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By Olivia Le Poidevin GENEVA, Dec 4 (Reuters) – Members of the body that organises the Eurovision Song Contest will meet on Thursday to discuss and potentially vote on whether Israel can compete next year, as some countries threaten to withdraw if it is not excluded over the Gaza war. The meeting at the European Broadcasting Union headquarters in Geneva will address new rules intended to discourage governments and third parties from disproportionately promoting songs to sway voters, following allegations that Israel unfairly boosted its entrant to the contest this year. Israel, which came second in the contest, has not responded to these accusations, but frequently argues it has faced a global smear campaign. The contest faces a "watershed moment", said Eurovision expert Paul Jordan. Public broadcasters from Slovenia, Ireland, Spain and the Netherlands are threatening to boycott the May 2026 event, to be hosted by Austria, if Israel is allowed to compete. Critics of Israel's participation cite concerns over the Palestinian death toll in Gaza, which has surpassed 70,000, according to Gaza health authorities. The war was sparked by the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage to Gaza. If members are not convinced that the new rules, which aim to protect the contest's neutrality and impartiality, are adequate, there will be a vote on participation, the EBU said. Germany could withdraw and not broadcast Eurovision if Israel is not allowed to participate, a broadcasting industry source told Reuters. German broadcaster ARD did not comment. Austrian host broadcaster ORF wants Israel to compete. Israeli public broadcaster KAN said it is preparing for next year's contest and will soon release changes to its selection process for choosing Israel's entry. KAN said it will present its position on possible disqualification at the meeting. (Reporting by Olivia Le PoidevinEditing by Frances Kerry)

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By Lisa Richwine LOS ANGELES, Dec 3 (Reuters) – A California doctor was sentenced to 2-1/2 years in prison on Wednesday for illegally supplying "Friends" sitcom star Matthew Perry with ketamine, the powerful sedative that caused the actor's drug overdose death in 2023. Dr. Salvador Plasencia, 44, who ran an urgent-care clinic outside Los Angeles, pleaded guilty in federal court in July to four felony counts of illegal distribution of the prescription anesthetic. He could have faced up to 40 years in prison for the crime. Perry was found by his live-in assistant floating face down and lifeless in the jacuzzi of his Los Angeles home on October 28, 2023. He was 54. An autopsy report concluded the actor died from the "acute effects of ketamine," which combined with other factors in causing the actor to lose consciousness and drown. Ketamine is a short-acting anesthetic with hallucinogenic properties that is sometimes prescribed to treat depression and other psychiatric disorders. It also has seen widespread abuse as an illicit party drug. Plasencia, who surrendered his medical license in September, admitted as part of his plea agreement that in the weeks before Perry's death he had injected the actor with ketamine on multiple occasions at the actor's home and once in the back seat of a parked car.  Perry had publicly acknowledged decades of substance abuse, including the years he starred as Chandler Bing on the hit 1990s NBC television series "Friends." According to federal law enforcement officials, Perry had been receiving ketamine infusions for treatment of depression and anxiety at a clinic where he became addicted to the drug. When doctors there refused to increase his dosage, he turned to unscrupulous providers elsewhere willing to exploit Perry's drug dependency as a way to make quick money, authorities said. Plasencia, who practiced medicine in the Los Angeles suburb of Calabasas, said he was introduced to Perry through a patient acquainted with the doctor and obtained the ketamine from another doctor, co-defendant Mark Chavez of San Diego. According to court filings, Plasencia once texted Chavez about Perry, writing, "I wonder how much this moron will pay." Within weeks, Perry was dead from an overdose of ketamine supplied by yet another co-defendant – a drug dealer known as the "Ketamine Queen" – and injected by the actor's personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa. "You and others helped Mr. Perry stay on the road to such an ending while continuing to feed his addiction," U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett said before sentencing Plasencia to 30 months in prison and a $5,600 fine. Addressing the court before the judge imposed sentence on Wednesday, amid audible sobs from his mother and Perry's relatives, Plasencia expressed remorse and said he took full responsibility for his actions. "I failed Mr. Perry, I failed his family, and I failed the community," he said, before turning to directly face members of Perry's family seated in the courtroom and adding, "I'm just so sorry." Delivering a victim impact statement earlier in the proceeding, Perry's mother, Suzanne Morrison, said, "There is an oath that doctors take, and I think it really got forgotten." Looking directly at Plasencia, she said, "I want you to see this is the mother" and added "this was a bad thing to do." Four other defendants – Chavez, 55, Iwamasa, 60, Jasveen Sangha, 42, aka "Ketamine Queen," and go-between dealer Erik Fleming, 56 – have pleaded guilty in connection with Perry's death and are scheduled to be sentenced in the coming weeks.  (Reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Leslie Adler, David Gregorio and Lincoln Feast.)

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By Brad Brooks Dec 3 (Reuters) – Steve Cropper, a storied guitarist, songwriter and producer who helped define the Southern soul sound at legendary Memphis music label Stax Records, died on Wednesday in Nashville, according to a post on his social media accounts. He was 84. No cause of death was cited.  Cropper was the lead guitarist for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame group Booker T. and the MG's, whose biggest hit was the 1962 single "Green Onions." He also played with many other legendary R&B figures, from Otis Redding to B.B. King to Wilson Pickett.  "While we mourn the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," the post on his social media read.  As a songwriter, Cropper had co-writer credits on genre-defining hits such as "In the Midnight Hour" and "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay," and he was famed for his guitar playing on the hit "Soul Man." Cropper was a two-time Grammy Award winner and an inductee into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.    Cropper's website states that he "was literally involved in virtually every record issued by Stax from the fall of 1961 through year end 1970." Cropper reached new fame in the late 1970s when he worked with the Blues Brothers, the musical side project of comedians John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, and appeared in "The Blues Brothers" film starring all three.  Born on October 21, 1941, on a farm near Dora, Missouri, Cropper moved with his family to Memphis at the age of nine. He bought his first mail-order guitar at age 14, and quickly formed a band with friends. His website lists Chuck Berry and Chet Atkins among his earliest guitar heroes. "Somebody asked me one time about how'd you learn how to play guitar. I said: 'Jesus, it's really easy. You just learn one note that's all you gotta do, and then you learn to play it in different places,'" Cropper said in 2014 at a rock 'n roll exhibit at the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto. Cropper is survived by his wife, Angel, along with his children Andrea, Cameron, Stevie and Ashley.  (Reporting by Brad Brooks in Colorado; Editing by Sonali Paul)

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By Brad Brooks Dec 3 (Reuters) – Steve Cropper, a storied guitarist, songwriter and producer who helped define the Southern soul sound at legendary Memphis music label Stax Records, died on Wednesday in Nashville, according to a post on his social media accounts. He was 84. No cause of death was cited.  Cropper was the lead guitarist for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame group Booker T. and the MG's, whose biggest hit was the 1962 single "Green Onions." He also played with many other legendary R&B figures, from Otis Redding to B.B. King to Wilson Pickett.  "While we mourn the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," the post on his social media read.  As a songwriter, Cropper had co-writer credits on genre-defining hits such as "In the Midnight Hour" and "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay," and he was famed for his guitar playing on the hit "Soul Man." Cropper was a two-time Grammy Award winner and an inductee into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.    Cropper's website states that he "was literally involved in virtually every record issued by Stax from the fall of 1961 through year end 1970." Cropper reached new fame in the late 1970s when he worked with the Blues Brothers, the musical side project of comedians John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, and appeared in "The Blues Brothers" film starring all three.  Born on October 21, 1941, on a farm near Dora, Missouri, Cropper moved with his family to Memphis at the age of nine. He bought his first mail-order guitar at age 14, and quickly formed a band with friends. His website lists Chuck Berry and Chet Atkins among his earliest guitar heroes. "Somebody asked me one time about how'd you learn how to play guitar. I said: 'Jesus, it's really easy. You just learn one note that's all you gotta do, and then you learn to play it in different places,'" Cropper said in 2014 at a rock 'n roll exhibit at the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto. Cropper is survived by his wife, Angel, along with his children Andrea, Cameron, Stevie and Ashley.  (Reporting by Brad Brooks in Colorado; Editing by Sonali Paul)

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By Hanna Rantala LONDON, Dec 3 (Reuters) – Oscar-winning actor Kate Winslet makes her directorial debut with "Goodbye June", a holiday season-set drama about a family faced with loss coming together.     Winslet, who also stars in the film, directs from a screenplay by her son Joe Anders. The story was partly inspired by their personal experience of losing Winslet's mother, Anders' grandmother, to cancer in 2017.     "I just wanted to make a film that felt authentic and real," said Winslet, premiering the movie with Anders and the cast in London on Wednesday.     "I also didn't want to make a story that was about someone who dies because it's really not. It's actually about the life that is given to the people who are left behind." Winslet said she wanted to set the movie in Britain's National Health Service space because it is "massively undervalued". "And we need to give credit and honour the people who do that incredible work, especially our palliative care workers," she said.     "It's entirely fictional," added Anders. "I think it just emotionally came from that place of sending my grandmother off."     Anders, whose father is filmmaker Sam Mendes, wrote the script when he was 19, and showed it to Winslet for feedback.     "I didn't even know if I could write a screenplay. I just really wanted to give it my best shot. And the fact that it's been made into a movie is insane," Anders, now 21, said.     Winslet, who has three children, said she had thought about stepping behind the camera over the years but raising a family kept her busy.     "There just wouldn't have been that space in my life, I think, emotionally and just energetically. I couldn't possibly have added anything else into the juggle of it all. But this felt like the right moment, and I felt really ready to do it," she said.     In the film, family matriarch June (Helen Mirren) is hospitalised shortly before Christmas. Her husband (Timothy Spall), son (Johnny Flynn) and three daughters, played by Winslet, Andrea Riseborough and Toni Collette, and their offspring rush to her bedside, bringing with them conflict and personal struggles, but also joy and care.     "It's such an honest look at the transition from life into the next. And it's about family, the mess and the beauty of the dysfunctional family system," said Collette. "Goodbye June" is released in select UK cinemas on December 12 and starts streaming on Netflix on December 24. (Reporting by Hanna Rantala; Editing by Sonali Paul)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Lisa Richwine LOS ANGELES, Dec 3 (Reuters) – A California doctor was sentenced to 2-1/2 years in prison on Wednesday for illegally supplying "Friends" sitcom star Matthew Perry with ketamine, the powerful sedative that caused the actor's drug overdose death in 2023. Dr. Salvador Plasencia, 44, who operated an urgent-care clinic outside Los Angeles, pleaded guilty in federal court in July to four felony counts of illegal distribution of the prescription anesthetic. He surrendered his medical license in September. He could have faced up to 40 years in prison for the crime. Perry was found by his live-in assistant floating face down and lifeless in the jacuzzi of his Los Angeles home in October 2023. He was 54. An autopsy report concluded the actor died from the "acute effects of ketamine," which combined with other factors in causing the actor to lose consciousness and drown. Ketamine is a short-acting anesthetic with hallucinogenic properties that is sometimes prescribed to treat depression and other psychiatric disorders. It also has seen widespread abuse as an illicit party drug. Plasencia acknowledged then that he injected Perry with ketamine at the actor's home and in the back seat of a parked car, and that doing so was not for legitimate medical purposes. Perry had publicly acknowledged decades of substance abuse, including the years he starred as Chandler Bing on the hit 1990s NBC television series "Friends." According to federal law enforcement officials at the time charges were brought in the case, Perry had been receiving ketamine infusions for treatment of depression and anxiety at a clinic where he became addicted to the drug. When doctors there refused to increase his dosage, he turned to unscrupulous providers elsewhere who saw Perry as a way to make quick money satisfying what became his latest addiction, authorities said. Plasencia, who practiced medicine in the Los Angeles suburb of Calabasas, said he obtained the ketamine from another doctor, co-defendant Mark Chavez of San Diego. According to court filings, Plasencia once texted Chavez about Perry, writing, "I wonder how much this moron will pay." Addressing the court before the judge imposed sentence on Wednesday, amid audible sobs from his mother and Perry's relatives, Plasencia expressed remorse and said he took full responsibility for his actions. "I failed Mr. Perry, I failed his family, and I failed the community," he said, before turning to directly face members of Perry's family seated in the courtroom and added, "I'm just so sorry." Four other defendants, including Chavez, have pleaded guilty in connection with Perry's death and are scheduled to be sentenced in the coming weeks.  (Reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Leslie Adler and David Gregorio)

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Dec 3 (Reuters) – Paramount Skydance has raised the proposed breakup fee in its bid to acquire Warner Bros Discovery to $5 billion from $2.1 billion, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the offer. The sum would be paid to Warner Bros if a deal is agreed to but not consummated, the report said, in a sign that Paramount has confidence its proposed merger would pass muster with regulators. Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery declined to comment on the report. Warner Bros Discovery received a second round of bids, including a mostly cash offer from Netflix, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday. Bankers for Paramount Skydance, Comcast and Netflix worked over the weekend on improved offers for all or part of Warner Bros. The board of the HBO and CNN parent rejected a nearly $60 billion offer from Paramount Skydance in October and said it was exploring its options for sale. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Alan Barona)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Lisa Richwine LOS ANGELES, Dec 3 (Reuters) – A California doctor was sentenced to 2-1/2 years in prison on Wednesday for illegally supplying "Friends" sitcom star Matthew Perry with ketamine, the powerful sedative that caused the actor's drug overdose death in 2023. Dr. Salvador Plasencia, 44, who ran an urgent-care clinic outside Los Angeles, pleaded guilty in federal court in July to four felony counts of illegal distribution of the prescription anesthetic. He could have faced up to 40 years in prison for the crime. Perry was found by his live-in assistant floating face down and lifeless in the jacuzzi of his Los Angeles home on October 28, 2023. He was 54. An autopsy report concluded the actor died from the "acute effects of ketamine," which combined with other factors in causing the actor to lose consciousness and drown. Ketamine is a short-acting anesthetic with hallucinogenic properties that is sometimes prescribed to treat depression and other psychiatric disorders. It also has seen widespread abuse as an illicit party drug. Plasencia, who surrendered his medical license in September, admitted as part of his plea agreement that in the weeks before Perry's death he had injected the actor with ketamine on multiple occasions at the actor's home and once in the back seat of a parked car.  Perry had publicly acknowledged decades of substance abuse, including the years he starred as Chandler Bing on the hit 1990s NBC television series "Friends." According to federal law enforcement officials, Perry had been receiving ketamine infusions for treatment of depression and anxiety at a clinic where he became addicted to the drug. When doctors there refused to increase his dosage, he turned to unscrupulous providers elsewhere willing to exploit Perry's drug dependency as a way to make quick money, authorities said. Plasencia, who practiced medicine in the Los Angeles suburb of Calabasas, said he was introduced to Perry through a patient acquainted with the doctor and obtained the ketamine from another doctor, co-defendant Mark Chavez of San Diego. According to court filings, Plasencia once texted Chavez about Perry, writing, "I wonder how much this moron will pay." Within weeks, Perry was dead from an overdose of ketamine supplied by yet another co-defendant – a drug dealer known as the "Ketamine Queen" – and injected by the actor's personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa. "You and others helped Mr. Perry stay on the road to such an ending while continuing to feed his addiction," U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett said before sentencing Plasencia to 30 months in prison and a $5,600 fine. Addressing the court before the judge imposed sentence on Wednesday, amid audible sobs from his mother and Perry's relatives, Plasencia expressed remorse and said he took full responsibility for his actions. "I failed Mr. Perry, I failed his family, and I failed the community," he said, before turning to directly face members of Perry's family seated in the courtroom and adding, "I'm just so sorry." Delivering a victim impact statement earlier in the proceeding, Perry's mother, Suzanne Morrison, said, "There is an oath that doctors take, and I think it really got forgotten." Looking directly at Plasencia, she said, "I want you to see this is the mother" and added "this was a bad thing to do." Four other defendants – Chavez, 55, Iwamasa, 60, Jasveen Sangha, 42, aka "Ketamine Queen," and go-between dealer Erik Fleming, 56 – have pleaded guilty in connection with Perry's death and are scheduled to be sentenced in the coming weeks.  (Reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Leslie Adler, David Gregorio and Lincoln Feast.)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

Dec 3 (Reuters) – Paramount Skydance has raised the proposed breakup fee in its bid to acquire Warner Bros Discovery to $5 billion, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the offer. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Alan Barona)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Lisa Richwine LOS ANGELES, Dec 3 (Reuters) – A California doctor was sentenced to 2-1/2 years in prison on Wednesday for illegally supplying "Friends" sitcom star Matthew Perry with ketamine, the powerful sedative that caused the actor's drug overdose death in 2023. Dr. Salvador Plasencia, 44, who operated an urgent-care clinic outside Los Angeles, pleaded guilty in federal court in July to four felony counts of illegal distribution of the prescription anesthetic. He surrendered his medical license in September. He could have faced up to 40 years in prison for the crime. Perry was found by his live-in assistant floating face down and lifeless in the jacuzzi of his Los Angeles home in October 2023. He was 54. An autopsy report concluded the actor died from the "acute effects of ketamine," which combined with other factors in causing the actor to lose consciousness and drown. Ketamine is a short-acting anesthetic with hallucinogenic properties that is sometimes prescribed to treat depression and other psychiatric disorders. It also has seen widespread abuse as an illicit party drug. Plasencia acknowledged then that he injected Perry with ketamine at the actor's home and in the back seat of a parked car, and that doing so was not for legitimate medical purposes. Perry had publicly acknowledged decades of substance abuse, including the years he starred as Chandler Bing on the hit 1990s NBC television series "Friends." According to federal law enforcement officials at the time charges were brought in the case, Perry had been receiving ketamine infusions for treatment of depression and anxiety at a clinic where he became addicted to the drug. When doctors there refused to increase his dosage, he turned to unscrupulous providers elsewhere who saw Perry as a way to make quick money satisfying what became his latest addiction, authorities said. Plasencia, who practiced medicine in the Los Angeles suburb of Calabasas, said he obtained the ketamine from another doctor, co-defendant Mark Chavez of San Diego. According to court filings, Plasencia once texted Chavez about Perry, writing, "I wonder how much this moron will pay." Addressing the court before the judge imposed sentence on Wednesday, amid audible sobs from his mother and Perry's relatives, Plasencia expressed remorse and said he took full responsibility for his actions. "I failed Mr. Perry, I failed his family, and I failed the community," he said, before turning to directly face members of Perry's family seated in the courtroom and added, "I'm just so sorry." Four other defendants, including Chavez, have pleaded guilty in connection with Perry's death and are scheduled to be sentenced in the coming weeks.  (Reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Leslie Adler and David Gregorio)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)