Other blockbusters are sure to be green with envy when they see Wicked’s record-breaking box office debut. Variety reports that the first movie in the two-part Broadway musical adaptation extravaganza made $114 million stateside and $50.2 million overseas. This $165 million payday exceeds its $150 million budget. Its success also makes it the third-largest film opening in 2024 behind Deadpool & Wolverine and Inside Out 2, which made $211 million and $154 million, respectively. Wicked also had the most profitable opening weekend of any Broadway show turned film. The movie, directed by Jon M. Chu, stars pop star Ariana Grande as good witch Glinda and two-time Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo as her fellow witch and green frenemy Elphaba. For just over two hours, the film explores what could’ve happened between the two that led to their notorious rift long before Dorothy and her red shoes blew into Oz. Film legend Jeff Goldblum plays the equally legendary Wizard of Oz, and Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh portrays Madam Morrible, a headmistress at the university the young witches attend. The second film is expected to be released in November 2025.

A South Korean man has been found guilty of dodging his required military service after he binge ate for several months in hopes of becoming too obese to serve in a combat role. The 26-year-old, whose name was not released, was sentenced to a year in prison over the scheme, the Telegraph reported. The man sought help from a friend who provided him with a high-calorie meal plan to reach a body mass index (BMI) high enough to be dismissed for combat roles. “The defendant acknowledged his wrongdoing and expressed a commitment to fulfilling his military duty‚” said the Seoul eastern district court, local media reported. It’s unclear how authorities became aware of the binge-eating man’s plan. Men in the country under the age of 30 are required to fulfill two years of military service.

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Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL) claimed he and President Joe Biden’s national security advisor Jake Sullivan are “are hand in glove,” collaborating on national security issues during the transition. “Jake Sullivan and I have had discussions, we’ve met,” Waltz said on Fox News Sunday. “For our adversaries out there that think this is a time of opportunity, that they can play one administration off the other — they are wrong.” The Florida representative was tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to be his national security advisor on Nov. 11. He is the first Green Beret to serve in Congress. Waltz’s conversation with Sullivan was first reported by Axios on Saturday. Sources say the pair discussed the ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine. Last week, Biden approved Kyiv’s use of anti-personnel landmines, a decision Waltz equated to “World War I trench warfare.” He added “We need to bring this to a responsible end. We need to restore deterrence and peace and get ahead of this escalation later rather than responding to it.”

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte said Saturday that she hired an assassin to kill the country’s president, his wife and the speaker of the House of Representatives if she turns up dead. “I’ve given my order, ‘If I die, don’t stop until you’ve killed them.’ And he said, ’yes,’” the vice president told a shocked news conference. Officials said they considered her words, aimed at President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., “serious and a matter of national security.” Duterte and Marcos ran together on a unity ticket in 2022 only to have a bitter falling out that saw her resign from his cabinet. The vice president takes over if the president dies and serves the rest of their term, according to the Philippine Constitution. Duterte is the daughter of controversial former President Rodrigo Duterte, who encouraged the execution-style extrajudicial murders of drug users and alleged criminals and who admitted to running his own “death squad” when he was mayor of Davao City. House leaders called for a probe into Duterte’s threat on Sunday.

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Chad Duell, who starred as Michael Corinthos on ABC’s General Hospital, has announced that he will leave the daytime soap opera. Duell, who has appeared for 14 years on the series, shared the news Saturday in a post on Instagram. “After many incredible years with General Hospital, I’ve decided to step away from the show,” the actor wrote. “This wasn’t an easy decision for me, but it feels like the right time in my life. I’m beyond grateful to Frank Valentini, the cast, crew and everyone behind the scenes who have been like family to me throughout this amazing journey.” In the role, Duell played the adopted son of mob boss Sonny Corinthos. Duell thanked the fans for their “unwavering support and for letting Michael Corinthos be a part of your lives.” “This isn’t a goodbye—it’s a see you later," he concluded his post.

British popstar Adele gave a teary farwell to the audience at her 100th and final Las Vegas show Saturday night. The “Easy on Me” singer expressed sorrow to see the end of her lengthy residency at the 4,000-capacity Colosseum at Caesars Palace and said she doesn’t know when she’ll next play live. “I’m so sad this residency is over but I am so glad that it happened, I really, really am,” she told the crowd, videos posted from the concert show. “I will miss it terribly, I will miss you terribly. I don’t know when I next want to perform again.” The London-born singer, 36, was set to begin her Vegas residency in January 2022 before a Covid outbreak among crew pushed it back to later in the year. She played every Friday and Saturday. “I’m not doing anything else, I’m actually sh—ing myself about what I am going to do,” she joked to the audience. “I don’t have any f—ing plans.”

A 69-year-old Lithuanian man was forced to undergo an emergency leg amputation during a 20-hour rescue operation in the Tasmanian wilderness. The man, who remains in critical condition, arrived at Tasmania’s Royal Hobart hospital on Sunday. He had been participating in a multi-day rafting trip with a group of tourists on the Franklin River when he slipped on a rock, becoming partially submerged and trapped in a crevice where he remained for nearly 20 hours. Mitch Parkinson, an intensive care flight paramedic who responded to the scene told The Guardian that the predicament was “the most challenging case that I have ever taken part in.” One surf lifesaver described the man as “wedged like an hourglass.” He and other rescuers tried freeing him using ropes and pulleys, eventually deploying airbags and hydraulic tools to try to shift the submerged rocks that were pinning the man. “The focus of the entire evening was ensuring that [amputation] was the absolute last resort,” Parkinson said. Deciding to amputate, he added “was not a discussion or decision that was made lightly.” The trapped man spoke only broken English, but his Lithuanian friends helped to supply him with hot drinks and meals during the rescue. A Lithuanian doctor in the tour group was able to act as a translator.

Chuck Woolery, the legendary host of the dating show “Love Connection,” has died at 83. The veteran television personality, who was the original host of “Wheel of Fortune,” died at his home in Texas Saturday after experiencing trouble breathing, TMZ reported. His friend, Mark Young, also confirmed the news, writing on X, “It is with a broken heart that I tell you that my dear brother @chuckwoolery has just passed away. Life will not be the same without him, RIP brother.” In 1983, Woolery kicked off his 11-year stint as the host of the famed dating show, “Love Connection,” where he became known for telling viewers before the commercial break, “We’ll be back in two minutes and two seconds.” Other notable television gigs included hosting the shows “Lingo,” “Greed” and “The Chuck Woolery Show.”

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TikTok is looking to Elon Musk for insight into the controversial app’s future ahead of Donald Trump’s coming administration. Musk, who is one of the president-elect’s closest confidants, also owns rival platform X. According to the Wall Street Journal, Shou Chew, chief executive of the popular video sharing app, began reaching out to Musk in recent weeks. He and and executives at TikTok’s parent company, Chinese tech giant ByteDance, see the Tesla CEO as a potential point of contact in the White House amid TikTok’s impending ban in the United States due to national security concerns. While sources familiar with the conversations say Chew has not explicitly asked Musk how to keep TikTok operating in the U.S., he has engaged with the billionaire on topics like Trump’s potential tech policy. ByteDance executives are reportedly cautiously optimistic about the conversations. Earlier this year, however, President Joe Biden signed a law banning TikTok if ByteDance doesn’t divest itself of the platform by mid-January. In May, TikTok filed a federal lawsuit arguing the new law violates the free-speech rights of its users.

Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes will have to pony up $14,069 after the NFL fined him for unsportsmanlike conduct. According to NBC Sports, the fine stems from a “violent” gesture Mahomes made last Sunday during a touchdown celebration in a game against the Buffalo Bills. The Bills would go on to win the game, ending the Chiefs’ winning streak. A video posted to X by sports reporter Tom Pelissero shows the moment in question. In the clip, Mahomes can be seen making finger guns with both hands and pointing towards the crowd. Mahomes has yet to comment on the fine. Unfortunately for the three-time Super Bowl champion, this isn’t his first fine for conduct on the field. He was previously fined $50,000 for yelling at a game official in 2023 during another game against the Bills. “I had outbursts on the sideline and everybody saw it on a big game, and so there’s going to be consequences to that,” ESPN reports Mahomes said at the time.