THE JFT EDIT

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are still struggling with feelings of isolation from the rest of the royal family, even after speaking out in a shocking documentary.

In October, the couple revealed how the negative press attention has hurt their family for the ITV special “Harry & Meghan: An African Journey,” which follows their royal tour in southern Africa. It was then where Harry, 35, admitted that he and his older brother Prince William are “certainly on different paths at the moment.” “There hasn’t been this complete 180,” a source close to the couple told People magazine for this week’s cover story. “Nothing has changed. They don’t speak, no one is checking in, no one is texting.” The source claimed “eyes are open” about the emotional distress the pair is enduring, but the relationship between the couple and the rest of the royal family hasn’t grown closer following their candid revelations. “Everyone was doing their duties, doing what they needed to do on behalf of the family — and that was that,” claimed the source. “But there is a divide between the four of them. It’s hard for people to digest because everyone wants them to be such a unit.”

According to the friend, William, 37, and Middleton, 37, are more focused on preparing for their future roles — that of king and queen consort. “William is the future king,” said the source. “There is going to be some competitiveness between him and Harry. That already puts a rock in the relationship.” Longtime royal historian Robert Lacey said it’s not surprising that, as Harry suggested, the brothers are embarking on separate paths.

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The RMS Titanic may have been referred to as “The Ship of Dreams” in the 1997 movie, but it took a little coaxing to get Céline Dion on board with the soundtrack — and she has no regrets.

In a Monday night chat with Andy Cohen on his late-night Bravo talk series, Watch What Happens Live, the legendary songstress, 51, admitted she wasn’t initially a fan of “My Heart Will Go On,” — the song that is now famously linked to the film and to her iconic career. “It is true,” she confirmed to Cohen, 51, and his audience members, after being asked about her original thoughts on the song, adding that she’s “glad they didn’t listen to me” and recorded the song anyway.

The song, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on Feb. 28, 1998, propelled the Titanic soundtrack to a 16-week run at No. 1 and sold more than 15 million copies worldwide. It went on to win Best Original Song at the 1998 Academy Awards, and the Grammy Award for record of the year.

“It didn’t appeal to me. I was probably very tired that day — very tired,” Dion continued. “My husband [the late René Angélil] said, ‘Let’s hold on.’ He talked to the writer and he said, ‘Let’s try to make it, like, a little demo.’”

Akon may have delayed his 2020 presidential run, but the singer still has high hopes for a run in 2024 and might even team up with Kanye West.

In an appearance on The Real on Monday, the singer behind hits like “Smack That” and “I Wanna Love You” talked about his decision to not run in the upcoming election because of his desire to continue working on new music. However, Akon revealed that a presidential campaign in the future “might be possible.”

“I know what the issues are. And as a person, as an immigrant, as a black man, as whatever you want to call it, I kinda know or feel like I know that I can take the country and move it forward,” Akon said. “I really believe so.”

The 46-year-old who was born in St. Louis, Mo. and spent a majority of his childhood in Senegal is known for his musical feats, but has also taken on a number of other ventures in recent years. He spoke about his various projects, which included creating a cryptocurrency, in an interview with Newsweek in October 2018. It was then that he discussed the idea of throwing his hat into the ring in the 2020 election.

“I feel a lot more unsafe. I feel unempowered. Honestly, I feel it’s gonna be a fight,” he said about Trump’s presidency at the time. “I’ve been thinking about running for 2020 very seriously.”

Since changing those plans as a result of his musical ventures, however, Akon told the women of The Real that he’s continued to do work in politics abroad.

“I’m literally advising 30 African presidents as we speak,” he said. “And it’s all based on the youth, the development of the youth and things of that nature. And I’m everywhere in the world dealing with politics, so my foreign experience is through the roof.”

When asked about going up against Kanye West, who has also expressed his interest in a presidential run in 2024, Akon said it wouldn’t be a competition.

“I honestly need him to run, I want him to run,” he explained. “My thing is, if he does run, it’s great for the culture. Now, whether or not you think he’s fit is another thing, that’s why you got me as another choice.”

Akon went on to assure the co-hosts that he doesn’t think West is “crazy,” but instead says that the rapper is “awakened.” He later explained to TMZ that although he’s “nowhere near aligned with Trump,” he thinks that the difference in his political beliefs from West’s would make for a good team. Akon even said he would “one thousand percent” run as West’s vice president.

In her reelection video for Cook County State Attorney released Tuesday, Kim Foxx concedes that she mishandled the high-profile prosecution of Empire actor Jussie Smollett.

“The truth is, I didn’t handle it well,” Foxx says in the video. “I own that.”

“I’m making changes in my office to make sure we do better,” she adds. “That’s what reform is about.”

In the video, Foxx goes on to say that “those attacks aren’t just about one case, they’re about stopping progress in Cook County . . . we’re on the right path to reforming criminal justice in Cook County, and making the system work for everyone.”

Citing his record of community service and the technically victimless nature of his alleged crime, Foxx dropped all charges against Smollett in March after he was indicted by a grand jury for allegedly staging a bigoted and politically-motivated hate crime against himself with the help of two friends who were paid for their services.

Following the news, an anonymous attorney in Foxx’s office slammed the decision in a letter provided to CWB Chicago.

“This case was handled markedly different from any other case at 26th Street. No one knows why, and more importantly, no one can explain why our boss, the head prosecutor of all of Cook County, has decided to so demean and debase both our hard work, and our already tenuous relationship with the Chicago Police Department,” the attorney’s letter read.

The state later appointed a special prosecutor to examine Foxx’s decision after text messages showed that Foxx continued weighing in on the case in conversations with her deputy after announcing that she had recused herself from the investigation due to public misperceptions that she had personal relationships with members of the Smollett family. Later, Foxx tried to explain that she had not recused herself “in the legal sense.”

Dutch authorities said Tuesday they found 25 migrants stowed away in a refrigerated container on a United Kingdom-bound ferry. The ferry — the Britannia Seaways, which is owned by Danish operator DFDS — left the Netherlands on Tuesday and quickly turned around to the Dutch port of Vlaardingen after the migrants made a hole in a trailer, the shipping company said in a statement. “Police officers entered the ship from a police boat that met them as soon as Britannia entered the port,” DFDS said.

The others received medical treatment at the port and were taken to a police location, emergency coordination organization Rijnmond Veilig said in a statement. It was not clear where the migrants were from or how they got aboard the ship.

A police dog was used to comb the ship for other migrants but didn’t find any, the group said.

The discovery comes weeks after 39 Vietnamese migrants were found dead in a refrigerated truck near London. Two people in Britain and eight in Vietnam have been in their deaths.

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The National Executive Committee(NEC) of the opposition National Democratic Congress(NDC) is asking Member of Parliament for Kumbungu Ras Mubarak to explain why he should not be sanctioned for breaking ranks with the party on the upcoming referendum on local level elections.

The party last week issued a three-line whip asking its members and the Minority in Parliament to reject a YES vote. However, Ras Mubarak in an unprecedented stance described the party’s position as weak and unconvincing and vowed to vote YES.

I’m unconvinced about the reason to take a NO vote, I think that the argument for the NO vote is weak, I think it is unconvincing and I think it is inconvenient. For that reason, I’m in support of a YES vote and I’ll be canvassing for a YES vote. In the national interest and in good conscience I cannot support any NO vote. The party expects all its members to tow the line, but as I’ve indicated I’m unconvinced.”

But, Ras Mubarak in less than 24 hours has made a U-turn from his endorsement of a YES vote. Mr. Mubarak has since issued a statement to beat a retreat. “Upon a sober reflection and advice from very distinguished senior party members, especially the Parliamentary leadership, I have come to the conclusion that It is improper to deviate from my party’s official position for a NO vote in the upcoming referendum on article 55(3) of the constitution.

“I recognize that my personal position must be subsumed under the broader interest of the party. “I have therefore decided to uphold the party’s position for a NO vote on the matter,” Mubarak said in a letter sighted by Kasapafmonline.com. But the NDC says the retraction is not enough. The Deputy Secretary of the NDC, Peter Boamah Otukonor in an interview with Joy News stated that the party is not happy with Ras Mubarak.

“We have requested that he explains why we shouldn’t take any disciplinary action against him. The party people are very angry because where we are, discipline is everything ad solidarity is everything. If you do not understand the principles and philosophies of the party then obviously you have no business being in the party.”

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