Latest news with #King'sRansom
Time of India
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Inside the White House Rose Garden: A complete flower guide with seasonal highlights
The White House is not all about the Oval Office, the East Wing, or the South Lawn. The Rose Garden, bordering the Oval Office and the West Wing, is one of the most significant spaces in the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States, in Washington, D.C. And as of now, renovations are underway for the historic Rose Garden. Earlier this month, construction crews broke ground on the outdoor area after President Donald Trump ordered a major remodel, including replacing the grass with gravel. The US President had said in previous interviews that he wanted the area paved for the ease of visitors − specifically those in heeled footwear. Trump had suggested at the time that the grass would go, but the flowers could stay, while telling Fox News confidently, 'I think it's going to be more beautiful. ' Approximately 125 feet long and 60 feet wide, the White House Rose Garden is where history, elegance, and seasonal flair converge in a polished, yet delightfully natural tableau. More than a backdrop for diplomacy, presidential addresses, or peace treaties – it's a living canvas that changes with the seasons – bursting with roses, bulbs, shrubs, and more. With this article, step inside the verdant charm of the White House Rose Garden, with historical anecdotes and blooming beauties. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Manchas, rugas e pele opaca? Uma aplicação disso à noite está virando febre. A arte do herbalismo Undo A blossoming timeline Colonial beginnings (1902–1913): First Lady Edith Roosevelt first transformed this patch of land—once a greenhouse and stable—into a charming colonial garden filled with daisies, Johnny-jump-ups, and boxwood edgings. Formal establishment (1913): First Lady Ellen Wilson officially named it the Rose Garden, bringing in George Burnap to structure the space with formal beds and pathways. 1930s enhancements: Under FDR, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. added cast-iron seating and refined sightlines, perfecting the blend of beauty and ceremony. Kennedy makeover (1961–62): In 1962, Rachel 'Bunny' Mellon, at President Kennedy's request, reimagined the garden as a hybrid of aesthetic beauty and practical design – capable of hosting 1,000 guests. The key improvements include a 50×100‑foot central lawn framed by four saucer magnolias in the corners, and borders featuring Katherine crabapple trees, boxwood hedging, and seasonal blooming plants. Moreover, a carefully chosen rose assortment was created, with heritage varieties like Queen Elizabeth, Pascali, Pat Nixon, King's Ransom, and the cool-toned Nevada shrub rose. But that's not all. Bunny redesigned the garden with a formal framework: a lush central lawn flanked by saucer magnolia corners, Katherine crabapples, boxwood, and thyme – apart from the signature roses. The result? A 'green theater of diplomacy'—a living stage for historic moments, from astronaut welcomes to press events and bridal ceremonies. 2020 refresh: First Lady Melania Trump revitalized the garden, adding ADA-compliant limestone paths, drainage enhancements, and more than 200 disease-resistant roses, including the 'Pope John Paul II' rose. Seasonal splendor: What blooms when As the seasons change, so does the vibrant tapestry of blooms that graces the White House Rose Garden and its landscape. Spring: brings a vibrant array of blooms, starting with an impressive selection of bulbs. Among the eye-catching flowers are tulips, daffodils, jonquils, grape hyacinth, squill, and chionodoxa, each adding pops of color to the landscape. Fritillaria also graces the garden, contributing to the seasonal beauty. Additionally, the majestic saucer magnolias stand out, adorning the four corners with their splendid floral displays. Summer: the roses take center stage in this floral showcase. The classic tones of Queen Elizabeth, Pascali, Pat Nixon, King's Ransom, and Nevada roses create a striking visual impact. Modern tributes to leaders and peace are represented by the JFK Rose, Peace Rose, and Pope John Paul II Rose – each bringing its unique flair to the garden. Not to be overlooked, the resilient Knock Out varieties are carefully chosen for their capability to thrive in the DC climate. To maintain a fresh and colorful atmosphere throughout the season, annuals and ornamental grasses are refreshed yearly, enhancing both texture and vibrancy. Fall and early winter: the Rose Garden transforms again, with chrysanthemums and flowering kale providing late-season charm as the temperatures begin to cool. These plants add a warm, inviting touch to the landscape, ensuring that beauty persists even as the growing season winds down. A floral guide: The complete flower roster The complete flower roster showcases the diverse and stunning options available for each season. The roses include the Queen Elizabeth (Grandiflora), Pascali (tea rose), Pat Nixon (tea rose), King's Ransom (tea rose), and Nevada (white shrub rose), alongside hybrids like the JFK Rose, Peace Rose, and Pope John Paul II Rose, well-known for their fragrance and symbolism. Knock Out roses are resilient, modern shrubs that add longevity to the garden. White House gardens show signs of Spring One step to a healthier you—join Times Health+ Yoga and feel the change
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Lupin' Writer Tony Saint Working on Action-Thriller Series ‘King's Ransom' Set in Elite Boarding School (EXCLUSIVE)
Tony Saint, whose credits include writing and executive producing Apple TV+'s Emmy-winning 'Tehran,' Sky's 'Das Boot' and Netflix's 'Lupin,' is working on a new action-thriller series, 'King's Ransom.' The show — based on an original idea by Chris Peppe ('The Flash,' 'Nikita') — is about a hostage taking at the world's most elite Swiss boarding school — but in this school the students aren't just privileged, they stem from families that make up the very foundations of global power. According to the synopsis, the mercenaries holding them hostage 'might be after much more than money.' More from Variety David Dastmalchian, Georgina Campbell Teaming for Horror 'The Shepherd,' Anton Launching Sales in Cannes (EXCLUSIVE) Netflix, Max and Prime Video Negotiate With French Film Guilds for Earlier Access to New Releases After Disney+ Deal Spooky Animated Feature 'Night of the Zoopocalypse' Bought by Viva for U.S. Ahead of Sitges Premiere as Charades, Anton Unveil First Clip (EXCLUSIVE) 'King's Ransom' is being developed and produced by Globalgate Entertainment, Barry Films, Wachafilm, and U.K.-based Anton. Saint has been tapped to write the pilot episode and serve as showrunner. 'Working with such great partners, I'm so excited to bring 'King's Ransom' to life,' said Saint. 'It's the kind of show I most love to write – a real thrill ride with big stakes, big characters … and big heart.' Benito Mueller and Wolfgang Mueller of Barry Films will executive produce along with Clifford Werber, William Pfeiffer and Paul Presburger of Globalgate Entertainment, Manuela Noble and Mark Sandell of Wachafilm, and Sebastien Raybaud ('Fuze,' 'Greenland: Migration'), Caroline Kusser and Serena Karp of Anton. 'In partnership with Barry Films and Globalgate Entertainment and with Tony Saint as showrunner, King's Ransom is a perfect fit for Anton's mission to deliver high quality, premium entertainment for global audiences, with top notch IP, talent and partners,' said Anton CEO Raybaud. Last year, Anton secured new financing of more thank $100 million through a group of institutional investors, led by funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, which it said would be pumped into its film and TV output. 'We were immediately captivated by King's Ransom, its setting, characters and story prospects, all of which have become all the more resonant and intriguing to global citizens and audiences. We're ecstatic to be partnering with Anton, Barry Films and Wachafilm and guided by Tony Saint's gifted and indelible writing,' said Globalgate Entertainment. 'The sort of show we love to watch, King's Ransom delivers everything we look for in a project: ambition, urgency, and unforgettable characters. We're excited to build this world alongside Tony Saint and our partners at Anton and Globalgate,' added Barry Films. Commented Wachafilm: 'After developing 'King's Ransom' with Chris Peppe, now advancing it with showrunner Tony Saint marks a significant and exciting progression in its evolution. We are elated to be producing the series with Anton, Barry Films and Globalgate Entertainment – all formidable producers whose vision, expertise and creative insight align seamlessly with the ambitious scope of the series.' Best of Variety What's Coming to Netflix in June 2025 New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts?
USA Today
03-06-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Cowboys invested less than $4 million, but may have grabbed key contributor in free agency
Cowboys invested less than $4 million, but may have grabbed key contributor in free agency The Dallas Cowboys don't usually spend much in outside free agency so when they do, it's wise for fans to take notice. Unlike most offseasons, the Cowboys attacked 2025 with two shakes of fervor and a dash of gusto. They opened their checkbooks for a number of players, even making trades to round out the rough edges along the way. Lost in the flurry of activity is the contract value the front office placed at a couple key acquisitions. While running backs Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders have dominated much of free agent conversation, there's a different player the front office deemed more valuable, by way of contract, who's quietly falling under the radar. When the Cowboys signed former Dolphins guard Robert Jones to a one-year, $3,750,000 deal in March, it was largely met with indifference from the fanbase. Zack Martin had just retired and Dallas needed options on the table to possibly replace him in the starting lineup. The Cowboys made sizeable investments at left tackle, right guard and center in recent drafts, so Jones looked like a perfectly reasonable option to replace Martin. $3,750,000 isn't a King's Ransom but it's not nothing either. It represents the Cowboys second-largest salary investment in outside free agency this offseason with only Dante Fowler's $6 million figure topping it. It was a larger annual amount than what was given to Solomon Thomas, Payton Turner, Jack Sanborn and the two headline grabbing running backs. The Cowboys clearly value Jones. Like most years, the Cowboys are taking the opportunity in their organized team activities (OTAs) to test the many different combinations of offensive linemen. Chances are good the final combo will follow the chalk and feature Tyler Guyton, Tyler Smith, Cooper Beebe, Tyler Booker and Terence Steele as starters. But backup plans could very well have Jones in the mix. Jones never graded particularly great in Miami but he has experience and he's relatively young. Working under one of the best O-line minds in the game in Klayton Adams, the stage is set for Jones to deliver his very best in Dallas here in 2025. The Cowboys front office probably thinks as much or they wouldn't have made Jones their second-highest paid free agent acquisition this offseason. Whether he's a contingency plan should someone falter, or an emergency option should someone fall to injury, he's a safe bet to be in the mix. Since $3 million has been given him in signing bonus and guarantees he's nearly a lock to make the team. Hopefully, everything works out with the predicted starting lineup and no one has to see Jones play in 2025, but the Cowboys clearly saw the value in Jones or they wouldn't have made him one of their highest paid free agent additions. It's something everyone should keep in mind as training camp inches closer. You can follow Reid on X @ReidDHanson and be sure to follow Cowboys Wire on Facebook to join in on the conversation with fellow fans!
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Highest 2 Lowest' Isn't Spike Lee's Best or Worst — Just a Chance to Watch Denzel Go HAM
A new Spike Lee movie is still a calendar-clearing event; in the near 30 years since She's Gotta Have It helped kickstart the Amerindie boom and introduced the world to a brash, trash-talking auteur from Brooklyn, he's given us era-defining statements and eccentric sidebars, epic biopics and intimate performance movies, blockbusters and docs, highs and lows. His place in the canon is assured. It's still always a dice roll, of course, and you never know which Spike you're going to get — the crank, the cinephile, the cut-up, the muckraker, the messmaker, the master craftsman, the man with so much trouble on his mind — once the lights go down. Best case scenario, you get all of them, each one duking it out for stage time. Highest 2 Lowest gives the majority of those Spikes a chance to step into the ring, though in terms of where this falls on the quality scale of his filmography, it's ironically right smack dab in the middle. An adaptation of Ed McBain's 1959 novel King's Ransom — as well as a remake of/riff on Akira Kurosawa's 1963 police procedural take on the material, High and Low — it evenly splits the difference between straight-down-the-middle morality drama and an idiosyncratic mix tape of things Lee holds near and dear to his heart. Those expecting another Oldboy, his oddly stock 2013 redo of Park Chan-wook's Oedipal nightmare, will be pleasantly surprised by how personal this feels. Folks hoping for the hug-the-corners heights of his extraordinary heist flick Inside Man (2006) may find themselves squirming restlessly in their seats. Regardless, it pairs him with one of his best collaborators, and once again makes the case that few actors do the right thing better than Denzel Washington. More from Rolling Stone That Doc on Shia LaBeouf's Acting School Is Even Crazier Than You've Heard Pedro Pascal Speaks Out at 'Eddington' Premiere: 'Fear Is the Way That They Win' Kristen Stewart's 'The Chronology of Water' Is One Hell of a Directorial Debut Ah yes, Denzel. Comfortably settled into an éminence grise period that includes well-tested action heroes, larger-than-life villains, and Shakespearean heavy hitters, he's now moved into an intriguing phase of his career that laces his usual rigor with a late-act looseness. We take his gravitas for granted, but he's throwing curveballs into that imposing sense of authority in a way that feels unpredictable, volatile, compelling in a different way. He's still the same capital-letter Movie Star he's always been, still the same leading man you want to follow. There's just an extra level of DGAF playfulness going on now. Once upon a time, you could look at a livewire, lit-fuse Denzel perfomance like the one that nabbed him an Oscar in Training Day (2001) as the notable exception. It's turned into the rule. King Kong will never have shit on him. Lee knows all of this. And after kicking off their fifth movie together with a swooping aerial shot of New York City set to Roger and Hammerstein's anthem 'Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'' (it's not quite the jaw-dropper of the Aaron Copland-scored opening of He Got Game, but it still brings the grandeur), the filmmaker gives his star a foundation to start flexing. In both the book and the Kurosawa film, the tycoon at the center of the story's conflict is in the shoe business. Lee upgrades his version by resetting it in the music industry. Washington's mogul David King, a.k.a. 'King David,' is part Berry Gordy, part Irv Gotti, and a little bit of this guy minus the, um, other stuff. He has the best ears in the biz, though his heyday as the head of Stackin' Hits Records has long past. Now he's looking to make a deal that would allow him to buy back his old label and secure his legacy. King just needs to get corporate support and move some cash around. It's more complicated than you'd think. His wife, Pam (Ilfenesh Hadera), is concerned this is just an expensive ego trip. His son, Trey (Aubrey Joseph), is angry that his dad is blowing off promises to be more present. His best friend and driver, Paul (Jeffrey Wright), just wants his boss to be sure he's thinking everything through. Later in the day, a phone call comes in. Someone has kidnapped Trey. They want a hefty $17.5 million ransom, or else. King is prepped to give in to their demands, because nothing is more important to him than family. Soon, it's revealed the criminals have abducted the wrong kid. They actually nabbed Kyle (Elijah Wright), Trey's closest pal …and Paul's son. The question becomes: Will King still pay the ransom? This is the moment when Highest 2 Lowest starts to tackle the thornier issues behind its pulp-thriller surface, and despite both Washington and Wright digging into this dilemma like old pros (especially Wright, who modulates the character's rage beautifully), it's also the movie starts to struggle to maintain a pulse. There have been plenty of quirky Spike-isms spicing things up before then, from stylistic tics to a lot of flipped birds to Larry Byrd's old team; this is the type of movie where someone breaking the fourth wall and yelling 'Boston sucks!' feels totally on-brand. But it also settles into a groove that risks being sluggish and generic. It could be any police procedural, made by anybody with DGA membership, that just happens to star a legend. Still, when Spike wants to turn it up, he rises to the occasion. There are two scenes in Highest 2 Lowest that feel like Lee is having fun while leaving his mark on his homage to a landmark crime flick. One involves the ransom drop, which involves the Bronx subway line, a backpack, a number of interchangeable pick-up men on motorcycles and an outdoor performance by Salsa icon Eddie Palmieri. Lee intercuts all of the action with Palmieri's 1972 hit 'Puerto Rico,' and you can feel the voltage levels going into the red. It's a first rate interpretation of an old genre chestnut, the endless switcheroo hand-off, and the fact that it also feels like a political statement only makes it that much more exhilarating. A joyous public display of ethnic pride, taking place in the city that once housed a commander-in-chief now determined to strip America of its immigrant and/or nonwhite populations, shouldn't feel like such a radical gesture. But these are the fucked-up times we live in. The second takes place once King and the kidnapper finally meet face to face. Thanks to playlist of unsigned artists that his son had made him, the mogul identifies the culprit. It's an aspiring rapper named Yung Felon, played by A$AP Rocky. King tracks him down to the studio where he's recording, and two men square off over success envy, second chances, Felon's simmering anger over being ignored until someone's life is at stake. Then they begin trading freestyle battle-rap verses. None of the lines can be reprinted here in full, but trust us: Denzel has bars. It's also the kind of swagger-off that the star excels in, and that Rocky uses to prove he can match when up against a guy who's played Malcolm X, Macbeth and Gladiator II's power broker Macrinus. It ends sooner than you want it to, all the better for Washington to go full Equalizer on his scene partner. But it belongs in any future highlight reel of everyone involved. It's all over but the emotional healing and one last jailhouse debate after that, and Highest 2 Lowest gamely makes sure its loose ends are left tied. The impression is that you've just seen a great New York movie, with a great star turn at the core of it, and yet still feels like something's missing. It's ultimately an excuse to watch Washington go HAM. What's more interesting is the coda Lee throws in just when you think the credits will start rolling. Throughout the story, we've seen Washington's lion of the industry trying to recapture his roar, as well as looking at music business fixated on the bottom line and asking: Who stole the soul? Then he hears a new singer-songwriter croon, and suddenly, his sense of purpose feels renewed. It's not hard to make the leap from the music industry to the moving pictures, and how that industry might have lost its way. Lee doesn't need to ask who stole the soul there. He's just looking to renew his own sense of purpose and make something both crowds and his own inner cinephile might dig. You have to applaud the effort. Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Best 'Saturday Night Live' Characters of All Time Denzel Washington's Movies Ranked, From Worst to Best 70 Greatest Comedies of the 21st Century
Black America Web
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Black America Web
TRAILER: Denzel Washington & Spike Lee Reunite in 'Highest 2 Lowest'
Black America Web Featured Video CLOSE Source: Erik Voake / Getty Spike Lee and Denzel Washington are teaming up again in Highest 2 Lowest , an A24 crime thriller set in the world of New York's music industry. The film marks the duo's fifth collaboration and is already building buzz ahead of its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival later this month. RELATED: Spike Lee Praises Ryan Coogler & Michael B. Jordan's 'Sinners,' Saying It Embodies 'Black Cinematic Power' Based on Akira Kurosawa's 1963 classic High and Low , Lee's adaptation switches corporate Japan for the rugged streets of NYC. The trailer teases a narrative that weaves together success, betrayal, and the dark side of fame. Highest 2 Lowest features an all-star cast including Jeffrey Wright, Ilfenesh Hadera, and A$AP Rocky, with Ice Spice making her acting debut. The screenplay, penned by William Alan Fox, is loosely rooted in Kurosawa's film and the 1959 novel King's Ransom by Ed McBain. This project will mark Spike Lee's first film since 2020's Da 5 Bloods and his long-awaited return to working with Washington after 2006's Inside Man . The pair also collaborated on Mo' Better Blues , Malcolm X , and He Got Game . Highest 2 Lowest hits select theaters on August 22nd and debuts on Apple TV+ on September 5th. SEE ALSO TRAILER: Denzel Washington & Spike Lee Reunite in 'Highest 2 Lowest' was originally published on
