Urgent warning as scammers are targeting £150 Council Tax Rebate scheme and calling people asking for bank details

Joe Otterson TV ReporterGarrett Hedlund has joined the cast of the Sylverster Stallone-led Paramount+ series “Tulsa King,” Variety has learned exclusively.The series follows New York mafia capo Dwight “The General” Manfredi (Stallone) just after he is released from prison after 25 years and unceremoniously exiled by his boss to set up shop in Tulsa, OK. Realizing that his mob family may not have his best interests in mind, Dwight slowly builds a “crew” from a group of unlikely characters, to help him establish a new criminal empire in a place that to him might as well be another planet.Hedlund will appear in the series regular role of Mitch Keller, an Oklahoma native and ex bull-rider who retired prematurely after injuries led to addiction.

Selome Hailu HBO Max and Cartoon Network has greenlit and acquired several projects for their kids and family live action slate, Variety has learned exclusively. The slate includes two specials based on Mattel’s American Girl franchise and a supernatural romance starring Peyton List.The first American Girl special has the working title “American Girl: Corinne Tan,” inspired by the doll brand’s 2022 girl of the year and the first doll of Chinese descent.

Dua Lipa is setting her priorities straight, following her split with ex-boyfriend Anwar Hadid. The successful singer has revealed that she is “single and content” and does not want to focus on anything else but herself at the moment.After going on her long awaited Future Nostalgia Tour, the singer says she wants to have time to work on her confidence and learn how to be there for herself, which is why she has decided to go on dates with herself, even if the public comments on it.“Some people on the internet were like, ‘Oh, Dua went out for dinner on her own, blah blah, I do this all the time,’” she explained during her recent interview with Vogue.“And I think that’s amazing if you do it all the time.

Daniel D'Addario Chief TV CriticDavid E. Kelley never went away, exactly, but his brand of high-middlebrow drama conveyed with alternating froth and gravity has been particularly thick on the ground of late.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorYouTube has hatched a new way to spur content production for YouTube Shorts, its TikTok-like short form video feature: The video giant is launching Green Screen, which lets creators use clips from the billions of videos on YouTube as the background for their Shorts.With Green Screen, YouTube Shorts creators will be able to remix up to 60 seconds of video (or audio only) from any eligible on-demand YouTube video or other YouTube Short — as long as the original creator has granted permission to do so and the video isn’t flagged for copyright violations.The creative tool is YouTube’s latest effort to compete with TikTok, which popularized the short-form video format and counts more than 1 billion monthly active users. YouTube Shorts has boomed in popularity and now averages more than 30 billion daily views, up more than fourfold from 6.5 billion a year ago, Alphabet/Google CEO Sundar Pichai told investors last month.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterWhile measuring the success of broadcast series has largely been a job for the TV ratings among the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demographic, that total viewer tally is still powerful and not to be ignored.With the end of the 2021-2022 season fast approaching, Variety has looked at 33 weeks of complete Nielsen data from September to May to assess what the most and least-watched primetime scripted series have been across NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox.The below total viewer averages are season-long for each show and include persons over the age of 2, which is what Nielsen counts as a viewer. The totals are based on Nielsen’s “most current” data stream through May 8, which includes a week’s worth of delayed viewing where available. For the “most” list, it is ranked beginning with the top show.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodriguez presented their newborn girl by sharing three new photos on Instagram. Rodriguez also revealed the baby’s name. “Bella Esmeralda

Katherine Tulich The Sydney Film Festival has completed the selection for its first full in-person edition in three years with a strong Australian lineup and a smattering of Cannes titles. The 2022 edition runs June 8 – 19, 2022.After COVID disruptions saw the 2021 edition delayed from June until November, it has been a quick six-month turnaround to return the 2022 festival to its regular winter slot.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentFor some cinephiles, Sicily may still conjure images from “The Godfather” franchise, but the Italian isle has long moved on.When you see Sicily on screen these days in movies and TV series made for global audiences, the narratives now seldom involve Cosa Nostra tropes as they once used to. What’s taking precedence for producers now is the sheer beauty of the Sicilian landscape in its plethora of forms.“For decades Sicily was where you would come to film stories that were centered around the Mafia and organized crime; but now this is changing,” says Sicilian Film Commission chief Nicola Tarantino.

Rebekah Vardy claims in evidence she will "never forgive" Coleen Rooney for "ruining" her pregnancy and causing her weeks of stress after accusing her of leaking information to the press.Vardy is now in a libel battle with Rooney and the court trial is underway, who claimed Vardy had revealed private details of her life with former footballer Wayne Rooney.Rooney underwent a months-long "sting operation" to find out who had revealed her private information.She accused Vardy's account of being the culprit.Vardy is now seeking legal action against the claims and has now claimed months of torment she endured before and after her pregnancy.Vardy said she had suffered "strange palpitations" and "contraction-type pains" after she began receiving a slew of vile messages after Rooney's social media post.In a written statement, Vardy said: "I was in such a heightened state of emotion because I was heavily pregnant and it felt like the whole world was caving in on me. I must have been in shock.“I started getting really bad pains in my stomach … They were contraction type pains and I panicked that the baby was in danger.”Vardy claimed that she suffered with severe anxiety and suicidal thoughts in the last two months of her pregnancy, and was admitted to hospital three times.

tribunal.Despite having asked to not work weekends, due to being the sole carer for the eight-year-old child at the time, and not having anyone to look after her, Jacqueline Keating's 'frustrated' boss told her she had to find her own replacement if she could not work a shift.After being forced to quit she sued the high street chain for sex discrimination and unfair dismissal.Ms Keating has now been awarded £25,558.55 in compensation after the panel found that forcing women, as primary caregivers, to work on Saturdays puts them at a disadvantage.Having started working at a WHSmith chain in London in October 2015 she was on a 20 hour contract – plus a further eight when required, the panel heard.Then, in July 2018, her boss – named in tribunal documents only as Mr Cruikshank – introduced a Saturday rota for weekday staff to work one weekend day a month.This was to combat falling sales revenue and came after university students who usually covered the weekend had quit, the tribunal heard.The hearing in Croydon, south London, was told on numerous occasions that this roster was a ‘massive issue’ for the single mother, who had no family or social network to help her out.The tribunal was told she tried to talk to her boss multiple times about this, even sending him a text which was ignored.In September 2018, although she told her boss she could not work the Saturdays she had been put down for, she was informed she would have to organise swaps herself, the panel heard.The following month, Ms Keating was forced to ask for both WHSmith and her boss to sign off on letting her daughter accompany her to work – a move the panel found to be an indication of her ‘obvious and significant childcare issues’.The tribunal found this should

Love Island's Faye Winter has joked that she will break Teddy Soares's knee when it's time for him to pop the question. Since leaving the famous Majorca villa, their relationship has gone from strength to strength, with them even moving in with one another.The pair met on the ITV2 dating show last year and are seriously loved up, so fans have been speculating about whether they are engaged - or when they will be.Asked about it at the Pride of Manchester Awards, Faye told the Daily Star: "I mean, I wish, but everything happens in its own time."Teddy then chimed in coyly: "Yeah everything happens in its own time."Faye quipped: "Basically when I break his knee then he's got to get down.

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has been "done dirty" by an artist's courtroom sketch, leaving fans on social media hysterical.The Red Devils' record goalscorer, 36, was in attendance at London's High Court on Tuesday (May 11th) to support wife Coleen on day one of her 'Wagatha Christie' defamation trial versus Rebekah Vardy. The ex-Dancing on Ice contestant is suing Coleen for libel after she claimed Vardy was leaking her private Instagram stories to The Sun.The high-profile legal battle has already drawn mass media attention and some crazy headlines - with Mysterious Girl star Peter Andre bizarrely brought into matters by Rooney's legal team.

Golf star Paige Spiranac revealed she had to change her name and delete her social media after she was stalked. The American recalled her nightmare on the latest episode of her 'Playing a Round' podcast and explained why she now goes by the name Paige Renee on her social platforms.The incident goes back to her college and university days and the stunner explained what she did to try and ensure she could not be found by a group of girls online.

F1 driver has to master - but what happens if nature calls when you're halfway round the track?If you've ever looked at Formula One drivers kitted out in their race suits, locked into the cockpit, and wondered what happens when they need to relieve yourselves, you're not alone as Google's top search return when you enter 'do F1 drivers' finishes the sentence with 'pee'.So, what's the verdict? Well, simply the answer is yes, they do pee in their suits but many drivers have chosen not to and have been posed the question about their toilet habits previously in their career.In 2016, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton appeared on American television and was posed the question, where he responded by denying that he has ever done it but did reveal a big secret about his fellow seven-time championship winner Michael Schumacher.“You’re supposed to go in your suit, but I can’t do it. I’ve never done it.

Britney Spears went wild last month when she revealed that she's pregnant. The singer announced that she’s expecting a baby with her fiancé Sam Asghari.

Shirley Ju On Tuesday, May 10th, the 70th annual BMI Pop Awards took over the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.Hosted by BMI president and CEO Mike O’Neill and vice president, worldwide creative Barbara Cade, Carole Bayer Sager and Mike Stoller were honored as BMI Icons for their contributions as songwriters — their many credits include such classics as “Don’t Cry Out Loud” and “Hound Dog,” respectively. Both are members of Songwriters Hall of Fame and have enjoyed profitable careers in their craft for decades, as was noted in their BMI presentations.

Emily Longeretta Ahead of the long-awaited return of “Westworld,” the cast will get back together to headline ATX TV Festival‘s closing night event. On Saturday, June 4, the cast and creative team behind the HBO series will take part in the panel in Austin, Texas.

K.J. Yossman Polly Cochrane, WarnerMedia’s EVP and Country Manager for U.K. and Ireland, is stepping down, she revealed today.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentPresiding over the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, director Thierry Frémaux has assembled some serious Hollywood star power, world cinema auteurs amid indications that despite COVID, the film world is buzzing with anticipation for the films, the deals and most of all the glamour the fest brings.While Frémaux has been credited with expanding the horizons of the Cannes Film Festival since taking over the reins of its Official Selection in 2001, he’s also been praised for building relationships with American studios and filmmakers.This year, he’s lured them back in spite of the ongoing pandemic, with a lineup including James Gray’s “Armageddon Time,” David Cronenberg’s “Crimes of the Future,” Joseph Kosinski’s “Top Gun: Maverick,” Kelly Reichardt’s “Showing Up,” George Miller’s “Three Thousand Years of Longing” and Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis.” “My first red carpet was for ‘Moulin Rouge!’ with Baz Luhrmann and Nicole Kidman in 2001 and it will be engraved in my memory forever,” says Fremaux. “I’m happy to reunite with Baz this year.

Get all the biggest Lifestyle news straight to your inbox. Sign up for the free Daily Star Hot Topics newsletter Mohan Iyengar, vice-chairman of the LGA's Safer and Stronger Communities Board told the BBC that councils are trying to ensure families get their tax rebate quickly.