USA DAWN: NEWS AND UPDATES

Chuck Barris as host of “The Gong Show,” which he created. It became a phenomenon after its 1976 debut, but Mr. Barris had earlier hits, including “The Dating Game” and “The Newlywed Game.”   Credit Game Show Network Chuck Barris, the “Gong Show” creator, songwriter and novelist who sought to add to his already eclectic résumé with a made-up — or was it? — story about being an assassin for the C.I.A., died on Tuesday at his home in Palisades, N.Y. He was 87. His death was announced by a spokesman, Paul Shefrin. “The Gong Show” was just one of Mr. Barris’s hit game show creations. In the 1960s he came up with “The Dating Game” and “The Newlywed Game,” making a spectacle of his contestants’ romantic yearnings in the first case and their honeymoon-period bliss, adjustments and foibles in the second. Mr. Barris might have earned a brief mention in the obituary pages with one of his earliest accomplishments: He wrote the pop song “Palisades Park,” which became a hit for Freddy

An assailant stabbed a policeman and was shot by police just outside Britain's parliament building in London on Wednesday in what police described as a "terrorist incident." Amid confusing scenes, it appeared the incident may have unfolded in several locations, including on the nearby Westminster bridge where eyewitnesses said a car had crashed into pedestrians. Two people died in the incident, according to Sky News, but the total number of casualties was unclear. "Officers - including firearms officers - remain on the scene and we are treating this as a terrorist incident until we know otherwise," London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement. The incident took place on the first anniversary of attacks by militants that killed 32 people in Brussels. Reuters reporters inside the parliament building heard loud bangs and shortly afterwards saw two people lying on the ground in a courtyard just outside, within the perimeter of the parliamentary estate.

*Shoulder shrug.*  (Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris, Getty Images) Emma Watson and Amanda Seyfried lawyered up in response to the unauthorized release of hacked, private photos. Demi Lovato has taken to Twitter. The  Confident  singer addressed reports Tuesday that a photo revealing her cleavage had been leaked and published online. Lovato used quite a few Tears of Joy emojis while letting her nearly 42 million followers know that she finds some amusement in the situation.  Follow Demi Lovato   ✔ @ddlovato I love how everyone's freaking out about one picture. It's not nude and it's just cleavage  6:05 AM - 22 Mar 2017     6,866 6,866 Retweets     24,120 24,120 likes  Follow Demi Lovato   ✔ @ddlovato Besides the world has seen me nude BY CHOICE before..  # vanityfair   # nicetry   # cleavagegameonpoint # myboobsarenteventhatbig   # angles   6:07 AM - 22 Mar 2017     4,935 4,935 Retweets  

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The details of running back Rex Burkhead's contract with the New England Patriots are in, and they reflect how the club views him as a key contributor in 2017. Per ESPN NFL Insider Field Yates, the pact has a maximum value of $3.15 million and breaks down like this: Signing bonus:  $1.1 million Base salary:  $1.8 million Roster bonus:  $250,000 ($15,625 per game) Salary-cap charge:  $3.15 million Burkhead's one-year deal gives him another shot at free agency next offseason. The thinking could be that with a more expanded role on offense in New England than he had in Cincinnati, his value could be higher on the market in 2018. To put this deal in context from the team's perspective, consider that the Patriots signed LeGarrette Blount last year to a one-year, $1 million contract in 2016. So Burkhead is obviously viewed as a key cog in 2017, both offensively and on special teams. Of the 63 players with at least 70 rushes last

Jimmy Fallon played a Disney Edition of “Box of Microphones” with Josh Gad on Tuesday’s  The Tonight Show.  They took turns singing random tunes while the microphones did strange and wonderful things with their voices. It ended, of course, with a duet singing of the title tune from  Beauty and the Beast . Gad is among the actors making the late-night TV rounds this week in promotion of Disney’s live-action remake of its hit animated movie, opening this week.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (WCMH) — Cheerios is featuring its Honey-Nut Cheerios mascot “Buzz” in an effort to boost global bee populations. According to CNN, the company is partnering with Veseys Seeds and is pledging to send out 100-million wildflower seeds. Anyone interested in helping with the “hashtag bring-back-the-bees campaign” can sign up on the cheerios website to receive 100 free seeds. Recipients are asked to plant them in a bee-friendly area. The company’s website notes that bee populations, a crucial pollinator for world food supplies, have been declining in recent years.