Queen Elizabeth II attended the final day of the Ascot races Saturday, where environmental protesters urged the monarch to press politicians to act faster against climate change. The 95-year-old queen, a keen racing fan and racehorse owner, has attended Ascot almost every year of her seven-decade reign. She was absent last year, when the event was held without spectators because of the coronavirus pandemic. Her return came two months after the death of her husband, Prince Philip, at 99. Dressed in a mint-green outfit and matching hat, the queen was applauded by the crowd as she arrived to cheer on four horses she owns that were racing Saturday. She smiled broadly as she inspected one of her horses, Reach for the Moon, after it finished a close second. The annual racing meeting west of London is a heady mix of horses, extravagant headwear, fancy dress, champagne and strawberries with cream. Protesters from environmental group Extinction Rebellion unfurled a banner reading “Racing to Extinction” at the race-course Saturday. The group said four women glued themselves to their banner and chained themselves to the fence in a protest intended to be seen by the queen. She was not nearby at the time.
Less than three months after Taylor Swift released her first fully rerecorded studio album, the global pop superstar confirmed Friday that her next reimagined record will be 2012’s “Red.” On Instagram, Swift announced that “Red (Taylor’s Version)” will debut Nov. 19. The highly anticipated announcement comes about two months after the prolific singer-songwriter released her rerecorded version of “Fearless,” which earned Swift her first Grammy nomination and win for album of the year in 2010. In 2019, Swift vowed to rerecord her first six albums after music mogul Scooter Braun acquired them against her wishes. Rounding out her back catalog that she intends to rerecord are “Taylor Swift,” “Speak Now,” “1989” and “Reputation.” “Red” earned the decorated musician her second Grammy nomination for album of the year — though it ended up losing to Daft Punk’s “Random Access Memories.” It was also nominated in 2014 for country album, while the track “Begin Again” competed for country song. Originally released Oct. 22, 2012, “Red” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and the Billboard Country Albums charts and signaled Swift’s gradual crossover to the pop genre. Like her version of “Fearless,” Swift’s modern take on “Red” will unearth several as-yet-unreleased songs “from the vault,” that previously ended up on the cutting-room floor, resulting in a whopping 30 total tracks. “And hey, one of them is even 10 minutes long,” she added.
