Chronological News (1166707-1166698)

AMERICANALMANAC (Sadie Smith) - Qing imperial dish valued at £30,000 turns up under a London sofa Mon Oct 5 19:03:15 2026

A monumental Qing porcelain dish made for Empress Dowager Cixi and valued at up to £30,000 spent decades under a north London sofa before specialists cleaned it and set it for auction. The two-foot dish, weighing 30 pounds, had been brought from China in the early 20th century by Chinese immigrant Wing Lung Goo and passed down through his family. For years it sat under the living-room sofa of a descendant’s townhouse in Barnet, north London, gathering dust until a relative finally acted on a hunch that it might be special. That relative sent photographs to auctioneers. Asian art specialist John Axford, chairman and head of the Asian art department at Woolley & Wallis and a familiar face from BBC’s Antiques Roadshow, saw the scale and…Open

What was the condition of the dish when it was first discovered by the family, and how was it prepared for auction?

When the family first sent photographs of the dish, it was covered in dirt and had been gathering dust under a sofa for decades. However, after specialists cleaned the piece, it emerged in near-pristine condition. The cleaning process allowed the dish to be documented as a significant imperial object ready for the auction block.

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What is the estimated auction value of the Qing porcelain dish and when is it scheduled to be sold?

The dish is scheduled to be sold at auction by Woolley & Wallis on November 10. The auction house has set an estimate of £20,000 to £30,000 for the piece.

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What specific markings and physical characteristics led specialists to identify the dish as an imperial object?

Asian art specialist John Axford identified a four-character seal mark on the underside of the dish which read "Chuxiugong zhi," meaning "Made for the Chuxiu Palace." This specific mark was used on dishes created for Empress Dowager Cixi’s birthday celebrations. Additionally, the dish is described as "monumental," measuring two feet in size and weighing 30 pounds, and features a distinctive yellow-glazed base.

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How did the Qing imperial dish end up in a townhouse in Barnet, north London, and how was it eventually rediscovered?

The dish was brought from China in the early 20th century by Chinese immigrant Wing Lung Goo and passed down through his family. It sat under the living-room sofa of a descendant’s townhouse in Barnet for decades because its size and 30-pound weight made it impractical to hang on a wall or display on shelves. It was rediscovered when a relative acted on a hunch that the piece was special, sent photographs to auctioneers, and led to a visit by Asian art specialist John Axford, who identified the imperial seal mark.

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BITCHUTE (PragerU) - Dennis Prager on America’s Age of Moral Confusion 2026-10-05 17:12 Mon Oct 5 19:02:28 2026

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Dennis Prager joins PragerU CEO Marissa Streit to discuss Prime Minister Netanyahu’s address to the United Nations and what the walkout during his speech reveals about the UN and the moral state of the West. Dennis examines what he calls an “age of moral confusion,” asking what happens when compassion comes at the expense of justice and why morality must come before politics or economics. Why we live in the age of moral confusion Compassion versus justice, from a New York subway attack to the Lindsay Clancy case Gender surgeries on minors, and biological men in women's sports Why morality comes before everything, including the debate over Iran The midterms, gas prices, and the war with Iran The walkout during Prime Minister…

BITCHUTE (PragerU) - The Civil War: Attack on Fort Sumter | 5-Minute Videos Mon Oct 5 19:02:28 2026

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For decades, tensions over slavery, states’ rights, and the future of the Union had been building. By the spring of 1861, the country had reached its breaking point at Fort Sumter. One final question remained: who would fire the first shot? Wilfred McClay, author of Land of Hope, tells the story of how the Civil War began. Access the full transcript... https://l.prageru.com/3VjIn3I Listen to 5-Minute Videos on Spotify and Apple Podcasts New episodes drop every Monday! Spotify: https://l.prageru.com/3OSGlUL Apple Podcasts: https://l.prageru.com/3Nfs9on Watch our content ad-free on our app: https://prageru.onelink.me/3bas/vgyxvm79 Donate to PragerU: https://l.prageru.com/4jiAT85 Follow PragerU: Instagram …

YOUTUBE (O’Keefe Media Group) - We just finished the latest round of depositions in Tyrmand v. O’Keefe. Mon Oct 5 19:02:27 2026

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...Major questions are finally being answered about what really happened at Project Veritas. You wouldn’t believe some of the things that are coming to light. Some of what we discovered will be revealed at the Mara-A-Lago gala… happening November 12, 2026 | 5:00 PM Get your tickets: https://citizenjournalistgala.com/ ---------- Follow James O'Keefe: X - https://x.com/jamesokeefeiii Instagram - https://instagram.com/jamesokeefeiii Follow O'Keefe Media Group: X - https://x.com/okeefemedia Instagram - https://instagram.com/okeefemedia Facebook - https://facebook.com/okeefemediagroup Rumble - https://rumble.com/user/OkeefeMediaGroup Check out our website for more: https://okeefemediagroup.com

YOUTUBE (Fox News) - Jack Keane: This is TROUBLING Mon Oct 5 19:00:25 2026

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Retired Gen. Jack Keane joins 'America's Newsroom' to analyze Yemen's government targeting the Iran-backed Houthis and the Pentagon pulling B-1 bombers from a UK base amid a suspected terror probe. #fox #foxnews #media #breakingnews #us #usa #new #news #breaking #jackkeane #keane #yemen #houthis #houthi #middleeast #military #defense #terrorism Don’t just watch Fox News—be part of it. Become a Fox News Patriot today. https://youtube.com/foxnews/join

AMERICANALMANAC (Sadie Smith) - Selma Blair says Hollywood cut her off after she urged deporting October 7 supporters Mon Oct 5 18:59:08 2026

Actress Selma Blair says her career and inner circle collapsed after she called for deporting “terrorist supporting goons,” a stand she says still left a mark on her son. Selma Blair told an Anti-Defamation League audience that brands, handlers, and friends vanished after she posted a fierce rebuke of lawmakers who opposed barring entry to people tied to the October 7 attack on Israel. The Legally Blonde star said the February 2024 post triggered an industry freeze so complete that no one returned her calls, and she described the fallout again last week at the ADL’s State of the Arts reception at The Jewish Museum. Breitbart News reported her account of the professional wipeout and the fear that spread through her home. Blair’s…Open

How did Selma Blair describe her current professional situation following the "industry freeze"?

After the initial collapse of her inner circle and professional team, Blair stated that she has since rebuilt a smaller team of people she trusts, saying she would "walk through fire" with them. She emphasized that while she apologized for her original post, the apology did not spare her from the professional consequences, as the "industry ejecting a working actress" for her stance on the October 7 massacre remains a significant rupture.

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What was the context behind Selma Blair's social media post that triggered the industry's reaction?

The post was a reaction to the voting records of Representative Cori Bush and Representative Rashida Tlaib. These lawmakers voted against a bill that would have barred entry to individuals involved in the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel. Blair's response was a direct demand to deport those who supported the terrorists and a critique of the "twisted justifications" used by those who opposed such a travel bar.

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What specific professional entities did Selma Blair lose immediately after her social media post regarding the October 7 supporters?

Blair reported that the "machinery" of the industry dropped her almost instantly. Specifically, she lost her brand partnerships (which were gone within a day), her agency, her lawyer, her publicist, her book agent, her book publicist, and her social media manager. She also noted that friends vanished and no one returned her calls.

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According to Selma Blair, how did the professional fallout from her October 7 comments affect her personal life and her son?

Blair stated that the fallout caused a sense of fear to spread through her home, which she described as contagious. She expressed concern that this fear left a mark on her teenage son, who had already spent years watching her endure serious illnesses, including chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. She noted that while careers can be renegotiated, a child's sense of safety is harder to restore once they have witnessed their parent's fear.

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AMERICANALMANAC (Charles McAdams) - Gillian Anderson stands by warning front-row fans not to distract her West End show Mon Oct 5 18:59:08 2026

Gillian Anderson defended telling longtime fans they could not keep sitting front row at her London play, calling the habit distracting in an intimate theater and asking critics to leave the women alone. Gillian Anderson was caught on video outside London’s Sohoplace Theatre telling a group they could not sit in the front row of her West End production of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” The clip, tied to a Saturday stage-door exchange, spread quickly online before she answered it on X the next day. Page Six reported that the “Sex Education” actress, 58, did not soften the core point. She said the front row can pull focus in a small house, and she made clear she did not want the same people parked there night after night. In…Open

What was the specific context of the video clip that went viral involving Gillian Anderson and theatergoers?

The video was caught outside London’s Sohoplace Theatre during a Saturday stage-door exchange. In the clip, Anderson was seen telling a group of women, "You guys cannot sit in the front row," and maintained this stance even after they offered apologies, citing the distraction caused to her concentration as a performer.

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How did Gillian Anderson clarify the identity of the women featured in the viral video outside the Sohoplace Theatre?

Anderson posted on X (formerly Twitter) to clarify that the women in the video were not random strangers or superfans she had never met. She explained that she had known the women for more than 20 years and asked followers not to say anything negative about them.

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What is the name of the play Gillian Anderson is currently starring in at the Sohoplace Theatre in London?

Gillian Anderson is starring in the West End production of "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" opposite actor Billy Crudup. The production opened on September 21 and is scheduled to run through November 19.

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Why did actress Gillian Anderson tell a group of fans they could not sit in the front row of her West End production at London's Sohoplace Theatre?

Gillian Anderson stated that the front row can pull focus and be distracting because the venue is an intimate theater where actors can see the audience. She specifically expressed that she did not want the same people sitting in the front row night after night, stating, "You can’t come 20 times and sit in the front row, it’ll drive me mad."

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Keywords

gillian-anderson london west-end theater acting hollywood celebrity entertainment culture-war caught-on-camera performance news media identity-politics

AMERICANALMANAC (Alex Tanzer) - Lee Child blocked a third Tom Cruise Reacher film for streaming series control Mon Oct 5 18:59:07 2026

Jack Reacher creator Lee Child used a hard contract veto to kill a third Tom Cruise movie and move the franchise to a Prime Video series that can tell the full story. The author did not hedge. After two big-screen outings with Cruise, Child exercised a clause that let him shut down any further films and steer the property toward television instead. Deadline reported Child’s account of the decision, drawn from comments he gave to Collider, laying out both the legal power he held and the market shift that made the choice obvious to him. The movie deal dated to 2005. Development dragged. The first Cruise film, written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, hit theaters in December 2012. The second, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, followed in…Open

What is the current status of the Jack Reacher series on Prime Video following the success of Season 4?

Season 4 of the Reacher series drew 66 million viewers globally in its first 28 days. Due to these numbers, Amazon Prime Video renewed the series early for Season 5 before the season even premiered and subsequently locked in Season 6. The streamer is also preparing an adaptation of Child’s 2015 novel "Make Me," which is the twelfth book in the series and follows Reacher to the Midwestern town of Mother’s Rest.

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How did the casting and production of the Prime Video Reacher series differ from the Tom Cruise films?

The Prime Video series, which launched in 2022, cast Alan Ritchson in the title role. This was a departure from the Cruise films, as readers had long argued that Cruise was too small for the part. Because the streaming platform carries the cost of the production, the creators did not need a $200 million star to attract the audience or the money. This gave Child a "completely free hand" for casting based on the physical match to the books rather than the studio's need for a high-priced movie star.

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What were the specific commercial impacts of the first Jack Reacher movie starring Tom Cruise?

The first Jack Reacher film, written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, hit theaters in December 2012. It delivered a significant commercial jolt, resulting in a major sales spike for the book series. By January 2013, Child reported that he had eight old paperbacks in the Top 10. This success demonstrated the strength of the brand, even though Child eventually decided that the theatrical format was not the best way to tell the full story.

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Why did author Lee Child exercise a contract veto to block a third Tom Cruise film in the Jack Reacher franchise?

Lee Child exercised a specific clause in his original 2005 movie contract that granted him a veto over any projects beyond two films. He chose to block a third theatrical release to move the franchise to a streaming series on Prime Video. Child explained that the streaming format allows for a much longer running time—such as 8 to 12 hours—which provides the "luxury" of telling the full story with all its "light and shade" rather than compressing the plot into a 90-minute feature film. Additionally, the streaming model changed the financing logic; while a movie requires a massive $200 million investment tied to a movie star's draw, a streaming platform pays for the content, allowing creators more freedom in casting for the right fit rather than marquee value.

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AMERICANALMANAC (Ken Jacobs) - Skull trauma shows servants may have been killed with Egypt’s first kings Mon Oct 5 18:59:07 2026

Archaeologists re-examining 5,000-year-old skulls from Abydos say nearly four in ten royal servants may have been deliberately slain by head blows so they could serve their kings in the afterlife. A research team led by Purdue University’s Dr. Roselyn Campbell studied 46 skulls of servants and officials buried beside the funerary enclosures of three First Dynasty rulers at Abydos in southern Egypt. Eighteen of those skulls showed potentially fatal cranial trauma, pointing to retainer sacrifice practiced roughly 5,000 years ago. The remains, first dug up in the 1920s by British archaeologist Sir Flinders Petrie and now held in the University of Cambridge’s Duckworth Collections, looked free of violence to earlier eyes. Modern forensic…Open

Where were the specific remains studied by Dr. Roselyn Campbell's team located, and what is their historical context?

The skulls came from subsidiary graves around the royal tombs and funerary enclosures at Umm el-Qaab, which is the burial ground of Egypt’s earliest kings. These burials belong to the First Dynasty, a period when rulers of the young unified state used their tombs and enclosures to project permanence, treating human beings as "equipment for eternity" by burying servants and officials close to them to accompany them in death.

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What were the suspected motives and methods for retainer sacrifice among Egypt's first kings?

Retainer sacrifice is a practice where individuals close to a ruler are killed upon the ruler's death. The motives were a mix of religious belief and raw power; it was believed the sacrificed individuals would continue to serve the ruler in the afterlife, while also serving as a visceral display of the ruler's absolute command. The study notes that while some retainers may have volunteered to die for honor or eternal life, others may have been chosen or forced into the practice.

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What specific types of injuries were found on the skulls of the servants and officials from the First Dynasty burials at Abydos?

The study identified that the injuries were mostly linear fractures, which researchers believe would have caused rapid unconsciousness, internal bleeding, and death in a living person. The pattern of these fractures suggests strikes from a broad, flat object rather than a classic mace blow. Additionally, one specific skull featured a chopping wound located near the eye.

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How did the modern forensic analysis of the Abydos skulls differ from the initial findings by Sir Flinders Petrie in the 1920s?

When British archaeologist Sir Flinders Petrie first excavated the remains in the 1920s, the bones appeared to be free of violence to the eyes of experts at that time. However, modern forensic examinations of the 46 crania (now held in the University of Cambridge’s Duckworth Collections) revealed 18 cases of linear fractures and one chopping wound near an eye, providing evidence of deliberate trauma that was not previously visible.

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AMERICANALMANAC (Jack Newsome) - John Owen Lowe posts Dickinson poem of hope after cousin Fiona dies by suicide Mon Oct 5 18:59:03 2026

Rob Lowe’s son John Owen shared Emily Dickinson’s poem on hope after his 13-year-old cousin Fiona died by suicide, a quiet family tribute in the middle of devastating loss. Over the weekend, 30-year-old John Owen Lowe posted the classic lines on his Instagram Stories days after the death of his young cousin. Fiona, the middle daughter of actor Chad Lowe and Kim Painter, passed away at a hospital last Tuesday. She was 13. Her sisters are Mabel, 17, and Nixie, 10. The family told Page Six they were crushed by the loss and asked for both prayers and privacy while urging anyone in crisis to seek help. Family names a bright girl taken too soon In a statement, relatives described Fiona in plain, loving terms, smart, creative, and devoted to…Open

Who is John Owen Lowe in relation to the family involved in this tragedy?

John Owen Lowe is the 30-year-old youngest son of actor Rob Lowe. He is the cousin of Fiona, the daughter of Chad Lowe.

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What official request did the family of Fiona make to the public following her death?

The family expressed that they were crushed by the loss and asked for both prayers and privacy. They also urged anyone struggling with mental health to seek help by contacting the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or visiting SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.

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How did Fiona's sisters, Mabel and Nixie, relate to her in the family?

Fiona had two sisters: Mabel, who is 17 years old, and Nixie, who is 10 years old. Following Fiona's death, Mabel posted a tribute on Instagram expressing her love for her sister and promising to keep her memory alive.

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Who was Fiona and what were the details surrounding her passing?

Fiona was the 13-year-old middle daughter of actor Chad Lowe and Kim Painter. She passed away by suicide at a hospital last Tuesday. She was described by her relatives as a smart, creative, and loving young girl who was devoted to dance and was considered the light of her family's lives.

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