The News

  One day after a deadly shooting at Antioch High School, alarming online messages forced the Metro Nashville Police Department to focus on possible threats to other area schools on Thursday.

A parent posted a screenshot of text messages circulating online that claimed the Antioch High School shooter had collaborated with students at other schools on a coordinated attack.

The other schools mentioned in messages included Cane Ridge High School, Glencliff High School, McGavock High School, and Hillsboro High School.

A spokesperson for Metro Nashville Public Schools confirmed the district was aware of the threatening messages, and that MNPD investigated their validity overnight.

“The MNPD investigated this situation overnight,” Sean Braisted with MNPS explained. “The threat was unsubstantiated, and they do not believe there is any connection between the shooter and these schools.”

Despite finding the threats to be false, an “additional police presence” is expected at each campus on Thursday.

Authorities said the arrest of a student who had a gun in his backpack at McGavock High on Wednesday evening was not related to the investigation into additional threats, to their knowledge.

“The information circulating online is not believed to be credible and we are not aware of any connection between the two incidents,” MNPS explained.

The 18-year-old student was arrested and charged with carrying a weapon on school property.

 In one of the more wide-open Oscar fields in recent history, there were plenty of nominations surprises Thursday.

Not too long ago, it seemed that people like Angelina Jolie and Nicole Kidman were destined for best actress nominations, while general audience disinterest in the young Donald Trump movie “The Apprentice” might have indicated its awards chances were dead on arrival.

But the members of the film academy had something different in mind. Here are some of the biggest snubs and surprises from the 97th Oscar nominations.

SURPRISE: Jeremy Strong and Sebastian Stan, “The Apprentice”

The young Trump movie “The Apprentice” has been one of the bigger awards season question marks, especially after it failed to resonate with moviegoers in theaters. And yet both Jeremy Strong, for his portrayal for Trump lawyer Roy Cohn, and Sebastian Stan (who was also in the conversation for “A Different Man” ), for playing the future two-time president, made it in. Only Strong got nominated by the Screen Actors Guild.

SNUB: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, “Hard Truths”

This will forever be one of the more confounding awards season oversights. Marianne Jean-Baptiste delivered one of the all-time great performances in Mike Leigh’s “Hard Truths,” as the perpetually aggrieved and sharp-tongued London woman Pansy. The general thinking is that it was either going to be Jean-Baptiste or Fernanda Torres, and Torres got in for the equally beloved “I’m Still Here.”

SNUB: Pamela Anderson, “The Last Showgirl”

This is perhaps up for debate, but there was certainly a lot of goodwill behind Anderson’s movie-star turn in Gia Coppola’s “The Last Showgirl,” especially considering her SAG nomination. But like with Jennifer Lopez and “Hustlers” a few years ago, it was not meant to be at the Oscars.

SURPRISE: James Mangold, “A Complete Unknown”

James Mangold has directed several awards darlings, including “Ford v Ferrari” and “Walk the Line” but had consistently missed out on a best director nomination, until this year with “A Complete Unknown.” It may have come at the expense of Edward Berger, who missed out on a nod for “Conclave” or Denis Villeneuve for “Dune: Part Two.”

SNUB: Daniel Craig, “Queer”

Daniel Craig gave one of his best performances as an American expat in Mexico in the torrid May-December romance in “Queer,” but it hasn’t been resonating with awards voters. The Oscar snub is the final piece in a puzzle that just never came together.

SNUB: Angelina Jolie, “Maria”

If there ever were a shoo-in for a nomination and an Oscar, on paper at least, it would be for Angelina Jolie playing opera legend Maria Callas. Filmmaker Pablo Larraín had not missed yet in getting best actress nominations for his famous, tragic women biopics, including Natalie Portman for “Jackie” and Kristen Stewart for “Spencer.” But somehow Jolie did not make the cut in the end.

SNUB: Nicole Kidman, “Babygirl”

“Babygirl” is not a cliche awards movie by a long stretch, but Nicole Kidman’s performance as Romy, the buttoned-up, married CEO who begins a dangerous affair with a young intern at her company was undeniable. But a best actress win at the Venice Film Festival has never guaranteed Oscar success.

SURPRISE: Felicity Jones, “The Brutalist”

Despite the wide love for “The Brutalist,” Felicity Jones has been curiously absent from many nominations lists for her sharp portrayal of Erzsébet Tóth. The cast did not even get recognized by SAG. But it just goes to show that it’s never too late to sneak in for the big one

SNUB: Danielle Deadwyler, “The Piano Lesson”

A few years after Danielle Deadwyler was famously snubbed for “Till,” she has another snub to add to her resume for Malcolm Washington’s adaptation of “The Piano Lesson.” This latest campaign might not have had as much steam behind it as “Till,” but at the very least one would assume that it could have been a make good.

SURPRISE: Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown

Supporting actress was one of the more chaotic and unpredictable categories this year, with so many deserving performers in the mix. Monica Barbaro was one of those that was on the fringe of possibilities for her turn as Joan Baez, singing and all, for “A Complete Unknown.”

SNUB: Selena Gomez, “Emilia Pérez”

One who was not so lucky was Selena Gomez for “Emilia Pérez,” perhaps because she was partially competing with her co-star, Zoë Saldaña who simply had more momentum (and gave a moving speech at the Golden Globes).

SNUB: Clarence Maclin, “Sing Sing”

The incarceration drama “Sing Sing” did get several significant nominations including for Colman Domingo, adapted screenplay and original song. But Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin, who delivered a revelatory performance based on his own experience, was not among them. He is, however, credited with helping to write the story.

SNUB: Margaret Qualley, “The Substance”

Margaret Qualley seems to have been unfairly left out of much of the awards conversation around “The Substance,” a movie that only works with a great Sue. But the focus has been more on Demi Moore, overdue for such recognition, and Coralie Fargeat — the only woman to score a best director nomination.

SNUB: “Challengers” score

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross delivered one of their most popular scores ever this year for “Challengers” and yet were left off in a batch of nominees that included “The Brutalist,” “Conclave,” “Emilia Pérez,” “Wicked” and “The Wild Robot.” It’s not even that they’re consistently overlooked by the academy — they’ve already won twice, for “Soul” and “The Social Network.”

SURPRISE: “Flow”

Everyone expected the Latvian cat movie “Flow” to get a best animated feature nomination, especially after it won the Golden Globe. But the big surprise is that it got a second for best international feature — a first for Latvia. This is not a first for an animated movie to get into the international category, though: “Waltz with Bashir” and “Flee” had the honor before “Flow,” but neither ended up winning.

SURPRISE: “Nickel Boys”

RaMell Ross’ “Nickel Boys” has had quite the rollercoaster awards season journey, even though it’s widely considered one of the best films of the year. The film academy thought so too, including it among the 10 best picture nominees (alongside other relative surprises like “I’m Still Here” and “Dune: Part Two”). Oddly, though, it missed out on cinematography despite its inventive first-person point of view.

SNUB: Denzel Washington, “Gladiator II”

Denzel Washington was not about to hit the campaigning trail for “Gladiator II” but he was, at least at one point, thought to be a sure thing for a supporting nomination. In his review, AP film writer Jake Coyle wrote that Washington’s “performance as the Machiavellian power broker Macrinus is a delicious blur of robes and grins — so compellingly over-the-top that he nearly reaches 1990s Al Pacino standards.” But don’t cry for Washington: He’s notched an incredible 10 Oscar nominations in his career, including one for producing “Fences,” and two wins: supporting actor for “Glory” and best actor for “Training Day.”

 President Trump early Wednesday morning slammed the reverend at a National Cathedral prayer service for the inauguration who called on him to have mercy on transgender children and immigrant families.

Trump, in a lengthy post on Truth Social, called Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde’s remarks “nasty” and not smart.

“The so-called Bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Service on Tuesday morning was a Radical Left hard line Trump hater. She brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way. She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart,” he said.

“She failed to mention the large number of illegal migrants that came into our Country and killed people. Many were deposited from jails and mental institutions,” the president added. “It is a giant crime wave that is taking place in the USA. Apart from her inappropriate statements, the service was a very boring and uninspiring one.”

Trump also called on her and the church to apologize to him.

“She is not very good at her job! She and her church owe the public an apology!”

Hours earlier, Budde made a plea to Trump during her sermon as he was sitting in the first pew at the service.

“I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared. There are gay, lesbian, transgender children, Democratic, Republican, independent families — some who fear for their lives,” she said.

“The people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meatpacking plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals — they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals,” she added.

During her comments about migrants, Budde noted that migrant workers “pay taxes” and are “faithful members” of U.S. churches, mosques, synagogues and temples, arguing that their children “fear their parents are going to be taken away.” And, she called on Trump to aid people fleeing war zones and persecution.

Budde also told Trump that people in our country are scared of his presidency.

When Trump returned to the White House after the prayer service, he told reporters it “wasn’t too exciting.”

“They can do much better,” he added.

Others have joined Trump in criticizing the Bishop’s remarks, including Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.), who said on X that “the person giving this sermon should be added to the deportation list.”

Trump on Monday signed a flurry of executive orders, including one recognizing only two sexes — male and female — and others restricting immigration to carry out his campaign promise to target migrants, especially those who have committed crimes in the U.S.

He signed an order effectively pausing refugee admissions for a minimum of three months, signed an order that seeks to boost detention capacity in the U.S. to house migrants and said he would end birthright citizenship for children born to people living without legal status in the U.S.

He also reinstituted the “Remain in Mexico” program which requires asylum seekers to stay in Mexico until their U.S. immigration court date in addition to shutting down the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) One app which facilitates appointments for immigration proceedings. 

 On Tuesday afternoon, President Donald Trump held a press conference to announce Stargate, a $500 billion artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure project in the United States. He called it the "largest AI infrastructure project, by far, in history."

What you know about the Stargate project

Stargate is a joint venture between top tech companies Oracle, SoftBank Group, and OpenAI. Oracle is best known for its enterprise database software and cloud computing services. SoftBank, based in Japan, is an investment holding company that mainly invest in tech companies. OpenAI is the creator of ChatGPT, the chatbot that caused a sensation when it launched in late 2022. It showcased the amazing capabilities of generative AI, sparking a rush among companies to acquire generative AI capabilities.

Trump was joined at the conference by Larry Ellison, co-founder and executive chairman of Oracle; Masayoshi Son, SoftBank founder and CEO; and OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman.

Stargate will create over 100,000 American jobs, Trump said, emphasizing that the project will be entirely in the United States. He added that he was "going to help a lot through emergency declarations." I think investors can take this to mean that he plans to lessen any regulatory hurdles that could slow the project's progression. He also mentioned that the "colossal" data centers could include on-site electricity generation. AI-enabled data centers are power hungry, so having adequate and dependable power is a major consideration.

Oracle's Ellison outlined the project's scope. Construction has started on 10 data centers being built in Abilene, Texas, which is about 180 miles west-southwest of Dallas. Each building will be a half a million square feet, which is bigger than seven regulation-size NFL football fields. The number of facilities will expand to 20 and there will be locations beyond Abilene, Ellison said. It wasn't clear to me if he meant there will be 20 facilities in Abilene and additional ones in other locations. He might have meant there will be 20 in total -- 10 in Abilene and 10 in other locations. No matter, as the main takeaway remains that this is a massive AI infrastructure project.

SoftBank's Son talked about money and other partners. He said Stargate "will start immediately deploying $100 million" with the goal of bringing the total investment to $500 billion within the next four years, or by the end of Trump's term.

Investment firm MGX is an additional investing partner in Stargate, and Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) is the joint venture's technology partner, said Son.

What were the executive orders Trump signed?

Donald Trump was sworn in yesterday at the Capitol Rotunda as the 47th president of the United States, marking the beginning of his second term in office. Here’s everything you might have missed.

Inaugural address: Trump declared that “the golden age of America begins right now” as his family — including first lady Melania, who wore an Adam Lippes coat and a wide-brim hat, and 18-year-old son Barron — sat nearby. [Yahoo News/Yahoo Entertainment]

Who was there: Barack Obama, the Clintons and the Bushes attended the ceremony, along with several billionaire tech CEOs and Trump allies like Joe Rogan. Carrie Underwood helped close the ceremony with “America the Beautiful.” Watch it here. [AP/Yahoo Entertainment]

Executive actions: Trump signed dozens of orders that included a crackdown on immigration and birthright citizenship, and withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement. He also pardoned nearly all of those charged in connection to the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021. [Reuters]

🥶 Southern freeze

The National Weather Service warned of a “generational winter storm event” in the South as a storm, combined with arctic air, is predicted to bring snowfall and freezing rain from Texas to South Carolina through tomorrow morning. [CNN]

🌫️ California fire weather

Forecasters again issued the most severe red flag warning in Southern California through this morning as they warned that conditions were “ripe for explosive fire growth” amid a second day of heavy winds and low humidity. [AP]

➡️ Musk’s controversial salute

Elon Musk sparked backlash at a rally for Trump after making a gesture that people say resembled the Nazi salute. The Anti–Defamation League defended Musk, calling it an “awkward gesture made in a moment of enthusiasm.” [Time]

🏈 Buckeyes’ title drought ends

Ohio State roared to a 34-23 win against Notre Dame, their first championship since 2014. A highlight: Ohio QB Will Howard set a record for the most consecutive completions in a title game. [Yahoo Sports]

🎬 ‘The Brutalist’ plays defense

Amid controversy over the use of AI to smooth over the Hungarian accents of stars Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones in the awards season contender The Brutalist, director Brady Corbet said it was done with “utmost respect for the craft.” [Deadline]

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY

📺 On the tube, The Joe Schmo Show, a revival of the 2000s reality TV hoax series, premieres at 9 p.m. ET on TBS. Watch the trailer. [Variety]

🏀 On the court, the Nets welcome former defender Mikal Bridges back to Brooklyn when they face the Knicks at 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT. [Daily News]

☀️ And don’t forget to: Read your daily horoscope. Play the Crossword. Check the forecast in your area.

TODAY IN HISTORY

In 1942, New York City became the first of several cities across the U.S. to ban pinball machines, which had been tied to gambling and crime. The bans were lifted in the 1970s, and since then, the wild and quirky world of pinball has thrived. [ConsumerQueen]

3 QUESTIONS

...about Trump's first 100 days

I asked Andrew Romano, who covers politics for Yahoo News, about what to expect now that Trump is back in power.

Divya: Trump has signed dozens of executive orders. Which ones might have the greatest impact?

Andrew: Some of his executive orders, like renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America,” are more symbolic than anything else. Others will have an immediate effect, like the (temporary) pause on the TikTok ban and his mass deportation order, which will trigger raids and send resources to the border.

Divya: What are Republicans’ plans now that Trump is back and they have majorities in Congress?

Andrew: The GOP majorities are slim, which makes big, quick moves unlikely. Step one for Senate Republicans will be getting Trump’s Cabinet picks confirmed. In the House, Speaker Mike Johnson wants to pass one big MAGA bill but he doesn’t expect a final vote until the spring.

Divya: During Trump’s campaign, there was lots of talk of Project 2025. Is that still a thing?

Andrew: Trump has already nominated several Project 2025 contributors to positions of power. Russell Vought, his would-be budget director, wrote a chapter for it. Trump’s border czar Tom Homan and his deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller also contributed. But their specific plans remain unclear.

Go deeper: Here’s a list of the executive actions Trump has already taken.

FEEL-GOOD MOMENT

A TikTok video of Madison Peltzer’s 6-month-old son recently went viral after she revealed that he weighs 31 pounds and said he’s in the 99th percentile for “everything” — qualities that caught the attention of the NFL’s Detroit Lions, which commented: “Dibs.” [People]