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MANILA, Philippines --- They have warned of a possible constitutional crisis and it's "slowly happening." So it seems, according to Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri. "We have warned about a possible constitutional crisis and tried to avoid it. But unfortunately, it seems that this is slowly happening," Zubiri said in a statement on Friday. "We hope this crisis will be averted soon," he said. Zubiri made this remark after receiving a letter from Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez reiterating the House of Representatives' full support of a Senate-led Charter change bid. It was Zubiri himself who filed Resolution of Both Houses No. 6, proposing changes to certain economic ...

Keep on reading: Zubiri fears constitutional crisis now ‘slowly happening’

MedleyBuffet, Okada Manila's renowned signature buffet restaurant, recently reopened its doors at its original location on the Upper Ground Floor of the Pearl Wing, offering an even more exciting dining experience. The restaurant has undergone a magnificent transformation, now boasting a more expansive space and grander culinary offerings. Beyond the spacious dining area,Medleynow features 4 private dining rooms that can accommodate groups of various sizes from 8 to 12 persons, as well as 2 rooms that are good for 18 diners each or a total of 36 if combined --- a perfect venue for family celebrations or an intimate corporate gathering. The new set-up is adorned with warm lighting ...

Keep on reading: Okada Manila reopens a more expansive medley buffet

NBA Scores, News, Schedules SAN FRANCISCO --- When Harrison Barnes starts feeling it, the Sacramento Kings look for him in any spot he likes. In another wild game with the Golden State Warriors, they needed every bit of Barnes' best --- including his timely block against Jonathan Kuminga in the tense closing moments. Domantas Sabonis made a go-ahead dunk with 22 seconds left, Barnes scored a career-high 39 points with back-to-back baskets in crunch time, and the Kings held off the Warriors 134-133 in the NBA on Thursday night to split their season series at two games each. "The way you have a high-powered offense is all five guys are going to have to make sacrifices at time...

Keep on reading: NBA: Kings hold on to beat Steph Curry, Warriors

British actor and "White Lotus" villain Tom Hollander often gets mistaken for "Spiderman" star Tom Holland, but occasionally it works in his favor---like when he got the payslip for the other man's seven-figure film bonus. Hollander, who also had turns in "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Pride and Prejudice," at one time shared an agent with the younger Marvel star. This week, the 56-year-old told late night host Seth Meyers that his agency had once sent him an email containing a pay slip with an "astonishing" sum and labeled as the first tranche of a box-office bonus for "The Avengers." "I don't think I'm in 'The Avengers,'" the actor thought to himself as he opened the miss...

Keep on reading: Tom Hollander mistaken for Tom Holland, gets latter’s ‘Avengers’ bonus

NBA Scores, News, Schedules LOS ANGELES--- LeBron James had 25 points and 12 assists a few hours after being named to his record 20th NBA All-Star team and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Chicago Bulls 141-132 on Thursday night. D'Angelo Russell hit eight 3-pointers and scored 29 points, Anthony Davis scored 22 points and Austin Reaves had 20 points and eight assists. Jarred Vanderbilt added a season-high 17 points as the Lakers made 60.9% of their shots in their fourth win in six games. After hitting 15 of their 18 shots in a spectacular second quarter, the Lakers racked up a season-high 112 points through three quarters and took a 24-point lead that allowed them to weather t...

Keep on reading: NBA: LeBron, Russell lead Lakers’ impressive shooting vs Bulls

NBA Scores, News, Schedules WASHINGTON --- Amid a rebuild without much of a foundation, the Washington Wizards front office felt the players needed to hear from a new voice. Wes Unseld Jr. was ousted Thursday as the Wizards' coach midway through his third season with the team, which has the second-fewest wins in the NBA. Assistant Brian Keefe was named interim coach. Unseld will remain with the team in a front-office advisory role. He was cast aside with the Wizards having lost five straight and 11 of 12; those runs of futility continued Thursday night when Washington fell 123-108 to the Utah Jazz. Wizards president Michael Winger, who is overseeing the team's rebuild, said...

Keep on reading: NBA: Wes Unseld Jr. out as Wizards coach, moving to front office

MANILA, Philippines --- House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez on Friday slammed his counterparts in the Senate, telling them to focus on their duties instead of meddling with the people's initiative (PI) for Charter change. Romualdez, in a press conference, stressed that the PI has nothing to do with the legislature. "Wala kayong pakialam sa PI, yung PI trabaho na 'yan ng taumbayan. 'Yung mga congressman at mga senador, trabahuhin natin ang legislation," Romualdez said. (You have no business with the people's initiative; that's the job of the people. Congressmen and senators should work on the legislation.) All 24 senators signed a manifesto against the PI, as the campaign...

Keep on reading: ‘Wala kayong pakialam sa PI’: Romualdez slams Senate over people’s initiative

MANILA, Philippines --- A survey by poll group Social Weather Stations (SWS) on Friday said that 45 percent of Filipinos said that their quality of life stayed the same compared to a year ago. The survey was conducted from December 8 to 11, 2023. READ: 41% of Filipinos think their quality of life unchanged in 12 months --- SWS While the majority of the respondents said that their quality of life stayed the same from a year ago, 30 percent said that their quality of life became better, which the SWS termed "Gainers." The remaining 25 percent said it got worse, which the SWS termed "Losers." The poll firm added that, in turn, the Net Gainers score for December 2023 was +5, whic...

Keep on reading: SWS: 45% of Filipinos believe quality of life stayed the same

NBA Scores, News, Schedules INDIANAPOLIS --- The Indiana Pacers produced the perfect celebration Thursday night. Pascal Siakam had his first triple-double in 15 months, Tyrese Haliburton was announced as an NBA All-Star starter and the Pacers got a desperately needed win. Siakam finished with 26 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists and Indiana never trailed in a 134-122 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. "We made it our kind of game," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "Siakam was obviously tremendous, the sixth triple-double of his career, his first, obviously, with the Pacers. When you have a power forward get a triple-double, it's pretty special." For Siakam, it was his...

Keep on reading: NBA: Pacers end 76ers’ winning streak at 6

MANILA, Philippines --- National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said that education was one of the missed opportunities for possible areas of foreign ownership. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said that he was against foreign ownership of land, media, and energy. Asked what assets would be favorable for foreign ownership, Balisacan said education. "Education, I think, is long overdue from my perspective. I think we have missed a major opportunity to have the country as a base for higher education in many countries that have looked for branch campuses outside of their country," said Balisacan in a Palace briefing. READ: Lifting restrictions o...

Keep on reading: Neda chief: Education sector a missed opportunity for foreign ownership

MANILA, Philippines --- National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said that the country needed to be more competitive by eliminating "unnecessary" restrictions in the law. During a Malacaang briefing, Balisacan expressed support for an economic Charter change (Cha-cha). "For a long time that we need to make the country more competitive, we need to eliminate those restrictions, unnecessary restrictions, and foreign investments that we have a chance of attracting foreign investments," said Balisacan. READ: Too late for economic Cha-cha, analysts say Balisacan said that the past few decades have shown how big investments are going to neighbor...

Keep on reading: Neda chief backs economic Cha-cha ‘to make PH more competitive’

LeBron James joined yet another exclusive club, and he'll have plenty of familiar faces alongside him at the NBA All-Star Game. James is an All-Star --- and an All-Star starter --- for the 20th time, with the league unveiling the results of this season's starter balloting on Thursday night. James is the first 20-time All-Star in NBA history. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, whose career scoring record was broken by James last season, was a 19-time selection. The game is Feb. 18 in Indianapolis. Joining LeBron in the Western Conference starting lineup: Phoenix's Kevin Durant, Denver's Nikola Jokic, Dallas' Luka Doncic and Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the league's leader in 30...

Keep on reading: LeBron James makes NBA All-Star team for record 20th time

Andrea Del Rosario admitted that she did not like being tagged as a "sexy star" during her early days in show business but had to endure it to help provide for her family. In a guest appearance on "Fast Talk with Boy Abunda" on Wednesday, Jan. 24, the King of Talk bluntly asked the actress, "When you're being packaged as a sexy star, did you like it?" "Of course not," responded Del Rosario. "But my drive to work kasi at that time was to help my family." "Nagkahiwalay po ang mga magulang ko, and then it was just my mom and then she had to take care of the four of us. 'Yun ang opportunity ko to somehow, move forward in life," she added. The former member of Viva Hot Babes r...

Keep on reading: Andrea Del Rosario says she didn’t like her ‘sexy star’ image before

MANILA, Philippines --- Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) chief Benhur Abalos Jr. on Friday advised vehicle owners to check the legitimacy of their license plates with the Land Transportation Office (LTO). His recommendation came after the LTO, DILG-Special Project Group, and Quezon City Police District's Kamuning Station arrested three LTO employees for allegedly stealing license plates from the LTO Plates Making Plant. In a press conference, Abalos warned car owners who may have obtained their vehicle license plates through illegal means that what they are using right now may be unregistered. "Sa lahat ng nanood ngayon, check-in ninyo na agad sa LTO [kung ...

Keep on reading: Car owners urged to check legitimacy of license plates with LTO

As a style icon who frequently attends international fashion events, it is not uncommon for Heart Evangelista to be rubbing elbows and getting acquainted with different artists, may it be from Hollywood or K-pop, and the most recent face to be added to her list is TWICE member Myoi Mina. Heart and Mina were seatmates at the FendiCouture Spring/Summer 2024 show in Paris on Thursday, Jan. 25. The Filipino actress and the K-pop star were spotted looking undeniably gorgeous as they posed for cameras, and the fans couldn't help but gush over the great moment. Netizens are pointing out how beautiful both the women are and how comfortable they were to be sitting next to each other, no...

Keep on reading: LOOK: Heart Evangelista poses with K-pop star Mina of TWICE at Paris Fashion Week

We've seen AI teachers and AI learning platforms, so why not AI students? Ferris State University will become the first educational institution in the US to let two AI-powered robots attend courses as pupils. Believe it or not, Ferris-U aims to help the school learn more about the student experience on campus.  This AI student project can be difficult to understand, especially when most would likely suggest surveying human students instead. Still, it is a seemingly harmless yet strange experiment that might reveal insights previously unknown. If it succeeds, perhaps Ferris State University could improve the student experience, and other schools might do the same. This article...

Keep on reading: AI students to attend college soon

NEW YORK --- Denim giant Levi Strauss & Co. said Thursday that it's slashing its global corporate workforce by 10 percent to 15 percent in the first half of the year as part of a two-year restructuring plan that seeks to cut costs and simplify its operations. The company employed about 19,100 people as of the end of November, according to its annual report filed with securities regulators. San Francisco-based Levi's said the restructuring is expected to generate net cost savings of $100 million in the current fiscal year. It estimates it will book charges of $110 million to $120 million in the first quarter and said there could be more restructuring charges ahead. Revenue ...

Keep on reading: Levi’s to slash global workforce by up to 15%

Maja Salvador could not help but be emotional during the surprise baby shower organized by her friend and fellow TV host Maine Mendoza. Moments from the intimate party were shown by Salvador and Mendoza via their Instagram Stories on Thursday, Jan. 25. The event---which featured blooms, balloons and ornaments in white, green and yellow hues---was also attended by Salvador's husband, Rambo Nuez; Mendoza's husband, actor-politician Arjo Atayde; and the actresses' friend, actress-beauty queen MJ Lastimosa. "Thank you, my sez [Maine]. Ang swerte kong kaibigan kita (I'm so lucky to have you as my friend)," Salvador told Mendoza. Lastimosa as well as...

Keep on reading: LOOK: Maja Salvador treated to surprise baby shower by Maine Mendoza

NEW YORK---A Seattle man who police say has been stalking and harassing Taylor Swift was ordered held without bail Thursday, Jan. 25, after he was arrested three times in recent days in front of the pop star's home in Manhattan's Tribeca neighborhood. David Crowe, 33, was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court on a misdemeanor charge of second-degree criminal contempt, according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office. He was also ordered to undergo a psychiatric exam. Prosecutors said Crowe violated a protective order issued Wednesday mandating he stay away from Swift and her home and refrain from any communication with her. READ: Man arrested near Taylor Swift's...

Keep on reading: Man arrested outside Taylor Swift’s NYC home held without bail for violating protective order

MANILA, Philippines --- Malacaang remained mum on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s separate executive sessions with Senate and House of Representatives members. Presidential Communications Office Secretary Cheloy Garafil on Friday explained that the discussions made during the independent meetings are top secret. "The meetings were held in executive session, so all matters tackled therein are treated confidential," Garafil told reporters in a Viber message. READ: Marcos 'not as warm as usual' in latest meeting with senators -- source Members of the Senate and House were supposed to meet with the President on Thursday for a Legislative Executive Development Advisory Counci...

Keep on reading: Palace mum on Marcos’ separate meetings with Senate, House