News
Sad! Actor Gene Hackman, wife, dog found lifeless in Santa Fe home, says Sheriff
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Mendoza added there was no immediate indication of foul play in the deaths, the outlet added.
The actor and his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, were found dead at their home in Santa Fe Summit on Wednesday, Feb. 26, reported the Santa Fe New Mexican, citing County Sheriff Adan Mendoza, who confirmed to the outlet that the couple had died, along with their dog
Mendoza added there was no immediate indication of foul play in the deaths, the outlet added.
He also did not provide a cause of death or say when the couple, who were married for over 30 years, might have died.
Born Eugene Allen Hackman in San Bernardino, California, in 1930, he moved frequently with his family, eventually landing in Danville, Illinois, where his father worked for a newspaper press.
As a boy, Hackman often found himself escaping to movie theatres, where he idolized stars like Erroll Flynn, Edward G. Robinson and his favourite, Jimmy Cagney.
When Hackman was 13, his father left the family, waving a hand to his son as he left.
“It was so precise. Maybe that’s why I became an actor,” Hackman once told Vanity Fair in 2013 of that parting gesture.
“I doubt I would’ve become so sensitive to human behaviour if that hadn’t happened to me as a child — if I hadn’t realized how much one small gesture can mean.”
Three years later, after a night in jail for stealing candy and soda, Hackman enlisted in the Marines, serving until he was 19.
After his discharge, he bounced around, living in New York, Florida, and his childhood home, Danville, and marrying his girlfriend, Faye Maltese, in 1956. (They would divorce 30 years later.)
The pair later moved to California, where Hackman joined the famed Pasadena Playhouse.
While there, Hackman forged a friendship with another aspiring actor, Dustin Hoffman.
Hackman, however, was kicked out of the Playhouse and, deciding to prove them wrong, headed to New York City, where he was determined to make it as an actor.
He landed a small part in a two-week production of Arthur Miller’s play: “A View from the Bridge.”
In New York, Hackman kicked around for years, hanging out with Hoffman and Robert Duvall, taking small parts as they came.
It wasn’t until he was in his mid-thirties that Hackman finally landed a role that got him noticed, playing Warren Beatty‘s brother in Bonnie and Clyde (1967).
As Buck Barrow in the incendiary film, Hackman earned his first Oscar nomination in 1968 out of five.
Three years later, Hackman was nominated for a second Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in the 1970’s I Never Sang for My Father. But it was his leading role in 1971’s The French Connection that solidified his status as a Hollywood leading man and earned him the Oscar for Best Actor in 1972.
Hackman pursued more diverse roles in 1972’s The Poseidon Adventure, Francis Ford Coppola’s 1974 film The Conversation (1974) where Hackman plays a surveillance expert who thinks a couple is about to be murdered.
He also portrayed a hard-charging coach in 1986’s Hoosiers, the war-mongering submarine captain in Crimson Tide (1995).
And he was Lex Luthor in the 1978 film Superman, which may have seemed an odd choice of vehicle for a man bent on making his bones as a serious actor, but with more than 80 movies on his resume, Hackman made room for silliness.
For every bit of fun like the animated film Antz (1998) or The Birdcage (1996) with Robin Williams and Nathan Lane, there were indelible turns in Mississippi Burning, which earned Hackman his fourth Academy Award nomination in 1989, and Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven, for which Hackman took home his second Oscar in 1993, as a loathsome sheriff.
Hackman retired from acting after starring in the 2004 comedy Welcome to Mooseport. Just a few years before, he’d once again thrilled audiences in Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums as the dying patriarch of a family of kooky geniuses (including Anjelica Huston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller and Luke Wilson). But after a career that spanned cinema’s rebirth in the late ’60s to the new century, Hackman decided he’d done enough.
In 2004, Hackman told Larry King in an interview that his career was “probably all over,” and that he had no new scripts in front of him. Confirming his retirement in 2008, he expanded on his thoughts several years later, telling GQ in 2011 that it would take a lot for him to make another film.
“I don’t know. If I could do it in my own house, maybe, without them disturbing anything and just one or two people,” he said, later telling the outlet that he just hopes to be remembered “as a decent actor.”
While on a book tour for his novel Escape from Andersonville in 2008, Hackman told the Raleigh News & Observerhe didn’t want to “keep pressing” and risk “going out on a sour note. “I feel comfortable with what I’ve done,” he said.
Hackman turned to painting and did voice-over work and writing books. He penned the old west story Payback at Morning Peak (2011) and the police thriller Pursuit (2013), as well as co-authoring three works of historical fiction with undersea archeologist Daniel Lenihan.
He has since narrated two documentary films: The Unknown Flag Raiser of Iwo Jim (2016) and We, the Marines (2017).
In addition to one of the most staggering filmographies in the business, his writing, theater notices and his painting, Hackman leaves behind his three children who he shared with his first wife, Maltese: Christopher Allen, Elizabeth Jean and Leslie Ann Hackman.
Asked by GQ in 2011 as to how he would like to be remembered, Hackman humbly replied, “As a decent actor. As someone who tried to portray what was given to them in an honest fashion. I don’t know, beyond that.” [People]
Catholicism has rarely been more prominent in US politics as the Trump administration openly embraces advisers and officials who proudly say faith has shaped their politics.
But any jubilation on the American Make America Great Again right about the new Pope this week quickly dissipated as key voices from Donald Trump’s Maga movement came to a disappointed conclusion: the first American Pope does not appear to be “America first”.
Little is known about the political leanings of Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago.
He has voiced concerns for the poor and immigrants, chosen a name that may reference more liberal church leadership, and he appears to have both supported the liberal-leaning Pope Francis and criticised the US president’s policies on social media.
But the president so far has said only that Leo’s election was a “great honour” for the US. Still, some of Trump’s most prominent supporters were quick to attack Pope Leo, lambasting him as a possible challenge to Trump and on the perception that he will follow Pope Francis in areas like immigration.
“I mean it’s kind of jaw-dropping,” Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon told the BBC on Friday, speaking of Leo’s election.
“It is shocking to me that a guy could be selected to be the Pope that had had the Twitter feed and the statements he’s had against American senior politicians,” said Bannon, a hard-right Trump loyalist, practising Catholic and former altar boy.
And he predicted that there’s “definitely going to be friction” between Leo and Trump.
The Pope’s brother, John Prevost, told The New York Times that he thinks his brother would voice his disagreements with the president.
“I know he’s not happy with what’s going on with immigration,” he said. “I know that for a fact. How far he’ll go with it is only one’s guess, but he won’t just sit back. I don’t think he’ll be the silent one.”
Recent survey data shows that about 20% of Americans identify as Catholic, according to the non-partisan Pew Research Center.
About 53% identify with or lean towards the Republican Party, though there’s plenty of nuance, too: America’s two Catholic presidents, John F Kennedy and Joe Biden, were both Democrats. And nearly two-thirds of US Catholics believe abortion should be legal in all or most circumstances – a departure from the Church’s current stance.
US Catholics also broadly supported Pope Francis: 78% of those surveyed in February viewed him favorably, including a majority of Catholic Republicans.
A number of Catholics In the new Pope’s home city of Chicago, on Thursday, aired disappointment with President Trump and said they hoped Pope Leo XIV would follow the path of his predecessor.
“We hope he’ll continue with Francis’s agenda going forward,” said Rick Stevens, a Catholic deacon from New Jersey who happened to be visiting Chicago when he heard the news.
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops, which leads and coordinates US Catholic activities, celebrated Pope Leo’s election and the message it sends.
“Certainly, we rejoice that a son of this nation has been chosen by the cardinals, but we recognise that he now belongs to all Catholics and to all people of good will,” the conference said in a statement. “His words advocating peace, unity, and missionary activity already indicate a path forward.”
Though Maga supporters represent a small subset of US Catholics, it’s one with outsized access to conservative media and Trump’s ear.
On Bannon’s War Room podcast – known for its hard-right, pro-Trump bent – one guest after another heaped criticism on the new Pope.
“This guy has been massively embraced by the liberals and the progressives,” said Ben Harnwell, a journalist who led Bannon’s efforts to establish what he calls a “gladiator school” for the “Judeo-Christian West” outside of Rome.
“He is one of their own… he has [Pope] Francis’s DNA in him,” Harnwell said.
Jack Posobiec, another Maga commentator dialing in from Rome, was blunt: “This choice of the American cardinal was done as a response, as a message to President Trump.”
The full picture of what led to Pope Leo’s selection on Thursday is still emerging and church decisions don’t map neatly onto US politics. Still, watchers around the world have pored over Pope Leo’s social media profiles in search of clues about his leanings and beliefs.
An X account under his name, with tweets going as far back as 2015, shares links to criticism of Trump’s approach to immigration and hints at other political views, such as stricter gun control.
In February, the account sharply rebuked the US vice-president by posting a link to an opinion piece titled “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others”.
The account also posted a link to a letter from Pope Francis after he clashed with Vance over church doctrine and immigration. Vance – a Catholic convert – had given an interview in defence of the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
Vance has routinely invoked his faith in defense of the administration, particularly immigration policies, which the White House has said put “America first”.
“There is a Christian concept that you love your family and then you love your neighbour, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens, and then after that, prioritise the rest of the world. A lot of the far left has completely inverted that,” Vance told Fox News.
But US Democrats were not spared either on the account, which has more than a decade of posts. They appear to support Catholic employers who refuse to pay for contraceptives via employee health plans, and following the 2016 US presidential election, one post links to an article accusing Democrat Hillary Clinton of ignoring pro-life Catholic voters.
The BBC asked the Vatican to confirm the account was Leo’s, but did not receive a response.
Vice-President Vance told conservative broadcaster Hugh Hewitt on Friday: “I try not to play the politicisation of the Pope game.
“I’m sure he’s going to say a lot of things that I love. I’m sure he’ll say some things that I disagree with, but I’ll continue to pray for him and the Church despite it all and through it all, and that’ll be the way that I handle it.”
The new Pope’s LGBTQ views are also unclear, but some groups, including the conservative College of Cardinals, believe he may be less supportive than Pope Francis.
Matt Walsh, a commentator with the conservative Daily Wire, wrote: “There are some good signs and bad signs with this new Pope. I want to see what he actually does with his papacy before I pass any kind of judgment.”
But some of the most dedicated Maga supporters already have made up their minds.
Laura Loomer, a far-right influencer who has Trump’s ear, swaying the president on top personnel decisions, called the new Pope “anti-Trump, anti-Maga, pro-open Borders, and a total Marxist like Pope Francis”.
Bannon, who had suggested Leo as a dark horse for the papacy, predicted tensions between the White House and Vatican – and said they could even tear apart American Catholics.
“Remember, President Trump was not shy about taking a shot at Pope Francis,” he said.
“So if this Pope – which he will do – tries to come between President Trump and his implementation of the mass deportation programme, I would stand by.” BBC
By Gloria Ikibah
The Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, has stressed the urgent need for the Nigerian Parliament to adopt digital technology, describing it as a necessity in today’s world rather than a choice.
Ogunlana made the remark during his opening address at a three-day retreat organised by the National Assembly in partnership with the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC). The event, which began on Friday, was supported by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and held under the theme “Building an Accountable, Transparent and Resilient Parliament: The Role of the National Assembly Top Management.”
According to him, “the use of technology in the Nigerian Parliament is not an option but a necessity,” especially as legislative processes around the world are becoming increasingly digital.
He pointed out that the retreat’s theme directly addresses the ongoing shifts and demands within the National Assembly, offering a critical moment to rethink approaches, plan strategically, and implement meaningful reforms.
“This presents a vital opportunity to reflect, strategize, and lay actionable plans that will shape the future of the National Assembly Service,” Ogunlana stated.
By Gloria Ikibah
The Embassy of China in Nigeria has responded to reports that Nigerian athletes withdrew from the 2025 World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou due to visa delays allegedly caused by Chinese authorities.
In a statement issued by the embassy, the claim by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) was described as “clearly inconsistent with the facts.”
According to the embassy, “On April 24, the Embassy received a letter from the National Sports Commission of Nigeria (dated April 22) requesting assistance in processing visas for Nigerian athletes to participate in the event in China.”
The embassy explained that it responded promptly to the request: “The Embassy immediately communicated with the Commission and guided it to prepare the relevant materials so as to expedite visa application. On May 6, China Visa Application Centre received the relevant application materials submitted by the Nigerian athletes. The Embassy immediately activated the expedited procedure, provided the utmost assistance to the Nigerian applicants, and completed the visa issuance on May 8.”
Reaffirming its commitment to Nigeria-China relations, the embassy added, “The Embassy of China in Nigeria has always actively supported people-to-people and sports cooperation between the two countries, repeatedly expressed its welcome for Nigerian athletes to participate in events in China, and consistently assisted Nigerian citizens in visa applications in an efficient and professional manner.”
The embassy also stressed the importance of proper procedure in visa matters: “It should be noted as well that visa issuance is a matter of national sovereignty, and all foreign embassies require applicants to provide the corresponding documents and materials, as well as allow sufficient time for the application process.”
Expressing regret over the athletes’ inability to attend, the embassy stated, “We regret that the Nigerian athletes were unable to participate in the event in China this time, but the statement issued by the AFN is clearly inconsistent with the facts. The Embassy of China in Nigeria remains committed to promoting friendly exchanges between the Chinese and Nigerian peoples and stands ready to continue providing support and assistance for exchanges and cooperation in various fields, including sports.”
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