A federal judge in Washington on Friday refused to delay a lawsuit that would compel Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to comply with congressional subpoenas involving the 2020 census.

U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss instead set an expedited schedule at a hearing for the suit, denying an administration request that the suit be delayed.

The House Oversight and Reform Committee subpoenaed documents from the two Cabinet members as part of an inquiry to determine whether legislation is needed to protect the integrity of the census.

“I think it’s important to get going with the process,” Moss said.

The once-a-decade headcount is scheduled to begin in April.

The lawsuit accuses Ross of lying to Congress, misrepresenting the reasons for a proposed citizenship question and a “false narrative when his actions were challenged in federal court.”

The committee decided to investigate whether legislation is necessary to protect the census from political interference after the Supreme Court prevented the administration from including a citizenship question – something that has not been asked since 1950.

“Several points, considered together, reveal a significant mismatch between the decision [Ross] made and the rationale he provided,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion.

Barr and Ross already have been held in contempt of Congress.

“We feel that we are frankly in a dire emergency,” House general counsel Douglas Letter told the judge. “We have a situation where we are up against extremely suspicious circumstances.”

Justice Department lawyer Elizabeth Shapiro told Moss the administration stopped negotiating over the documents after President Trump asserted executive privilege.

Moss expressed surprise when Shapiro indicated the administration had yet to review the subpoenaed documents and would need more time.

“That should occur before documents are withheld from Congress,” Moss said.

The administration sought to put the case on hold until an appellate court can rule on whether former Trump White House counsel Don McGahn needs to testify before the Oversight Committee about the Mueller report. Letter noted that would push the case past the April 1 census start.

“The census will be over by the time all these things happen,” Letter said. “We can’t have that.”

 

On Wednesday, Kate Middleton made a “dramatic” appearance at a special event held at Buckingham Palace. At Her Majesty’s Diplomatic Reception, the Duchess of Cambridge wore a special tiara and floor-length gown, but she also wore a particular brooch that had a special message behind it.

According to the Sun, Kate wore the Royal family Order of Queen Elizabeth II, which is an honor given to female members of the family by the monarch herself. The design “features a painting of the Queen pinned to yellow ribbon” and is often worn during official state occasions. The Queen reportedly gave Kate the special accessory in April 2018, but the Duchess of Cambridge waited until October 2018 to first debut it at a Buckingham Palace dinner. 

However, the Duchess’ piece has a special twist as it is made out of glass instead of the traditional ivory. This is due to the fact that the material has been banned as it is often acquired by killing elephants. The reasoning behind the swap is suspected to revolve around Prince William’s “personal fight to end the ivory trade.” 

READ: Queen Elizabeth, Kate Middleton Refuse To Participate In This ‘Vicious’ Activity

This would not be the first time that a member of the British royal family has decided to send a subtle message through their royal fashion. Earlier this year at Remembrance Day events, both Kate and Meghan Markle each wore special poppy brooches that quietly conveyed different things to royal watchers.

It has also been reported that Kate found inspiration in the Duchess of Sussex’s commtiment to sustainability, which was highlighted earlier this year when Kate was spotted wearing a particular item of clothing. Britain’s Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge walks during the launch of their Heads Together campaign to eliminate stigma on mental health at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, in London, Britain, May 16, 2016. photo: PHOTO: REUTERS/TOBY MELVILLE

As if you needed another reason to go see “Cats” this winter, it may provide a way to shed those extra holiday pounds — just ask Rebel Wilson.

The 39-year-old actress chatted with entertainment Tonight on Thursday and revealed she lost eight pounds while working on the film. The key to her unintentional weight loss? Dancing in a hot room. 

“I lost eight pounds, shooting my number, in four days,” Wilson recalled. “One, because there’s a lot of physicality… but also, they heated up the set very high, to almost 100 Fahrenheit, so that we could never cool down.” 

“These people are like, the best dancers in the whole world, so they can’t cool their muscles down or they could get an injury and they’d be out of the film… So they’d heat up the set like a sauna so we would never cool down, but made it pretty uncomfortable,” she explained. 

READ: Why Adele’s Weight Loss Causes Major Concern For Friends Amid Her Divorce

While it wasn’t part of Wilson’s job, in particular, it is a pretty common practice that actors will lose or gain weight for a role. A major example of this is Christian Bale. The  award-winning actor’s weight has fluctuated for his roles in films like “American Psycho,” “The Machinist,” and, most recently, “Ford v Ferrari.” 

Despite winning awards for some of these roles, fans shouldn’t expect any drastic weight changes from Bale in the future. 

“I keep saying I am done with it. I really think I am done with it, yeah,” Bale said.

“Cats” hits theaters on Dec. 20.

Rebel Wilson attends the 2016 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Graydon Carter at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on Feb. 28, 2016 in Beverly Hills, california. photo: Getty images/Pascal Le Segretain

 

There are still about 10 new Hallmark movies set to premiere this year as part of the Countdown to Christmas and Miracles of Christmas events, but Hallmark stars are already looking ahead to next year’s lineup of romantic comedies and mysteries.

International business Times got the scoop on what many of your new, longtime and returning Hallmark favorites are working on for 2020. Get all the details below!

Katrina Law:

After revealing during a recent Reddit AMA that she might have a new TV movie in the works, Law, whose last Hallmark movie was 2015’s “12 Gifts of Christmas,” shared a few more teases with IBT, saying: “I’m not sure that I can necessarily talk about it, but it might have to do with someone I’ve already worked with at Hallmark, coming back and doing something again. I’ll just put that little teaser out. But we’re definitely working on a new project, another Christmas movie. And hopefully that gets up and running and goes through and everything is good. I’m pretty excited about it.

The “Hawaii Five-0” actress added: “I absolutely love doing Hallmark Christmas movies. I love that they’re completely different than anything else that I do. Just the fact that I go into work and we’re laughing and there are Christmas trees and nobody’s getting punched and there’s no blood and you get your person at the end, it’s quite wonderful.”

Nikki DeLoach:

After starring in two movies with Michael Rady this year and then calling him her creative soulmate while in conversation with IBT, we had to ask if she would want to continue working with him in the future but as a crime-solving duo in a Hallmark Movies & Mysteries franchise.

“Uh, dude, I’ve been trying to get [Hallmark] to do it since I did ‘Love to the Rescue’ with him,” DeLoach said. “So, I’m starting a petition.”

She continued: “I called Hallmark and was like, ‘How can we figure out a way for the two of us to work together?’’And, obviously, a mystery wheel would be one of those ways. We’re really trying to figure that out because I think that not just Michael and I would love it but, I think, the fans would love it because I get it all the time from fans, of people saying, ‘Wow, I love the two of you together. It’s so crazy how great you are.’ And I think that they would love it, too.”

The “Two Turtle Doves” actress currently has a pitch with Hallmark that she, not wanting to lie, said it “is pretty incredible.” She came up with the idea for it with her friend, and fellow Hallmark actress, Lisa Durupt.

“We came up with this idea that’s very different from any mystery wheel that they have, and I can’t tell you exactly what it is that would make it different from all the others, but what I can tell you is that it would be the ultimate fan experience for people who love Hallmark.”

Aside from the mystery wheel she’s working on, DeLoach also has two other films she’s putting together. And, after first telling IBT last year that she’d love to work with actor Wes Brown, she shared during this most recent interview that it might finally end up happening in 2020.

The most recent one that she and her writing partner wrote and sold to Hallmark takes place in the South, “and I also have another concept that I’m developing with them currently that also takes place in the South. And, for me, Wes Brown has that feel, like he grew up in Louisiana, he gets it, and he has that feel about him,” DeLoach said. “You put some cowboy boots on him, and you believe that he is a cowboy. He’s my top choice on both of those movies, across the board. I think that he would just really, really knock it home. Hopefully we’re gonna be able to make both of those in 2020 and I can get Wes on one of those. That would be my dream.”

Katrina Law and Rachel Boston opened up to IBT about their Hallmark movie plans for 2020. photo: Crown Media

Lacey Chabert and Jonathan Bennett:

Bennett told IBT the “big thing” they’re trying to do for next year is a 2020 Hallmark Christmas movie starring him and Chabert. “I think it’s time to reunite us on camera,” he added, before going on to explain what he might want the movie to be about.

“I think we should go somewhere in New York City. Like a ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ in New York City,” he said. “We’re gonna start the hashtag, #JonathanAndLacey2020, and tag Hallmark Channel.”

Of the idea of doing a movie with her fellow “Mean Girls” alum, Chabert said it “would be so much fun. I love him so much. He’s such a good guy, and we’ve known each other forever.”

Jack Wagner:

During the “When Calls the Heart” panel as Christmas Con 2019, Wagner revealed his Wedding movie franchise isn’t over yet, and he’ll be doing a “Wedding March 6” in the spring.

Rachel Boston:

Earlier this year, Boston starred with Paul Campbell in “The Last Bridesmaid,” written by Nina Weinman, and she’s hoping to make a sequel to it in 2020.

“That one did so well, and we had so much fun making it,” Boston told IBT. “…We have our whole outline in. We’re approved for development, and that’s what we’re working on. That would be the first one for 2020.”

She continued: “I’ve got [that] sequel that’s in development right now, and I’ve got a few [other] projects that are in development. Two for Hallmark. And then two others that we’re working on that we will absolutely bring to Hallmark, first and foremost, and then we’ll see where else they could go.”

Cameron Mathison:

While Mathison doesn’t yet have a movie on the books for 2020, he did share that “these films come together quick” and he could be added to one shortly before filming begins. “Sometimes they’ll attach an actor and the people once they’ve already got the location, they know the script, they know everything, and they’re just gonna plop in a few actors,” he said, before adding that he does need a little bit of notice, though, because they’ll have to find someone to fill in for him on “Home & family.”

“I probably will start having those conversations in the new year,” he said. “…It would be kind of fun if I did a Christmas movie every year. I mean, I’m just putting that out there. It would be kind of fun if that was an annual tradition.”

Holly Robinson Peete:

“We have one [‘Morning Show Mysteries’] that we know we’re gonna do, but I wanna do many more,” the actress told IBT. “I’m really hoping that we do more because I love working with Rick Fox and Al Roker and wanna see more mystery movies.”

Ashley Williams:

Aside from working on getting a Christmas duology with her sister, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, off the ground at Hallmark, Williams shared she’s also working on another project she hopes the network will greenlight.

“I’ve got another project that they don’t even actually know about yet. But I have the script. I got my friend to write it, and it’s really sweet.”

She added: “This is about a small-town girl, who is an architect and a designer, who gets paired up with this guy, that she absolutely cannot stand, to rebuild and restore the town hall, where everybody gets married and takes their pictures. And they may or may not fall in love…It’s called ‘Built for Love.’”

Niall Matter:

The “Christmas at Dollywood” star filmed a movie called “Country at Heart” that was set to debut on Hallmark Channel during their Fall Harvest 2019 event, but it was ultimately pulled from the schedule. Matter, who is “really excited about that film,” told IBT he believes it will now be coming out fall 2020, instead.

Chad Michael Murray:

While the “Write Before Christmas” star didn’t share exactly where the next feel-good movie he’s working on might end up, Murray did say during his Christmas Con 2019 panel that these types of movies make him happy because “putting out good content in the world that’s not gratuitous is a beautiful thing.” He went on to say that “Hallmark’s been doing a great job with that, so, I thought, ‘What am I doing? It’s time to start writing some of my own.’”

He continued: “I am working on creating one right now that I’ve been writing and breaking down that would be kind of a gift from me to you guys because it’s a lot of winks and nods to things over the course of the last 20 years of my career, with other actors that I’ve worked with to bring into the mix. It’s like…winks and nods, with Christmas. It’s charming. It’s cute. It’s exactly what it’s supposed to be. And I love it and hope to be able to bring it to you guys.”

President Donald Trump may give the presidential debates a miss, in a likely attempt to avoid repeating his poor performace against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016, which he characteristically blamed on a faulty mic and a perceived bias of moderators.

Insider sources told the New York Times that Trump was likely to opt out of debating the Democratic challenger in the lead up to the 2020 election. He has yet to make up his mind, they added.

Trump has reasons to shun the long-standing political tradition. He doesn’t have fond memories of his debates against Clinton, who saw surges in the polls after each debate in 2016. Trump consistently accused the nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that hosts the debates of deliberately putting him at a disadvantage. 

In one debate, Trump attributed his poor performance to a malfunctioning microphone. The Commission on Presidential Debates later admitted that a technical error had occurred, but Trump suggested that it was done deliberately in an effort to undermine his campaign.

Trump also clashed with those chosen to moderate the presidential debates, asserting that several demonstrated a personal bias against him. Most notably, Trump butted heads with then Fox News host Megyn Kelly during the first debate when she said Trump had “called women (he doesn’t) like fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals.” Trump later tweeted that Kelly had “really bombed” and said in a CNN interview that “there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.”

Some strategists think that it would be a politically savvy move by Trump to refuse to participate in the presidential debates, but he might have to agree for a single debate at least.

If Trump does go this route, he may be seen as being wary of standing toe-to-toe with the Democratic nominee. Trump critics may also seize on the decision as further evidence that the president is not interested in adhering to the traditions of the political process.

US President Donald Trump said 1994′s NAFTA trade agreement had been a “disaster” for the US photo: AFP / Brendan Smialowski