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Devotees of fan favorite “Friends” will soon be able to sip a cup of Joey in a Manhattan recreation of the “Central Perk” cafe made famous by the sitcom.Just don’t expect the coffee to cost $3 a cup like it did in the acclaimed television show at the turn of the millennium.The latest reincarnation of the hot drink haunt will feature plush apricot-color couches and clipart-style logos faithful to the TV series that ran from 1994 to 2004.Central Perk Coffee Co, which already has an outpost in Boston, will run the Manhattan branch which will be based in the Times Square tourist hub and is due to open in late 2025.It announced the venture in a joint statement with Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences Tuesday.  “At the heart of (the Friends) story was always Central Perk, the iconic coffeehouse and the group’s home base, set in Manhattan,” said Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences executive Peter van Roden. A play on the name of Manhattan’s iconic Central Park, Phoebe, Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Joey and Monica would regularly gather in the fictious establishment. The name has been applied to a number of imitation cafes as far afield as Shanghai, China.Coffee blends offered by Central Perk Coffee Co include “We were on a ‘coffee’ break” and the “Pivot blend” — homages to two prominent storylines.

Smoke-choked air that fills their lungs, floods threatening their homes and debilitating heat: a group of young Americans testified Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s fossil-fuel push is trampling their inalienable rights.Lighthiser v Trump is emblematic of a growing global trend of legal action as a tool to push action on planetary warming amid political inertia or outright hostility.At issue are three executive orders that together seek to “unleash” fossil fuel development at the expense of renewable energy.They are also contesting the government’s actions undermining federal climate science, from firing scientists to removing critical reports. A two-day hearing opened in a federal courtroom in Missoula, Montana where Julia Olson, lead attorney for the 22 plaintiffs, framed the dispute as a constitutional test.”Does the United States Constitution guard against executive abuses of power by executive order that deprive children and youth of their fundamental rights to life and to their liberties?” she asked.Michael Sawyer, representing the Trump administration, countered that the case itself undermined democracy.”This is, at its core, an anti-democratic lawsuit,” he argued. “We just had an election. One of the major issues in that election was a dueling perspective on emissions, energy policy, and they are now stepping in and asking the court to overrule the results.” – Witnesses grilled -The spotlight then shifted to the young plaintiffs, represented by the nonprofit Our Children’s Trust, who described how climate change is reshaping their lives.J.M., a teenager from Livingston, Montana, said that even in her short life she has seen snowfall decline, wildfire seasons lengthen, and flooding worsen.One blaze forced her family to evacuate, and she remembers packing her stuffed toys and worrying about the family’s animals. “Just experiencing that from a young age put the fear of wildfire in me,” she said. Another plaintiff, Joseph Lee, 19, recalled wildfires in California last year that destroyed the home of a friend. “I don’t know if I’m going to be next — are my parents going to be safe?” he told the court.Asked why he chose to participate in the lawsuit, Lee, who has been hospitalized for heat stroke that nearly caused organ failure, said: “A better future is possible.”The young people faced tough questioning from government lawyers, who grilled J.M. over her family’s decision to keep three horses — arguing that raising them contributed to greenhouse emissions and implying she was being hypocritical.- Long odds -Expert witnesses also took the stand Tuesday, including renowned climate scientist Steven Running, who shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for being a co-author on a major UN climate report, and former senior White House official John Podesta. “In your expert opinion would their injuries get worse if more fossil fuels were to be unleashed under these executive orders?” Olson asked Running. “Unquestionably,” he answered. The plaintiffs are seeking a preliminary injunction that could open the door to a full trial. The federal government, joined by 19 conservative-leaning states and the territory of Guam, wants the case thrown out, but has not called their own witnesses.The plaintiffs hope to build on recent state-level wins: a 2023 Montana ruling that oil and gas permits violated the state’s constitutional right to a clean environment, and a 2024 Hawaii settlement mandating faster decarbonization of its transport sector.On the federal level, however, the record is bleak. The landmark 2015 Juliana v. United States case was dismissed after the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal earlier this year.During cross-examination, government lawyer Sawyer pressed Podesta for previously arguing against Juliana when he served in the government.But Podesta countered that while Juliana was too broad, and would have required reversing five decades of policy, in the new case the “remedy is direct and narrow” — “To pull back on specific actions that are heavily burdening these kids and will have direct impact on their lives.”It remains to be seen whether this central argument, key to the plaintiff’s case, plays.Judge Dana Christensen, an Obama appointee with a record of pro-environment rulings, is presiding — but even if the plaintiffs notch a win, the case could eventually land before the conservative-dominated Supreme Court.

Lyle and Erik Menendez, who have spent more than three decades behind bars for murdering their parents with shotguns at the family’s Beverly Hills mansion, have lost their bid for a new trial.A Los Angeles judge’s ruling late Monday is the latest blow to the Menendez brothers’ high-profile campaign for freedom, after they were each denied parole last month.The pair, whose plight was famously dramatized in a recent hit Netflix series, had argued that recently uncovered evidence surrounding alleged sexual abuse at the hands of their father warranted a new trial.But the judge found the fresh evidence did not add to “the allegations of abuse that the jury already considered, yet found that the brothers planned, then executed that plan, to kill their abusive father and complicit mother.”Nor would it have led to the original murder trial ruling the brothers had acted in self-defense, because the new evidence does not “demonstrate the brothers experienced a fear of imminent peril,” ruled Judge William C. Ryan, according to a court-issued memorandum.The brothers killed Jose and Kitty Menendez with shotguns in 1989, in what prosecutors in the ensuing trial said was a cynical attempt to get their hands on a large family fortune.The Menendez brothers claim the killings were committed after years of abuse, including alleged sexual abuse by their father.The new evidence included a letter allegedly written by Erik to his cousin detailing abuse, and allegations of abuse by Jose Menendez against another man. Lyle, 57, and Erik, 54, can appeal Monday’s ruling.Having had their original sentences of life without the possibility of parole reduced to 50-year terms in May, they will be eligible to apply for parole again in three years.Their only other chance of sooner release is if California Governor Gavin Newsom grants them clemency. 

Robert Redford was rarely spotted at Sundance in his final years, yet the late Hollywood legend forever looms large at the influential US movie festival he co-created.Set up in the 1980s to support creative, independent directors at a time when the blockbuster era launched by “Jaws” and “Star Wars” held sway over Hollywood, Sundance is for many filmmakers the epitome of Redford’s legacy.”Reflecting on Robert’s importance is like reflecting on the moon’s importance — it’s tidal,” said David Osit, a director whose documentary “Predators” premiered at this year’s Sundance.”It’s beyond comprehension, his impact. I don’t know what our profession looks like without his influence, especially on independent film,” he told AFP.Years before his breakthrough role in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” the native Californian Redford had purchased a small plot of land in the picturesque, snowy mountains of Utah.That valley became the first home of Redford’s Sundance Institute, which offers resources and training to young movie directors, and soon after to the Sundance Film Festival — an annual showcase for new independent movies that changed the US industry.Held in sub-freezing temperatures each winter at an altitude of 7,000 feet (2,150 meters), the Sundance festival has famously launched the careers of directors like Quentin Tarantino and Steven Soderbergh.It has also premiered countless Oscar-winning documentaries, including recent titles “20 Days in Mariupol,” “Navalny” and “Summer of Soul.”Roughly 4,000 feature films have been presented at the fest over the years, the vast majority from directors who are not household names and have limited finances.”In the United States, there isn’t government funding typically for young artists, like there is in other countries,” said Richard Heredia-Arriaga, a director who has been involved with the online Sundance Collab platform for nearly a decade.”That’s what makes Sundance so special for American filmmakers, in particular, because it was an outlet for your work to be seen and then basically legitimized on a professional level.”- ‘Risk taking’ -As it grew in size, Sundance has attracted some of the very commercialism that it had been set up to mitigate — something that did not always sit well with Redford.”I want the ambush marketers — the vodka brands and the gift-bag people and the Paris Hiltons — to go away forever,” Redford told a journalist at the 2012 festival, the New York Times reported.”They have nothing to do with what’s going on here.”As Redford grew older and his health deteriorated, he had less direct involvement in the festival, though his video message always played before its opening film, and his family remained keen stewards of Sundance.One of Redford’s final public involvements was a statement marking the festival’s upcoming move away from its Utah home in the Park City ski resort, which it has outgrown. From 2027, Sundance will be held in Colorado.Sundance’s “mission remains even more critical today,” and the move “will ensure that the festival continues its work of risk taking,” said Redford.Outside Park City’s Egyptian Theatre — Sundance’s most historic venue for premieres — residents and visitors told AFP they were sad to see it leave.”Definitely the artistic community owes him a great deal of gratitude,” said Peter Mayhew.Even in Colorado, Redford’s stamp will remain central to the Sundance brand.”His presence is always felt within the organization, because there was always this known fact that Bob was the person that put this all together, you know?” added Heredia-Arriaga.

The top court in the southern US state of Georgia declined on Tuesday to hear the district attorney’s appeal of her removal from the election interference case against President Donald Trump.The move by the Georgia Supreme Court means the case brought against Trump before his November 2024 relection will likely never go to trial.A Georgia appeals court in December disqualified Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the case citing the “impropriety” of an intimate relationship she had with the man she hired to be a special prosecutor.Willis appealed the ruling to the Georgia Supreme Court but it declined 4-3 to hear her appeal.Trump welcomed the decision in a post on Truth Social, calling it a “big win for justice and law in Georgia.” “They went after their Political Opponent at levels never seen before, and lost,” he wrote. “They are now criminals who will hopefully pay serious consequences for their illegal actions.”Trump and a number of co-defendants were charged with racketeering and other offenses in Georgia over their alleged efforts to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state.It will now be up to the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia to find a new prosecutor to handle the election interference case.If another prosecutor does take up the case it is unlikely, however, that Trump could be prosecuted since he is now president.Trump also faced two federal cases but they were dropped by Special Counsel Jack Smith after the election under the Justice Department policy of not indicting or prosecuting a sitting president.Trump was accused of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election and of removing large quantities of top secret documents after leaving the White House, but neither case came to trial.The Republican real estate tycoon was convicted in New York of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to a porn star on the eve of the 2016 election to stop her from revealing an alleged 2006 sexual encounter.

Cinema legend Robert Redford, a screen great in front of and behind the camera whose career spanned six decades, died Tuesday morning at his home in Utah, his publicist said. He was 89.Redford died in his sleep, and a specific cause was not given, according to a statement by Cindi Berger, the chief executive of publicity firm Rogers & Cowan PMK.”Robert Redford passed away on September 16, 2025, at his home at Sundance in the mountains of Utah — the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved,” Berger said.The tousle-haired and freckled heartthrob made his breakthrough alongside Paul Newman as the affable outlaw in the Western “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” in 1969.After 20 years as an actor, he moved behind the camera, becoming a director and co-founding the Sundance festival for aspiring independent filmmakers.Redford won a directing Academy Award for his 1980 film “Ordinary People,” as well as an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement in 2002.A committed environmental activist, Redford also fought to preserve the natural landscape and resources around Utah.- ‘Pure joy’ -Tributes poured in Tuesday — including from the leading man’s most celebrated female co-stars.”One of the lions has passed. Rest in peace my lovely friend,” said Meryl Streep, who starred opposite Redford in “Out of Africa.”Fellow actor-activist Jane Fonda, who like Redford made her film debut in 1960’s “Tall Story,” and reunited with him seven years later for “Barefoot in the Park,” mourned “a beautiful person in every way.” “It hit me hard this morning when I read that Bob was gone. I can’t stop crying… He stood for an America we have to keep fighting for,” she said.Barbra Streisand said every day with Redford on the set of “The Way We Were” was “exciting, intense and pure joy,” and hailed “one of the finest actors ever.”Elsewhere, President Donald Trump described the actor as “great.””Robert Redford had a series of years where there was nobody better,” Trump told reporters after a journalist told him that Redford had died.One of Redford’s most beloved roles was in the classic American political thriller “All the President’s Men” (1976), which tells the story of how two journalists exposed the Watergate scandal that brought down US president Richard Nixon.Redford earned his only nomination for the best actor Oscar when playing a 1930s con artist in “The Sting” (1973) — but he did not win.- ‘Redefined cinema’ -Born Charles Robert Redford Jr. on August 18, 1936, in Santa Monica, California, he was the son of an accountant. Redford had four children with his first wife, Lola Van Wagenen, one of whom died as an infant. He married German artist and longtime girlfriend Sibylle Szaggars in 2009.In the snowy mountains of Utah that he called home, fans paid tribute to Redford’s conservation work as well as his movie legacy.”I’ll remember him for his commitment to protect nature, Native Americans and animals,” 59-year-old Swiss pastry chef Monika Suter told AFP, weeping outside a conference building named after the actor. One of Redford’s greatest achievements was the launch in 1985 of the Sundance Film Festival.Created to discover new filmmakers and as an antidote to Hollywood’s commercialism, it has fostered leading directors such as Quentin Tarantino and Steven Soderbergh.”We are deeply saddened by the loss of our founder and friend Robert Redford,” the Sundance Institute said in a statement.”Bob’s vision of a space and a platform for independent voices launched a movement that, over four decades later, has inspired generations of artists and redefined cinema in the US and around the world.”

FBI Director Kash Patel clashed with Democrats on Tuesday at a fiery Senate hearing during which he was accused of purging the bureau’s ranks of agents perceived of being disloyal to Republican President Donald Trump.Patel also defended his handling of two high-profile cases: last week’s murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and the probe into sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Senator Dick Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, accused Patel of inflicting “untold damage on the FBI” and putting national security and public safety at risk with an “unprecedented purge of FBI officials.”Democratic Senator Cory Booker said the mass firings of FBI agents who worked on past criminal cases brought against Trump had “made our country weaker and less safe” and predicted the FBI chief is “not going to be around long.””As much as you supplicate yourself to the will of Donald Trump — and not the Constitution of the United States of America — Donald Trump has shown us… he is not loyal to people like you. He will cut you loose,” Booker said.Pressed by Democratic Senator Adam Schiff as to whether any FBI agents had been fired in political retribution, Patel erupted, calling the California lawmaker the “biggest fraud to ever sit in the United States Senate” and a “political buffoon.””I do not have an enemies list,” Patel said. “The only actions we take, generally speaking, for personnel at the FBI are ones based on merit and qualification and your ability to uphold your constitutional duty. You fall short, you don’t work there anymore.”Patel has been lambasted from both the right and the left since being named by Trump to head the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the nation’s premier law enforcement agency.According to Fox News, Patel’s relationship with Attorney General Pam Bondi is particularly strained, although he continues to enjoy the confidence of the White House.Patel has been criticized in particular for his actions in the aftermath of the assassination of Kirk during a speaking event at a Utah university.The FBI chief announced the arrest of a suspect a few hours after the shooting, only to turn around two hours later and say that individual had been released and the manhunt was continuing.Tyler Robinson, the actual suspected assailant, was formally charged in Provo, Utah, on Tuesday with the murder of Kirk, founder of the influential conservative youth political group Turning Point USA.- ‘No credible information’ -Patel was also asked by both Republican and Democratic senators about Epstein, the convicted sex offender whose case has become a political lightning rod for the Trump administration.Patel said there is no “credible information” in the law enforcement files he has seen that Epstein trafficked young women to other individuals.”There is no credible information, none,” Patel said. “If there were I would bring the case yesterday that he trafficked to other individuals.”Some of Donald Trump’s fiercest supporters have tracked the Epstein case for years, believing “deep state” elites have been protecting Epstein associates in the Democratic Party and Hollywood.Patel angered many Trump loyalists with a memo in July that effectively closed the investigation into Epstein, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for trafficking of underage girls.Since taking office, Trump has taken a number of punitive measures against his perceived enemies, purging government officials deemed to be disloyal, targeting law firms involved in past cases against him, and pulling federal funding from universities.Three former senior FBI officials filed a lawsuit against Patel last week over their firing, claiming they were victims of a “campaign of retribution” over a perceived “failure to demonstrate sufficient political loyalty.”Patel is to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

A US judge dropped two terror charges Tuesday against Luigi Mangione but said the man accused of gunning down a health insurance executive would still face trial for second-degree murder.Mangione appeared in court wearing a beige jumpsuit and shackles, flanked by armed police and court officers, and stopped to smile and nod at a young woman in the front row as he was led out, an AFP reporter saw.His appearance in a Manhattan courthouse is a reminder of the string of violence that has rocked the United States in recent times, including the December 4 slaying of insurance executive Brian Thompson.That has been followed by a number of other incidents, including the murder of a Democratic Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband, the firebombing of the Pennsylvania governor’s home and, most recently, the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.”As to Counts One and Two, charging the defendant with Murder in the First Degree, and Murder in the Second Degree, under the terrorism statute, the evidence put forth before the Grand Jury was legally insufficient for those charges,” Judge Gregory Carro ordered. “Therefore, those two charges are dismissed.”He also ordered Mangione to return to court on December 1 for a hearing to discuss the handling of evidence in the case.Fervent supporters of Mangione gathered both inside and outside court to show their backing for the 27-year-old whose alleged crimes have sharply divided Americans.Thompson’s murder brought to the surface deep public frustration with the lucrative US commercial health care system, with some social media users painting Mangione as a hero.He is charged in both state and federal court in the December 4 shooting of Thompson, who was chief executive of UnitedHealthcare.- Insufficient evidence for ‘terrorism’ -If convicted in the state case, Mangione could face life imprisonment with no parole. In the federal case, he could technically face the death penalty.One of the protesters, who were mostly young women, held up an Italian flag emblazoned with the words “healthcare is a human right.”Mangione’s attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo has sought clarity on how simultaneous federal and state charges would work, calling the situation “highly unusual.”Dozens of Mangione’s supporters chased his legal team along the street after they left court following the packed hearing.Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 9 following a tip from staff at a McDonald’s restaurant, after a days-long manhunt. He had traveled to New York by bus from Atlanta about 10 days before the crime, US prosecutors said. After checking into a Manhattan hostel with false identification, he allegedly performed reconnaissance near the victim’s hotel and the conference venue where the shooting took place.Early on December 4, Mangione allegedly tracked Thompson, walked up behind him and fired several gunshots from a pistol with a silencer, federal prosecutors said. Afterward, he is said to have fled on a bicycle.

Robert Redford was rarely spotted at Sundance in his final years, yet the late Hollywood legend forever looms large at the influential US movie festival he co-created.Set up in the 1980s to support creative, independent directors at a time when the blockbuster era launched by “Jaws” and “Star Wars” held sway over Hollywood, Sundance is for many filmmakers the epitome of Redford’s legacy.”Reflecting on Robert’s importance is like reflecting on the moon’s importance — it’s tidal,” said David Osit, a director whose documentary “Predators” premiered at this year’s Sundance.”It’s beyond comprehension, his impact. I don’t know what our profession looks like without his influence, especially on independent film,” he told AFP.Years before his breakthrough role in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” the native Californian Redford had purchased a small plot of land in the picturesque, snowy mountains of Utah.That valley became the first home of Redford’s Sundance Institute, which offers resources and training to young movie directors, and soon after to the Sundance Film Festival — an annual showcase for new independent movies that changed the US industry.Held in sub-zero temperatures each winter at an altitude of 7,000 feet (2,150 meters), the Sundance festival has famously launched the careers of directors like Quentin Tarantino and Steven Soderbergh.It has also premiered countless Oscar-winning documentaries, including recent titles “20 Days in Mariupol,” “Navalny” and “Summer of Soul.”Roughly 4,000 feature films have been presented at the fest over the years, the vast majority from directors who are not household names and have limited finances.”In the United States, there isn’t government funding typically for young artists, like there is in other countries,” said Richard Heredia-Arriaga, a director who has been involved with the online Sundance Collab platform for nearly a decade.”That’s what makes Sundance so special for American filmmakers, in particular, because it was an outlet for your work to be seen and then basically legitimized on a professional level.”As it grew in size, Sundance has attracted some of the very commercialism that it had been set up to mitigate — something that did not always sit well with Redford.”I want the ambush marketers — the vodka brands and the gift-bag people and the Paris Hiltons — to go away forever,” Redford famously told a reporter during the 2012 festival.”They have nothing to do with what’s going on here.”As Redford grew older and his health deteriorated, he had less direct involvement in the festival, though his video message always played before its opening film, and his family remained keen stewards of Sundance.One of Redford’s final public involvements was a statement marking the festival’s upcoming move away from its Utah home in the Park City ski resort, which it has outgrown. From 2027, Sundance will be held in Colorado.Sundance’s “mission remains even more critical today,” and the move “will ensure that the festival continues its work of risk taking, supporting innovative storytellers, fostering independence, and entertaining and enlightening audiences,” said Redford.Yet Redford’s stamp remains central to the Sundance brand, as an antidote to the excesses and risk-aversion of Hollywood, and for the sense of integrity and authenticity he brought to the festival and his adopted home.”He was just a regular guy, not your typical Hollywood movie star,” Monika Suter, a regular visitor to the Utah ski community of Sundance — itself named after Redford’s legacy — told AFP.”His presence is always felt within the organization, because there was always this known fact that Bob was the person that put this all together, you know?” added Heredia-Arriaga.

The suspect in the murder of prominent US conservative political activist Charlie Kirk has been formally charged with his murder, prosecutors in Utah announced Tuesday.Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump, was shot dead last week during a speaking event on a Utah university campus. He was the founder of the influential conservative youth political group Turning Point USA.Authorities said 22-year-old Tyler Robinson used a rifle to shoot Kirk with a single bullet to the neck from a rooftop. He was arrested after a 33-hour manhunt.”After reviewing the evidence that law enforcement has collected thus far, I am… charging Tyler James Robinson, age 22, with the following crimes,” Utah County attorney Jeff Gray told a press conference.”Count one, aggravated murder, a capital offense, for intentionally or knowingly causing the death of Charlie Kirk under circumstances that created a great risk of death to others.”Six other charges include obstruction of justice and witness tampering, allegedly for ordering his roommate to stay silent.”I am filing a notice of intent to seek the death penalty,” Gray added.”I do not take this decision lightly, and it is a decision I have made independently as county attorney based solely on the available evidence and circumstances and nature of the crime.”Gray cited lengthy text message exchanges between Robinson and his roommate, whom he described as “a biological male who was transitioning genders.”Robinson and the roommate were in a romantic relationship, Gray said.In one part of the exchange, the roommate, who was not named, asked Robinson why he had killed Kirk.”‘I had enough of his hatred.'” Gray cited the messages as saying. “‘Some hate can’t be negotiated out.'”Robinson, who is being held without bail, was expected to make an initial court appearance later Tuesday.Gray explained that in line with practice in the county, this appearance would be by video link.Kirk, a father of two, used his audiences on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to build support for conservative talking points, including strong criticism of the transgender rights movement.A polarizing figure, he often posted edited clips of his interactions during debates at his many college events.FBI Director Kash Patel has been heavily criticized for his actions in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, including having quickly announced the arrest of a separate suspect, only to confirm they had been released two hours later.Patel faced a grilling from a Senate panel on Tuesday that included some very bad-tempered exchanges with Democratic Senator Corey Booker.Patel has come under fire from both the right and the left since being named by Trump to head the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the nation’s premier law enforcement agency.On Monday, the White House said it would be pursuing an alleged left-wing “domestic terror movement” in the wake of Kirk’s killing, prompting alarm that such a campaign could be used to silence political dissent.