First Lady Melania Trump glowed in Australia's national color as her husband made a triumphant return to New York City on Thursday for a meeting with Prime Minister.

The Year in Pop. Watch. The phrase “guilty pleasure” has long outlived its usefulness. If you really like a song or a movie or a TV show, no matter how cheesy the conventional wisdom says it is, you should feel free to say so without guilt, and to defend your appreciation vigorously. That’s one reason why I (and, judging by the number of comments, you as well) enjoy reading Mandi Bierly’s Pop. Watch Confessional columns. They get at how important entertainment really is in our lives, and they open the emotional floodgates for readers by reminding you of things you’d forgotten you loved.

It was this sort of writing — passionate discussion of things individual writers cared deeply about — that marked the best of Pop. Watch for me in 2. Whether or not you shared Michael Slezak’s enthusiasm for Fergie, or his appalled feelings over The Bachelor, you had to enjoy his writing about those subjects, maybe more than the subjects themselves.

Same for Annie Barrett on The O. C. and reality TV, or Adam Vary on American Idol tapings and Transformers toys, or Simon Vozick- Levinson on hip- hop, or Chris Willman on country music and Bruce Springsteen, or Marc Bernardin on sci- fi, or Whitney Pastorek on music festivals and indie film, or Ken Tucker on Friday Night Lights, and too many others to name. Looking back on my own writing this year, I found myself writing far too many obituaries — we lost too many talented people in 2. I also found they led to some of my most passionate, and most warmly received items. Credit here properly belongs to those who inspired me.) I also got worked up writing about such issues as free expression, the hijacking of pop culture for partisan political purposes, and the war on film critics, all of which are, of course, linked.

• ABC News. Latest headlines. U.S. news, world news, politics, video, investigative, health, entertainment, money, tech, travel.
• Singer performs "What About Us" and new album title track day in first 'SNL' visit in 14 years.
• Starting Friday, anyone with a New York Public Library or Brooklyn Public Library will be able to stream thousands of awesome movies, including the entire Criterion.
• HBO's website includes program descriptions, schedules, and contests.
• Ahead of this week’s Gamescom, Microsoft is holding a news event at 3:00PM EDT today where the company will reveal new information about the Xbox One X (like pre.
• The destination for all NFL-related videos. Watch game, team & player highlights, Fantasy football videos, NFL event coverage & more.
• That was one hell of an episode of Game of Thrones. So much fire. And even more ice! Let’s try to wrap our heads around everything that happened—if you’ve.
• Mediagazer presents the day's must-read media news on a single page. The media business is in tumult: from the production side to the distribution side, new.

The official website of the City of New York. Find information about important alerts, 311 services, news, programs, events, government employment, the office of the.

That these continue to be issues of contention saddens me, and it’spartly our fault as critics and journalists for not doing a better jobof explaining what the stakes are. Watch Gantz Online Fandango here. That’s why I am so grateful to havebeen part of Pop. Watch in 2. 00. 7, to have a forum to raise such issues andstart a conversation. So while I want to thank all the writers,editors, photo mavens, tech wizards, interns, and celebrity guest bloggerswho helped put together Pop.

Watch in 2. 00. 7, I especially want to thankyou, the readers, for your lively, intelligent, and civil commentary. We posted nearly 2,5. That kind of response is incrediblygratifying to us, whether or not you agreed with what we wrote, becausewe relish our ongoing conversation with you. Hope you’ll continue tocomment as fervently in 2. Look forward to hearing from you.

All Of That ‘American Made’ Stuff Is Even Catching On With The Japanese Automakers. Good morning! Welcome to The Morning Shift, your roundup of the auto news you crave, all in one place every weekday morning.

Here are the important stories you need to know. Gear: Get Ready For Some American- Made Japanese Cars. After reports came out Thursday that Toyota and Mazda would team up to build a $1. U. S. assembly plant, the two announced it Friday morning. Reuters reports that in addition to it, Toyota will take a 5- percent stake in Mazda and Mazda, the smaller of the two, will take a . Toyota. Toyota announced in January that its plans to spend $1.

U. S. over the next five years weren’t in response to President Donald Trump’s pressure to relocate back to America, CNBC reported at the time. It’s just that pure, sweet American Dream. American made, friends, that’s what makes auto manufacturers great again.

Totally. From Reuters: The plant, something of a surprise at a time of overcapacity in the U. S. market, will be a boost to U. S. President Donald Trump .. The plant will be capable of producing 3.

It will start operating in 2. The electric vehicles cooperation, meanwhile, comes as the tightening of global emissions regulations prompts more automakers to develop battery powered cars, as the industry struggles with hefty research costs and intense competition from technology companies over technology like self- driving cars. As part of the agreement, Toyota and Mazda will also work together to develop in- car information technologies and automated driving functions. Whether it was his pressure or not, Donald is very happy.

He probably won’t block Toyota or Mazda on Twitter in the near future. Not sad! 2nd Gear: Here’s Hoping That Your Car Doesn’t Break Down In Chicago. Nearly 2,0. 00 Chicago- area mechanics went on strike Tuesday, with Automotive News reporting that it affects about 1. The strike was still going on Thursday. Most of the debate centers around scheduling and work hours, which unionized mechanics aren’t thrilled about.

Rather than offering, you know, a change in work scheduling, Automotive News reports that a committee representing area dealerships proposed a three- year contract that promised wage increases of 5 percent annually. That got rejected by the mechanics.

Here’s what’s been going on for the past few days, from Automotive News: The union is mainly pushing for a guaranteed 4. Chicago Automobile Trade Association presiden David] Sloan said could eliminate the current system, which rewards a dealership’s most productive technicians with more hours. Dealerships have “draconian pay structures prohibiting our ability to attract young, aspiring mechanics to enter the auto repair profession,” according to a statement released by the union. Unattractive pay rates coupled with the inability to progress or achieve a long- term profession in the field are drivers of mechanic frustration, said Sam Cicinelli, Local 7.

The dealer committee said big repairs could be affected by the strike, but small things like oil changes could go on. A former mechanic himself, Cicinelli spoke to the Chicago Tribune and said there’s “nobody that’s in there to do oil changes or anything of the sort.”3rd Gear: It Must Pay To Be Rich And Well Known. Volkswagen executive Oliver Schmidt has a court date Friday morning, and the Detroit Free Press reports that he’s expected to plead guilty in the manufacturer’s giant diesel cheating scandal.

But, naturally, this rich and well- known executive will be pleading guilty to far lesser charges than we originally thought. Schmidt was originally charged with 1.

Dieselgate scandal, but now, the Detroit Free Press reports that he’s down to two charges—conspiracy and violating the Clean Air Act—and possibly no prison time. Sounds just peachy, Oliver.

From the Detroit Free Press: The most serious charge, conspiracy, carries a possible sentence of up to five years in prison and/or a $2. Schmidt, who worked at Volkswagen’s research and development center in Auburn Hills, is not accused of creating the software that helped cheat emissions tests, but the government said he took part in the cover- up.

He was arrested Jan. Miami. .. In February, The New York Times reported that Schmidt’s lawyers said he “merely did what Volkswagen lawyers told him to do” during meetings with regulators. Schmidt sure will have fun dodging all of that prison time in the next few hours. Go forth and help secretively pollute our earth, friend. Gear: Investors Sure Do Trust This Dude Who Wants To Dig Huge Tunnels. Tesla’s stock is soaring just like its Model 3 reservations, because investors have a lot of faith in the guy who wants to dig a giant hole from Washington, D. C. to the middle of New York City when he’s not working in the car business.

The stock jumped more than 6 percent Thursday to nearly $3. Tesla opened lower on Friday, down 4. ET. But as of Thursday, Reuters reports that Tesla’s stock was up 6. Wall Street’s confidence in Musk.”Seriously, y’all, this dude wants to build tunnels everywhere as a side gig and will almost certainly move to Mars when the artificial intelligence- powered machines take over Earth and kill the human population. Let’s be a little less sheep- like toward this shepherd.

Anyway, here’s what Reuters had to say: The Palo Alto, California company late on Wednesday reported quarterly results that beat average analyst estimates, and said it received more than 1,8. Model 3 since its launch last week. Tesla had $3 billion in cash on hand at the end of the June quarter, reassuring investors who were worried after Musk warned on Friday that the automaker would face six months of “manufacturing hell” in ramping up production of the Model 3. Tesla’s cash burn, expected to top $2 billion this year, has prompted short- sellers like Greenlight Capital’s David Einhorn to bet against the company .. Musk said investors should have “zero concern” Tesla would fail to reach its production target of 1.

Totally. Don’t be concerned at all, Wall Street. Gear: The Great Ferrari, The Non- Conformer, Will Not Go To Formula EFerrari won’t make autonomous cars.

Boss Sergio Marchionne said you’d have to shoot him first. Ferrari also won’t make an SUV. But, actually, Ferrari will. Ferrari is a non- conformer. You can’t make Ferrari sell you a car, and you can’t make Ferrari do the things that the other automakers are doing.

That includes entering the all- electric FIA Formula E Championship. From Motorsport. com: Only last week, Mercedes dropped a bombshell when it announced that it would be quitting the DTM at the end of 2.

FE the following season. A few days later Porsche announced it own FE move as it pulled the plug on its LMP1 project in WEC. Ferrari has long hinted about getting involved in FE, because of the growing momentum towards electric road cars.

However, Marchionne thinks that any bid to join the electric racing series would not be with Ferrari but instead with one of the other brands within the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) group – which includes Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Fiat, Dodge and Chrysler. Alright, Ferrari, we get it. You’re cool and you don’t do the things other people do. Thanks for the reminder.

Reverse: Bee Glad You Weren’t In Tarrytown, New York On This Day In 1. On Aug. 4, 1. 99.

New York Times reported that the flatbed on a truck carrying 2. New York highway.

The truck was on its way to Florida, but the whole bee accident happened near Tarrytown, New York. The New York Times reported that drivers were backed up for miles while police told them all to keep their windows rolled up. Fun! Neutral: Has The Chicago Mechanic Strike Affected Anyone You Know? Is this big ordeal making the impact mechanics say it is?

Do you know anyone who’s been out of a car repair over the past few days? Correction: We originally attributed the Chicago Tribune quote above to just a mechanic. The person who said it, Sam Cicinelli, is a former mechanic and the union’s business representative.