Hasta La Gadget!

A live-action “Lion King” is in the works and we couldn’t be more excited for who has been tapped to play iconic duo Timon and Pumba.

Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner are slated to voice the warthog and meerkat we’ve known and loved for the past 20 years, according to The Wrap.

Directed by Jon Favreau, this live-action remake comes on the heels of his other recreation of a Disney classic, “The Jungle Book.” 

On staying true to the roots of the story, Favreau told The Hollywood Reporter:

“People grew up with it in an age of video where they’re watching it over and over again. So, I have to really examine all of those plot points. Also, the myths are very strong in that, so you’re hitting something even deeper than the movie sometimes. What I’m trying to do is honor what was there .… There are certain expectations people have.”

In addition Eichner and Rogen, “The Lion King” reboot already has Donald Glover and James Earl Jones in its cast. Glover will play Simba and Jones will revive his role as Mufasa. 

Are you internally screaming? Because we’re so AMPED for Rogen and Eichner’s rendition of “Hakuna Matata.”

2019 can’t come soon enough!

HuffPost has reached out to Rogen and Eichner for comment and will update this piece accordingly.

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WASHINGTON ― Republicans, facing the refusal of Democrats to fund President Donald Trump’s border wall in an upcoming spending bill, seem to have abandoned their wall construction demands as lawmakers work to avert a government shutdown.

“No wall money in latest offer” from Republicans, a congressional aide confirmed.

Although Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) declined to detail the talks, he and other members of the Democratic leadership team seemed convinced wall funding was now off the table. With that issue settled, Democrats suggested they were making real progress toward passing an omnibus spending bill by Friday, when government funding runs out.

“The president’s 11th-hour demand [for wall money] threatened to upend the progress. We’re pleased he’s backing off,” Schumer said.

Schumer added that there remain a number of outstanding issue. “First and foremost, Democrats remain committed to making sure there are no poison-pill riders in this agreement,” Schumer said, referring to amendments that are intended to be politically divisive.

“The fact that the wall is now off the table, Americans should breathe a huge sigh of relief,” Schumer said. “The negotiations can resume and move forward.”

Trump and other administration officials had previously indicated they would demand wall funding in the omnibus spending bill, with Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney raising the possibility that Republicans would offer dollar-for-dollar funding between a wall and Obamacare subsidies for low-income people.

But Democrats have been resolute that they won’t accept money for a physical border wall in any spending bill. That leaves Republicans with an obvious choice: Either abandon their demand for wall funding, or insist on the money, try to make Democrats cave, and risk a potential government shutdown.

With Republicans in control of the House, the Senate, and the White House, Democrats were willing to bet that voters would blame the GOP for a shutdown ― and that a lapse in government funding would show that Trump and congressional Republicans can’t govern. In short, Republicans had hardly any leverage, and Democrats knew it.

Republicans don’t have the votes to pass an omnibus bill on their own. They need at least eight Democrats in the Senate to get 60 votes, and potentially many more Democrats in the House. Democrats, lacking the votes to pass a bill themselves, have taken a hard line on the spending bill, denying Trump and Republicans a number of policy priorities, including defunding Planned Parenthood, restricting money for immigration “sanctuary cities,” and blowing up the subsidy program for the Affordable Care Act.

Without those GOP wins, more and more Republicans have appeared apt to vote against the legislation, tilting further momentum toward Democrats. That has put Democrats in a position to fund their own priorities, like the Obamacare subsidies, and simultaneously troll Trump.

“President Trump laid out his demands for this spending bill, and thankfully, Democrats and many Republicans in Congress have so far stood together to say ‘absolutely not.’” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said Tuesday.

Murray continued that Trump had dropped all demands to defund Planned Parenthood, and hasn’t said “a word about the $18 billion in extreme [domestic spending] cuts that his fellow Republicans have simply ignored.”

“Allow Democrats and Republicans to work together,” Murray added, “and don’t shut down the government to try to distract people from your failed 100 days in office.”

There are still a number of issues for Democrats and Republicans to work out before they can reach a deal. Lawmakers have yet to settle on miners’ health provisions, Puerto Rico funding, or how much money the spending bill will deliver for Obamacare subsidies. Those unresolved issues could lead Republicans and Democrats toward another short-term funding bill for, say, a week or so.

But either way, it’s clear that Trump’s most significant demand, perhaps his signature campaign promise ― the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border ― isn’t going to happen soon.

That hasn’t exactly deterred Trump or his administration. Department of Homeland Security spokesman David Lapan said recently that DHS could “reprogram” existing funding to cover the cost of wall “prototypes.”

“None of this is going to happen in one fiscal year,” Lapan said.

Apparently not.

Elise Foley contributed reporting.

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My homegirl Vikkie doesn’t allow guests to wear shoes in her house. So when I showed up with three other visitors in our Unfriendly Black Aunties friend group Sunday to prepare brunch for one another, we stood in the kitchen and, in the tradition of our ancestors, prepared the meal barefoot ― infusing love in each step, each dash of seasoning and each creak of the oven door.

We gathered to celebrate the anniversary of “Lemonade,” a short film by Beyoncé released on April 23, 2016, that highlights the trials, tribulations and inevitable triumphs of black womanhood. The film has won numerous honors, including the prestigious Peabody Award.

But my girls and I couldn’t care less about the awards the film has won. “Lemonade” signifies something bigger to us: Its release coincides with the first anniversary of our friendship.

It was April 23, 2016. A week before, Jonquilyn, another member of our soon-to-be Auntie collective, had reached out to a group of black women who work in media about watching “Lemonade” together at her home. Four of us ― Vikkie, LaNita, Aggi and I ― showed up. We ate Popeyes fried chicken and drank wine while chatting about our careers, hobbies and, of course, Beyoncé.

The chatter of five loud, happy, carefree black women was reduced to silence when Beyoncé, head down, hair cornrowed and shoulders covered in fur, graced the television screen. We eagerly consumed the scenes of black people who looked liked our grandmothers, mothers, sisters, brothers and cousins loving on their children and dancing through their neighborhoods, montages of black women standing, solemnly and firmly, and scenes of black children playing without a care in the world all while trying to dissect the visuals and figure out who Beyoncé was mad at. The film spoke to our anger at white supremacy, unfaithful black men and the traumas black women are forced to bear.  

And watching this black-as-hell film in a room full of black women was equivalent to a religious experience.

We waved our hands in praise when a clip from a Malcolm X speech declaring that “the most disrespected person in America is the black woman” played along with cameos of real, dark-skinned, kinky-haired women.

We hollered when Beyoncé said, “Ashes to ashes, dust to side chicks.” We wept tears of joy when Serena Williams strutted down the staircase in “Sorry” and began twerking as a way of reclaiming the sexuality stripped of her ― and many other black women ― by a society that sees us as unattractive.

And tears of empathy ran down our faces when Lesley McSpadden appeared in the film holding a photo of her son, 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was fatally shot by a white police officer in 2014 and whose death sparked a nationwide fight against police violence.

A group chat was started after the party so we could all keep in touch. Our Beyoncé-spawned connection blossomed into a deep, meaningful friendship and expanded to include two more black women journalists. And, for the past year, we’ve been there to pick one another up when it has been too hard to get up on our own.

We take hikes and dance together at parties. We coordinate brunches and dinners. We speak every day about our lives, politics and memes. Whenever one of us needs a shoulder to cry on, everyone runs to her aid. We’ve held each down through breakups, deaths in the family and career frustrations. We’ve been there to celebrate every birthday, every career goal hit and every personal achievement reached.

In our own way, we mirror the fall and subsequent rise Beyoncé put forth in “Lemonade.” Every scene in this film boils down to something my friends and I know well: how race intersects with our womanhood, our relationships with our families and our interactions with men. And, somehow, we always manage to persevere when life beats us down via our sheer determination and the community we’ve built among ourselves.   

This year, as we danced around Vikkie’s kitchen, barefoot and laughing, I realized that Beyoncé’s vision of black sisterhood and the message that black women persevere in numbers had become our reality.

And I’ll be forever thankful for that.

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Donald Trump has already attacked the disabled and the poor, so it makes sense that he is now going after the meekest, most helpless breed of human: Canadians. The Huffington Post is now HuffPost; “The” and “ington” look forward to spending more time with their families. And Barack Obama accepted $400,000 to speak at an event hosted by a hedge fund, because with his paltry $65 million book advance, a reputation alone isn’t going to feed his family. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Tuesday, April 25th, 2017:

THE BEST DEALS, JUST THE BEST – Maybe Trump can find a crowd to chant, “APPROPRIATE. THE. FUNDING. IN A. BUDGET-NEUTRAL. FASHION!” Matt Fuller: “Republicans, facing the refusal of Democrats to fund President Donald Trump’s border wall in an upcoming spending bill, seem to have abandoned their wall construction demands as lawmakers work to avert a government shutdown…. Although Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) declined to detail the talks, he and other members of the Democratic leadership team seemed convinced wall funding was now off the table. With that issue settled, Democrats suggested they were making real progress toward passing an omnibus spending bill by Friday, when government funding runs out. ‘The president’s 11th-hour demand [for wall money] threatened to upend the progress. We’re pleased he’s backing off,’ Schumer said. [HuffPost]

But Spicer said they were gonna build the wall!!

JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP’S SANCTUARY CITY ORDER – Mollie Reilly: “A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions. U.S. District Judge William Orrick issued the ruling Tuesday, less than two weeks after he heard the case in federal court. The order, issued by Trump in January, threatened to pull federal funding from cities that refused to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. “ [HuffPost]

Speaking of executive orders: “Though President Trump has declared reviews of a president’s first 100 days to be ridiculous, his White House appears determined to demonstrate that the president’s term so far has been historic. For instance, a news release popped into our inbox titled ‘President Trump’s 100 days of Historic Accomplishment,’ specifically citing the number of executive orders signed by Trump…. The curious thing about this is that Roosevelt is listed as signing only nine executive orders. The American Presidency Project, a website maintained by the University of California-Santa Barbara, shows Roosevelt as signing 3,721 during his presidency, for an average of 307 a year.” [WaPo’s Glenn Kessler]

TERRIBLE PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION TERRIBLE – Somewhere, 2008 inaugural chair Dianne Feinstein is breathing a sigh of relief that this pushes the Purple Tunnel of Doom further into the dustbin of history. Christina Wilkie: “Donald Trump’s Presidential Inaugural Committee acknowledged late Monday that a final report it filed with the Federal Election Commission this month was riddled with errors, many of which were first identified through a crowdsourced data project at HuffPost…. [T]he scores of mistakes contained in the more than 500-page FEC filing can largely be traced to a fundraising and ticketing system the Republican Party introduced this year, which provided special online access codes to Trump supporters…. Within days, a secondary market for the access codes had sprung up, with some people asking their friends for codes, and others buying them on Ebay…. [E]ach code was tied to a specific address, meaning that if it was passed to someone else, that person’s name would be on the disclosure alongside the original code recipient’s address.” [HuffPost]

CHECK OUT WOKE JASON CHAFFETZ OVER HERE – Tom LoBianco and Manu Raju: “President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser did not properly disclose payments from Russia and may have broken the law, House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz and ranking Democrat Elijah Cummings said Tuesday after reviewing Michael Flynn’s application for a security clearance. ‘As a former military officer, you simply cannot take money from Russia, Turkey or anybody else. And it appears as if he did take that money. It was inappropriate. And there are repercussions for the violation of law,’ Chaffetz said.” [CNN]

SO ARE WE THE HUFFPOST HUFFPOST HILL? – Lydia Polgreen: “We’re doubling down on our bold, splashy style, and serving up the news with a sense of humor, outrage and empathy. We’re also taking the suggestion of our audience across the globe and formally adopting the shorter name they’ve called us for years: HuffPost. In the months ahead you’ll see much more original journalism from across the country. We’re expanding Highline, our ambitious digital magazine, to bring the rigor and depth of their work to you with more frequency and in new formats. We’ll create bold and compelling video that moves you. Expect us to hit the road and listen, from the ground up, to people who may not know HuffPost, or think it doesn’t tell stories for people like them.” [HuffPost]

Like HuffPost Hill? Then order Eliot’s book, The Beltway Bible: A Totally Serious A-Z Guide To Our No-Good, Corrupt, Incompetent, Terrible, Depressing, and Sometimes Hilarious Government

Does somebody keep forwarding you this newsletter? Get your own copy. It’s free! Sign up here. Send tips/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to eliot@huffingtonpost.com. Follow us on Twitter – @HuffPostHill

STEP OFF, EH – “Canadian Bacon” said this would happen. Lisa Marie Segarra: “President Donald Trump continued to have harsh words for Canada while signing an executive order to promote agriculture Tuesday. ‘People don’t realize Canada’s been very tough on the United States…they’ve outsmarted our politicians for years,’ Trump said. His remarks come after announcing he would impose a 24 percent tariff on Canada for lumber shipped into the United States. Trump criticized Canada for what he called ‘very unfair’ practices against the U.S.’s dairy industry. Governors Scott Walker of Wisconsin and Andrew Cuomo of New York wrote to him previously asking him to address Canada’s ‘protectionist dairy trade policies.’” [Time]

IF YOU LIKE YOUR OBAMACARE, YOU CAN KEEP IT (…MAYBE) – But do Americans like dying in the streets?!? Amy Goldstein and Scott Clement: “In strategy and substance, the American public disagrees with the course that President Trump and congressional Republicans are pursuing to replace the Affordable Care Act with conservative policies, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Public sentiment is particularly lopsided in favor of an aspect of the current health-care law that blocks insurers from charging more or denying coverage to customers with medical conditions. Roughly 8 in 10 Democrats, 7 in 10 independents and even a slight majority of Republicans say that should continue to be a national mandate, rather than an option for states to retain or drop…. [M]any Americans appear leery in general about a major overhaul to the health-care law often called Obamacare, with 61 percent preferring to ‘keep and try to improve’ it, compared with 37 percent who say they want to ‘repeal and replace’ it.” [WaPo]

IT GETS BATTERED: MIKE ENZI, WARNS LGBTQ KIDS THEY’LL GET BEAT UP – Also, any bar whose patrons wouldn’t be utterly delighted by the presence of a grown man in a tutu isn’t a bar we want to frequent. Ryan Grim and Amanda Terkel: “Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) told a group of high school and middle school students last week that it’s fine to be a member of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer community ― but if you’re too open about it, don’t be surprised if you get picked on. On Thursday, Enzi was speaking to students at Greybull High School and Middle School when a student asked him what he was doing to support LGBTQ communities in Wyoming. Mathew Burciaga, an editor at the Greybull Standard, was at the event. He said he has audio of the exchange, which the paper plans to release Wednesday. At the event, Enzi offered an anecdote about a man who wears a tutu to a bar and is then surprised that he keeps getting in fights.  ‘Well, he kind of asks for it,’ Enzi said, according to Burciaga.” [HuffPost]

Update: Enzi apologized.

………….click: “Pamela Anderson’s Weirdly Erotic Poem About Donald Trump Wins Today” [HuffPost]

SCHUMER?? I BARELY EVEN NEGOTIATED WITH ‘ER! – Sam Stein: “As Donald Trump approaches the end of his first 100 days in office, the top Democrat in the U.S. Senate says he’s been surprised by the failure of the White House to splinter the Democratic Party. In an interview with HuffPost, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) didn’t close the door on bipartisan collaboration with the president. But he criticized Trump for what he said was ‘erraticness and lack of real competence’ in pursuing bills that could have flown through Congress, from trade reform to infrastructure investments. He said he told the president as much when the two talked last week over Canadian dairy policy (yes, Canadian dairy policy).” [HuffPost]

NO, NO, THEY’RE SAYING IVANKA’S BOOOOOOOT LINE IS THIS SEASON’S MUST-HAVE – The first daughter was dealt a PR disaster and also the name of her next terrible fragrance, “Boo By Ivanka.” Marina Fang: “In her first international trip as an official White House adviser, Ivanka Trump, daughter of President Donald Trump, was booed as she attempted to laud her father’s record on women’s rights in front of a mostly female audience. ‘He has been a tremendous champion of supporting families and enabling them to thrive,’ she said at the G20 women’s summit in Berlin on Tuesday, after stating she was ‘very proud of my father’s advocacy.’ Trump was part of a panel at the summit on women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship, which also included German Chancellor Angela Merkel and International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde. When the audience booed, the panel’s moderator, German journalist Miriam Meckel, asked Trump to respond, noting that her father has a record of misogyny.” [HuffPost]

We *highly* recommend you read Chris Cillizza’s take on this Ivanka fiasco…

TRUMP APPOINTEE APPALLED AT HIS OWN QUOTES, BLAMES OTHERS – It’s obvious why he and the prez are simpatico. Amanda Terkel: “Tennessee state Sen. Mark Green (R), President Donald Trump’s choice to be the next Army secretary, has finally broken his silence about the strong opposition he has faced for his positions and comments about the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community. In a Facebook post Tuesday, Green went after the ‘liberal left’ for making him out to be a ‘hater.’ … As the civilian head of the Army, Green would oversee a force that’s been fully integrated since June, when the Pentagon ended its ban on transgender people serving openly. If confirmed, he would stand in significant contrast to the previous Army secretary, Eric Fanning, who was the first openly gay person to serve in the position.” [HuffPost]

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON AT 1600 PENNSYLVANIA? Cristian Farias: “The Supreme Court did not receive a formal invitation from President Donald Trump to have dinner at the White House this Thursday, a court spokeswoman and a White House aide confirmed on Monday. ‘An invitation was never extended,’ said the aide, who added that the dinner plans, which were first noted in a weekly agenda sent to reporters early on Sunday, were only tentative and subject to change. Indeed, later Sunday night, the dinner was no longer listed in an updated weekly planner the White House made available to reporters…. Asked about the scrapped dinner plans on Monday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said the president’s team had ‘moved some things around’ in Trump’s schedule and was hopeful a dinner would happen at a later date.” [HuffPost]

BECAUSE YOU’VE READ THIS FAR – Here is history’s most badass child.

(A WHOLE LOTTA) CHANGE YOU CAN BELIEVE IN – Charlie Gasparino and Brian Schwartz: “Former President Barack Obama…has agreed to speak at a Wall Street conference run by Cantor Fitzgerald LP, senior people at the firm confirm to FOX Business. His speaking fee will be $400,000, which is nearly twice as much as Hillary Clinton, his secretary of state, and the 2016 Democratic Party candidate, charged private businesses for such events. Obama has agreed to speak at Cantor’s health care conference in September and will be the keynote luncheon speaker for one day during the event, people at the firm tell FOX Business. These people say Obama has signed the contract, but the company, a mid-sized New York-based investment bank, is waiting to coordinate with the former president before making a formal announcement.” [Fox Business]

COMFORT FOOD

– Prom hero falls down stairs.

– Visualizing the undersea cables that connect the internet between continents.

– The Atlantic City landmarks that inspired Monopoly spaces.

TWITTERAMA

Got something to add? Send tips/quotes/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to Eliot Nelson (eliot@huffingtonpost.com)

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At last, 5G wireless is here… sort of. As promised, AT&T has launched its pre-standard 5G network, starting with certain parts of Austin. So long as you have a Galaxy S8 or S8 Plus, you can get speeds that should leave LTE in the dust. Expect…