Wordle, A Fast-Growing Online Game, Is Acquired By New York Times Company

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBlackRock and Warner Music Group have invested $750 million, in partnership with Influence Media, to acquire music-rights catalogs from female and diverse artists, a source confirms to Variety.Rather than joining the fray pursuing catalogs of iconic, older white-male artists like Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and David Bowie, the female-led Influence, which was founded by Lylette Pizarro (formerly a partner at RPM GRP) and Lynn Hazan (formerly CFO and GM of Epic Records) is focusing on newer, active catalogs, and plans to work with the artists, which will retain a stake in their work.While companies like Hipgnosis Songs also have invested in what are called “shallow” (i.e. more recent) catalogs from contemporary hitmakers like Jeff Bhasker, this partnership has already invested $300 million in 20 catalogs, including Puerto Rican powerhouse songwriter-producer Tainy, known for his work with Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Rosalía, Shawn Mendes and Cardi B’s “I Like It.” The news was first reported in the Wall Street Journal.

Zack Sharf With news coming in that Russia was invading Ukraine, late-night hosts Seth Meyers and Jimmy Kimmel designated airtime to slamming Donald Trump and Fox News personalities for their defenses of Vladimir Putin. Meyers told viewers on “Late Night” that “the entire world is aghast and horrified” as Russia mobilizes against the Ukraine — well, everyone except Trump. Meyers then played a clip of Trump defending Putin and calling him a “genius” while being interviewed on “The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show.”“I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said this is genius,” Trump is heard saying in the clip.

Promising actor Joseph Owen Wanders - who appeared in Coronation Street in 2018 - has died at the age of 27 after he "fell ill" in Costa Rica.An inquest heard how the late actor sadly passed away last month after he suffered a seizure while on holiday in the Caribbean.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorGoogle will no longer require U.S. staffers to be vaccinated against the coronavirus as a condition of employment, and it scaled back some COVID-safety restrictions as it expects more workers to return to the internet giant’s office in the coming weeks.Google is dropping the requirement that vaxxed U.S.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorJust a couple of hours before Francis Ford Coppola arrived for a 50th anniversary celebration of “The Godfather” on the Paramount lot, the Academy announced that it had nixed the live presentation of Oscars for eight categories at this year’s Academy Awards.The legendary director hadn’t heard the news until he was on the red carpet. “All those [categories] are important,” he told me.

Ethan Shanfeld Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) will return in person this fall, welcoming local and international guests from Sept. 8 to 18.“We’re thrilled to share this news about TIFF 2022 and to introduce fresh voices to our programming team,” said Cameron Bailey, CEO of the festival.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentHulu has acquired U.S. rights to “Fireheart,” Anton’s ambitious animated family feature directed by Laurent Zeitoun (“Leap!”) and Theodore Ty (“Kung Fu Panda”) with a voice cast headlined by Olivia Cooke, William Shatner, Laurie Holden and Kenneth Branagh.The deal was negotiated with Hulu by CAA Media Finance and Anton’s Cécile Gaget on behalf of the producers. “Fireheart” will debut on Hulu’s streaming platform in the U.S.

Eurovision Song Contest bosses have told how the contest will accept acts from both Russia and Ukraine in May, despite Vladimir Putin ordering an invasion.Putin's ongoing assault on the country has been widely condemned by western leaders, with Boris Johnson describing it as a "catastrophe" for Europe.

rugby union, joining hometown club Auckland in 1988 and then going on to make 19 appearances for New Zealand.He then made the switch to rugby league in 1993 and became a Wigan Warriors hero in the years to follow.They won several trophies with Tuigamala as their centre including the 1994 World Club challenge with victory over Brisbane Broncos in Australia.In a tweet the club wrote: "This morning, Wigan Warriors are deeply saddened to learn of the tragic news that former player Va’aiga (Inga) Tuigamala has passed away. "Wigan Warriors send their deepest condolences to the family and friends at this awful time."His team-mate from that time and current Warriors executive director Kris Radlinski added: "Every now and then a player comes along who touches the heart and soul of every single fan, player, coach and administrator – Inga was one of them."He was one of the most exciting rugby players to play either code.

Prince Harry and brother William could be nearing an end, a royal expert has said.According to royal author Duncan Larcombe the latter could be sending subtle signals to the Duke of Cambridge that he wants the 'brotherly war' to end.He told OK!, when discussing the future man's upcoming memoir set to be released in Autumn: “We don’t yet know if or how strongly he’ll slate his father and brother in the book. It’s hard to imagine what might be coming, but until that book hits the shelves, the stalemate is highly likely to continue.”“What must be concerning her most right now is not so much whether Harry will say Charles was unworthy as a father, but whether he’ll say he’s not worthy of being future king.

Russia's invasion was starring in a TV show where a history teacher accidentally became the President of Ukraine just four years ago. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a former actor in the country and started a presidential campaign as a bit of a joke.

foundation and claiming that it 'beautiful' and 'feels lovely on the skin'. High street retailer Boots is well known for stocking all sorts of beauty and skincare brands, from high end bestsellers to budget friendly must-haves.Now, beauty brand favourite No7 has been getting a lot of attention online, and it's all down to the No7’s HydraLuminous Moisturising Foundation, which is priced at £14.95 and aims to give you 'visibly fresh and radiant looking skin in an instant'.

BBC Breakfast star Dan Walker left fans swooning when he shared a hunky throwback snap taken early on in his BBC career.The handsome BBC presenter, 44, found the archive snap on his phone, and he decided to share it with his 271k followers on Instagram.Although Dan is mostly known for presenting BBC Breakfast alongside co-star Sally Nugent, it seems he has the looks for a career in modelling if he ever fancied opting for a career change.It wouldn't be the first time he took on a new challenge, either, because fans watched him learn to dance on Strictly Come Dancing last year - after being paired up with show pro Nadiya Bychkova.In the throwback snap, Dan can be seen sporting a smart white shirt with a buttoned collar.Shooting the camera a brooding sideways glance, Dan looked every bit the part of a model as he stood for the BBC press snap.Captioning the snap, he wrote: "This old BBC PR shot just popped up on my phone."No idea what I was thinking about at the time but it looks pretty serious", alongside a smiling-face to suggest he can see the funny side of the "serious" snap.Dan signed off by wishing his followers a decent Thursday, adding: "I hope you’re ok and are having a decent Thursday."Dan's adoring fans were rather impressed by the presenter's modelling moves, and they rushed to compliment him in the comments.One fan gushed: "Super handsome", attaching a string of fire-emojis.A second said: "I think you look serious and handsome here Dan."A third commented: "Very handsome".A fourth cheekily wrote: "Was having a mediocre Thursday, but this pic just made it a whole lot better!" with a winking emoji alongside it.A fifth added: "Gorgeous"A sixth laughed: "Looks like you’re trying not to laugh"Dan also sent a message

Fashion month continues! With New York and Paris checked off the list, celebs have made their way to Italy for Milan Fashion Week — and the street style is already off the charts. 

Mixed emotions. Miesha Tate is still trying to process things after being crowned the winner of Celebrity Big Brother season 3 on Wednesday, February 23.

Giving a glimpse. Priyanka Chopra Jonas appeared to show her and Nick Jonas’ baby girl’s nursery for the first time.

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Maksim Chmerkovskiy, 42, showed how heartbroken he was by the Russian attacks in Ukraine on Thursday February 24. The Dancing With The Stars pro posted videos mourning the attacks in his home country as he filmed in the capitol city of Kyiv. In one of the videos, he started tearing up, and said that he wanted to go home, as he got choked up for his friends and family who couldn’t leave as easily as he could.

Preview in new tabSome news leaves us without words.Wordle — the addictive, five-letter puzzle phenom of this year — is being taken over by the New York Times for “an undisclosed price in the low seven figures,” the newspaper and Brooklyn-based creator Josh Wardle announced Monday afternoon.The “Wheel of Fortune”-esque online game — in which players have six guesses to determine one new word each day — will be transitioning to the paper’s website and will reportedly remain free to play.“The game has gotten bigger than I imagined,” Wardle said, adding that he was “thrilled” with the move. A timetable for the changeover was not released.

Wordle has become a phenomenon on the internet throughout the last month and now creator Josh Wardle is cashing in.

Ellise Shafer The New York Times has purchased Wordle, the daily word game that has recently taken the internet by storm.The publication announced the acquisition in a press release on Monday, writing: “As The Times looks to entertain more solvers with puzzles every day — especially during these anxious times — we’re thrilled to announce that we’ve acquired Wordle, the stimulating and wildly popular daily word game that has become a cultural phenomenon. Wordle, which gives players six tries to guess a five-letter mystery word, will join New York Times Games’s portfolio of original, engaging puzzle games that delight and challenge solvers every day.”The press release also states that Wordle was purchased for “an undisclosed price in the low-seven figures.” The game was created by Josh Wardle, a Brooklyn-based software engineer, and released to the public in October 2021.