Sharp criticism from media and civil rights groups over an explicitly racist plot has led ABC Family to drop its new teen drama, Alice in Arabia, before it has a chance to air.

Here's how the network billed the show:

Alice in Arabia is a high-stakes drama series about a rebellious American teenage girl who, after tragedy befalls her parents, is unknowingly kidnapped by her extended family, who are Saudi Arabian. Alice finds herself a stranger in a new world but is intrigued by its offerings and people, whom she finds surprisingly diverse in their views on the world and her situation. Now a virtual prisoner in her grandfather's royal compound, Alice must count on her independent spirit and wit to find a way to return home while surviving life behind the veil. [Deadline]

As Katie McDonough at Salon notes, this description alone promotes "tired racist tropes about Arab and Muslim cultures and its 'white savior'-driven plot." Rather than casting women of color in a primetime drama, ABC created a heroine in a white woman who struggles to "survive" life in another culture.

After the script for Alice in Arabia's pilot leaked online, the Council on American-Islamic Relations expressed disapproval with the series, and Twitter users employed the hashtag #AliceinArabia to further urge ABC to pull the show. ABC Family responded in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, confirming the network would "not move forward with this project."

Canceling Alice in Arabia was unquestionably a good movie for ABC's image. And really, how many Alice in Wonderland-inspired shows does ABC need?

Moscow police detained Alexei Goncharenko, a member of Ukraine's parliament, as he marched with demonstrators on Sunday in honor of slain Russian politician Boris Nemtsov, The Associated Press reports.

Russian officials said Goncharenko was being questioned about his alleged involvement in a fire that broke out in Odessa last year. The fire in Goncharenko's home city killed dozens, including some Russian citizens, amid demonstrations by pro-Ukraine and pro-Russia protesters.

Ukraine's parliament denounced the detention and said Goncharenko has diplomatic immunity and should be released immediately.

Take out "Apple" in "Apple Pay," add in "Samsung," and you have the new mobile-payment system announced by the Korean firm on Sunday, The Guardian reports.

Samsung is teaming up with MasterCard to offer Samsung users a way to pay with their mobile phone for in-store transactions. Only Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphones will support the service for now.

Samsung previously collaborated with PayPal and Google Wallet on similar mobile payment initiatives, but The Guardian notes that Apple Pay revitalized interest in the technology, spurring competitors to revamp their own offerings.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday downplayed tension caused by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's upcoming speech to Congress, The Washington Post reports.

"The prime minister is welcome in the United States at any time,” Kerry said on ABC'sThis Week. "We have an unparalleled close security relationship with Israel, and we will continue to. We don't want to see this turned into some great political football."

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) invited Netanyahu to address Congress without consulting the Obama administration, a perceived slight, especially considering Netanyahu plans to talk about his concerns over the U.S. role in ongoing Iranian nuclear talks. Kerry did admit that the situation was "odd, if not unique,” but added that "the administration is not seeking to politicize this.”

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, appearing on CNN, on Sunday raised questions about Hillary Clinton's ethical judgment. Reports last week showed that the Clinton Foundation accepted donations from seven foreign governments — at least one of which reportedly violated an ethics agreement between the Obama administration and Clinton while she was secretary of state, The Washington Post notes.

"Are you going to trust an individual who has taken that much money from a foreign source?" Perry asked. "Where's your loyalty? I'm really concerned, not just going forward, but what has been received at the Clinton Foundation over the course of years and how that affects this individual's judgement."

Watch Perry's full response in the video, below. —Sarah Eberspacher

Texas nurse Nina Pham survived her encounter with the Ebola virus, but the 26-year-old told The Dallas Morning News in an exclusive interview that she still suffers nightmares, body aches, and insomnia following her fight against the disease.

Pham contracted Ebola while caring for patient Thomas Eric Duncan at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas. Now, she is suing the hospital's parent company, Texas Health Resources, for what she says was inadequate training and protection for hospital workers. Pham is asking for unspecified damages for turning her into "a symbol of corporate neglect," she said.

"I wanted to believe that they would have my back and take care of me, but they just haven't risen to the occasion," Pham said.

Read the full interview over at The Dallas Morning News.

A poll conducted by NBC News and The Wall Street Journal found that 48 percent of American voters believe congressional Republicans should not have invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress, without first consulting President Barack Obama. Thirty percent said the invitation was fine, and 22 percent had no opinion.

The issue was overwhelmingly a partisan one; 66 percent of Democrats disagreed with the decision, while just 28 percent of Republicans were against the upcoming speech.

Netanyahu will address Congress on Tuesday, calling himself an "emissary" of the Jewish people. The Israeli prime minister is expected to voice his disagreement with a potential deal on Iran's nuclear program. While both Israel and the U.S. oppose Iran's building of a nuclear bomb, Israel wants the country to shutter all nuclear activity, while President Barack Obama has seemed more willing to allow Iran to continue some parts of its program, with implemented safeguards.

Dakota Johnson can be seen right now in Fifty Shades of Grey, but her most controversial moment of the weekend may have come in a pre-recorded sketch for Saturday Night Live.

In it, the host of this weekend's episode says goodbye to her dad, played by Taran Killam, in what appears to be a typical father-daughter moment before leaving for college. The reveal is that Johnson is not headed off to university for four years, but rather to join ISIS.

The reaction on social media found the skit to be in poor taste — decide for yourself and check it out, below. —Sarah Eberspacher

Samuel Sam-Sumana, vice president of Sierra Leone, announced on Saturday that he would "lead by example," and spend 21 days in voluntary quarantine, following the death of his bodyguard from Ebola last week, the BBC reports.

While the number of reported cases in Sierra Leone had been on the decline, a recent uptick is cause for concern, according to government officials. More than 23,500 Ebola cases have been reported in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea since the outbreak began in December 2013; nearly 10,000 people have died from the disease.

Carrying signs declaring "I am not afraid," and portraits of murdered Russian politician Boris Nemtsov, thousands marched through Moscow on Sunday, Reuters reports.

(AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)

Nemtsov was shot four times on Friday while walking across a bridge near the Kremlin. A harsh critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, he had served as deputy prime minister under Russia's first post-Soviet President, Boris Yeltsin, in the 1990s. He became a popular figure in opposition politics after Yeltsin's successor, Putin, came to power.

(AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

"If we can stop the campaign of hate that's being directed at the opposition, then we have a chance to change Russia," Gennady Gudkov, an opposition leader, told Reuters before the march. "If not, then we face the prospect of mass civil conflict."

(AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

Putin has condemned Nemtsov’s murder as a "provocation," and Kremlin investigators say they are pursuing several leads. In interviews before his death, Nemtsov said he feared Putin might want him dead because of his involvement with the opposition.

Ronda Rousey needed just 14 seconds on Saturday night to defend her UFC bantamweight title against Cat Zingano, ESPN reports.

It was Rousey's (11-0) fifth UFC title defense; her last three have lasted just 66 seconds, 16 seconds, and now 14 seconds — the latter being the fastest finish of her career thus far and a UFC record for fastest ever in a title fight.

Rousey submitted Zingano with a straight armlock after Zingano rushed Rousey on the opening bell; Zingano quickly tapped out of the hold.