Sir Patrick Stewart, the legendary British actor best known for portraying Captain Jean-Luc Picard in "Star Trek" and Professor Charles Xavier in the "X-Men" franchise, has died at 86, according to a statement shared on his Instagram account.
Stewart died Wednesday at his Los Angeles home, surrounded by family and friends and cared for by his wife, Sunny, following a battle with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia, the statement said.
This is a developing story; check back later for updates.
Josh Duhamel is encouraging Minnesotans to get out and vote in a new video he shared on Instagram.
The actor took to social media to send out a "PSA to the great people of Minnesota," rallying residents to pack the polls in what he dubbed "God's country."
"I just wanted to take a second to remind you that the midterms are coming up. This is such an important, such an important time. We have to get out there. We have to vote. Every single person," he said. "Minnesota is my second favorite state in the whole country, right behind North Dakota, but I absolutely love it there. It is God's country. It is worth saving. It is absolutely worth saving."
While he said he "would never tell you who to vote for," he believes voting is one's "job as an American citizen" and a "sacred duty."
"And it is a blessing that we get to get out there and pick who makes decisions for us," he added. "So please, everybody, let's get 100 percent turnout. Everybody, please, vote in this year's midterms. Go Viks! Woo!"
In the caption, Duhamel encouraged his followers to "Bring a group to the voting booths on Nov 3" and to share the post "with everyone you know!!"
Although the actor didn't endorse any candidates, people in the comments section made their own assumptions as to what he meant when he said the state is "worth saving."
"Worth saving means vote red. Good man @joshduhamel," one fan wrote in the comments section. "Red red red all down the ballot," another added, while a third wrote, "Vote RED! Save America."
Others went the other way, with one writing, "Vote blue save us all!!!! 💙💙💙💙💙."
Another said, "Let’s go blue! Please save our children! 💙"
The "Ransom Canyon" star listed his home in Los Angeles in July, a little over a year after he and his family moved from California to Fargo, North Dakota.
In addition to his home in North Dakota, Duhamel also has a residence about an hour and a half away in Minnesota, where he likes to go in order to spend "time off the grid."
"I learned that I'd spent too much time sort of luxuriating in the amenities of the modern world and getting out there and having to learn how to do some of the basics that I hadn't done for so long was really, really good," he told People in September 2025.
"It's one of those places that I go to and I just, my blood pressure drops. I feel at peace. I'm constantly doing something, fixing something, working on something, taking care of the family, pulling the kids on a tube, cooking, all these things that are just basics that we take for granted."
The actor lives in the cabin with his wife, Audra Mari, and their 2-year-old son, Shepherd. Duhamel's 13-year-old son Axl, whom he shares with his ex-wife Fergie, also spends time at the home.
He told Parade in April 2025 that he spent 15 years building the cabin, noting the time spent there with his family is an opportunity for them to "get back to the basics" and away from all distractions. He said his older son is "not on his iPad" all day but rather playing sports, exploring the woods and overall enjoying the outdoors.
"And then I have a little baby who's going to experience the same thing. Someday, I hope to pass this on to them [so] they're able to share it with their kids. It's really important to me that they have this. It's not just about having all the amenities and all the luxuries that we become so used to. It's really about family. It's about legacy," he said.
That means the upcoming "Harry Potter" series will be at least seven seasons long. The books were broken down into a total of eight films, with the final book being split into two films.
'Harry Potter' fans react to latest look at upcoming series
There has been significant buzz on social media ever since the series was first announced. Things got ramped up once previews were released, and a new poster dropped Thursday that is also generating plenty of interest and reactions.
You can check it out below, and let me know your thoughts at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.
It didn't take long at all for the poster to go viral on X with plenty of reactions rolling in.
As a huge fan of Rowling's novels and the original films, I’m certainly excited to see what the series can bring to the table. Fans will find out on Dec. 25. Let me know at David.Hookstead@outkick.com if you're excited for the show or if "Harry Potter" should be left to rest at this point.
It's wild to think that we're under two years away from the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and with the clock ticking, organizers have been forced to call in the big guns for the opening and closing ceremonies.
And by big guns, I mean the Hollywood producer often credited with ruining "Star Wars."
According to The New York Post, organizers had to make a switch when their original choice to lead the ceremony charge, Peter Rice, took a job as Chief Content Officer at Netflix.
While he'll stay on as an executive producer, Kennedy — who led Lucasfilm after George Lucas sold the company to Disney and rode off into the double Tatooine sunsets with his billions and flannel shirts — will cobble together a team of producers for both ceremonies.
The opening ceremony is set to take place on July 14 at the Los Angeles Coliseum and SoFi Stadium at the same time.
"This appointment reinforces LA28’s commitment to harness the unparalleled creativity, cultural influence and storytelling power of the entertainment capital of the world," a statement from organizers reads. "Ceremonies that are distinctly Los Angeles and leave a lasting impression on the global stage."
Okay. Kennedy is without a doubt a legend in Hollywood and produced massive movies like "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial," "Back to the Future" and "Jurassic Park."
It's wild for an Olympics in a city packed with creative people to go with someone whose stock might be at its lowest after her time leading Lucasfilm.
If this was the '84, '96, or '02 Games, solid choice.
Of course, the opening and closing ceremonies aren't likely to taint the entire Games. Then again, I didn't think the sequel trilogy could taint "Star Wars" for me.
From the high-stakes action of "Lioness" to the holiday adventure of "A Very Arctic Christmas," Jill Wagner is taking on two very different worlds.
But off camera, the actress has traded Hollywood's hustle for a quieter life raising her two daughters on a Tennessee farm in a town of just 800 people — where horses and buggies are still a familiar sight.
"First of all, I love Tennessee … I'm from the South. I'm from North Carolina," she told Fox News Digital. "I love the people here but especially love the small-town mentality."
"I was at the post office this morning and one of the Mennonites was in front of me … I got to look at their horse and buggy," she said.
Wagner said the small-town atmosphere has become an important part of the childhood she and her husband want to give their girls.
The actress explained why she hopes her daughters will eventually appreciate the slower pace, even if they someday follow in her footsteps and move to bigger cities.
WATCH: JILL WAGNER TRADES HOLLYWOOD HUSTLE FOR TENNESSEE FAMILY LIFE
"In some ways, going back to a simpler, slower pace … I think as we get older, or at least I know I can speak for myself, as I get older, I really value that," she added.
Wagner knows the pull of Hollywood firsthand. She left home at 17 to pursue a career in entertainment and suspects her daughters may one day be eager to spread their own wings.
But she hopes they'll always remember what their upbringing gave them.
"And I'm sure they'll do the same, but I hope what it does is bring them back to the simple-ness of life and what it can be … That's a gift that my husband and I gave them, and they probably don't even know it yet," she said.
Away from the action of "Lioness," Wagner is embracing the holiday spirit in "A Very Arctic Christmas," reuniting with Cameron Mathison for a festive adventure.
Wagner plays Jane, a wildlife conservationist who helps a father and daughter navigate an unexpected Arctic adventure after their holiday cruise goes off course.
The actress said working with Mathison brings plenty of laughs to "A Very Arctic Christmas" set.
"There's never any dull moment when you have Cameron Mathison and I on set together. In fact, it's hard for us to get through a scene without laughing, I'm sure. Robin Dunne, the director, is always rolling his eyes, like, ‘Oh, guys, guys, guys, guys, bring it in,'" she laughed.
WATCH: JILL WAGNER DISHES ON THE ON-SET CHAOS WITH CO-STAR CAMERON MATHISON
For Wagner, the holiday films also have a personal connection.
The actress has found ways to include her daughters in her Christmas-movie tradition.
When Wagner's daughters were younger, she included them in one of her films as extras, giving them a chance to sit on Santa's lap.
Now that they're older, Wagner said they understand that Christmas movies are a genre of their own — and she hopes the experience becomes a lasting family tradition.
"And I just hope that one day when I'm long and gone, that is a tradition with each other's families is that they get on Christmas, and they get to watch that movie and just kind of laugh at the fact that we're all in a movie together at Christmas," she added.
While Wagner's career continues to take her between intense action roles and feel-good holiday projects, she values sharing those experiences with her daughters while giving them a childhood rooted in small-town life.
When Fox News Digital asked whether her daughters were becoming the Tennessee farm girls she had envisioned, Wagner admitted there's still some work to do.
"So, I don't know about farm girl. I know that … they love outdoors. They don't necessarily like doing farm work. So, we're trying to still work on that," she laughed.
"They do love running around barefooted in the dirt, and they can play outside all day long, which I love for them," Wagner said.
The family hopes to add chickens and goats when Wagner's work schedule allows more time at home.
"Maybe one day we'll get a horse or a pony for them," she added.
But for Wagner, the biggest perk of small-town life isn't just the farm — it's the neighbors who show up when it matters.
Her family owns Scott Mansion Farms, where they host charitable events benefiting the Special Operations Warrior Foundation and Dolly Parton's Children's Hospital. Wagner said the community's support has been especially meaningful.
"But the fact that people just show up at the gate and say, ‘What can we do to help?’ I think it just reminds me of how amazing humanity is … and how very special it is to have good neighbors," she said.
Wagner also hopes her daughters inherit her love of local festivals and community traditions.
FIRST ON FOX — Angel Studios is drawing a line in the sand against Hollywood's approach to entertainment, announcing sweeping new content standards that ban on-screen sex, nudity and certain profanity while promising millions of paying members the power to decide which movies and television shows make the cut.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Angel Studios co-founder and Chief Content Officer Jeff Harmon said the entertainment industry has increasingly lost touch with the families it once served, prompting his company to establish what it calls "The Angel Promise."
"I think Hollywood generally kind of lives in a bubble," Harmon said. "These are excellent craftsmen. They're the best storytellers in the world. Hollywood has built the best storytelling infrastructure in the world."
"But at the same time, they've kind of drifted more and more away from the values-based audience that they used to serve," Harmon said. "And with that, in our view, as brothers and as fathers, as a father, Hollywood hasn't been giving me consistently what I need. Once in a while, you get a good one, but you have to sift through all these things to find your good movies and your good stories."
The new initiative, announced Thursday, establishes three core commitments governing Angel's entertainment offerings, namely, audience approval of content, strict standards involving sex and language, and expanded parental controls.
"We promise there's never going to be nudity, and there'll never be sex on screen," Harmon said, explaining that families participating in the Angel Guild will not have to worry about encountering such material when evaluating potential projects.
The company is also drawing a firm boundary around profanity, pledging that Angel's original productions will not misuse God's name.
"This is a completely unique one," Harmon said. "This has never really happened in Hollywood history."
Harmon described the restriction as part of the company's effort to build trust with religious families.
"What we promise our viewers is that this timeless principle that's thousands of years old, and we're a very faith-friendly studio, is that we're not going to have misuse of God's name on the system on any Angel original content," Harmon said. "So any content we create. Where we are originating, meaning it comes to Angel first, those shows, those TV shows and movies, will not have misuse of God's name, so that families of faith, 'cause we're a faith-friendly studio, can trust that language won't be there."
Under the new standards, the company also prohibits use of the F-word in its stories and profanity in titles submitted for children ages 12 and younger.
The announcement represents a significant effort to distinguish Angel from traditional Hollywood studios, with the company placing its audience at the center of decisions about what gets produced and distributed.
Harmon said the Angel Guild, which has approximately 3 million paying members, gives viewers an opportunity to approve or reject projects before they enter the company's entertainment ecosystem.
"This is the first time in history that a major Hollywood studio, or top 10 studio in the United States, has come and said, we're going to let the audience have a veto right," Harmon said.
Under Angel's stated policy, films and television series must receive a score of at least 70 out of 100 from Guild members to qualify for inclusion in its entertainment ecosystem.
Harmon said the founders' experiences raising children helped shape the new standards.
"Angel was co-founded by four brothers and a cousin," he said, adding that the founders have 34 children between them.
The goal, he explained, was to create entertainment that parents could trust without having to sift through potentially objectionable content.
The third component of the Angel Promise focuses on parental controls. Angel says Guild members will help establish recommended age ratings and plain-language descriptions of potentially sensitive material, while new controls in the Angel app will allow parents to tailor viewing choices to their families.
Harmon said the broader ambition is to reshape the relationship between filmmakers and audiences.
"Our goal was to set out and try to fix this problem of kind of stepping out of the Hollywood bubble and stepping into middle America's shoes," he said.
The company says its Guild has paid out nearly $300 million to filmmakers, while Harmon said more than 100 films were available for members to vote on at the time of the interview.
For Harmon, the new promise is about establishing permanent standards that will outlast any individual film, filmmaker or executive, and give families greater influence over the entertainment they consume.
Some of the studio's prominent recent films include "David" and "The King of Kings."
Buckingham Palace was reportedly "blindsided" by allegations involving Meghan Markle's estranged father, former Hollywood lighting director Thomas Markle Sr.
The Sun reported on Oct. 22 that Thomas Markle Jr. said he found "hundreds, if not thousands" of images depicting child sexual abuse while clearing out boxes at his father's former home in Cebu, Philippines. Markle Jr. told the newspaper that he reported the images to Philippine police and contacted the FBI in the U.S.
The 82-year-old Markle denied the allegations to the Daily Mail, telling the newspaper: "I'm shocked, I'm hurt, and I'm very upset that my son is making these accusations against me. I could never do what I'm being accused of. It's the worst thing anyone could accuse me of."
Fox News Digital reached out to Markle Sr. for comment.
"Following the report, I made more than 40 phone calls to royal sources over the weekend, and nobody I spoke to had heard anything about these allegations before the story broke in The Sun," Kinsey Schofield, host of the YouTube show "Kinsey Schofield Unfiltered," told Fox News Digital.
"My understanding is that Buckingham Palace was blindsided," she said. "They find themselves dragged into another controversy involving [the Sussexes]. And the allegations are deeply disturbing."
WATCH: BUCKINGHAM PALACE WAS 'BLINDSIDED' BY THOMAS MARKLE SR. ALLEGATIONS: EXPERT
Fox News Digital reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment.
In a statement sent to Fox News Digital, Meghan wrote: "I am deeply distressed at the news that has come to light in the last 24 hours, and my thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed. In 2018, a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection. That letter was subsequently shared with me. It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father, and I was given assurances that these were being investigated."
"I hope it can now be understood that, despite certain media publications' distortion over the years, any distance from my father and my choice to not allow him to have contact with our children, was for one reason: to protect them," she wrote. "I trusted that the authorities were doing the same for other families.
"Although the breadth of what has now been uncovered is more sickening than one could ever imagine, my sincerest hope is that justice will be fully served and that the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children."
WATCH: KING CHARLES MAY PRIVATELY SUPPORT MEGHAN MARKLE AMID CONTROVERSY: EXPERT
The Metropolitan Police said its records show that the letter was received in January 2019, not 2018. Meghan's spokesperson subsequently acknowledged the discrepancy, saying the police's timestamped records should be treated as authoritative.
The letter was written by Markle Sr.'s first wife, Roslyn Markle, also known as Roslyn Loveless, ITV News reported on Oct. 26. The outlet said it had reviewed the letter, which contained allegations of sexual abuse against Markle Sr. He has denied the allegations.
Melvin Matibag, director of the Philippines' National Bureau of Investigation, told The Associated Press that the FBI had requested the bureau's assistance in investigating Markle Jr.'s allegations against his father.
Philippine Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla separately told the AP that the Philippine National Police was also investigating Markle Jr.'s allegations against his father. Remulla did not elaborate.
A spokesperson for Remulla told Fox News Digital that the Philippine National Police (PNP) is continuing its investigation.
Schofield said the royal family would likely keep its distance from the Sussexes as its members prioritize their duties while the investigation continues.
"King Charles is in a difficult position," said Schofield. "As a father, I believe he would want to offer Harry emotional support. Let's not forget, it was the king who walked Meghan down the aisle when her own father couldn't. But Harry has repeatedly shared private conversations through interviews, documentaries and his memoir. The king would be reluctant to have a sensitive conversation on this topic with Prince Harry without reassurance that it would remain private."
"As for Prince William, don't expect him to get involved," said Schofield. "This is not his fight. The palace has already established that Harry and Meghan are private citizens who do not represent the crown. This is a matter for the Sussex household. The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that allegations were passed to Sussex's office in 2019, but the police say they did not share those allegations with other law enforcement agencies. My royal sources have given me no indication that the palace was informed."
A spokesperson for London's Metropolitan Police told Fox News Digital: "Following a thorough review of Met Police systems and records, we have confirmed that in January 2019, we received a letter containing a number of claims about alleged offending outside the United Kingdom. It was sent to the MPS Protection Command to raise concerns in relation to the security of the Duchess of Sussex."
"The letter was reviewed, and a decision was made that it should be passed to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for their awareness," the statement said. "The details of the allegations in the letter were not shared with other law enforcement agencies. The MPS is reviewing the handling of this matter in 2019 and considering whether a referral to the IOPC is necessary to review our approach."
The Metropolitan Police's review concerns how the force handled the letter in 2019, rather than a criminal investigation into Markle Sr. British police said they were also considering whether to refer their handling of the matter to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, the police watchdog in England and Wales.
The Times reported that the Metropolitan Police shared the information with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, but apparently not with other members of the royal household. Buckingham Palace declined to comment to the newspaper.
According to the outlet, Scotland Yard said the letter contained several allegations of offenses outside the United Kingdom, but police did not launch an investigation at the time. The force acknowledged that it had not shared the allegations with overseas authorities.
Royal broadcaster Ian Pelham Turner told Fox News Digital that although the king might privately offer support to the Sussexes, he is unlikely to comment publicly on the investigation.
"He cannot publicly be seen to be doing anything at all," said Turner. "Neither can any of the members of the royal family because of this potential investigation. According to the prosecutor in Cebu in the Philippines, quick decisions are going to be made."
"What I see is Meghan, again, right in the middle of a controversy that is not of her doing," he said.
British royal expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital that her sources were not commenting because "this is being treated as a private Sussex matter."
"To date, while there has been no formal comment, needless to say, there's nothing about this the royals would want to be associated with," said Fordwich. "It is extremely unlikely the king, or any royal, comments in any way regarding the gravity of these allegations. Institutional distancing is more than likely."
People magazine reported that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were receiving updates on the allegations while vacationing with their two children during a school break.
"It's been really difficult," a friend told the outlet. "[Meghan's] really cut up. She has young children, and I think that, alongside the victims, it's just weighing on her mind. It's traumatic."
There is also "a slight sense of relief that this is all coming out," the friend said, adding that Meghan hopes "a proper investigation can take place."
A source close to Meghan told People magazine: "There is a lot to process emotionally. But she's doing okay. She's holding up. She's surrounded by loved ones and is feeling supported right now. She has great people around her getting through this moment."
On Oct. 24, The Sun reported that Meghan sent her father a letter in December 2025 while he was recovering in a Philippine hospital from a leg amputation following a blood clot.
According to the newspaper, Meghan wrote that she was aware of the sexual abuse allegations against Markle Sr. and would never allow him to meet her two children. She also reportedly told him it would be the last time he heard from her.
The outlet reported that Meghan arranged for hospital staff to deliver the letter to her father's bedside, ask him to sign a form acknowledging receipt and record his acceptance of the letter.
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