA record with 37 of a possible 40 points in the 3-point contest. She finished with 18 points.

Sue Bird, Seimone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles were among the ex-WNBA players in attendance, with Fowles wearing Napheesa Collier's Minnesota Lynx jersey.

Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis and Dwyane Wade were among those with NBA ties watching. Wade is buying an ownership stake in the Chicago Sky.

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