Washington (AFP) – Two horrific massacres in recent weeks have succeeded in bringing Democrats and Republicans close to the most significant federal legislation addressing US gun violence in three decades.

Twenty senators — 10 from each party — reached a deal Sunday to put through legislation that would tighten some rules on gun sales and put more resources toward mental health treatment.

The 10 Republicans are just enough to ensure that the legislation could overcome Senate rules that have allowed the party since the 1990s to block almost every single measure aimed at controlling the flood of personal firearms on the US market.

Their agreement comes less than a month after two shocking mass shootings: first, when 10 African Americans were killed on May 14 at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, and then less than two weeks later when 19 children and two teachers were shot and killed at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

Those tragedies also brought into focus smaller, but more frequent instances of gun violence across the United States.

Chris Coons, a Senate Democrat who led the chamber’s bipartisan effort, said the legislation could be introduced within days and possibly passed in early July.

“In the wake of the horrifying recent shootings in Buffalo, Uvalde, and across the country, Americans have demanded that the Senate take meaningful steps forward on this issue,” said Coons.

“This framework will save lives. If it becomes law, it will lower the risks of mass shootings, of lethal domestic violence incidents, of violence we see too frequently on our streets.”

Modest measures

The senators’ agreed measures are modest, and far short of what US President Joe Biden called for following last month’s tragic killings.

They include: 

But they did not approach demands from gun control advocates, including an outright ban on assault rifles, as was in place from 1994 to 2004, a ban on gun sales to people under 21, mandatory waiting periods in all gun purchases, and bans on high-capacity magazines.

Both the Buffalo and Uvalde shootings were by 18-year-olds using high-powered AR-15-style semi-automatic rifles.

Moreover, whatever gains that come with the legislation could be dealt a setback by a Supreme Court ruling due this month that could overturn state restrictions on carrying guns in public.

Even so, gun control advocates cheered the measures, recognizing the potential for a significant shift towards breaking the gun industry’s stranglehold.

“We applaud this historic step forward for gun violence prevention — one born out of the recognition that this nation needs change and action to save American lives from preventable gun violence,” said Kris Brown, president of the Brady: United Against Gun Violence group.

“We’re breaking the logjam in Congress and proving that gun safety isn’t just good policy -– it’s good politics,” said Shannon Watts, founder of the group Moms Demand Action.

Narrow political margin

Yet supporters were not fully confident the measures will pass, knowing that the legislation could be blocked if fewer than 10 of the Senate’s 50 Republicans support it.

Working in their favor is that none of the 10 Republicans who agreed to the deal Sunday are standing for reelection in November. Four are retiring, and five won’t face reelection until 2026; one other faces reelection in 2024.

The 20 senators “are committed to each other and to this project,” said Coons.

But the National Rifle Association, which has wielded powerful influence over Republicans for decades, made clear their fundamental opposition.

“NRA will continue to oppose any effort to insert gun control policies, initiatives that override constitutional due process protections and efforts to deprive law-abiding citizens of their fundamental right to protect themselves into this or any legislation,” the group said.

David Hogg, leader of anti-gun violence group March For Our Lives and himself a school shooting survivor, called for action to counter the NRA’s political pressure.

“We’re going to need a lot of gun owners to speak out and let these Republican senators know that they are supported, that the NRA speaks only for the NRA and not the majority of responsible, voting gun owners,” he said.

Washington (AFP) – Donald Trump deluged aides with wild voter fraud conspiracy theories after losing the 2020 US election, his top law-enforcement official said in testimony revealed Monday by a congressional probe which the ex-president branded a “mockery of justice.”

Appearing in a pre-recorded deposition at a congressional hearing into the 2021 assault on the US Capitol, former attorney general Bill Barr described his then-boss as having no interest in the facts that debunked his groundless narrative.

“I was demoralized because I thought, boy… he’s become detached from reality if he really believes this stuff,” Barr told the House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection by supporters of Trump.

“When I went into this and would tell him how crazy some of these allegations were, there was never an indication of interest in the actual facts,” said Barr, who likened addressing Trump’s avalanche of false allegations with playing the game “whack-a-mole.”

The panel is holding six hearings throughout June to outline its case that the riot at the seat of US democracy in Washington was the culmination of a seven-step conspiracy by Trump and his inner circle to overturn his defeat to Joe Biden.

Trump ignored repeated warnings from top aides against falsely claiming the November 2020 election was stolen, according to testimony unveiled by the panel.

“We will tell the story of how Donald Trump lost the election — and knew he lost the election — and as a result of his loss, decided to wage an attack on our democracy,” the committee’s Democratic chairman Bennie Thompson said in his opening remarks.

Trump released his first extended reaction to the probe Monday evening, with a rambling 12-page statement in which he called the panel a “mockery of justice” and a “Kangaroo Court hoping to distract the American people from the great pain they are experiencing.”

The second of six planned hearings was shown videotaped accounts from the former president’s advisors, including Barr and campaign manager Bill Stepien, saying they repeatedly counseled him not to declare victory on election night because he hadn’t won — but that Trump went ahead anyway.

“He thought I was wrong, he told me so, and that they were going to go in a different direction,” Stepien said.

‘Far flung conspiracies’

Thompson’s deputy on the panel, Republican lawmaker Liz Cheney, said Trump chose to listen to the advice of “apparently inebriated” former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani “to just claim he won, and insist that the vote counting stop — to falsely claim everything was fraudulent.”

Trump started pushing what came to be known as his “Big Lie” around 2:30 am on November 4, 2020, prematurely declaring victory on the night of an election he ultimately lost to Biden by seven million votes.

Barr said in his testimony that Trump claimed major fraud “right out of the box on election night… before there was actually any potential of looking at evidence.”

Giuliani and associates including the lawyer Sidney Powell would go on to push debunked theories of massive voter fraud that put them at odds with the White House lawyers Stepien referred to as “Team Normal.”

Cheney highlighted “far-flung conspiracies” — dismissed as “nonsense” by Barr — of fraud involving voting machines “with a deceased Venezuelan Communist allegedly pulling the strings.”

Trump repeated a number of unfounded claims in his statement late Monday.

“Democrats created the narrative of January 6th to detract from the much larger and more important truth that the 2020 Election was Rigged and Stolen,” he said.

‘Big rip-off’

The committee says the initial claim of fraud grew quickly into a conspiracy to cling to power by Trump and his inner circle — and a fundraising campaign that raised $250 million between election night and the Capitol insurrection.

The committee’s senior investigative counsel Amanda Wick said much of the cash was funneled into a political action committee that made donations to pro-Trump organizations.

“As early as April 2020, Mr Trump claimed that the only way he could lose an election would be as a result of fraud,” Democratic panel member Zoe Lofgren said.

“The big lie was also a big rip-off,” she said, promising to show how the Trump campaign raised hundreds of millions of dollars from supporters who were falsely led to believe their donations would be used for the legal fight over fraud claims.

All but one of the 62 lawsuits filed by the Trump campaign were dismissed — the vast majority by Republican-appointed judges — while the one that was upheld didn’t affect the outcome.

Powell filed four federal lawsuits in staunchly Democratic cities that were all rejected as frivolous and, in Detroit, a judge ordered that she face sanctions for a “historic and profound abuse of the judicial process.”

The panel ended the hearing by returning to the Capitol riot, showing footage of mob participants explaining how Trump’s voter fraud claims had motivated their actions.

“I know exactly what’s going on right now. Fake election,” one said.

Lizzo has removed “a harmful word” from her new single ‘GRRRLS’.

The 34-year-old star has responded to backlash after fans accused her of using an ableist slur in her latest track – which will feature on upcoming album ‘Special’, due to be released on July 15 – and unveiled a new version of the song following its initial release on Friday (10.06.22), while insisting she didn’t mean to hurt anyone.

She said in a statement: “It’s been brought to my attention that there is a harmful word in my new song ‘GRRRLS.’

“Let me make one thing clear: I never want to promote derogatory language.

“As a fat Black woman in America, I’ve had many hurtful words used against me so I overstand the power words can have (whether intentionally or in my case, unintentionally).

“I’m proud to say there’s a new version of GRRRLS with a lyric change. This is the result of me listening and taking action.

“As an influential artist I’m dedicated to being part of the change I’ve been waiting to see in the world.”

One critic of the original lyric – “Hold my bag, b****, hold my bag / Do you see this s***? I’m a s**z” – was writer and disability advocate Hannah Diviney.

She had written: “Hey @lizzo my disability Cerebral Palsy is literally classified as Spastic Diplegia (where spasticity refers to unending painful tightness in my legs) your new song makes me pretty angry + sad.

“‘S**z’ doesn’t mean freaked out or crazy. It’s an ableist slur. It’s 2022. Do better. (sic)”

Following Lizzo’s statement and lyric change, she added: “I’m going to cry.

“Thank you so much for hearing us Lizzo and for understanding that this was only ever meant gently and being open to learning, it honestly means the world.

“You’re a real true ally.”

Lady Gaga is in early talks to star in the ‘Joker’ sequel, which is set to be a musical.

The ‘House of Gucci’ actress is said to be in discussions about taking on the role of Harley Quinn – who was played by Margot Robbie in 2016 and 2021 movies ‘Suicide Squad’ and ‘The Suicide Squad’ – in Todd Phillips’ follow-up film.

Joaquin Phoenix played the titular character in 2019’s ‘Joker’, but sources have told The Hollywood Reporter that Warner Bros. are yet to close a deal for him to star in the sequel.

If Gaga signs up for the movie then she is expected to play Quinn, who has an on/off abusive relationship with Joker.

Sources have also told the publication that the motion picture will be a musical movie.

Phillips – who directed the original psychological thriller – has been working on the script for the sequel with Scott Silver, who he co-wrote the first movie alongside.

Last week, he appeared to confirm the sequel will be titled ‘Joker: Folie a Deux’.

The French phrase translates as “shared madness” and is used to describe a delusion shared by two people in close proximity.

It wouldn’t be the first time Gaga and Phillips have worked together after he produced 2018 musical movie ‘A Star is Born’, which featured Gaga and Bradley Cooper – who co-produced ‘Joker’ alongside Phillips and Emma Tillinger Koskoff – in the lead roles.

The first ‘Joker’ movie was a huge box office success, grossing more than $1 billion on a budget of $55 million.

The film was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and Phoenix won Best Actor for his portrayal of mentally disturbed Arthur Fleck, who evolves into the iconic Batman villain by the end of the story, and composer Hildur Guðnadóttir won the Best Original Score gong.

Phillips received huge acclaim for the movie, but the director previously claimed audiences overlooked one of the film’s central themes.

He explained: “If I had to drill down on one overarching theme for me, it’s about the power of kindness and a lot of people miss that.

“I think if you don’t see that you either don’t have a soul or you’re being reductive to make up for your own struggles in that area.

“But, really, to me, that’s where it started from and there are other things in the movie like lack of love, the lack of empathy in society, and childhood trauma, but the power of kindness really runs through this film.”

Tyler Perry admits being friends with both Will Smith and Chris Rock has been “very difficult” since the Oscars.

The 52-year-old actor has opened up on this year’s Academy Awards with ‘King Richard’ star Will smacked comedian Chris across the face after he made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia, and he explained that being on good terms with them both was tricky as he has tried to diffuse the situation on the night.

He said: “There’s a difference between comforting and deescalating, that’s number one. And I left early to get to Chris to make sure he was okay. Being friends with both of them has been very difficult.”

The ‘Madea Homecoming’ star left early the awards ceremony early to check on Chris after realising that Will – who just 40 minutes after the smack picked up the Best Actor award for his role in ‘King Richard’ – was shocked to realise what he had just done.

Speaking at the Tribeca Film Festival Q and A, he added: “I was there, close up. I left early to go check on Chris because it was wrong in no uncertain terms, and I made sure I said that to Will.

“And I’ll tell you, when we walked over to him, he was devastated. He couldn’t believe what happened. He couldn’t believe he did it. And I’m looking at this man in his eyes going, ‘What are you doing? This is your night!’

“And to get all the way to this moment, winning an Oscar, that was one of the crowning moments of his career that he wanted so desperately. And to have something like that happen, I think he is very much in reflection of trying to figure out what happened.”

Following the incident, Will – who has been married to Jada since 1997 and has children Jaden, 23, and Willow, 21, with her – previously described his behaviour at the Oscars as “shocking, painful, and inexcusable”.

As a result of his actions, the ‘Men in Black’ actor resigned from the Academy after issuing an apology.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also announced the actor would be banned from attending any of their events, both virtually and in-person, for 10 years.

The European Union is set to buy 110,000 doses of monkeypox vaccine, with a deal for the purchase set to be signed on Tuesday, according to EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides.

The first doses should be available by the end of the month. So far, there have been 900 recorded cases of the disease in EU territory, said Kyriakides, adding that about 1,400 have been logged worldwide.

Although the disease has circulated in Africa for years, it has caused an international stir with its recent outbreak in multiple countries where it has never been seen before. The disease is spread through physical contact and medical officials say the outbreak seems to be concentrated among men who have had sexual contact with multiple other men.

Germany, for example, is considering preventive vaccinations for anyone considered to be at a high risk of coming into contact with the disease, including technicians in specialized laboratories.

Although the disease can be deadly, it is treatable and usually survived, albeit with a phase of bothersome skin outbreaks. Still, health authorities are trying to arrest its spread.

LONDON (Reuters) -British police said on Monday they had charged Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey over historic allegations of sex offences, with the actor due in court on Thursday.

Prosecutors last month authorised the charges to be brought against Spacey, 62, on four counts of sexual assault against three men, and a further charge of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.

Police said the alleged assaults had taken place between March 2005 and April 2013 – four in the capital London and one in Gloucestershire. They involved one man who is now in his 40s and two men now in their 30s.

“He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court at 10am (0900 GMT) on Thursday, 16 June,” London’s Metropolitan Police said, confirming Spacey had been charged on the five counts authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) following his arrest.

Spacey, who won Academy Awards for the Usual Suspects and American Beauty in the 1990s, has said he is willing to defend himself in Britain and is confident any trial will prove his innocence.

Once one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, Spacey has largely disappeared from public view since being accused of sexual misconduct five years ago.

In November 2017, London’s Old Vic theatre said it had received 20 separate allegations of inappropriate conduct by Spacey from 20 men who came into contact with him at the theatre, or in connection with it, between 1995 and 2013.

He was dropped from the TV show “House of Cards” and removed from the movie “All the Money in the World” after the accusations of sexual misconduct came to light.

(Reporting by Michael Holden and William James; Writing by Alistair Smout; Editing by Kate Holton and Mark Heinrich)

Sarah Michelle Gellar has endured a “tough” battle with COVID-19.

The ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ star took to her Instagram Story on Monday (13.06.22) to tell her four million followers that she has not been as active on social media because she has been stricken down with the respiratory illness, with her symptoms made worse by her long history of asthma and lung issues.

Sarah, 45, shared a note which read: “I realise I’ve been really quiet on here, after two and a half years COVID finally got me.

“Thankfully I’m vaccinated and boosted.

“But to those out there that say ‘it’s just a cold’… maybe for some lucky people it is. But for this (relatively) young fit person, who has struggled with asthma and lung issues her entire life, that is not my experience.

“Even with therapeutics and all my protocols it’s been tough. I know I’m on the road to recovery, but it’s certainly not been an easy road.”

The ‘Cruel Intentions’ actress – who has two children, Charlotte and Rocky, with her husband Freddie Prinze Jr. – vowed to be back working soon and active online.

However, Sarah insists she will be taking as many precautions as she can to avoid contracting coronavirus again.

She added: “I’ll be back soon (hopefully with super antibodies…even if just for a bit). To quote a friend of mine – ‘I would rather wear a mask in the shower if it means I don’t get this again.”

Sarah previously gave an interview to Health magazine in November 2021 in which she talked about how the global COVID-19 pandemic had affected her and her family.

The actress – whose two children both have asthma, whilst Freddie, 46, experiences bouts of the illness – said: “These last two years we’ve obviously been faced with a pandemic that is a viral respiratory illness. You realize how much is really at stake for anyone like myself who suffers.

“When the pandemic first hit, anyone with asthma knows that breathing is a challenge and it’s something that we have to think about.

“If we were to get COVID, my body would have a harder time fighting that, breathing through it. It heightens it for anyone who suffers from asthma.”

By Howard Schneider

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell used his first four years as the world’s top central banker to reshape U.S. monetary policy around the idea that low inflation and low unemployment could coexist.

It was a move intended to spread the gains of economic growth more widely and keep a focus on jobs during the rebound from the pandemic.

But the assumptions on which it rested – a relatively frictionless global economy with a well-greased supply chain; a balanced U.S. labor market with just over one open job for each unemployed person – have been shattered by events that appear to have put the Fed’s two goals of full employment and moderate inflation back in opposition.

Graphic: There and back again: Fed views of 2022 – https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-FED/SEPS/gdpzyexqmvw/chart.png

Unemployment today at 3.6% is more akin to the 1950s and 1960s, with workers exercising leverage to negotiate higher wages and, given the pandemic, better working conditions. Inflation, however, is soaring at more than 8% annually, leaving Fed officials at a crossroads over how to tame it and facing the possibility that their “narrow path” back to the pre-pandemic world of low unemployment and low inflation may have all but closed.

Fed officials are expected to raise interest rates for a third time this year on Wednesday, with a three-quarters-percentage point increase now seen as the likely outcome, with the possibility of signals for more large hikes as long as inflation keeps far overshooting their 2% target. [nL1N2Y02MC]

In new projections, they will also provide their sense of what’s at risk, and what price the economy could pay through slowing growth and higher unemployment to get inflation back into line.

A HEYDAY FOR JOBS

Arguably Powell’s approach did what was intended in the labor market. The employment rebound has been faster than many expected at the pandemic’s outset.

Distributionally, it has also helped, consistent with the Fed’s view of maximum employment as something “broad and inclusive.” Wages have risen fastest for lower-paid occupations; more Blacks and Hispanics are employed than before the pandemic, while white employment in May remained 1.6 million below February 2020’s peak.

Graphic: Minority employment surges – https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-FED/POWELL/akpezrdkbvr/chart.png

Back in March, Fed officials saw inflation receding with no unemployment rate increase, but “we’re going to see some cracks” in that story in the new projections, predicted Nomura senior U.S. economist Robert Dent. The median projected unemployment rate may just rise a couple of tenths of a percentage point in coming years, as Fed officials hang onto their view of an economy that may still revert to pre-pandemic form.

But “it is a tightrope…It would not be hard at all to see the economy tip into recession,” with joblessness rising to 5% or higher, he said. Some Fed officials have started opening the door to unemployment rates above 4%, the level policymakers roughly consider full employment.

That’s likely to fall hardest on Black and Hispanic workers, whose unemployment rates typically rise faster in downturns.

THE SAVINGS STOCKPILE

One unexpected outcome of the pandemic was a federal government response so strong that household incomes rose despite a recession. Some now argue the spending, in early 2021 in particular, left the economy with much more consumer demand than it can meet, adding to inflation.

But it also offset what would have likely been rising poverty, hunger and homelessness. A lot of it, moreover, remains in household bank accounts. Data last week showed that through the end of March cash and checking deposits continued rising, to $4.4 trillion – more than triple the pre-pandemic level.

Graphic: Households cash buffers spike – https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-FED/POWELL/gkvlgzrnapb/chart.png

That also provided a buffer: In a recent Fed household survey respondents said they are in the best financial shape ever.

But, to some degree, it may have to be spent down to fix inflation – and may make the Fed’s job harder as it gives people room to handle $5-a-gallon gas.

The relationship between excess savings, its distribution across the economy, and people’s willingness to use the cash to cover higher prices is a key issue in the Fed’s inflation puzzle.

LOW BANKRUPTCY RATES

Another pandemic shoe that never dropped: Bankruptcy rates fell as the Paycheck Protection Program and other initiatives kept firms alive.

A recession or significant slowdown may well trigger the washout that never happened. According to data from Epiq, Chapter 11 commercial filings in May increased 34% from a year earlier, though overall commercial filings were down slightly.

American Bankruptcy Institute Executive Director Amy Quackenboss in a statement said rising interest rates and higher prices had begun “compounding the economic challenges for financially distressed families and businesses.”

A RECESSION WITH NO SAFETY NET?

As a result of the unprecedented effort to keep businesses and families afloat, the federal debt exploded. While the low-inflation, low-interest-rate environment of the last quarter century or so triggered a broad rethinking about public debt, some of the dynamics that argued for aggressive spending are now moving the other way. When rates on government debt exceed the rate of economic growth, for example, elected officials may not be so willing to roll out an expansive safety net next time.

Given how soon that may occur – in a recent Reuters poll 40% of economists said they expect a downturn within two years – the Fed may also be constrained. It can cut rates, which may by then be high enough to provide a substantial economic boost. But it will still be carrying a very large balance sheet, run up to nearly $9 trillion during the pandemic, with policymakers less likely to begin using that second tool to support the economy.

(Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Dan Burns)

By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Former President Donald Trump’s efforts to punish his perceived enemies will be tested in South Carolina on Tuesday as Republican U.S. Representatives Tom Rice and Nancy Mace try to fend off Trump-backed primary election challengers.

In Nevada, Trump-endorsed Republican Adam Laxalt is seeking his party’s nomination for a crucial U.S. Senate race in this year’s midterm elections. Republican Jim Marchant, who falsely claims the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, is vying for a chance to become the state’s top election official.

Voters also go to the polls in Maine and North Dakota to choose party nominees to compete in the November general election.

With Democratic President Joe Biden slumping in the polls and soaring inflation souring voters’ moods, Republicans are expected to win control of the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate. That would bring Biden’s legislative agenda to a halt and give Republicans the power to launch investigations that could be politically damaging.

Rice, a five-term South Carolina incumbent who was one of 10 Republicans to vote for Trump’s impeachment after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, is seeking reelection against a crowded field of contenders that includes Trump-backed challenger Russell Fry, a state legislator.

Mace, a first-term incumbent, drew Trump’s ire by refusing to back Republican efforts to challenge the 2020 presidential election results and then breaking party ranks to hold his former adviser, Steve Bannon, in contempt of Congress. She is defending her seat against Trump-endorsed Katie Arrington, a former state lawmaker.

Arrington won the same district’s 2018 Republican primary only to lose in the general election to Democrat Joe Cunningham, who in turn lost to Mace in 2020.

Rice and Mace each need to more than 50% of Tuesday’s vote to avoid a June 28 run-off. Whoever ultimately wins the two Republican contests will likely be elected to Congress in November.

The results will be watched as a measure of Trump’s continued influence over the Republican Party as he hints at another run for the White House in 2024. His endorsees so far have had mixed success in battleground states including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina.

KEY NEVADA CONTESTS

Republicans in Nevada are looking to pick up the Senate seat held by Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto, considered one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the 2022 midterm campaign.

Adam Laxalt, a former state attorney general, leads a crowded field of Republican primary contenders. He holds a 15-point advantage over his nearest rival, political newcomer Sam Brown, according to a May poll by the Nevada Independent.

Laxalt is the son of former New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici and the grandson of former Nevada governor and U.S. Senator Paul Laxalt.

In Nevada’s secretary of state contest, Marchant, a former state legislator, is vying for the party nomination to oversee the 2024 presidential election against six other Republican candidates. He has received endorsements from high-profile conservatives, including former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and pro-Trump businessman Mike Lindell.

Among 2020 election deniers running for election posts across the country, Marchant has distinguished himself by claiming that elections have been rigged for decades and by arguing that electronic voting machines should be replaced by paper ballots. He blamed his own 2020 U.S. House loss to Democratic Representative Steven Horsford on election fraud.

Republicans also will select nominees to run against three vulnerable House Democrats from Nevada – Horsford, Dina Titus and Susie Lee.

Titus, who entered Congress in 2009, faces a challenge for her party nomination from progressive Democrat Amy Vilela, who is endorsed by Senator Bernie Sanders.

The Republican field in Titus’ district includes former Nevada Trump campaign aide Carolina Serrano, retired Army Colonel Mark Robertson and pro-Israel activist David Brog. Brog is endorsed by Trump’s former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

In Maine, Paul LePage, whose turbulent eight years as the state’s governor foreshadowed Trump’s rise, is running unopposed for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Governor Janet Mills in November.

LePage, who once described himself as “Donald Trump before Donald Trump became popular,” was widely criticized as governor for his inflammatory remarks on a host of topics from immigration, the environment and LGBTQ issues to abortion and voting rights. He left office with an approval rating below 40%.

(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Alistair Bell)

Los Angeles (AFP) – Police in the US state of Idaho have received death threats after arresting 31 members of a white supremacist group who were preparing to riot at a weekend Pride event, an officer said Monday.

The arrests were made Saturday after someone called 911 to warn about masked men who “looked like a little army” climbing into a truck and seemingly headed to the LGBTQ event at a park in the northwestern state.

The men — who police believe are linked to US far-right cell Patriot Front — were intercepted before they could reach Coeur d’Alene City Park.

They were armed with “shields, shin guards and other riot gear… including at least one smoke grenade,” and were arrested for conspiracy to riot, said Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White.

At a Monday press conference, White said half of around 150 calls received by his department since the arrests were from anonymous people wanting to “scream and yell at us” and “offer death threats against myself and other members of the police department, merely for doing our jobs.”

White attributed the abusive calls to “hate groups from outside” Coeur d’Alene, with one person phoning from Norway to “give us their opinions.”

The police chief said he and his department had been surprised by “the level of preparation that we saw” and by the “equipment that was carried and worn by those individuals.”

“It was very clear to us immediately that this was a riotous group” with “some ill intent,” he added.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, a justice and rights body which tracks extremist organizations, has labeled Patriot Front a white nationalist hate group. 

White said the arrested men came from at least 11 different US states, and that he had not previously encountered the Patriot Front in the area.

The remote hills of northern Idaho were long associated with Aryan Nations, a neo-Nazi group which hoped to establish a separate white-only region, and was tied to numerous violent crimes across the United States.

But Mayor Jim Hammond said the area was “not going back to the days of the Aryan Nations” and was “able to completely rid ourselves of that group and the kind of awful culture that they were trying to present to our community.”

An FBI spokeswoman told AFP that federal officers were assisting local authorities.

“If, in the course of the investigation, information comes to light of a potential federal violation, the FBI is prepared to investigate,” said Sandra Barker via email.

Tom Hiddleston has declared the Marvel universe “has to reflect the world we live in” and says Loki coming out as bisexual is a “small step” forward.

The actor has played the anti-hero in a number of Marvel films and a recent TV spin-off in which Loki reveals he’s had love affairs with both men and women – and Tom says he felt “honoured” to have been able to bring that aspect of the character to the screen.

He told Variety: “Back from my early days of researching the character in the ancient myths, the identity of Loki was fluid in every aspect and in gender, in sexuality.

“It’s a very ancient part of the character and I think I thought about it … It hadn’t emerged in the stories we’ve told. And I was really pleased and privileged, actually, that it’s came up in the series.”

Tom went to add: “It’s a small step. There’s so much more to do. But the Marvel Cinematic Universe has to reflect the world we live in. So it was an honour to bring that up. It was really important to me. It was really important to (director) Kate Herron and (showrunner) Michael Waldron, and I’m pleased that we could bring it into our story.”

The character’s sexuality was mentioned in the third episode of Disney+ series Loki in a conversation with a female version of himself played by Sophia Di Martino.

Loki’s romantic past with both princes and princesses was brought up in a single line of dialogue which sparked criticism from some who claimed it should have been explored further.

Among the critics was ‘Doctor Who’ boss Russell T. Davies, who slammed the move as “pathetic” during a recent panel discussion.

He told the audience: “I think that’s a very great worry. ‘Loki’ makes one reference to being bisexual once, and everyone’s like, ‘Oh my god, it’s like a pansexual show.’ It’s like one word. He said the word ‘prince,’ and we’re meant to go, ‘Thank you, Disney! Aren’t you marvelous?’

“It’s pathetic. It’s a ridiculous, craven, feeble gesture towards the vital politics and the stories that should be told.”

Director Kate Herron later responded to Davies’ criticism, telling Variety: “I don’t disagree that there should be bigger stories being told, but – and I think he has a right to his opinion – I’m very proud of what we did in the show. Russell is a hero of mine, but like I’ve said, I hope that we did at least open the door and that more stories will come.”

(Reuters) – Thirty-one members of the white nationalist group Patriot Front were expected to appear in an Idaho court on Monday for an arraignment following their weekend arrest on suspicion of plotting to violently disrupt an LGBTQ pride event.

The men, arrested on Saturday after the U-Haul rental truck they were riding in was pulled over, face misdemeanor charges of conspiracy to riot and possibly additional offenses, according to Lee White, the police chief in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

A local resident called authorities after spotting the group of men, all dressed alike with white gaiter-style masks and carrying shields, loading themselves into the truck “like a little army,” White told reporters following the arrests.

He said the truck was stopped by police about 10 minutes after the call a short distance from the “Pride in the Park” event in Coeur d’Alene, an Idaho Panhandle city about 380 miles north of the capital, Boise, and about 36 miles east of Spokane, Washington.

Video taken at the scene of the arrest and posted online showed a group of men in police custody, kneeling next to the truck with their hands bound, wearing similar khaki pants, blue shirts, white masks and baseball caps.

Police officers seized at least one smoke grenade, a collection of shields and shin guards and documents that included an “operations plan” from the truck, all of which made their intentions clear, White said.

“They came to riot downtown,” he said.

The men had come from at least 11 states across the country, White said, including Texas, Colorado and Virginia.

The Patriot Front formed in the aftermath of the 2017 white nationalist “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, breaking off from another extremist group, Vanguard America, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups.

Saturday’s pride event, described by organizers as the largest ever seen in North Idaho, drew a crowd of several hundred people for festivities that included a talent show and drag queen dance hour, local media reported.

KREM-TV in Spokane reported several smaller groups turned out to protest the gathering, with dozens of individuals seen carrying guns on the fringe of the park in what organizers said was an attempt to intimidate those attending the LGBTQ event.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Chris Reese)

New York (AFP) – A musical about a Black and queer author won a top prize at the Broadway awards in New York on Sunday, while a play about Lehman Brothers and a Michael Jackson biopic also triumphed at the Oscars of the theater.

The 75th Tony Awards concluded a season of renewal for the theaters of the American cultural capital, which reopened in the fall of 2021 after 18 months of closure because of Covid-19. 

Wall Street finance story “The Lehman Trilogy” emerged victorious with five awards, including best play, best actor (Simon Russell Beale) and best director (Sam Mendes).

The play by Italian Stefano Massini follows the long life of the US investment bank Lehman Brothers, founded in the 19th century by three German immigrant brothers, whose collapse in 2008 triggered a global financial crisis. 

“MJ the Musical,” a successful biopic on Michael Jackson, which received the assent of his heirs and a mixed reception from critics because it virtually ignores the accusations of child abuse against the “King of Pop,” won four awards, including that of best actor in a musical for Myles Frost. 

Two of the children of the star who died in 2009 at age 50, Paris and Prince Jackson, made an appearance on stage. 

“A Strange Loop,” a favorite with 11 nominations, ultimately won two Tonys, including the most prestigious best musical and best libretto for its author, Michael R. Jackson — no relation to the “King of Pop.”  

‘Life raft’

The musical tells the story of the torments of a theater usher, an aspiring artist, Black and queer like Michael R. Jackson, who wants to become a Broadway writer.

“I felt unseen. I felt unheard. I felt misunderstood. And I just wanted to create a little bit of a life raft for myself as a black gay man,” the artist, wrapped in a large fuchsia cape, recounted to a standing ovation.

Upon his arrival on the stage of Radio City Music Hall, the mistress of ceremony Ariana DeBose, Oscar winner for her role as Anita in the remake of “West Side Story,” said she was “proud” of Broadway’s efforts to be more open to diversity.

After the pandemic and the death of George Floyd, an African-American killed by police in June 2020, provoking a broad movement against racism in the United States, Broadway reopened in the fall of 2021 with seven plays or musicals written by black authors, the first time this has ever happened. 

“There have been incremental changes, but the work continues,” said the singer and actor Darius de Haas, one of the founders of Black Theatre United, which advocates for a more diverse representation in American theaters. 

“Producers and theater owners have opened their eyes and seen that they can not only have stories that reflect more diversity on Broadway, but also that it can work economically.” 

Located around the bustling Times Square, the 41 Broadway theaters are not only the stuff of New York City legend, but also one of its cultural, economic and tourist lungs.

Before the pandemic, revenues easily exceeded $30 million per week, and $50 million for the week of Christmas. 

This 2021-2022 season has been disrupted again, but Broadway is back in the black, with 230,000 patrons last week, compared to about 300,000 the equivalent week in 2019. 

Kim Cattrall will star as a make-up mogul in a new Netflix series.

The 65-year-old actress – who is best known for playing Samantha Jones in ‘Sex and the City’ – will play a starring role in ‘Glamorous’, which is due to begin shooting in Toronto in July.

Kim will appear alongside YouTuber Miss Benny, who is playing the part of Marco Mejia, a gender non-conforming queer person.

The ten-episode series is being written and executive produced by Jordon Nardino, according to Variety, which reports that Damon Wayans Jr. and Kameron Tarlow of Two Shakes Entertainment will also executive produce the project.

‘Glamorous’ was originally ordered as a pilot at The CW in 2019, but it’s now been picked up by Netflix.

Meanwhile, Michael Patrick King recently confirmed that Samantha Jones will feature in season two of ‘And Just Like That…’, the ‘Sex and the City’ revival series.

Kim didn’t appear in season one of the HBO Max show, but her iconic character will play a part in the upcoming episodes.

Kim isn’t expected to reprise her role on screen, but she recently insisted Samantha will “live forever”.

The actress – who starred in ‘Sex and the City’ alongside Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon – remains proud of the character and is confident that her legacy will live on for years to come.

She said: “I think the character of Samantha was awakened 25 years ago and she will live forever.

“She’s your best friend, and she’s someone who will tell you the truth. Because she’s been there and done that.

“I love her so much. But she lives in a time and a place, and I honour that.”