Entertainment News Roundup: 'Tiger King' star Jeff Lowe ordered to surrender cubs in animal welfare case; U.S. actors union to decide whether to expel Trump and more

Gorman, 22, a Los Angeles resident, joined the ranks of previous inaugural poets Robert Frost, Maya Angelou and Elizabeth Alexander, with a powerful performance at the swearing-in of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

'Tiger King' star Jeff Lowe ordered to surrender cubs in animal welfare case

"Tiger King" star Jeff Lowe, the former business partner at the private wildcat zoo featured in the hit Netflix series, has been ordered to surrender his cubs and their mothers after the death of two young tigers in his care. Lowe and his wife Lauren were also ordered not to put animals on public exhibit without a license in a federal court ruling issued in Oklahoma last week, according to a U.S. Justice Department statement on Tuesday.

U.S. actors union to decide whether to expel Trump

The American actors union will hold a meeting to consider expelling U.S. President Donald Trump from its ranks. SAG-AFTRA, which represents some 160,000 actors, journalists and other media professionals, said in a statement that it had ordered a meeting of its disciplinary committee regarding Trump's role in the Jan. 6 mob attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Lady Gaga, Tom Hanks bring star power to emotional, multicultural Biden inauguration

An emotional Lady Gaga performed a dramatic version of the U.S. national anthem, Garth Brooks sang a cappella, and Tom Hanks hosted a star-studded nighttime celebration to cap President Joe Biden's inauguration on Wednesday. On a day marked by diversity and appeals for unity, Gaga wowed in a huge fuchsia Schiaparelli couture silk skirt and black top adorned by a large gold brooch of a dove carrying an olive branch as she sung "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Biden's swearing-in ceremony.

Billionaire businessman Joe Ricketts launching news outlet

Billionaire businessman and founder of TD Ameritrade Joe Ricketts is launching a new national outlet to deliver news “without opinion or bias,” a spokesperson said on Tuesday. The news of the venture was first reported by the Omaha World-Herald https://omaha.com/business/local/joe-ricketts-is-launching-a-national-news-outlet-based-in-omaha/article_117fe584-55e5-11eb-9f6b-9349abea2fd7.html, which describes Joe Ricketts as a leading funder of national conservative causes. The Center for Responsive Politics has listed him as a Republican megadonor.

Canadian fashion mogul Nygard seeks bail on sex charges, citing poor health

Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard urged a judge on Tuesday to release him on bail, citing poor health as he awaits possible extradition to the United States on sex trafficking and racketeering charges. Jay Prober, Nygard's lawyer, told a judge in Winnipeg, Manitoba, that keeping the 79-year-old defendant in custody during the pandemic "would be nothing short of a death sentence."

Poet Amanda Gorman, 22, captures 'bruised, but whole' U.S. at Biden, Harris inauguration

Amanda Gorman, the youngest poet in U.S. history to mark the transition of presidential power, offered a hopeful vision for a deeply divided country on Wednesday with her poem "The Hill We Climb". Gorman, 22, a Los Angeles resident, joined the ranks of previous inaugural poets Robert Frost, Maya Angelou and Elizabeth Alexander, with a powerful performance at the swearing-in of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Harvey Weinstein can be questioned in accusers' civil lawsuit, judge rules

A federal judge in Manhattan on Tuesday rejected Harvey Weinstein's request to delay a deposition in a civil lawsuit by women who accused the imprisoned movie producer of sexual abuse and workplace harassment. Weinstein, 68, had argued that his poor health made giving a deposition "practically impossible," and put him at "severe risk" of self-incrimination because of pending criminal charges in Los Angeles.

UK stars from Ed Sheeran to Elton John raise alarm over post-Brexit music tours

More than 100 British musicians, from Ed Sheeran, Sting and Pink Floyd's Roger Waters to classical stars like conductor Simon Rattle, have said tours of Europe by British artists are in danger because of Brexit. In a letter to The Times newspaper published on Wednesday, the musicians said the government had "shamefully" broken a promise to negotiate a deal allowing musicians to perform in the European Union without the need for visas or work permits.

Trump pardons rappers Lil Wayne, Kodak Black; 'Tiger King' misses out

Rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black were among the beneficiaries of Donald Trump's wave of pardons in his last day in office on Wednesday, befitting a president who made his name in New York's tabloids and on reality TV. While the more than 140 people granted clemency included former aide Steve Bannon and major Republican Party fundraiser Elliott Broidy, Trump also used his wide ranging powers to clear people with little apparent ties to his administration.

(With inputs from agencies.)