Tributes have poured in for Patrick Stewart, who has died aged 86. The distinguished actor had a long and varied career that began on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company before going on to global stardom on the screen in the Star Trek and X-Men franchises. Stewart was born in Yorkshire in 1940, and had spoken of a challenging childhood marred by alcoholism and domestic violence – something he campaigned against for much of his life. Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian film critic Peter Bradshaw

Vega said she still doesn’t know why she was fired from the show, which has experienced a slump in ratings

Cecilia Vega, the 60 Minutes correspondent fired as part of a dramatic overhaul of the CBS News show this spring, said it “hurts” to see what has happened to the storied newsmagazine and other segments of the network, and repeated allegations that she was told to insert “factually untrue” information into her work.

“It pains me. It hurts to watch, from afar. It hurts to talk to my colleagues who are still there. It hurts to see the ratings slump that is happening right now,” Vega said during a Thursday evening talk for students at American University in Washington DC.

Sanrio ends association with TV drama Vivant after China says portrayal of ruthless Chinese agents is ‘deliberate smear’

The company behind the successful Hello Kitty franchise has apologised and ended its commercial tie-up with a Japanese TV drama after Chinese state media and netizens condemned the show’s “deliberate smears” against China.

Sanrio, a Japanese firm whose characters are popular around the world, said in a post on the Chinese social media site Weibo that it had decided to end its association with the TV drama Vivant after concluding that it “contained elements inconsistent with Sanrio’s core values”.

Sanrio ends association with TV drama Vivant after China says portrayal of ruthless Chinese agents is ‘deliberate smear’

The company behind the successful Hello Kitty franchise has apologised and ended its commercial tie-up with a Japanese TV drama after Chinese state media and netizens condemned the show’s “deliberate smears” against China.

Sanrio, a Japanese firm whose characters are popular around the world, said in a post on the Chinese social media site Weibo that it had decided to end its association with the TV drama Vivant after concluding that it “contained elements inconsistent with Sanrio’s core values”.

CBS News editor-in-chief sidesteps viewership concerns and says flagship show doing ‘tremendously well’

CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss has spoken publicly for the first time about the ratings challenges the network has experienced under her year-long tenure, sidestepping concerns about diminished viewership at the Sunday show 60 Minutes by saying it was not her top priority.

“I could never build anything if I were focused on the precise number of people that happen to tune in to the second feature on 60 Minutes on a given Sunday,” she said at an industry conference on Wednesday organized by the tech publication the Information. The news organization did not offer press credentials.

CBS News editor-in-chief sidesteps viewership concerns and says flagship show doing ‘tremendously well’

CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss has spoken publicly for the first time about the ratings challenges the network has experienced under her year-long tenure, sidestepping concerns about diminished viewership at the Sunday show 60 Minutes by saying it was not her top priority.

“I could never build anything if I were focused on the precise number of people that happen to tune in to the second feature on 60 Minutes on a given Sunday,” she said at an industry conference on Wednesday organized by the tech publication the Information. The news organization did not offer press credentials.

• 70-year-old wants to spend more time with family

• Johnson leaving after 37 years in role

Ernie Johnson, the widely loved host of Inside the NBA, has announced he will step away at the end of the current season after 37 years in the role.

Johnson made the announcement on social media on Wednesday.