Latest news with #Johnny
Newsweek
2 days ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
US Soldiers Being Served 'Deployment Meal' Sparks Speculation
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A video of U.S. Army personnel having what is dubbed a "deployment meal" has sparked speculation about direct American involvement in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. The clip of troops with steak and lobster prompted comments by social media users that they were having their last meal ahead of being sent to a war zone. However, Newsweek has found that the video, which as of Wednesday had been viewed more than 9 million times, is a recirculated clip from February. It comes as a geopolitical strategist told Newsweek there was a 25 percent chance of direct American involvement in the Middle Eastern conflict. U.S. Army soldiers during basic training at Fort Jackson on September 28, 2022, in Columbia, South Carolina. U.S. Army soldiers during basic training at Fort Jackson on September 28, 2022, in Columbia, South It Matters Although the viral video was made months ago, its reemergence prompted social media users to comment on its significance amid speculation over whether President Donald Trump will commit the U.S. to direct involvement in the conflict between Israel and Iran. What To Know "Heard it's called 'the deployment meal'" was the message on the account of X user Johnny posted on Tuesday that was shared by other social media users. In the 26-second clip, a U.S. Army soldier films a barracks table. "How's your steak and lobster?" he asks, as one soldier repliers, "I'm ready for war." The clip segues into the soldier smacking his lips and saying, "I may have to double it," prompting a thread of speculation how troops get a "surf and turf" meal as a morale-boosting treat before combat. "I know three close families that got the 'you might not hear from me for a while' call this past weekend," wrote one user. "In the past when steak and lobster is served that signaled something is about to go down," wrote another. But the video on X originally appeared on the TikTok account of Army influencer and was posted on February 1, prompting more than 8,700 comments. No location was given. X user OpX wrote that the troops were in a DFAC (military dining facility), "which means they're overseas somewhere not stateside." But eyes are on Washington and the next move by Trump, who has called for Iran's "unconditional surrender." He also warned Islamic Republic Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that while the U.S. knows where he is hiding, there were no plans to kill him "at least not for now." In analysis provided to Newsweek, Matt Gertken, chief geopolitical strategist for BCA Research, said that there was a 25 percent chance of direct U.S. involvement. This was compared with a 45 percent chance that Israel escalated its campaign and a 30 percent chance that the U.S. restrains Israel. Gertken said that Trump is against war, but the intelligence community, military-industrial complex and traditional Republicans see a huge opportunity to direct the Trump administration toward enforcing America's red line against Iranian nuclear weaponization. What People Are Saying President Donald Trump, on Wednesday: "Nobody knows what I want to do. But I can say this: Iran's got a lot of trouble and wants to negotiate." Matt Gertken, chief geopolitical strategist for BCA Research: "If Iran makes a fatal mistake and attacks Americans or international energy supply, then it would provoke American intervention." What Happens Next Statements from Khamenei and Trump on Wednesday added to uncertainty about how the conflict will play out. Khamenei said that any U.S. military intervention will be met "with irreparable harm." Trump said on the North Lawn of the White House regarding American involvement: "I may do it, I may not do it."
USA Today
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
'We Were Liars' book vs. show: Amazon Prime Video series adds new drama, affairs
'We Were Liars' book vs. show: Amazon Prime Video series adds new drama, affairs Reader beware: This story contains spoilers for both the book and series adaptation of 'We Were Liars.' Gen Z's favorite COVID read has made it to the silver screen. 'We Were Liars' by E. Lockhart was published in 2014 but saw a sales resurgence in 2020 thanks to cooped-up YA readers and the wildfire spread of BookTok. Now, fans can see the psychological thriller as a series on Amazon's Prime Video. 'We Were Liars' follows the affluent Sinclair family who summer every year on Beechwood, a fictional island off of Martha's Vineyard. Cadence "Cady" Sinclair, her cousins Mirren and Johnny and family friend Gat are inseparable each year, especially as Cady and Gat begin to fall in love. Everything changes after a tragedy one summer, leaving Cady with a traumatic brain injury and memory loss. This novel is her quest to piece together how things fell apart. 'We Were Liars' is a faithful screen adaptation, though there are a few key changes. Here are the biggest differences from the book. 'We Were Liars' series condenses book timeline to summers 16 and 17 The most pronounced change in the 'We Were Liars' series is the timeline. While the book takes place across several summers, the adaptation condenses the action to summers 16 and 17 (the age Cady is that particular year). In the book, Cady and Gat begin to fall in love during summer 14. Grandmother Tipper Sinclair dies before summer 15, the year Cady's accident occurs. After her injury, Cady is kept from the island for a full year, instead traveling to Europe with her dad. She returns to find out what happened to her in summer 17. In the TV series, the story is split into a precise 'before' and 'after' – all of the main action, including Tipper dying, the love story and the accident, occurs in summer 16. In summer 17, Cady returns to the island and tries to fill in her missing memories. In 'We Were Liars' series, Johnny is gay, hiding school drama Eagle-eyed 'Hunger Games' fans will recognize 20-year-old Joseph Zada as the recently announced actor set to portray Haymitch Abernathy in the upcoming film adaptation of Suzanne Collins' 'Sunrise on the Reaping.' In "We Were Liars," Zada plays Johnny, the snarky cousin and son of Carrie, one of the patriarch Harris Sinclair's daughters. Zada lives up to the mischievous troublemaker in Lockhart's book. And though his sexuality and relationships aren't discussed in the book, the Prime Video series makes it clear that Johnny is gay – he has a brief but refreshingly unceremonious coming out moment (his cousins are supportive) and has a few hookups throughout the series. He tries to tell his mom that he's gay, but she dismisses him curtly. Another added element to his character is trouble at private school. Cady finds out Johnny was threatened by a prep school boy, and got into a violent fight at school that left a boy hospitalized. His mother, Carrie, paid off everyone involved to forget the incident, but not after an ultimatum from Harris – if he was going to give her the money she needed, she would have to break up with her boyfriend Ed. Ed, who is Indian, was never accepted by racist Harris, despite being a part of Beechwood family summers for a decade. Carrie's desperation to protect her son no matter the cost adds another layer to the sisters' fight to get their share of the inheritance. Cady confronts grandfather over racism, Sinclair privilege Harris' racism is present in both the book and the show, especially as Cady gets more involved with Gat, Ed's nephew. In the book, she calls him out over a racist comment and his illegal ivory, but she's easily placated after he yells at her for telling him what to do with his money and possessions. But in the show, Cady takes a more active stance in confronting her grandfather's problematic comments on several occasions, much to the chagrin of her mother. She also makes an active effort to learn about her privilege and undo her ignorance after Gat calls her on it, reading "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents" by Isabel Wilkerson in one scene. Mirren and mother Bess get new, messy romances We don't learn much about the personal lives of the three sisters in the book, other than that they're all divorced. 'Family of Liars,' the series' prequel, goes deeper into that generation. But the series spends more time on the sisters, especially Bess (Mirren's mother), who is not divorced in the series but has a fraught relationship with her largely absent husband. In summer 16, she has a steamy affair with 'Salty Dan,' the harbor service worker. Mirren discovering them together fuels her anger toward her mother. Penny, Cadence's mom, uses Bess' affair against her to leverage an advantage in the inheritance fight. Mirren has a seafarer summer tryst of her own. In the book, she brags about a relationship with a 'Drake Loggerhead,' only to reveal to Cady later that she's lying to impress her. In the series, Mirren starts summer 16 sexting a pretentious prep school boy, who is revealed to be using her to anger Johnny. She finds something more authentic in a smooth-talking water taxi driver later in the series. Sinclair sisters tease second season, key plot of 'Family of Liars' If the twist ending of 'We Were Liars' underscores anything, it's that there's more to come. The Sinclair sisters reference their late sister Rosemary, a fourth daughter who died when she was young. Harris never stopped mourning her, affecting his relationships with his living daughters. Rosemary is a part of Lockhart's universe but isn't mentioned until the prequel 'Family of Liars.' The sisters also mention their own summer 16, when something unforgivable happened. Mourning the death of her own daughter in the finale, Bess worries that the Beechwood tragedy is 'punishment' for 'what we did.' Season 1 ends as Cady realizes she is the sole survivor of the fire she and her cousins set – she's been speaking with their ghosts all summer 17. She relinquishes them to the beyond, but Carrie still clings to her son Johnny's ghost. Season 2 will likely pick up with Johnny stuck, hurting, in the in-between. 2025 book-to-screen adaptations: 'Mickey 17,' 'Running Man,' 'Wicked' and more Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY's Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter or tell her what you're reading at cmulroy@
Irish Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
'GAA bosses have gone too far by prioritising money over community'
What in the name of God is going on in the GAA. Last Saturday was one of the busiest of the year in terms of football matches and none were shown on free-to-air television. Dublin were playing Derry in a crucial match for All-Ireland survival, Meath met and walloped Kerry in one of the shocks of the year, Galway needed a result against Armagh to survive. Yet the only place you could see these crucial matches was on Croke Park's lucrative streaming service GAA+ - where you are charged for the privilege. No team, of course, could actually play in Croke Park because the GAA top brass had given the stadium for the URC rugby final, which Leinster thankfully won against the mighty South African Bulls. I have nothing against rugby but surely the national Gaelic stadium could have been used as a neutral venue with so many do-or-die All-Ireland series matches going on, and not rented out to rugby. It seems to me that the GAA is now ruled by the well-paid suits who are more interested in hitting their revenue targets than doing the right thing in the public interest. The powers that be in Croke Park seem more interested in making as much money as they can from their GAA+ streaming service than letting their members all over the country watch vital important matches for free. What they are doing is totally and utterly wrong. There are hundreds of thousands of people - many of them old-age pensioners who gave their lives to the association for free - who would have loved to watch these matches on RTE or Virgin Media. Croke Park need to realise they are not the Premier League, but yet they are starting to behave like them with their pay-per-view strategy. The GAA is a national organisation built from the grassroots up who have a moral obligation to look after their members and do the right thing. Doing the right thing means showing these games on free TV as we know it, and not charging the various county fans who already spend a fortune following their team, more money for the privilege. Most pubs in the country can't afford GAA+ and if they do have one of their games on it is probably from a "dodgy" box. By not doing the right thing, the GAA is losing out big time. They will argue that the highlights of these matches will be shown on RTE's Saturday Game but it is just not good enough. I was in my local pub last Saturday evening and guess what was on - the rugby. It was full of who I would call GAA people and everyone would have loved to have watched Kerry and Meath, followed by the Dubs. Dublin themselves have such a huge following and it is wrong that the majority of their supporters would not have seen the game unless they could afford to pay for the pay-per-view. The Dublin lads in our bar could not believe the Derry match was not being shown live by RTE. But to be fair to RTE it is not their fault - it was the GAA's fault. My late father Johnny spent half his life as a volunteer in the GAA involved with his club, the Oliver Plunketts and the County Board in Louth. Like many others of his generation he gave his all to help build the association in what it is today. There was no one prouder going to the new Croke Park than him. Every penny of taxpayers' money that was given to the GAA at the time to build the new-look stadium was worth it. In the last years of his life, when he was not as mobile as he used to be and couldn't go to games anymore, there was nothing he enjoyed more than watching all the various inter-county matches on the telly. But he lived in a time before the GAA decided to go down the streaming route and he would be turning in his grave at what's happening right now with vital matches not being shown free-to-air. He would rightly feel betrayed. The GAA, for as long as I can remember, is all about the community. Every town, parish and village has their own pitch and club. It should, as an organisation, be all about serving its members and not making money. We all know that unlike the FAI, the GAA is an amateur sport run by professionals. But sadly the professionals in Croke Park these days have gone too far and need to get a grip. One of the best games of the year was the Munster Hurling Final when Cork beat Limerick in a penalty shootout the weekend before last. It was rightly shown on RTE and the whole nation was enthralled by it. It was a wonderful advertisement for the sport. The people of Ireland should have been able to see Meath demolish Kerry, they should have been able to see Galway battling for survival against Armagh with the last kick of the game. Last Saturday, the only GAA matches you could watch on traditional TV were two Ladies Football Championship matches - I have nothing against the ladies by the way - and the All-Ireland Hurling Minor Semi-Final, and all on TG4. If you wanted to see anything else you had to pay for it on the GAA streaming service. The GAA will argue that Sunday's Monaghan vs Down and Donegal vs Mayo were shown free on RTE 2. Not good enough. Three of those teams were from Ulster so what about the rest of the country - do the other teams and games not matter? This issue should be raised at the next Congress and GAA President Jarlath Burns needs to step in and do something about it. They also need to spread the season over the summer and not be playing so many cracking matches on one weekend. The All-Ireland final should never have been moved from the traditional third Sunday in September and the idea that the national GAA season ends in July is insane. As Pat Spillane rightly says, it just gives a free ticket for all other sports to promote their games.
Daily Record
4 days ago
- Daily Record
Retired detective who took on 2,500-mile cycle to Africa for charity awarded MBE in King's Birthday Honours List
Retired Bridge of Allan detective Johnny Dreczkowski has been awarded an MBE for his services to a local charity and respite home in the King's Birthday Honours List. A retired police detective who has taken on multiple gruelling charity efforts was celebrating this week after receiving an MBE in the King's Birthday Honours List. Johnny Dreczkowski was named as a recipient of the prestigious award for his services to a local charity. Earlier this month, Johnny, 57, completed a 2,500-mile charity cycle from iconic Stirling Castle to Morocco in aid of the Eilidh Brown respite home. The respite home is run by the Eilidh Brown Memorial Fund – set up by the family of the tragic Stirling schoolgirl. Eilidh sadly lost her battle with a rare germ cell cancer on March 25, 2010, just nine days shy of her 16th birthday. Her dying wish was to have a respite created close to her home in Stirling. That became a reality back in 2023, when her family oversaw the opening of the respite home in Thornhill. Johnny – a former Detective Inspector who served as the Head of Counter Terrorism and Covert Specialist Training – has undertaken several huge efforts to raise much need fund for the charity. Prior to his cycle to Morocco, Johnny, from Bridge of Allan, he embarked on a bike ride stretching 875-miles – from Land's End to John O'Groats – i n May 2021, His impressive record doesn't stop there, he has also conquered the West Highland Way, the demanding North Coast 500, took on the Three Peaks Challenge, persevered through the Cateran Yomp 24-hour Challenge, and completed the London Marathon. In May 2023, he undertook a solo cycling expedition covering 1,400-miles, from Stirling Castle to the Colosseum in Rome, with the aim of raising funds for the respite home. Just last year, he impressively cycled around the entirety of the UK and Ireland in a mere seven days. Johnny's close ties to the home don't end there though. His wife, the architect Ally Croll, was instrumental in making the home a reality as she worked hand-in-hand with Eilidh's family. On receiving the MBE, Johnny said: 'I am truly grateful and humbled to have been awarded the prestigious MBE by His Majesty The King in his Birthday Honours List, and very thankful to those who nominated me. 'Although I'm the recipient, every single person, family, friend, sponsor, and well-wisher who has supported me and the Eilidh Brown Respite Home over the years, has a hand in this success, and I'm sharing it with each of them.' He added: 'I'm just floored and overwhelmed by their love and support and I feel it in my heart. To work with them, as we try and make a difference in the lives of children with cancer at Eilidh's is the privilege of my life, and I'm grateful to Gordon, Nicole (Eilidh's parents) and the family, to be able to help. 'I'd like thank my darling wife Ally, who's stalwart support of my endurance challenges and fundraising is nothing short of remarkable, and none of what I have achieved could have been done without that unstinting love and support. 'To my mother Margaret and my late father Mitch, I am the sum of my upbringing, and I owe my values, my work ethic, my concern for others and sense of community to you both. 'To my daughters Emma and Zoe, a father can only strive to make his daughter's and family proud, thank you for your love and support.' As part of Johnny's most recent charity effort, he set off from Stirling Castle at the start of May and undertook a solo and unsupported cycle through seven countries, across two continents, spanning three different time zones – all within a mere 34 days, reaching the finish line in Marrakesh. That has so far netted more than £30,000 for the home, with the finally sum yet to be tallied. In her valiant fight against this illness, Eilidh and her family, who are from St Ninians, Stirling, cherished their time together at Calum's Cabin, a respite retreat on the Isle of Bute. It was that experience that left Elidih hoping for a respite centre much closer to home. The Eilidh Brown Respite Home requires a whopping £50,000 per year to operate and Johnny's efforts have all been with that in mind. When Johnny reached Marrakesh earlier this month, Eilidh's proud dad, Gordon, said: 'Johnny has been an amazing, constant support since the very start. It astounds us as a family the lengths he goes too support us – he is a machine and we are so very proud of him and full of love.' Over the years, Johnny's relentless efforts have helped raise more than £100,000 for charity, thanks to the steadfast support of friends, family, and the local community.
USA Today
5 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Does Johnny Miller wish he stayed in TV longer? You've got to see his phenomenal answer
Does Johnny Miller wish he stayed in TV longer? You've got to see his phenomenal answer OAKMONT, Pa. — As great as a golfer as Johnny Miller was in his day, winner of two majors and 25 wins, he was an even better TV personality and golf announcer for NBC for 29 years. I once asked him in a Golfweek Q&A what he thought of NBC reacquiring the U.S. Open broadcast rights and he gave this response: "If I had known that, I might have gone another year," he said. It revealed how much he loved broadcasting the U.S. Open, the tournament he won at Oakmont in 1973 with a final-round 63. On Saturday, during a news conference with Miller and Jack Nicklaus, who won it here in 1962, I asked Johnny another TV question and it produced this fantastic response: "Do I wish I kept announcing? That was my 50th year in golf when I got to 29 years with NBC. It seemed like a nice time to leave. I still had my wits about me and had my own way of doing things. When I played on the East Coast especially, they'd go, 'Hey, Johnny, we love you, keep telling it like it is.' What people liked about my announcing was that I just said what I'd say to my best friend in my own house and talking to the TV," he said. "If a guy duck hooks it on the last hole and hasn't hooked a ball in the last month, he might be choking. I was the first guy to use that word, which is not a very nice word. "But I thought the greatness of golf was the choke factor. I just still think that that's the greatness of golf is to be able to handle pressure. If you can handle pressure — Jack liked to hang around the first three days and then just feel like on the last day he had a huge advantage. He believed in himself, and not only believed in himself, he could produce on that last round and handle the putt or the shot. "I was more of a guy that didn't like it to be close. He liked it to be close. I wanted to win it by — when I won the Phoenix Open by 14 shots, I liked it. If that ball is going in the hole, I'm going to fill it up until the round is over if I can. None of this fancy stuff about hitting away from the target. I wanted to have the thrill of going for knocking down pins out of the green. That was my fun. I liked to drive fast and hit hard with the driver and that kind of stuff. "I don't know, everybody does it differently. But that's just the way I thought." I was looking for an answer about TV, which he addressed, but he gave so much more — talking about the 'choke factor' was classic Johnny — including this line that may sum up Miller better than anything that has been written: "I wanted to have the thrill of going for knocking down pins out of the green. That was my fun. I liked to drive fast and hit hard with the driver and that kind of stuff." Yes, he did and golf was better for it.
