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• Headlines: Wednesday, April 24, 2:30 PM

• Disney+ released the trailer for the documentary Jim Henson: Idea Man on Wednesday. The film premieres May 31. Ron Howard directs the documentary. Footage shows home movies and early works of Henson, the creator of The Muppets and Sesame Street. Jennifer Connelly, who starred in Henson's film Labyrinth, speaks about Henson's creativity. "The space he gave to an expression of imagination, I see that in everything that he did," Connelly says. Rita Moreno, who appeared on The Muppet Show, also speaks. "There was nothing that Jim didn't entertain," Moreno said. Henson's children, Brian and Lisa, also speak in the film as does fellow puppeteer Frank Oz. Disney+ first announced the documentary April 11. I have been part of Disney since the '90s and the streaming service produced originals Muppets Now, Muppet Haunted Mansion and The Muppets Mayhem.
• South Korean boy band Seventeen is teasing its new music video. The K-pop group released a preview of its video for the song "Maestro" on Wednesday. The "Maestro" teaser opens with a message from Seventeen that comments on the use of AI. "In our current reality where anything can be created with AI, who is the real maestro? A portion of the footage in this video was created using AI," the note reads. The video features scenes of human orchestra members performing alongside dystopian images of robots playing the instruments. "Maestro" is one of four new tracks that appears on Seventeen's forthcoming greatest hits album, 17 is Right Here. The other new songs are titled "Lalali," "Spell" and "Cheers to Youth." Seventeen shared a highlight medley for the album Monday. The group will release 17 is Right Here and the full "Maestro" music video April 29. Seventeen consists of S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, DK, Mingyu, The8, Seungkwan, Vernon and Dino. The group will celebrate the ninth anniversary of its debut in May.
• Far-right German politician Maximilian Krah said Wednesday he will not drop out of European parliamentary elections after one of his top aides was arrested on suspicion of spying for China. Krah, a member of European Parliament, told reporters in Berlin that he is "and will remain the lead candidate" for the Alternative for Germany Party in the elections set for early June. "If you think this is the end of my candidacy, then I have to disappoint you," Krah said. Leaders of the AfD Party, Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupulla, said they plan on sticking with Krah in his European election run but his presence at rallies would be diminished and campaign posters featuring his face held back. Following a face-to-face meeting with Krah the party leaders announced that he had agreed to fire his aide. Krah had identified the aide as Jian Guo who was arrested by the State Criminal Police Office of Saxony on Tuesday on charges that he acted as an agent for a foreign secret service. Krah maintained that he had no prior knowledge of the alleged spying. "I am extremely interested in an explanation and will make an effort to find out myself what the concrete accusations are," he told reporters on Wednesday. Authorities are accusing Guo, a Chinese-German, of giving details of European parliamentary businesses to the Chinese secret service. He was arrested at his home in Dresden and faced a judge on Wednesday. Guo remains in pre-trial detention. Guo was the fourth person arrested over two days in Germany facing charges that they were spying on behalf of the Chinese intelligence service.
• A wildlife rescuer in South Carolina came to the rescue of an alligator found to have been trapped in a drainage pipe for nearly six months. Matt Kraycar of K&K Wildlife Services said he was summoned by Port Royal Plantation security in Hilton Head when the gator was spotted trapped underneath a grate. Kraycar said the alligator apparently became stuck while swimming through the pipe in October and had been trapped ever since. "Well they can go into brumation, which is basically like hibernation for reptiles," Kraycar told WTOC-TV. "So as it gets cooler, they're going to shut their body down. So by doing that, he doesn't really need to eat as much as he typically would during the summer, and I'm sure there were still fish and turtles coming through those pipes as well, so it didn't look like he was starving by any means." He said the reptile had minor injuries including a chaffed snout from rubbing up against the grate, but will make a full recovery in the wild.
• Firefighters called in a search and rescue team for help recovering a poodle who found himself trapped under the kitchen in a home "of non-standard construction." The Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said in a news release that the 3-year-old poodle, named Jock, was trapped underground when crews arrived. Firefighters did not explain how Jock ended up underneath the home, but noted it was a "domestic dwelling of non-standard construction." The Wales Urban Search and Rescue Team was brought in to help with the rescue, and the group used listening and seismic detection equipment to determine the canine was underneath the kitchen. Firefighters removed patio slabs from the yard so a tunnel could be started and "a second access point was created through the property's kitchen floor." Jock was successfully extracted and reunited with his owner. He was not injured.
• The Detroit Lions and Amon-Ra St. Brown agreed to a four-year, $120 million extension that includes $77 million in guarantees, agent Joby Branion of Vanguard Sports Group told UPI on Wednesday. The Lions have not officially announced the pact, but St. Brown referenced the deal Wednesday on his Instagram story. "I can't wait," St. Brown said in the video, which he filmed while inside the Lions' Ford Field in Detroit. "I'm here. Four more years." St. Brown, 24, joined the Lions as a fourth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. The two-time Pro Bowl selection totaled a career-high 119 catches for 1,515 yards and 10 scores in 16 starts in 2023 en route to first-time All-Pro honors. St. Brown totaled 106 catches for 1,161 yards and six scores in 16 games in 2022. He logged 90 catches for 912 yards and five scores in 17 games as a rookie.
• The Cincinnati Bengals exercised the $21.8 million, fifth-year option on wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase's rookie contract, the team announced Wednesday. Chase, who joined the Bengals as the No. 5 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, signed a four-year, $30.8 million pact with the franchise as a rookie. He now is signed through the 2025 campaign. The three-time Pro Bowl selection totaled 100 catches for 1,216 yards and seven scores over 16 starts last season. Chase logged 1,455 yards and 13 scores on 81 catches en route to Offensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2021. He hauled in 87 catches for 1,046 yards and nine scores in 12 games in 2022. The Bengals still can negotiate for a long-term contract with Chase this off-season and extend the deal for several more years.
• Amazon is introducing the new show My Lady Jane. Prime Video shared first-look photos and a June 27 release date for the series Wednesday. My Lady Jane is based on the Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows novel of the same name, which reimagines the fate of Lady Jane Grey, a young Tudor noblewoman who ruled as Queen of England for nine days before being sentenced to death in 1553. The TV adaptation is described a "quick-witted romantic new series set in an alt-fantasy Tudor world." "My Lady Jane is a radical retelling of English royal history, in which King Henry VIII's son Edward does not die of tuberculosis, Lady Jane Grey is not beheaded, and neither is her rascal of a husband Guildford," an official synopsis reads. The series is "an epic tale of true love and high adventure, where the damsel in distress saves herself, her true love, and then the Kingdom." Emily Bader plays Jane Grey, with Edward Bluemel as Guildford Dudley and Jordan Peters as King Edward. Other cast members include Dominic Cooper as Lord Seymour, Anna Chancellor as Jane's mother, Lady Frances Grey, Rob Brydon as Guildford's grandfather, Lord Dudley, and Jim Broadbent as Jane's uncle, the Duke of Leicester. My Lady Jane is created by Gemma Burgess, who also serves as co-showrunner and executive producer with Meredith Glynn. Jamie Babbit directs five of the eight episodes.
• Steve Carell has joined the cast of the Netflix comedy The Four Seasons. The 61-year-old actor will star with Tina Fey in the upcoming series. The Four Seasons is based on the 1981 film written, directed by and starring Alan Alda. Fey co-created and wrote the Netflix series with her 30 Rock collaborators Tracey Wigfield and Lang Fisher. Alda and original producer Marissa Bregman produce the show. The original Four Seasons follows three New York couples as they vacation together during each of the four seasons. Carell and Fey previously collaborated on the 2010 film Date Night. The Four Seasons will mark Fey's first starring TV role since 30 Rock, which concluded in 2013 after seven seasons on NBC. Carell's recent TV credits include the Apple TV+ series The Morning Show and the FX limited series The Patient. He has voice roles in the upcoming films IF and Despicable Me 4.
• Columbia University said on Wednesday that it will extend talks on dismantling an encampment of protesters opposing Israel's war in Gaza for 48 hours. The university said in an update that "significant progress" had been made in negotiations with student protesters who it said had agreed to dismantle and remove "a significant number of tents" and ensure that "those not affiliated with Columbia" will leave the encampment and that "only Columbia students will be participating in the protest." Columbia added that the student protesters agreed to comply with Fire Department of New York requirements and to take steps to ensure that the encampment is "welcome to all" while prohibiting "discriminatory or harassing language." The announcement came after Columbia University President Minouche Shafik said in a Tuesday statement that she hoped negotiations with students would be successful, but added, "if they are not, we will have to consider alternative options for clearing the West Lawn and restoring calm to campus so that students can complete the term and graduate." "I fully support the importance of free speech, respect the right to demonstrate, and recognize that many of the protestors have gathered peacefully," she said. "However, the encampment raises serious safety concerns, disrupts campus life, and has created a tense and at times hostile environment for many members of our community." Shafik's statement did not specify what "alternative options" it would look to employ but student organizers Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine said in a statement after midnight Wednesday that Columbia had threatened to use the National Guard and NYPD to break up the protest camp. They said they would not return to talks without assurances they would be protected from police and military violence. They also vowed not to be intimidated by "the University's disturbing threat of an escalation of violence." "Throughout history, we have seen peaceful student protesters violently repressed and attacked by the National Guard: from Black Lives Matter protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, to students protesting the Vietnam War at Kent State in Ohio, who were brutally beaten and murdered for peacefully speaking out against war and destruction," the group said. The protests are happening in a charged atmosphere of allegations of anti-Semitism on campus as House Republicans held hearings and called on Shafik to ensure students have a safe learning environment. The hearings have demanded universities condemn anti-Semitism on campus. Student protesters say they are not anti-Semitic, but are instead opposed to the state of Israel's war policies that have resulted in tens of thousands of Palestinian civilian deaths in Gaza. Israel invaded Gaza following the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack that killed approximately 1,200 Israelis. The university said "there have been acts of vandalism on our campus since the protests began, reports of harassment and discrimination," and current protest violates university rules. "The university claims they want to return to 'business as usual,' as though the murder of over 30,000 Palestinians -- the majority of whom are women and children -- and the systematic destruction of every single university in Gaza can be construed as 'business as usual,'" Columbia Students For Justice in Palestine said in a statement.