Hasta La Gadget!

For the past 16 years, Jordana Brewster has been a part of the “Fast & Furious” franchise. But next month, she won’t be reprising her role as Mia Toretto in the eighth installment, “The Fate of the Furious.”

Although fans may be disappointed, Brewster hinted that it just didn’t make sense for her to be in the movie due to Paul Walker’s absence. The actor tragically died in a November 2013 car crash at the age of 40.

In “Furious 7,” Brian (Walker) apparently leaves the crew to be with Mia and their children. So it appears screenwriter Chris Morgan thought it would be best to leave Mia out of the current storyline, which sees Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) enter a world of crime and betray those closest to him, all thanks to a new villain, Cipher (Charlize Theron).

“This one’s loaded because it’s the first one that Paul’s not in, so it’s very sad in a way,” a misty-eyed Brewster told The Huffington Post during a Build Series interview Wednesday. “But I think the franchise has evolved throughout the years and each one transitions into something new. I think the addition of Charlize is amazing, the addition of Helen Mirren is amazing. [But] it’s strange not to be a part of it, because it’s been a part of my life for so many years.”

Brewster is especially intrigued by the synopsis, since she can’t imagine Dom turning on his family so easily. 

“When I saw that twist, it made me want to watch it. ‘Cause I was like, ‘How? What happens?’ They can’t possibly end on that note, so … we’ll see,” she said.

Still, family is family, and Brewster is and will always be close with the “Fast and Furious” cast.

“I’m friends with Vin, I’m very close with his sister, as well, and I love Michelle [Rodriguez] to death, and I love Luda, so I feel like I see them regardless. But again, there’s a huge missing element,” she added, of Walker. 

Moving forward, the actress hopes to explore more dynamic roles while using her experience with the franchise to her advantage. 

“With something as big as ‘Fast and Furious’ … it gives you liberty to play in your career, because now I get to go off and find material that might be really fun,” she explained. “It’s fun getting to be a little bit older because I find that the roles are little more eclectic, a little more rich. I’m not always playing the ingénue. It just gives me creative license in a way.” 

Watch the full Build Series interview with Jordana Brewster, where she discusses her current partnership with Zyrtec, below. 

Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Mahershala Ali, Amy Poehler and a whole host of other stars are teaming up for Stand for Rights: A Benefit for the ACLU. Join us at 7 p.m. Eastern on Friday, March 31 on Facebook Live. 

You can support the ACLU right away. Text POWER to 20222 to give $10 to the ACLU. The ACLU will call you to explain other actions you can take to help. Visit www.hmgf.org/t for terms. #StandForRights2017

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

A 5-year-old girl in North Carolina has been stuck with a suspension after she pretended a stick was a gun during recess.

Caitlin Miller said she was playing her favorite game, “King and Queens,” with two friends when the incident happened.

She was the palace guard and protected her royal charges by pretending a stick she found on the playground was a gun, according to local outlet WTVD.

”Chloe was the queen and Jaslin was the princess, I was the guard and Jaslin was rude to me and told the teacher on me,” Caitlin told Reuters.

Officials for the Hoke County School District said Caitlin made a shooting motion with the stick and thus posed a threat.

“The assistant principal told me Caitlin had a stick and she was using it to shoot and kill other students,” her mother, Brandy Miller, told Fox.

The school released this statement to WTVD:

School board policy 4331 states that Hoke County Schools will not tolerate assaults, threats or harassment from any student. Any student engaging in such behavior will be removed from the classroom or school environment for as long as is necessary to provide a safe and orderly environment for learning.

Caitlin was back in school on Tuesday, but her mother is having trouble explaining the reason for the suspension.

“I mean, we know why it’s bad because we watch the news, but then I have to tell my kid you’re not allowed to play like that in school because people do bad things to kids your age,” Miller told WTVD.”I just want them to apologize to her and tell her that it’s OK. You can be five and have an imagination.” 

School suspensions for things that aren’t weapons but look like them is unusual, but it happens more than you might think.

Last May, a kindergartener in Brighton, Colorado, was suspended for wielding a bubble-blowing “gun” at recess.

In March 2015, a 6-year-old in Colorado Springs had the same thing happen when he pointed his index finger like a gun at a classmate while saying, ‘You’re dead.’”

And in March 2013, a 7-year-old in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, was suspended for nibbling a breakfast pastry into the shape of a pistol.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

You didn’t have to wait long to see the first phone packing Bluetooth 5.0 — in fact, it’s less than a month away. When Samsung posted the specs for its brand new Galaxy S8 line, it quietly let slip that the smartphones would use the bleeding edge wi…

Chinese company Yi Technology has announced the availability of its Yi 4K+ action camera, its first action cam model to offer 4K video recording at a relatively high 60fps. The company makes pretty big claims about its camera, including that it offers better detail and sharpness than any other competing action camera available. This is an update to the company’s … Continue reading

First launched on a restricted basis back in December, Facebook has now made its 360-degree livestreaming video available to anyone and everyone. The general availability of the product comes alongside support for several additional camera models, including Samsung’s newly unveiled Gear 360 camera and some other well-known models. The product works the same as Facebook’s ordinary livestreaming video service, only … Continue reading