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Oprah Winfrey for president? Twitter urges a run at the White House

Oprah Winfrey speaks after accepting the Cecil B. Demille Award at the 75th Golden Globe Awards. (Courtesy of NBC via REUTERS)
Updated 08 January 2018
Reuters
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Oprah Winfrey for president? Twitter urges a run at the White House

Updated 08 January 2018
Reuters

LOS ANGELES: Oprah Winfrey fans lit up Twitter on Monday with calls for her to run for US president after the entertainment star gave an inspiring “new day” speech at an awards show in support of those who have exposed sexual misconduct in Hollywood and beyond.
A surge of tweets carrying “#Oprahforpresident” and “#Oprah2020” hashtags followed her speech at the Golden Globes, where Winfrey became the first black woman to receive a lifetime achievement award on Sunday.
Winfrey, an actress, movie and television producer, and chief executive of her OWN cable channel, is actively thinking about a run, CNN reported on Monday, citing two of her close friends. CNN did not name the friends, who it said had spoken on condition of anonymity.
At least one emphasized that Winfrey had made no firm decision on a run.
Sunday’s award ceremony honored Winfrey, 63, as a role model for women and a person who has promoted strong female characters.

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Trump also powered his successful 2016 campaign on the back of his celebrity reputation from reality TV show “The Apprentice,” as well as long-cultivated attention in New York newspapers.
As excitement of a possible Oprah bid for The White House in 2020 grows, CNN has posted a clip of Donald Trump talking to interviewer Larry King in 1999 in which Trump revealed that his first choice for a running mate would be none other than... Oprah Winfrey.

In recent years, Winfrey has lent her star power to endorse Democratic presidential candidates: Barack Obama when he was seeking to become the first black US. president in 2008 and Hillary Clinton in her campaign against Trump in 2016.
In the past, Winfrey has said she is not interested in running for president, for example saying in a CBS interview in October when asked about the 2020 presidential election that, “There will be no running for office of any kind for me.”
However, the Los Angeles Times quoted Stedman Graham, Winfrey’s longtime partner in business and life, as saying on Sunday that “It’s up to the people ... She would absolutely do it.”
The awards show, Hollywood’s first leading up to the Oscars, was dominated by a scandal that has seen dozens of powerful men in US entertainment, politics and the media accused of sexual abuse or harassment.
Winfrey, who along with most of the show’s other women attendees wore a black gown to show support for victims of sexual misconduct, was the first black woman to receive the annual Cecil B. DeMille award, joining the likes of Meryl Streep, Steven Spielberg, Barbra Streisand and Sophia Loren.

’NEW DAY’ FOR GIRLS AND WOMEN
Winfrey used her speech to praise women who have shared their stories of sexual harassment and abuse, and to declare that “a new day is on the horizon” for girls and women.
“When that new day finally dawns it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men, fighting hard to make sure they become leaders that take us to the time where nobody has to say ‘me too’ again,” Winfrey said, referring to the #MeToo social media movement raising awareness about sexual harassment.
Winfrey was raised in poverty by a single mother and went on to host the top-rated talk show “The Oprah Winfrey Show” for 25 years before ending it in 2011.
“I want to express gratitude to all the women who have endured years of abuse and assault because they, like my mother, had children to feed and bills to pay and dreams to pursue.”
She produced and acted in the 2014 civil rights movie “Selma,” and 2017’s “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” and was Oscar nominated in 1986 for her role in “The Color Purple,” which she later helped finance as Broadway musical.
Even after ending her daily talk show, her influence on popular culture remains strong.
Forbes last year estimated her net worth at $3 billion and placed her third on its list of the America’s richest self-made women.

Topics: Oprah Winfrey Golden Globes US US president US presidential candidate

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Egypt reveals restored colossal statues of pharaoh in Luxor

Updated 14 December 2025
AP
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Egypt reveals restored colossal statues of pharaoh in Luxor

  • Amenhotep III, one of the most prominent pharaohs, ruled during the 500 years of the New Kingdom, which was the most prosperous time for ancient Egypt
Updated 14 December 2025
AP

LUXOR: Egypt on Sunday revealed the revamp of two colossal statues of a prominent pharaoh in the southern city of Luxor, the latest in the government’s archeological events that aim at drawing more tourists to the country.
The giant alabaster statues, known as the Colossi of Memnon, were reassembled in a renovation project that lasted about two decades. They represent Amenhotep III, who ruled ancient Egypt about 3,400 years ago.
“Today we are celebrating, actually, the finishing and the erecting of these two colossal statues,” Mohamed Ismail, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said ahead of the ceremony.
Ismail said the colossi are of great significance to Luxor, a city known for its ancient temples and other antiquities. They’re also an attempt to “revive how this funerary temple of King Amenhotep III looked like a long time ago,” Ismail said.
Amenhotep III, one of the most prominent pharaohs, ruled during the 500 years of the New Kingdom, which was the most prosperous time for ancient Egypt. The pharaoh, whose mummy is showcased at a Cairo museum, ruled between 1390–1353 BC, a peaceful period known for its prosperity and great construction, including his mortuary temple, where the Colossi of Memnon are located, and another temple, Soleb, in Nubia.
The colossi were toppled by a strong earthquake in about 1200 BC that also destroyed Amenhotep III’s funerary temple, said Ismail.
They were fragmented and partly quarried away, with their pedestals dispersed. Some of their blocks were reused in the Karnak temple, but archeologists brought them back to rebuild the colossi, according to the Antiquities Ministry.
In late 1990s, an Egyptian German mission, chaired by German Egyptologist Hourig Sourouzian, began working in the temple area, including the assembly and renovation of the colossi.
“This project has in mind … to save the last remains of a once-prestigious temple,” she said.
The statues show Amenhotep III seated with hands resting on his thighs, with their faces looking eastward toward the Nile and the rising sun. They wear the nemes headdress surmounted by the double crowns and the pleated royal kilt, which symbolizes the pharaoh’s rule.
Two other small statues on the pharaoh’s feet depict his wife, Tiye.
The colossi — 14.5 meters and 13.6 meters respectively — preside over the entrance of the king’s temple on the western bank of the Nile. The 35-hectare complex is believed to be the largest and richest temple in Egypt and is usually compared to the temple of Karnak, also in Luxor.
The colossi were hewn in Egyptian alabaster from the quarries of Hatnub, in Middle Egypt. They were fixed on large pedestals with inscriptions showing the name of the temple, as well as the quarry.
Unlike other monumental sculptures of ancient Egypt, the colossi were partly compiled with pieces sculpted separately, which were fixed into each statue’s main monolithic alabaster core, the ministry said.
Sunday’s unveiling in Luxor came just six weeks after the inauguration of the long-delayed Grand Egyptian Museum, the centerpiece of the government’s bid to boost the country’s tourism industry. The mega project is located near the famed Giza Pyramids and the Sphinx.
In recent years, the sector has started to recover after the coronavirus pandemic and amid Russia’s war on Ukraine — both countries are major sources of tourists visiting Egypt.
“This site is going to be a point of interest for years to come,” said Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathy, who attended the unveiling ceremony. “There are always new things happening in Luxor.”
A record number of about 15.7 million tourists visited Egypt in 2024, contributing about 8 percent of the country’s GDP, according to official figures.
Fathy, the minister, has said about 18 million tourists are expected to visit the country this year, with authorities hoping for 30 million visitors annually by 2032.

 

Topics: Egypt Statues of pharaoh in Luxor

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