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Dwayne Johnson announced that Disney will produce a live action version of 2016's Moana at the company's 2023 shareholder meeting Monday

Dwayne Johnson/instagram Dwayne Johnson with daughters Tiana and Jasmine

Dwayne Johnson is ready to step back into "the role of a lifetime" in the live action version of Moana.

On Wednesday, Johnson, 50, shared a behind-the-scenes video of himself with his two younger daughters Tiana, 5 this month, and Jasmine, 7 and wife Lauren Hashian as they filmed their recent video announcing that Walt Disney Studios will produce a live action version of the 2016 animated film.

Behind-the-scenes footage of the shoot shows the pro wrester-turned actor and his family enjoying the sun and sand on location in Oahu, Hawaii and singing lines from Moana's iconic song "You're Welcome," for the video, which Johnson revealed during Disney's 2023 shareholder meeting Monday.

"I had the real honor and privilege of not only being here in the islands of Hawaii, where I did a lot of my growing up, but more importantly than that, I had the privilege of having my family with me," Johnson says in his Wednesday Instagram video.

"You know, I always like to say, if it all got taken away today, then what I just experienced with [daughter Jasmine] and her sister Tia was beautiful, man," he adds.

Related:Dwayne Johnson's Daughter 'Refuses to Believe' He's Maui from Moana in Cute Tea Party Video

"Did you have fun? This was the first time you ever shot something," Johnson asks Jasmine in the video, who replies: "I want to live here for [the rest of] my life."

"I have a little bit of influence. I think I can make that happen," Johnson replies. "That's the power of the islands."

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In his Instagram caption, Johnson wrote that his family "felt the mana, the power of the ocean and spirit of our ancestors," while on location for the shoot.

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"Thank you all so much for the love, excitement & support. Singing, dance, culture. Maui is the role of a lifetime and I'll give it all I got ," the actor added.

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection Moana (2016)

Johnson voiced the demigod character Maui in 2016's original Moana and will reprise the role in live action form for the newly-announced project. In Monday's announcement video, the actor promised the return of the title character, plus "Gramma Tala, the music, the dance, Te Fiti, Pua the pig, the village" and "the beautiful, powerful ocean."

Related:Dwayne Johnson's 3 Kids: Everything to Know

The Moana animated film, which starred Auli'i Cravalho in the title role, grossed $643 million worldwide following its Nov. 2016 theatrical release.

Directed by John Musker and Ron Clements with a screenplay from Jared Bush, the film featured a voice cast including Rachel House, Temuera Morrison, Jemaine Clement, Nicole Scherzinger and Alan Tudyk.

Moana features original songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa'i, and was nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song.

The upcoming live-action film will be produced by Johnson, Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia via their Seven Bucks Productions and Beau Flynn via Flynn Picture Co., according to a release.

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Dwayne Johnson Teases His Performance as Maui in 'Moana' Live Action Movie: 'I'll Give It All I Got' - Yahoo Entertainment

The fate of the 2020 presidential election may have come down to one vote. At the Wisconsin Supreme Court, President Donald Trumps bid to throw out around a quarter million ballots from Democratic strongholds was dismissed by a 4-3 margin. The decision secured the upper-Midwestern states electoral votes for Joe Biden, ensuring his White House win.

The decision put the already conservative-leaning Wisconsin court in the sights of MAGA Republicans.

This year, with an election for a seat on the court looming on Tuesday, far-right political funders including those who continued pouring money into attempts to overthrow the 2020 race after the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol are putting millions into trying to throw the race to the right-wing candidate.

In the days after the attack, Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, two of the countrys largest conservative political donors, gave more than $5 million to groups seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The same couple has spent more than $5 million so far backing the campaign of former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly. If Kelly wins, the court would maintain a 4-3 conservative majority but shift further in favor of the extreme right.

The Uihleins fund a variety of other major conservative PACs and super PACS to run ads that span the gamut of culture war topics in service of Daniel Kellys campaign, said Eli Szenes-Strauss, political director at Public Wise, a voting rights organization that endorsed Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz last week. Public Wise has given $375,000 to progressive groups working on the Wisconsin race.

The Uihleins, who founded shipping company Uline, each gave a maximum $20,000 directly to Kellys campaign. Richard also funds a super PAC called Fair Courts America that has spent at least $5.2 million so far on television, radio, and digital ads backing Kelly and opposing his liberal opponentProtasiewicz. (The Uihleins did not respond to requests for comment through requests made to Fair Courts America as well as company emails.)

With more than $30 million spent so far on television ads, Wisconsins upcoming April 4 Supreme Court election has already broken state records. The race is officially nonpartisan, but its implications for the right to abortions has garnered widespread attention. National groups supporting the right to abortion have spent half a million dollars backing Protasiewicz, and anti-abortion groups have spent more than $1.7 million backing Kelly. Kellys campaign declined to comment.

Its coming down to a couple of billionaires and the nefarious dark-money groups that they back hemorrhaging tens of millions of dollars into their candidates.

While the fight to restrict abortion has driven much of the messaging in the race, many observers have pointed out that democracy is also on the ballot. Kelly and his financial backers have played a key role in seeking to dismantle democratic checks and balances both in Wisconsin and across the country. Kellys work advising GOP officials in a fake elector scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election has come under heightened scrutiny in the weeks leading up to the Supreme Court election day.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court race could become a playbook for future Republican efforts to challenge election results around the country, Szenes-Strauss said.

The Republican Party and right-wing judicial advocacy groups are watching the race closely to see what kind of messaging works and turns out voters, he said. Its coming down to a couple of billionaires and the nefarious dark-money groups that they back hemorrhaging tens of millions of dollars into their candidates.

Elizabeth Uihlein, left, at the White House on Sept. 20, 2019, in Washington, D.C. Richard Uihlein, right,a major conservative political donor and co-founder of shipping giant Uline, onOct. 23, 2019.

Photos: Paul Morigi/Getty Images (l), Mark Hertzberg/ZUMA/Alamy (r)

The Uihleins gave lavishly to election denial efforts both in the run-up to and the immediate aftermath of the January 6 attack. Richard Uihlein was the primary funder of the Tea Party Patriots, a group that helped organize the rally that preceded the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Uihleins $4.3 million in contributions to the group led the Democratic Attorneys General Association to call on officials and candidates to refuse additional contributions from the family.

In the days following the attack, through the Ed Uihlein Family Foundation, the Uihleins gave millions of dollars to groups that spread lies about 2020 election results or aided Republican officials seeking to overturn the results.

The day after the attack, the couple gave $1 million to the Conservative Partnership Institute, where GOP lawyer Cleta Mitchell leads the groups work on undermining elections. Mitchell advised Trump during the call in which he pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to lie about the states election results.

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Less than a week after the Capitol riot, the Uihleins gave $250,000 to Turning Point USA, which had sent more than 80 buses of people to the rally that preceded the attack. On the same day, the couple gave $100,000 to the Federalist Society, whose senior member John Eastman drafted a plan for Trump to overturn the election results and spoke alongside him at the rally preceding the attack.

Between January 7 and February 21, 2021, the Uihleins gave millions to groups that amplified unfounded claims of voter fraud and stolen elections or worked to directly challenge election results. The groups included the American Legislative Exchange Council, the Center for Security Policy, Sons of Liberty, the Texas Public Policy Foundation, Judicial Watch, FDRLST Media Foundation, and the Thomas More Society. The extent of the Uihleins contributions to groups that undermined the 2020 election was first reported in a January analysis from the watchdog group Accountable.US.

Former Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker appointed Kelly to the state Supreme Court in 2016 to complete the term of a retiring justice.

After losing his 2020 election to stay on the court, Kelly advised the Wisconsin Republican Party in its efforts to create a fake elector scheme to challenge the states presidential election results. Kellys role in the fake elector scheme was revealed in February 2022 during the state party chairs deposition to the House committee investigating the January 6 attack.

Kelly advised the Wisconsin Republican Party in its efforts to create a fake elector scheme to challenge the states presidential election results.

The state GOP and Republican National Committee paid Kelly just under $120,000 for his work, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported last month.

After his 2020 loss, Kelly also worked at several organizations linked to the Uihleins, as well as other figures involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 election, including Mitchell, the Wisconsin Examiner reportedlast month. Kelly worked for an Illinois nonprofit called the Liberty Justice Center, which has done legal work for Fair Courts America. He also worked at the Bradley Foundation in Wisconsin, which funds conservative causes and where Mitchell is a member of the board of directors.

In state campaign finance filings, Fair Courts America, the Uihlein super PAC backing Kelly, shares an Illinois address with another of its major funders, a registered nonprofit advocacy group called Restoration Action. Restoration Action is run by Republican operative and former Illinois Senate candidate Doug Truax. On March 1, Uihleins PAC received $1 million from Restoration Action.

Truax is also founder and president of Restoration PAC, which is registered with the Federal Election Commission, or FEC. The Uihleins have used Restoration PAC to fund other groups backing Kellys campaign, sometimes claiming that Protasiewiczs backers want to push trans ideology on children. The groups include a super PAC called Women Speak Out that is associated with Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, as well as the American Principles Project PAC, which has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on ads attacking Protasiewicz since the February primary.

Uihlein has given $70 million to Restoration PAC since 2015. Last year, Restoration PAC gave $647,000 to Fair Courts Americas federal PAC.

Last year, Restoration PAC spent at least $3 million on independent expenditures in congressional races. The treasurer for Fair Courts America also signed FEC paperwork for many of Restoration PACs 2022 independent expenditures.

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Wisconsin Supreme Court Election Funded by Jan. 6 Megadonor - The Intercept

Tomato ketchup makes me shudder

Tomato ketchup, and the tomato sauce that comes with canned baked beans and spaghetti hoops, make me shudder. The sweet, vinegary smell is something I cant seem to get over. It makes my every nerve seize up and I end up holding my breath. I wont make a fuss about it, but I dont like holding ketchup bottles or holding plates with leftover ketchup on them. When I was younger, this aversion extended to mayo, barbecue sauce and other condiments, but I am happy to eat most of those now. I have a vague memory of someone smushing a sandwich with ketchup into my face as a child and the feeling of it being around my mouth and cheeks. While Ive occasionally eaten some accidentally, Im pretty sure Ive never dipped a chip or a nugget into ketchup in my life. Becci Wood, 31, London

Cant even be in a room with the smell of oranges and definitely not in a train carriage. Ive moved carriages on the tube more times than most people have had hot dinners. Also cant abide the look of that skin around the segments. When we had fruit salad at school in the early 70s, I used to put the oranges in my sock. My mother was delighted with this on wash day. I dont feel entirely the same about lemons, limes or grapefruit Im happy around the juice, zest, flavour and smell of those, though still wouldnt even entertain eating a whole segment. Just the thought of it is making me nervous. Jayne Pearson, 59, Cornwall

Ive survived so far without letting coffee pass my lips. I think it stems from having to see my A-level maths teacher first thing in the mornings to get some help. I would walk into the office to be greeted by an overwhelming stale coffee smell and then his coffee breath. I even went to Ethiopia and frequented coffee shops with coffee grinds on the floor, but couldnt bring myself to drink any. Although I dont drink it, I am able to discern between cheap coffee and freshly ground coffee. I feel like retching when I smell cheap coffee; freshly ground coffee is only a tad more bearable. It goes without saying that I dont eat anything with coffee in it either (tiramisu, coffee cake, etc). Not succumbing to the coffee craze over the years has saved me a fortune. AJ, 36, Surrey

Ive never had a sip of Coca-Cola or Pepsi, despite them being on offer at every birthday party or restaurant. I hated carbonated drinks as a child, and that hasnt really let up in early adulthood: I prefer beer flat and find that tonic detracts a good deal from gin. Soda just wasnt in my childhood home growing up, in the same way that network TV or fast-food packaging or the Bible werent. I never realised that my upbringing was odd or unusual (or un-American). Now, its a fun story for my Dutch and other international friends: they have an American classmate whos never had Coca-Cola or watched an episode of Friends, and is possibly less American than they are. I dont know if Id try it. Its not something that would make me retch, but between the carbonation and the sugar content, Id probably find it unpleasant. Jan, 20, Groningen, American living in the Netherlands

I havent had a banana since I was about six months old. I went off them and I have no intention of ever revisiting them. Its the smell; it makes me feel ill. Then theres the texture I dont like soft and squishy food. I used to hate meatloaf for the same reason. I had some in Tennessee in 1990 and I found it dry and rather like eating sawdust. Then I met the woman who became my wife. I gamely tried her meatloaf for supper one night and realised that my first experience of meatloaf had been appallingly bad and that it was possible to have lovely tasty meatloaf. So I changed my mind on that, at least. Marc Jones, 52, London

The concept of a milkshake is not a problem, but the thought of actually sitting down and drinking one leaves me in a cold sweat. In my postwar early schooling, when school milk was compulsory to build us up, I was forced to drink a small bottle of milk for the first few days. Having thrown up over myself, the teaching staff, the desk and the classroom floor, I knew a glass of milk wasnt for me. The thought of thickened, flavoured milk makes me gag. And no, I wouldnt couldnt ever try it. Joan Baker, 81, York

I was always picky with food as a child and have really grown into liking lots of different types of food. My biggest issues are raw tomato, iceberg lettuce and cucumber. So most side salads in the world, which is really annoying. But something about cucumber sandwiches just screams out to me. I love a tea party and they seem very fancy, despite being very simple, but isnt that part of the elegance? I would love to be able to serve them, with friends over with a pot of tea, scones and other treats, but its just not going to happen for me, sadly. Thom French, 34, Hackney, London

I love all fruit and veg except, for some bizarre reason, kiwi fruit. The very thought of them makes my face ache and I get the same aversion sensation as fingernails scraping on a blackboard. Ive no idea why. Seeing an unpeeled kiwi fruit gives me a much worse sensation than a peeled and sliced one. There is something about its skin that makes my skin crawl. I cant imagine what the poor kiwi fruit has ever done to make me react in this way. I might be persuaded to try a piece but only if someone else has peeled it for me. Cathy Elder, 61, Cardiff

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'I can't be in the same room as oranges': Guardian readers on their ... - The Guardian

With just eight weeks to go before the United States breaches the debt ceiling, the speaker of the House is telling the countrys largest financial institutions and investors in the nations stock markets that they need to start worrying about President Bidens no-compromise position.

I tried to sit down with the president and the president wont communicate, Speaker McCarthy said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

Mr. Bidens position is that the House should pass a bill that raises the debt ceiling without preconditions or changes to the budget. Mr. McCarthy, though, sees this as his opportunity to extract concessions from the White House: Were never going to move a bill that just raises the debt ceiling. Ive been very clear with the president.

In the last two years, due to the administrations spending on Covid relief, infrastructure, healthcare, and climate protections, the federal government has added $3 trillion to the national debt.

Mr. McCarthy warned that the United States is on the brink of being crushed by interest payments on existing debt. Were gonna pay in the next 10 years $10.5 trillion just in interest. In 80 years, weve only spent $9 trillion on interest. Were about to be at the tipping point, he said.

As Democrats point out, the Trump administration added about $8 trillion to the national debt, primarily through tax cuts and emergency spending at the outset of the pandemic. Between the first quarter of 2020 and first quarter of 2021, the debt increased by $5 trillion. Under the Obama administration, the debt nearly doubled, to just under $20 trillion from about $10 trillion.

Messrs. Biden and McCarthy first met on February 1 to lay the framework for a debt ceiling negotiation. In the succeeding months, the two have traded letters but have had no other meetings. Mr. Biden reiterated his position that Congress should pass a clean increase rather than tie it to other issues like the southern border or welfare reform.

One solution offered by Republicans is to prioritize debt payments after the debt ceiling has been breached. Under such a policy, the government would still pay scheduled interest and principal on the national debt, including federal bonds, while spending on other programs would be subordinated based on what remaining funds are available. That could potentially impact spending on programs like Medicare, Social Security, and veterans benefits.

Secretary Yellen threw cold water on that proposal, telling the House Ways and Means Committee in early March that the plan is just default by another name.

We should not think that prioritization is a solution to the debt ceiling issue, she told the committee. Prioritization is simply not paying all of the governments bills when they come due.

Whether Mr. McCarthy retains the speakership depends on these negotiations. During the days-long voting process to win the gavel, he made a number of concessions to the conservative House Freedom Caucus and its ideological allies, including allowing for a rule change that permits any individual member to come to the floor and call for a vote of no confidence in the speaker.

If Mr. McCarthy fails to shore up his right flank and deliver on conservative priorities during these negotiations, he could find himself in another voting marathon, this time to win his job back.

Some say Mr. Bidens no-compromise strategy comes from being burned during debt ceiling negotiations in 2011 and 2013. In both of those cases, the United States came harrowingly close to a debt breach because of pressure from recently elected Tea Party representatives.

That standoff was the closest the United States has ever come to defaulting on its debts. At the time, Standard & Poors downgraded the countrys credit rating for the first time in history, to AA+ from AAA. In the weeks surrounding the negotiations, the S&P 500 index fell by more than 15 percent and 10-year Treasury yields dropped by more than a third.

According to an estimate from the Department of the Treasury, the debt ceiling will be breached in early June.

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McCarthy Says Investors, Wall Street Need To Be Worried About ... - The New York Sun

ID gun criminals

It is time for a Megans-type law to identify people who use guns to threaten law enforcement, the citizens of our city or each other.

We have the right to know which gun-toting cretins reside in our neighborhoods.

Its imperative that we contact our representatives at all three levels of government to demand this crucial legislation.

George Gastrinakis, Jersey City

Sponsor real debate in WNY

Kudos to reader Mark Bloomberg of West New York for his letter regarding the upcoming Mayoral election (Dig deeper on upcoming West New York mayoral race, March 31). His comments were spot on.

As a resident of West New York for 14 years, I have always been troubled by the lack of any meaningful input from candidates in local elections, which are consistently conducted solely by repeated and redundant mailings from candidates and their political supporters, with no opportunity for voters to question or challenge any of the claims and promises contained in said mailings.

As residents and taxpayers, voters deserve better.

It is bad enough that the main candidate is usually chosen by the Hudson County Democratic machine, with little or no opportunity for a successful challenge by an outsider, regardless of ones qualifications. It is about time that people who seek public office be required to prove their suitability for same based on something more substantive than being chosen by the machine. That applies to members of the slates as well.

Mr. Bloomberg raised several questions for which we deserve answers. It would be helpful and most welcome if the local media organized a live debate where voters can question the candidates and, one would hope, hear them extemporaneously address matters of concern to residents. It is the least we are entitled to and is something that should have been implemented a long time ago.

Joan Palermo, West New York

Investigate Dems, too

New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg was famous for putting Jose Alba in jail for defending himself against two people who tried to rob him as a clerk in a bodega. Public outcry demanded his release, which happened.

Now, Bragg has upped his game by changing the rules on the time frame as to when to indict someone and to change a misdemeanor to a felony, even though the statute of limitations has expired. His target is former President Donald Trump. As Jonathan Turley wrote in the New York Post, Trump would be better off robbing Stormy with a gun, since Alvin Bragg has a history of throwing out these types of crimes. But this change now opens the door to former elected officials and others.

Former President Bill Clinton should be concerned; after all, he gave a federal job to his then-paramour, Monica Lewinsky, so she could be in Washington, D.C., so their affair could continue. Hunter Biden is fair game. Hunter Biden lied on his gun form and that lie apparently just escaped the Justice Department. Then there is James Biden, brother of the president, who is involved in the deals with foreign countries along with Hunter during the time Joe Biden was vice president. Joe Biden is untouchable as president. I am sure if President Trump did the same deals as the Biden family he would be arrested and in prison.

Recently former Speaker and multimillionaire Nancy Pelosi said no one is above the law; she is correct. So, Nancy Pelosi and her husband, Paul, should be investigated for the money they made. The former speaker knew about deals that received favorable treatment from Congress.

While Barak Obamas presidency was considered clean, I say otherwise. Taxpayers had to pay damages to various Tea Party groups who claimed the president put the IRS on them. Investigative reporter Mike Taibbi said the same thing happened to him, now under the Biden administration. Taibbi received the Twitter files on the emails from various department heads essentially, shutting down speech labeled misinformation. I call it a violation of the First Amendment.

While some may applaud this indictment, dictators around the world can say the U.S. has lost its moral authority. This is something dictators do to get rid of the competition.

Yvonne Balcer, Jersey City

Send letters to the editor and guest columns for The Jersey Journal to jjletters@jjournal.com.

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Notify residents of gun criminals in neighborhood; Real debate needed in WNY election; If Trump can be indict - NJ.com