Jean-Luc Godard dies, Jimmy Kimmel's Emmy gag doesn't land well, and more trending news

Here’s a look at some of today’s trending news for Sept. 13:

Jean-Luc Godard

French-Swiss director Jean-Luc Godard — a key figure in the Nouvelle Vague, the filmmaking movement that revolutionized cinema in the late 1950s and 60s — has died aged 91, French media is reporting.

French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted a tribute to the director on Tuesday, writing the country has lost a “national treasure.”

“It was like an apparition in French cinema,” Macron tweeted. “Then he became one of its masters. Jean-Luc Godard, the most iconoclastic of New Wave directors, had invented a resolutely modern, intensely free art. We lose a national treasure, a genius outlook.”

Jimmy Kimmel

Jimmy Kimmel might have thought playing dead at the 74th Emmy Awards was funny, but Twitter is not laughing.

On Monday, the late-night TV host pretended to be a dead body, dragged onstage by actor Will Arnett, to present the Emmy Award for comedy writing. But when “Abbott Elementary” creator and star Quinta Brunson went up to accept her first-ever Emmy, she had unexpected — and unwelcome — company lying at her feet.

Brunson played along with the gag, saying, “Jimmy, wake up, I won.” She even asked him to hold her phone, and he obliged with a thumbs-up — but then stayed on the floor. Brunson thanked him at the end of her speech.

Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski (9) shoots a free kick against Munich during a Champions League, group C soccer match between Bayern Munich and Barcelona at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022.

Sven Hoppe – foreign subscriber, DPA

Bayern vs Barcelona

It doesn’t seem to matter which shirt Robert Lewandowski is wearing — Bayern Munich just keeps getting the better of Barcelona either way.

Bayern extended its recent dominance over the Spanish giant with a 2-0 win in the Champions League on Tuesday to show it can cope quite well without Lewandowski, who left to join Barcelona in the offseason.

It started out as a friendly homecoming as Lewandowski walked down the familiar steps of the Allianz Arena players’ tunnel before kickoff, hugging every one of his former teammates along the way.

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Get more of today’s trending topics here:

Lindsey Graham

Ken Starr

The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II has arrived at Buckingham Palace after traveling through a drizzly London as crowds lined the route to bid her a final farewell. The military C-17 Globemaster touched down at RAF Northolt which is an air force base in the west of the city about an hour after it left Edinburgh in Scotland. The queen’s body made the final journey from Balmoral Castle in northern Scotland, where the monarch died Thursday at age 96 after 70 years on the throne. King Charles III and other members of the late queen’s close family awaited the casket at the palace.

President Joe Biden is urging Americans to come together for a new “national purpose” — his administration’s effort to end cancer “as we know it.” At the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Biden on Monday channeled JFK’s famed moonshot speech 60 years ago, likening the space race to his own effort. Biden hopes to move the U.S. closer to the goal he set in February of cutting U.S. cancer fatalities by 50% over the next 25 years and dramatically improving the lives of caregivers and those suffering from cancer. Experts say the objective is attainable — with adequate investments.

Former President Donald Trump is sitting on top of more than $115 million across several political committees. He’s positioned himself as a uniquely indomitable force in the GOP and would almost certainly have the resources to swamp his rivals if he launched another presidential campaign. But that massive pile of money is also emerging as a potential vulnerability. His chief fundraising vehicle, Save America PAC, is under new legal scrutiny after the Justice Department issued a round of grand jury subpoenas that have included questions about the political action committee’s fundraising practices.

The Justice Department says it’s willing to accept one of Donald Trump’s picks for an independent arbiter to review documents seized during an FBI search of the former president’s Florida home last month. The accommodation could help accelerate the selection process and shorten any delays caused by the appointment of the so-called special master. The judge in the case, granting a request from the Trump team, said last week that she would appoint a neutral arbiter to go through the records and weed out any that may be covered by executive privilege or attorney-client privilege.

A sister of a teacher killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre and an FBI agent who responded to the shooting have both emotionally described what it has been like to be accused of being crisis actors by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and others. Carlee Soto Parisi and FBI agent William Aldenberg were the first witnesses to testify Tuesday as a Connecticut jury began hearing statements in a trial to decide how much money Jones owes for spreading the lie that the 2012 mass shooting in Newtown didn’t happen. The trial began Tuesday in Waterbury, only 18 miles from Newtown, where 26 people were killed in 2012. Jones’ attorneys say his comments, which he now admits were wrong, were protected speech.

New Hampshire Republicans are picking their party’s candidate to face off with incumbent Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan in a key midterm race the GOP has long seen as winnable and which could ultimately decide control of the chamber after November. But a strong competitor in the GOP contest is retired Army Brig. Gen. Donald Bolduc, a staunch conservative who Democrats — and even some top Republicans — believe is too far to the right for some swing voters. Bolduc has campaigned on a platform that includes lies that Donald Trump won the 2020 election and conspiracy theories about vaccines. Contests are also being held in Rhode Island and Delaware as the nationwide primary season wraps.

Fighting on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan has killed about 100 troops and fed fears of broader hostilities breaking out between the longtime adversaries. Armenia said at least 49 of its soldiers were killed on Tuesday; Azerbaijan said it lost 50. Armenia’s Defense Ministry said the fighting erupted minutes after midnight with Azerbaijani forces unleashing an artillery barrage and drone attacks. The ministry said fighting continued during the day despite Russia’s attempt to broker a quick cease-fire. Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said the country was responding to a “large-scale provocation” by Armenia late Monday and early Tuesday. It said Armenian troops planted mines and fired on Azerbaijani military positions.

Heavy rains unleashed mudslides in a mountain area east of Los Angeles that burned two years ago, sending boulders and other debris across roads and prompting evacuation and shelter-in-place orders for thousands of residents. Firefighters went street by street in the community of Forest Falls Monday to make sure no residents were trapped. Crews hadn’t found anyone who needed to be rescued and no one was reported missing. The rains were the remnants of a tropical storm that brought high winds and some badly needed rainfall to drought-stricken Southern California last week, helping firefighters largely corral a wildfire that had been burning out of control about 20 miles south of the mudslides.

Jurors have begun deliberating in R. Kelly’s federal trial in Chicago on charges accusing him of making child pornography and rigging his 2008 child porn trial. The trial went to the jurors on Tuesday after the singer’s lead attorney told them that the prosecution’s case is largely based on the testimony of perjurers and blackmailers. Prosecutors have accused Kelly of videotaping himself having sex with girls, using his fame to entice minors for sex and rigging his 2008 trial, which ended in his acquittal. His lead attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, noted during her closing argument that many key government witnesses testified with immunity to ensure they wouldn’t be charged with previously lying to authorities.

Director Jean-Luc Godard, icon of French New Wave cinema, has died at age 91, according to French media.

Renowned jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis has died. He was 87. His son, Bobby Lewis, says Ramsey Lewis died Monday at his Chicago home. Lewis’ music entertained fans over a more than 60-year career. He’s revered in jazz circles for such 1960s hits as “The ‘In’ Crowd,” “Hang on Sloopy” and “Wade in the Water.” He earned three Grammy awards and seven gold records. The Chicago native began composing large-scale musical works later in his career. He spent his early days using his gospel and classical roots to create his own jazz style in neighborhood venues that hired young jazz musicians.

Geno Smith threw two first-half touchdown passes, Denver fumbled twice at the 1-yard line in the second half, and the Seahawks beat the Broncos 17-16 in Russell Wilson’s return to Seattle. Brandon McManus missed a 64-yard field goal attempt with 20 seconds left and the Seahawks escaped with another wild victory involving Wilson at quarterback. Except this time Wilson was the opponent and there will be plenty of questions about Denver coach Nathaniel Hackett’s late-game clock management and decisions in his first game. Denver faced fourth-and-5 at the Seattle 46 and had three timeouts left, but the Broncos ran significant time off the clock before Hackett called timeout and decided to have McManus try the long field goal.