1A NPR

What comes to mind when you think of Disney? Princesses searching for love? Talking animals saving the day? Theme parks with fireworks lighting the sky?

The answer is different depending on who you ask.

The company will enter its 100th year as the largest entertainment firm in the world. Disney is worth $180 billion and had four of the ten highest-grossing films of 2022.

But the company's journey hasn't been a fairytale. From accusations of poor employee pay and a lack of diversity in their content, even at hundred Disney has a lot of growing to do.

We discuss the past, present, and future of Disney.

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California is still reeling after three mass shootings – including two that happened within three days.

Five former Memphis police officers were indicted on murder charges in the death of Tyree Nichols on Thursday. Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn "CJ" Davis fired the five Black officers for violating department policy after Nichols' arrest earlier this month.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that the U.S. will send 31 M-1 Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine for its fight against Russia. This was a U-turn by the federal government after months of saying it would not send tanks.

And some 80 percent of China's population has supposedly contracted COVID-19, that's according to a prominent Chinese government scientist. For context, that's more than one billion people. Last weekend there were 13,000 COVID deaths in less than a week, in addition to the 60,000 deaths that have been reported since December.

We cover all this and more during this week's News Roundup.

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The Sundance Film Festival is returning to Park City, Utah, with a slate of more than 120 independent films making their debut to an in-person crowd for the first time in two years.

The festival attracts filmmakers and actors from around the globe hoping to become the next "Little Miss Sunshine" or "Get Out."

The festival also features a variety of films centering the female experience, including "The Pod Generation." It's set in the future where couples can give birth through a detached artificial womb or pod.

We discuss this year's notable films, and the state of independent films in 2023.

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Approximately two dozen American diplomats in Havana, Cuba, first heard piercing, metallic hissing in 2016. They began experiencing nausea, vertigo, headaches, and other cognitive ailments, but doctors haven't been able to figure out what could be making them sick.

Theories include the use of sonic weapons launched by hostile foreign actors like Russia. But the CIA has dismissed that idea, saying most cases of "Havana Syndrome" actually stem from other pre-existing medical conditions. Still, they acknowledge that some cases are unexplainable.

The new investigative podcast "The Sound: Mystery of Havana Syndrome" explores what we know about this mysterious illness – and what questions remain.

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There are growing efforts to ban the popular social media app TikTok by some U.S. lawmakers.

Negotiations with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States on how to keep TikTok in the U.S. are ongoing; but some legislators are still trying to ban Tik Tok's parent company ByteDance from doing business in the country entirely.

How is this different from former President Donald Trump's efforts in 2020? Is there a way to keep TikTok in the U.S. while addressing national security concerns?

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In the new mystery series "Poker Face", the protagonist possesses an uncanny ability to tell when anyone is lying.

This gift lands the main character – Charlie Cale, played by Natasha Lyonne – in a sticky situation with a casino manager looking to exploit her talents. It forces Charlie on the run and sparks a murder-solving spree as she travels to new towns in each episode.

We discuss Lyonne's role in "Poker Face," how the show fits into modern streaming dramas, and Lyonne's career spanning more than three decades.

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