Marvel superheroes, 'Bridesmaids' cast to assemble on Oscars telecast

Marvel movie stars will assemble at the98th Academy Awardson March 15, along with the stars of "Bridesmaids."

Producers of Sunday's Oscars show (ABC and Hulu, 7 ET/4 PT), hosted byConan O'Brien, revealed the onstage return of the movie casts during a news conference on March 11.

"There's going to be a huge reunion," executive producer Raj Kapoor said of the 2011 comedy"Bridesmaids,"starringRose Byrne,Kristen Wiig,Maya RudolphandMelissa McCarthy. "There have been rumors. We're excited to announce there's going to be a 'Bridesmaids' reunion that's going to be very special."

Executive producer Katy Mullan announced that there will be"a Marvel reunion for superhero fans."

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"So there will be superstars and superheroes," Mullan added, but didn't specify which superheroes would respond to the call for Oscars action.

On the topic of Oscar appearances, Mullan said somewhat cryptically that there would be an "extraterrestrial on stage" without confirming whether it would be the alien star of "E.T."

"But you can figure that out," Mullan added.

Oscars are here! See which actors, directors and films are nominated for the 98th Academy Awards, to be handed out live March 15 and broadcast on ABC and Hulu.

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Oscars 2026 – The top nominees in photos

Oscars are here! See which actors, directors and films are nominated for the 98th Academy Awards, to be handed out live March 15 and broadcast on ABC and Hulu.

Will the Oscars get political in the monologue?

Obviously, there will be overt political statements made from the podium and on the red carpet during and before the Oscars. But O'Brien, who was affected by and acknowledged the Los Angeles fires as 2025 host, said he would walk a careful line.

"What's happening in the world will be reflected in the show," he said. "My job as host is to walk this thin line between entertaining people and also acknowledging some of the realities. So it's a dance that goes on until the show begins."

O'Brien showed his whimsical side on the Oscars red carpet before the news conference, reclining comically on the rolled-up carpet. In rapidly changing political times, O'Brien says he and his team of writers have to move fast.

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"It's still evolving," O'Brien said of the monologue. "Jokes from two months ago are irrelevant now. And there might be things that happen this week that will find their way into the show."

'Sinners' will have a musical tribute, along with 'KPop Demon Hunters'

The Ryan Coogler-directed film "Sinners,"the most-nominated film in Oscars history with 16(includingbest picture), will have a mega-sized musical tribute during the show. The expanded performance of the nominated song "I Lied to You," performed by Miles Caton and Raphael Saadiq, will feature costumes, choreographer Aakomon Jones, the "Sinners" cast and ballet dancer Misty Copeland.

"We've kind of blown it up, with the lovely Misty Copeland making an appearance," said Kapoor. "It's the most-nominated film and has a beautiful music story."

The animated movie "KPop Demon Hunters," and the HUNTR/X performance by Rei Ami, EJAE and Audrey Nuna of the Oscar-nominated song "Golden," will allow for a celebration of Korean culture during the show.

"There will be authentic Korean drummers and singers and choreography," said Kapoor. "We're telling global stories with global impact and doing things in a really different way."

The "Golden" song performance has been arranged by Mandy Moore,who choreographed the Taylor Swift Eras Tour. Moore promised a performance aided by an array of gold flags.

"I kept having this visual of these beautiful gold flags ... that should rise as (the singers) hit the stage," said Moore. "My job is to create this visual. We're going to see how it all goes on camera."

Look out for trees on the Oscars stage

The 2026 Oscars set will feature actual trees, production designer Misty Buckley promised, "which is really exciting."

"We're really leaning into that human and nature theme with big, beautiful, bold modern forms as well," Buckley said.

Kapoor said the overall theme of the show will be "humanity. Everything you see in the show is inspired by human touch and creativity."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Oscars show to reunite Marvel superheroes, 'Bridesmaids' cast

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March 12, 2026

Marvel superheroes, 'Bridesmaids' cast to assemble on Oscars telecast

Marvel movie stars will assemble at the98th Academy Awardson March 15, along with the stars of "Bridesmaids." ...

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Iran tells world to get ready for oil at $200 a barrel as it fires on merchant ships

By Parisa Hafezi, Alexander Cornwell and Bo Erickson

DUBAI/TEL AVIV/WASHINGTON, March 11 (Reuters) - Iran said the world should be ready for oil at $200 a barrel as its forces hit merchant ships on Wednesday and the International Energy Agency recommended a massive release of strategic reserves to dampen one of the worst oil shocks since the 1970s.

The war unleashed with joint U.S. and Israeli airstrikes nearly two weeks ago has so far killed around 2,000 people, mostly Iranians ‌and Lebanese, as it has spread into Lebanon and thrown global energy markets and transport into chaos.

Despite what the Pentagon has described as the most intense airstrikes since the start of the war, Iran also fired at Israel and targets ‌across the Middle East on Wednesday, demonstrating it can still fight back.

On Wednesday, three vessels were reported to have been hit in Gulf waters as Iran's Revolutionary Guards said their forces had fired on ships in the Gulf that had disobeyed their orders.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has not committed to a timeline for military operations, ​suggested on Wednesday he was not yet ready to call an end to the war.

At a rally in Kentucky, he said "we won" the war, but the United States didn't want to have to go back every two years.

"We don't want to leave early, do we?" he said. "We got to finish the job."

Trump said U.S. forces had knocked out 58 Iranian naval ships and that oil prices would come down and told reporters in Washington that Iran was "pretty much at the end of the line."

"Doesn't mean we're going to end it immediately, but ... They've got no navy, they've got no air force, they've got no anti-air traffic anything. They have no systems of control. We're just riding free range over that country," he said.

STRATEGIC STRAIT

Trump said the U.S. would now "look very strongly" at the Strait of Hormuz, adding: "The straits are in great shape. We've knocked out all ‌of their boats. They have some missiles, but not very many."

Despite Trump's words, there has been ⁠no sign that ships can safely sail through the strait, a now-blockaded channel along the Iranian coast that serves as a conduit for around a fifth of the world's oil. An Iranian military spokesperson said the strait was "undoubtedly" under Iran's control.

Trump said ships "should" transit through the strait but sources said Iran had deployed about a dozen mines in the channel, further complicating the blockade.

On Wednesday, the G7 group of nations - the ⁠United States, Canada, Japan, Italy, Britain, Germany and France - agreed to examine the option of providing escort for ships so they can navigate freely in the Gulf.

ABC News said the Federal Bureau of Investigation had warned of Iranian drones potentially striking the U.S. West Coast, although Trump said he was not worried that Iran might launch strikes on U.S. soil.

The State Department also warned that Iran and aligned militias may be planning to target U.S.-owned oil and energy infrastructure in Iraq and warned that militias had previously targeted hotels frequented by Americans.

U.S. and Israeli officials have said their aim is to end Iran's ​ability ​to use force beyond its borders and destroy its nuclear programme.Oil prices, which shot up earlier in the week to nearly $120 a barrel before settling back ​to around $90, rose nearly 5% on Wednesday amid renewed fears about supply disruption, while Wall Street's main ‌share indexes fell.

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The war has seen ports and cities in the Gulf states, as well as targets in Israel, hit by Iranian drone and missile barrages.

'LEGITIMATE TARGETS'

The U.S. military told Iranians to stay clear of ports with navy facilities, drawing a warning from Iran's military that if the ports were threatened, economic and trade centres in the region would be "legitimate targets".

With prices at the pumps already surging and Trump's Republican Party trailing badly in the polls ahead of midterm elections in November, oil prices have become an increasingly urgent element in the calculations behind the war.

The International Energy Agency, made up of major oil consuming nations, recommended releasing 400 million barrels from global strategic reserves to stabilise prices, the biggest such intervention in history, which was swiftly endorsed by Washington.

Trump said the IEA decision would "substantially reduce oil prices as we end this threat to America and the world."

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Trump had authorized the release of 172 million barrels from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve from next week.

The rate at which countries can release strategic reserves will vary and the amount released ‌would account for just a fraction of the supply through the Hormuz Strait.

Iranian officials made clear on Wednesday they intended to impose a prolonged economic shock.

"Get ​ready for oil to be $200 a barrel, because the oil price depends on regional security, which you have destabilised," Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran's military command, said ​in comments addressed to Washington.

After offices of a bank in Tehran were hit overnight, Zolfaqari said Iran would respond with attacks ​on banks that do business with the U.S. or Israel. People across the Middle East should stay 1,000 metres from banks, he added.

At sea, a Thai-flagged bulk carrier was set ablaze, forcing the evacuation of crew, ‌with three people reported missing and believed trapped in the engine room.

Two other ships, a Japanese-flagged container ​ship and a Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier, were also reported to have ​sustained damage from projectiles, bringing the number of merchant ships that have been hit since the war began to 14.

IRANIAN OFFICIAL SAYS MOJTABA KHAMENEI LIGHTLY WOUNDED

In Iran, huge crowds took to the streets for funerals for top commanders killed in airstrikes. They carried caskets and brandished flags and portraits of slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his son and successor, Mojtaba.

An Iranian official told Reuters Mojtaba Khamenei had been lightly wounded early in the war, when airstrikes killed his father, mother, wife ​and a son. He has not appeared in public or issued any direct message since the ‌war began.

Despite Trump's calls for Iranians to rise up, U.S. and Israeli hopes that Iran's system of clerical rule would be overthrown by popular protest have not been borne out.

Iran's police chief, Ahmadreza Radan, said on Wednesday anyone taking ​to the streets would be treated "as an enemy, not a protester. All our security forces have their fingers on the trigger".

(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi in Dubai, Alexander Cornwell in Tel Aviv and Bo Erickson in HEBRON, Kentucky, and Reuters ​bureaux; Writing by Peter Graff, James Mackenzie and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Sharon Singleton, Alex Richardson, Gareth Jones, Deepa Babington and Michael Perry)

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Iran tells world to get ready for oil at $200 a barrel as it fires on merchant ships

By Parisa Hafezi, Alexander Cornwell and Bo Erickson DUBAI/TEL AVIV/WASHINGTON, March 11 (Reuters) - Iran said...

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Lawsuit alleges former Chili's worker fired over transgender identity

A former employee ofChili's Grill and Barin suburban Chicago says they were fired after just three and a half weeks on the job after their manager learned they weretransgender, according to claims made in a recently filed federal lawsuit.

Hudson Webber, a transgender man assigned female at birth, said a manager at the Rosemont, Illinois, casual dining spot explicitly cited Webber's "personal values and lifestyle values" as the reason for theirterminationon May 12, 2025, according to the lawsuit.

The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, says that when Webber asked to speak to someone else, the manager said the decision had been made jointly with the regional manager and that a worker at a separate location was being let go for the same reason.

A spokesman for Brinker International, the publicly traded corporation that owns Chili's, said the company was "unable to comment or share any further details at this time" given the ongoing litigation.

According tothe complaint, Webber was hired April 17, 2025, and met or exceeded performance expectations. Within two weeks, the work atmosphere had shifted, Webber said: In the days leading up to their firing, Webber was "repeatedly called off from scheduled shifts."

In one instance, the lawsuit described, Webber was told not to report for duty because a pipe rupture had forced the restaurant to close. However, Webber later learned the story had been fabricated and that the restaurant had in fact stayed open and staffed, his lawyers alleged.

"In reality, Plaintiff was intentionally being excluded from work because management did not want Plaintiff present," the complaint says.

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On May 12, it says, the manager called and said Webber would be let go because their "personal values and lifestyle values" did not align with the restaurant. According to the complaint, the manager referenced Webber's sex and gender identity.

"The decision to terminate Plaintiff was made only after management became aware of Plaintiff's gender identity and expression," the complaint alleges. Webber's termination had nothing to do with job performance, "instead based on discriminatory views" about such identity, it says.

According to the suit, Webber has suffered loss of income, emotional distress and humiliation and seeks, among other things, back pay and compensatory and punitive damages.

Research shows trans people face higher rates of workplace discrimination than the general population, said Ash Lazarus Orr of Advocates for Trans Equality, a national advocacy group in Washington, D.C. Orr was commenting on trans discrimination in general and not specifically about the Webber case.

Surveys have found that significant numbers of trans workers report being fired, denied promotions, or mistreated on the job because of their gender identity, Orr said, contributing to broader economic disparities within the trans community.

"What we are seeing is continued evidence that trans workers remain vulnerable to unfair treatment in the workplace," he said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Lawsuit alleges former Chili's worker fired over transgender identity

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Lawsuit alleges former Chili's worker fired over transgender identity

A former employee ofChili's Grill and Barin suburban Chicago says they were fired after just three and a half weeks o...

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Tottenham's Premier League position is damning and so are the numbers

Tottenham's position in the Premier League is increasingly concerning. So are the numbers.

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— Six straight losses in all competitions. That's never happened in the club's nearly 144-year history.

— Eleven matches without a win in the Premier League. That's a first at Tottenham, too.

— Four losses in Igor Tudor's first four games in interim control. This has never happened to a Tottenham manager.

It feels like things can hardly get any worse at Spurs, who — let's not forget — won the Europa League last season and were one of the 12 founding members of the ambitious but flawed Super League project that wasquickly abortedin 2021.

But, rest assured, it can get worse.

Still reeling from a calamitous 5-2 loss in the Champions League at Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, Tottenham must travel to Anfield for a league match against Liverpool on Sunday with its squad ripped apart because of a mixture of injuries, suspensions, potential concussion issues and a general lack of belief.

The 30th round begins with Spurs — an ever-present in the top flight since the 1970s — two places and one point above the relegation zone with nine games left. By kickoff at Anfield, they could be in it.

Third-to-last West Ham and fourth-to-last Nottingham Forest are both a point behind Tottenham going into home games against Manchester City on Saturday and Fulham on Sunday, respectively. Liverpool-Tottenham is the last game on Sunday.

Key players like James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Mohammed Kudus, Rodrigo Bentancur and Destiny Udogie remain on the injured list, while captain Cristian Romero and midfielder Joao Palhinha might miss this weekend after being shaken following a clash of heads late in the game against Atletico. Key defender Micky van de Ven is suspended.

Then there's the goalkeeper situation. Guglielmo Vicario's form was so poor that Tudor felt it necessary to drop him against Atletico and hand a first start since October to Antonin Kinsky. The 22-year-old Czech didn't even last 17 minutes before beinghauled offbecause of an error-strewn display.

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It means Vicario is likely to regain his starting place but his confidence can't be high, either.

Despite coming under heavy pressure, Tudor appears likely to be in charge this weekend. Tottenham confirmed midweek that the Croatian will conduct a news conference on Friday ahead of the Liverpool game. Then the second leg against Atletico is on Wednesday.

After that, Tottenham's sole focus might just be avoiding relegation.

Key matchups

Arsenal and Man City play on the same day in the latest chapter of the title race.

Holding a seven-point lead, Arsenal is at home to Everton. City plays a few hours later at the Olympic Stadium.

Manchester United and Aston Villa are level on points — in third and fourth place, respectively — ahead of their meeting at Old Trafford.

Players to watch

With the 30th round coming in the middle of a tight turnaround in the Champions League round of 16, expect to see some rotation among the top teams.

Man City manager Pep Guardiola might want to keep Antoine Semenyo in his team, though, with the Ghana international having scored seven goals in 13 games since his January arrival from Bournemouth.

Chelsea striker Joao Pedro has eight goals in his last eight games heading into a home match against Newcastle on Saturday.

Out of action

Liverpool has its own injury concerns for the visit of toiling Tottenham: Brazil goalkeeper Alisson Becker didn't travel to Turkey for the 1-0 midweek loss to Galatasaray in the Champions League because of an undisclosed problem.

Arsenal is set to again be without midfielder and captain Martin Odegaard, who is nursing a knee injury.

AP soccer:https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

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March 12, 2026

Tottenham's Premier League position is damning and so are the numbers

Tottenham's position in the Premier League is increasingly concerning. So are the numbers. Spain Champio...

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