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Published by Reuters (Reuters) – Regulations prohibiting the sale, purchase or transfer of handguns within Canada take effect on Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, adding that the measure builds on earlier efforts banning handgun imports. The handgun freeze was announced in May alongside proposed legislation that would implement the nation’s strongest gun control measures in 40 years as part of Trudeau’s plan to tackle gun violence, his office said. “We have frozen the market for handguns in this country,” Trudeau said at a news conference in Surrey, British Columbia, attended by family members of gun violence victims and other advocates. “As we see gun violence continue to rise… we have an obligation to take action,” Trudeau added. “Today our national handgun freeze is coming into force.” Friday’s action stops people from buying, selling or transferring handguns within Canada, and prevents them from bringing newly acquired handguns into the country, according to the prime minister’s office. Canadian Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino called it the most significant action on gun violence in Canada in a generation. Canada has stricter gun laws than the United States, but Canadians can own firearms with a license. Some firearms must also be registered. Canada’s gun homicide rate is a fraction of the United States’ rate, 2020 data showed, but is still higher than other wealthy countries and has been rising, with handguns the main weapon used in the majority of firearm-related violent crimes between 2009 and 2020. Trudeau’s ruling Liberal government introduced bill C-21 to fight gun violence, and his office said Friday’s action will help “keep Canadians safe” while the legislation is debated. In August, it banned imports until the law passes. “We’ve got to get that law passed as quickly as possible,” Mendicino said, speaking alongside Trudeau. Under the executive action, any handgun applications submitted before Friday will still be processed, Trudeau’s office said. (Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Josie Kao) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Steve Bannon, a one-time adviser to former President Donald Trump, was sentenced by a judge on Friday to four months in prison for refusing to cooperate with lawmakers investigating last year’s U.S. Capitol attack. Bannon was found guilty in July on two counts of contempt of Congress for failing to provide documents or testimony to the House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack. Prosecutors had sought a six-month sentence, while Bannon’s attorneys had asked for probation. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols also ordered Bannon, a key adviser to the Republican Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, to pay a fine of $6,500. The judge allowed Bannon to defer serving his sentence while he appeals his conviction. Prosecutor J.P. Cooney said at Friday’s hearing that Bannon chose to “thumb his nose at Congress.” He “is not above the law, and that’s what makes this case important,” Cooney said. Bannon, 68, served as Trump’s chief White House strategist during 2017 before a falling out between them that was later patched up. A firebrand, Brannon helped articulate the “America First” right-wing populism and stout opposition to immigration that helped define Trump’s presidency. Bannon has played an instrumental role in right-wing media and has promoted right-wing causes and candidates in the United States and abroad. A pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol and attacked police with batons, sledgehammers, flag poles, Taser devices, chemical irritants, metal pipes, rocks, metal guard rails and other weapons in a failed effort to block congressional certification of his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Bannon declined to address the judge prior to sentencing on Friday. Outside the courthouse, he delivered fiery remarks as protesters at times tried to drown his voice out with shouts of “Traitor!” “Today was my judgment day by the judge,” Bannon told reporters. But…on November 8, they are going to have judgment on the illegitimate Biden regime, and quite frankly, (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi and the entire committee.” Bannon has two weeks to file his appeal, which his lawyers said they intend to do. If he fails to file it on time, he is required to turn himself in by Nov. 15. According to the Jan. 6 committee, Bannon spoke with Trump at least twice on the day before the attack, attended a planning meeting at a Washington hotel and said on his right-wing podcast that “all hell is going to break loose tomorrow.” In his trial, prosecutors called only two witnesses while Bannon’s defense team called none. Bannon opted not to testify. Bannon’s lawyers have said they will appeal his conviction. Bannon’s defense was hamstrung by rulings by Nichols that barred him from asserting that he relied on executive privilege claims and arguing that he relied on advice from his attorney. The committee’s leaders have called Bannon’s conviction a victory for the rule of law. Bannon had sought to portray the criminal charges as politically motivated, lashing out at Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland, while saying, “They took on the wrong guy his time.” The Democratic-led committee has sought testimony from dozens of people in Trump’s orbit. In addition to Bannon, prosecutors have charged former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro with contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the same committee, with a Nov. 17 trial date set. Navarro has pleaded not guilty. During Friday’s hearing, Bannon’s attorney David Schoen said Bannon relied on the advice of his lawyers not to comply with a congressional subpoena after Trump invoked executive privilege, a legal doctrine that shields some White House communications from disclosure. “A more egregious contempt of Congress would have been to say ‘Screw you Congress, take your subpoena and shove it!'” Schoen said. Nichols, in rendering his decision, said he agreed that Bannon should get some credit for relying on legal advice, even if it was “misguided.” At the same time, Nichols said that Bannon “had not produced a single document” or any testimony to Congress. “The January 6 Committee has every reason to investigate what happened that day,” Nichols said, adding that “flaunting congressional subpoenas betrays a lack of respect” for Congress. Friday’s sentencing does not end Bannon’s legal troubles. He was indicted in New York state in September on charges of money laundering and conspiracy, with prosecutors accusing him of deceiving donors giving money to help build Trump’s promised wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Bannon, who pleaded not guilty, could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted on those charges. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Additional reporting by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Will Dunham and Alistair Bell) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Harry Lawtey has been cast in ‘Joker: Folie a Deux’. The ‘Industry’ actor has boarded the ensemble for Todd Phillips’ sequel to the acclaimed 2019 film ‘Joker’. The star joins an ensemble that includes Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Zazie Beetz, Brendan Gleeson and Catherine Keener. Plot details for the new movie have been kept under wraps but Phoenix is reprising his role as Arthur Fleck/Joker and Gaga is playing the role of Harley Quinn – the Arkham Asylum psychiatrist who falls in love with her patient. The movie is said to be set in Arkham – where Fleck ends up at the end of the original film – and will feature musical elements. Warner Bros. are yet to comment on Lawtey’s casting in the film but insiders suggest he will have a major part in the flick. As with the original ‘Joker’ film, Phillips is directing from a script he has penned with Scott Silver. The movie is expected to begin production in November with a plan for a theatrical release in 2024. Gleeson recently revealed that he signed up for the film in order to work with Phoenix again after the pair starred in the 2004 movie ‘The Village’ together. Asked how the ‘Joker’ sequel appealed to him, he told Collider: “It wasn’t the material, which is a great way to get me out of having to answer any questions about the criteria. “It was the achievement of the first film. I worked with Joaquin before on ‘The Village’… And so I knew him from then.” The 67-year-old star added: “And that performance, I’m still in awe of it. That performance as Joker, in that first movie. It was one of the most extraordinary achievements I’ve ever had. “And for Todd to have – Worked the movie around to allow for that, I didn’t have to be asked twice. I really didn’t.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Luc Cohen and Karen Freifeld NEW YORK (Reuters) – Donald Trump’s family company is set to face a criminal trial on tax fraud charges in New York starting next week that could trigger fines and further complicate the real estate firm’s ability to do business as the former U.S. president’s legal woes mount. The Manhattan district attorney’s office in July 2021 charged the Trump Organization and its then-chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg with defrauding tax authorities by awarding “off the books” benefits to company executives since 2005, allowing certain employees to understate their taxable compensation and enabling the company to evade payroll taxes. Weisselberg, who has worked for Trump for half a century, pleaded guilty in August to charges that he concealed $1.76 million in income. His plea agreement requires him to testify at the trial against the Trump Organization, which operates hotels, golf courses and other real estate around the world. Jury selection is scheduled to begin on Monday in Manhattan state court. Trump has not been charged in the case. But the trial of his namesake company now run by two of his adult children – Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump – comes as the Republican former president considers running again in 2024. Trump faces other investigations by federal and state prosecutors including ones into attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss and the removal of government documents from the White House when he left office. The Trump Organization could face up to $1.6 million in fines for the three tax fraud counts and six other counts that were brought. Two of its subsidiaries – the Trump Corporation and Trump Payroll Corp – are the entities charged in the case. Lawyers for the Trump Organization have claimed the case is a “selective prosecution” based on animosity by the prosecution toward Trump for his political views, though the judge overseeing it has rejected that argument. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his predecessor who began the investigation, Cyrus Vance, are Democrats. The company’s lawyers also said prosecutors presented no evidence to the grand jury that returned the indictment that the Trump Organization evaded payroll taxes. They also said that prosecutors were seeking to punish the company because “a handful of its officers allegedly failed to report fringe benefits on their personal tax returns.” OFF-THE-BOOKS PAYMENTS The fact that the Trump Organization kept making off-the-books payments for so many years could help prosecutors show it intended to violate tax laws, a key element of proving its guilt to the jury, said Bridget Crawford, a law professor at Pace University in New York focusing on income tax and corporations. “Failure to report once might be a mistake. Failure to report over a period of time is fraud,” Crawford added. “If you know of your tax obligations – which all experienced and savvy people do – and consciously disregard them, that is intent to defraud the government.” The criminal case is separate from the civil fraud lawsuit filed by New York state Attorney General Letitia James on Sept. 21 against the Trump Organization, Trump and three of his adult children, accusing them of overstating asset values and Trump’s net worth to get favorable bank loans and insurance coverage. Trump has called the civil suit brought by James as well as the charges being pursued by Bragg politically motivated. James, a Democrat, is seeking to recoup $250 million, remove the Trumps from power at the Trump Organization, prevent it from buying commercial real estate in New York for five years and install an independent monitor to oversee its operations. The Manhattan District Attorney’s office is limited to seeking financial penalties, noted Marc Scholl, a former prosecutor in the office. A corporation can be fined up to $250,000 for each tax-related count it faces and up to $10,000 for non-tax counts, Scholl added. The trial could make other companies wary of dealing with the Trump Organization regardless of any punishment the judge may ultimately hand down, said Miriam Baer, a professor at Brooklyn Law School specializing in corporate compliance and white collar crime. The Manhattan district attorney’s office has brought criminal cases against high-profile companies but trials are rare. “It casts a pall of uncertainty over the company,” Baer said, adding that many companies seek to resolve allegations of criminal wrongdoing before charges are even brought through agreements with prosecutors. WEISSELBERG’S PERKS Prosecutors said Weisselberg received perks from the company in lieu of some salary, including rent for a Manhattan apartment, lease payments for two Mercedes-Benz vehicles and tuition for relatives, with Trump signing the tuition checks. They added that Weisselberg also used company money to buy personal items like televisions and carpets, and falsely told tax authorities he was not a New York City resident. Weisselberg avoided $900,000 in taxes by failing to declare those perks as income, and collected $133,000 in refunds he did not deserve, prosecutors said. Two other Trump Organization employees received compensation in the form of lodging and car leases, prosecutors said. There is nothing illegal about receiving non-monetary compensation from an employer, but those benefits must be reported as income, with the exception of small perks like free coffee at the office, said Jay Soled, a lawyer and accounting professor at Rutgers Business School in Newark, New Jersey. (Reporting by Luc Cohen and Karen Freifeld in New York; Editing by Will Dunham and Noeleen Walder) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Andy Dick has been arrested for allegedly stealing power tools. The 56-year-old comedian was stopped by police on 13 October after Santa Barbara cops responded to a report of a burglary in progress at a home, where they found the ‘Less than Perfect’ star trying to flee after he had allegedly removed several items from a home under construction. The homeowner confirmed to police they didn’t know him and he didn’t have permission to be there. According to TMZ, the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s office have charged Andy with first-degree residential burglary and he has pled not guilty to the charge. A week on from the incident, the ‘Freaky Deaky’ actor remains in Santa Barbara County Jail waiting for someone to bail him out, with his bond having been set at $50,000. Andy’s lawyer, Brian Mathis, said the comic has a public defender representing him and they are “confident additional facts will come to light supporting Mr. Dick as this case moves forward.” Andy’s arrest comes three months after he was arrested on suspicion of sexual battery after an adult male alleged the ‘NewsRadio’ star had assaulted him at California’s O’Neill Regional Park. Last November, the star was arrested for felony domestic battery after he allegedly hit his partner with a bottle. But he was released around three hours later after posting a bond of $50,000. And in June last year, he was arrested for allegedly assaulting a man with a deadly weapon and was released from jail after posting a bond. Andy was previously sentenced to 14 days in jail for sexual battery in 2019 after squeezing a random woman’s butt in the street and failing to complete his community service. And in 2018, he was charged with misdemeanour sexual battery after an Uber driver accused him of grabbing his crotch. View the full article

Published by AFP More frequent wildfires caused by climate change have placed the survival of Los Angeles' last remaining mountain lions in doubt Washington (AFP) – They are beautiful, powerful and stalk the hills above Los Angeles. But more frequent wildfires caused by climate change have placed the survival of the city’s last remaining mountain lions in doubt, by increasing their exposures to car collisions and hostile encounters with their own kind. Rachel Blakey of the University of California, Los Angeles led a study published Thursday in Current Biology examining the impact of the 2018 Woolsey fire, which scorched half the big cats’ habitat in the Santa Monica mountains. The biggest takeaway: “It’s not just about how many animals perished in that fire — in this case two mountain lions,” she told AFP. “We need to think about how that change in the landscape is then going to influence how these animals experience all the other stresses that they’re currently dealing with.” Blakey, a native of Australia who has been researching California’s wildlife for about seven years, says she was “blown away” to learn that a city of 10 million people supported a population of mountain lions, also known as cougars. The apex predators are one of two large cat species in the Western Hemisphere, along with jaguars found further south in Mexico and Central America. Generally speaking, the species is healthy enough, explained Blakey, though their range was once much bigger, roaming from coast to coast before the arrival of Europeans to the Americas. But there are pockets within California where the lions are hemmed in by urban areas and freeways, decreasing their genetic diversity and placing great pressures on their survival. Los Angeles is one such region. More crossings, more fights – Over the past 20 years, the National Park Service (NPS) has been tracking this isolated population, which generally numbers around 10-12 individuals. They had already noticed worrying signs of inbreeding, such as kinked tails and low-quality sperm, but the lions were nonetheless clinging on. Blakey and NPS colleagues decided to leverage GPS and accelerometer data from tags on the animals to understand the impacts of the Woolsey fire, which burned 97,000 acres (40,000 hectares) in November 2018. What they found was far from encouraging. After the fire, the lions avoided the burned areas, which they previously used as cover to ambush their prey — deer and small mammals — as well as to avoid conflicts between males. They also placed themselves at great risk by crossing more roads, including freeways. Their rate of crossing Highway 101, a busy 10-lane freeway, increased from once every two years to once every four months. Blakey said this change was “very, very striking considering these roads are the major source of mortality for this population.” The lions also had to put in a lot more work to eke out survival. They traveled nearly 400 kilometers a month on average compared to 250 kilometers, increasing their food needs and placing them at further risk of lethal skirmishes with other mountain lions. Animal crossing One piece of good news from the study: contrary to residents’ fears, the lions remained deeply shy of humans, spending only four or five percent of their time in urban areas both before and after the fire. Co-author Seth Riley of the NPS told AFP that while the population had since returned to their former range after the forest recovered, and the lions were back to their pre-fire numbers, climate change continued to pose risks. “With climate change, there’s concern about more and bigger fires, and drought doesn’t help, which is something we’ve been experiencing for quite a while here,” he said. Researchers and conservationists are placing great hope on the Wallis Annenberg wildlife crossing, a vegetated overpass currently under construction that was designed with the lions and other species in mind. Some animals will of course continue to get hit, said Riley. But they believe the crossing will help restore connectivity between the Santa Monica lions and other populations to the north, providing a much-needed boost to genetic exchange. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jack Queen (Reuters) -A Manhattan jury began deliberating on Thursday in the sex abuse trial of actor Kevin Spacey, who was accused in a civil lawsuit of making an unwanted sexual advance on a 14-year-old in 1986. Anthony Rapp, now 50, claimed the abuse took place in Spacey’s New York apartment when the actor was 26. Spacey denied the allegation on the stand and said he had never been alone with Rapp. Rapp’s lawyer, Richard Steigman, urged jurors to discredit Spacey’s recollection of the events. “It’s inconsistent. It’s not worthy of your belief,” Steigman said during closing arguments. Spacey’s lawyer, Jennifer Keller, said during her closing arguments that Rapp fabricated his story because he wanted attention, among other possible motivations for lying. “Mr. Rapp is getting more attention in this trial than he has in his entire acting life,” Keller said. The trial in Manhattan federal court began on Oct. 6, just under five years after Spacey’s career was upended by sexual misconduct allegations in the early days of the #MeToo movement. He has denied any misconduct. Keller urged jurors to ignore the sexual politics of the case. “This isn’t a team sport where you’re either on the MeToo side or the other side,” Keller said. Rapp sued Spacey for battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress in November 2020. During the trial, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan dismissed the emotional distress claim but allowed the rest of the lawsuit to proceed. Spacey won Oscars for performances in “American Beauty” and “The Usual Suspects,” but his career largely ended after more than 20 men accused him of sexual misconduct. Spacey faces a criminal trial in London next year after pleading not guilty to five sex offense charges over alleged assaults between 2005 and 2013. (Reporting by Luc Cohen, Jody Godoy and Jack Queen in New York;Editing by Noeleen Walder, David Bario, Alistair Bell and Mark Porter) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Rihanna’s new Savage X Fenty sportswear line is “inspired by everyday life”. The ‘Umbrella’ hitmaker – who welcomed her first child, a son, with her boyfriend rapper ASAP Rocky in May – called her athleisure collaboration with Adam Selman “sexy” and “functional”. The 34-year-old singer – whose real name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty – told Vogue: “I was inspired by everyday life. Everything is a sport. Being pregnant is a sport. For me, it was about fit and fabric, and I let Adam play with everything else. The pieces are sexy and snatch you, but it’s functional and that’s what describes the whole Sport collection. Sexy. Functional. Fashion.” Adam – who is a long-time creative partner of Rihanna and has made some of her most iconic looks such as the naked dress she wore to CDFA Awards in 2014 – believes the line of “lingerie-inspired activewear” is unlike “anything else”. The designer told the same outlet: “It’s the perfect marriage of lingerie-inspired activewear that isn’t like anything else on the market. We wanted to create something unique and bold that can speak to the existing customers, but also open up a whole new realm of possibilities for us.” Adam – who has worked with Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, RuPaul and Mick Jagger – thought it important to make the line to be technical while still “sexy”. He said: “Sometimes, when innovation and technology are used in activewear, it gets very techy – I wanted to keep it invisible and sexy, so you feel it, but without noticing it visually. It has all the things we know and love from Savage X Fenty – it’s disruptive, inclusive, bold and sexy, while still being powerful and playful at the same time.” View the full article

Published by Tribune News Service At the Global Fund Seventh Replenishment Conference last month, President Joe Biden pledged $6 billion in U.S. funding to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, and strengthen health systems worldwide. The announcement is a welcome sign of the administration’s continued interest in global health as attention to the COVID-19 pandemic wanes. But despite this and other recent commitments, the United States is still doing too little to address the danger of new and resurgent diseases. The recent spread of monkeypox and even polio, though unlikely to reach pandemic levels, underscores this fact. Loo… Read More View the full article

Published by Raw Story By Sarah K. Burris Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has dispatched his “election police” to arrest Florida voters who were told they were allowed to vote by election staff but they weren’t supposed to. A few years ago, Florida citizens overwhelmingly voted in support a ballot measure that restored voting rights to felons who had served their time. So, those felons went to the polls and relied on government employees to tell them what to do. Now they’re being arrested. Republican commentator Alyssa Farah Griffin implied that it was all a political ploy by DeSantis to force Democrats to support pedophil… Read More View the full article

Published by Kaiser Health News Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on Acast. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Related Links Kids’ Mental Health Care Leaves Parents in Debt and in the Shadows As Links to MS Deepen, Researchers Accelerate Efforts to Develop an Epstein-Barr Vaccine Centene Gave Thousands to Georgia Leaders’ Campaigns While Facing Medicaid Overbilling Questions Don’t Drill Your Own Teeth! And Quashing Other Rotten Dental Advice on TikTok What do pandemic preparedness, mental health care services, and over-the-counter hearing… Read More View the full article

Published by Orlando Sentinel ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida adopted a trio of education rules Wednesday that carry out its new culture-war laws, including one that threatens public school teachers with the loss of state certification if they violate requirements of the state’s so-called “don’t say gay” and “anti-woke” legislation. More than 50 people spoke at the State Board of Education meeting held at an Orlando hotel, both to denounce and applaud the new rules, all of which were adopted. The laws were approved earlier this year by the Republican-dominated Florida Legislature and then signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who pushed fo… Read More View the full article

Published by Sports Illustrated By Nick Selbe Perkins: “I’ve decided that I’m going to make a change, and stop running away from myself.” Hampton defensive back Byron Perkins made history Wednesday by becoming the first football player at an HBCU to come out as gay. Perkins, a redshirt junior from Chicago, made the announcement on his Instagram account story, saying that it was time to “stop running away.” “I’ve decided that I’m going to make change, and stop running away from myself. I’m gay,” Perkins wrote. “Let it be known that this is not a ‘decision’ or a ‘choice.’ Yes, this is who I am, this is who I’ve been, and this … Read More View the full article

Published by PopCrush The mother of one of Jeffery Dahmer’s victims is slamming those who dress as the serial killer on Halloween. Shirley Hughes, the mother of Tony Hughes, recently shared that when people dress as the serial killer, it becomes exploitative and can traumatize their families. Speaking to news outlet TMZ, Shirley told them that the costumes were “evil.” “If Netflix hadn’t streamed the show … None of the families would be revictimized … and then there’d be no Dahmer costumes this year,” she added. Last month, Netflix released a series focused on the serial killer. Produced by Ryan Murphy, Dahmer — Mo… Read More View the full article

Published by City AM By Adam Bloodworth My Policeman review: Harry Styles is not yet a good actor, but Styles gives the fans exactly what they want in this gripping LGBTQ drama Amid all the rumours of a feud between Harry Styles, his director-girlfriend Olivia Wilde and their co-star Florence Pugh on the set of Don’t Worry Darling – a rumour that grew stronger when Pugh didn’t turn up to press conferences – you’d have been forgiven for forgetting Styles has another flick out. Not just any flick: one where he gets his naked butt out and, clearly having engaged with an oh-so modern intimacy coordinator, has some of … Read More View the full article

Published by uInterview.com Actor Kevin Spacey began his testimony in his sexual assault lawsuit in New York on Monday and gave on-record responses to the accusations outlined against him by fellow actor Anthony Rapp. Rapp accuses Spacey of touching him inappropriately in a Manhattan party when Rapp was 14 and Spacey was 26, and is seeking $40 million in damages. Spacey is accused of inviting the young actor to a private room, when he then lifted up Rapp “like a groom carrying a bride over the threshold,” and then laid him on a bed and climbed on top of him. Rapp also said in his testimony that he quickly squirmed out an… Read More View the full article

Published by Raw Story By Sky Palma Prosecutors at the Justice Department say there is sufficient evidence to charge Donald Trump with obstruction of justice when it comes to allegations that he mishandled classified documents, although they’re not quite sure on how to indict him, Bloomberg reports. “The team that’s part of the classified records probe has not yet made a formal recommendation to Attorney General Merrick Garland, who would ultimately approve or reject such a move, according to people familiar with the matter,” Bloomberg’s report stated. “It’s also unlikely officials would bring only obstruction charg… Read More View the full article

Published by Raw Story By Sky Palma An Idaho man who was jailed for allegedly yelling homophobic slurs while trying to run over two women with his car is facing a new charge of arson. But according to Idaho law, he cannot be charged with a hate crime, The Advocate reports. Matthew Lehigh, 31, was charged with three counts of aggravated assault and one count of malicious injury to property along with the felony arson charge related to his burning of Pride flags and vandalism at a LGBTQ community center in Boise. “The women were standing next to their vehicle when the suspect intentionally drove his car at them, the w… Read More View the full article

Published by Raw Story By Travis Gettys Donald Trump and his right-wing allies are pushing wild election-fraud conspiracy theories as ballots have already started being cast in some states. Posts on Reddit and other social media sites are purporting to show evidence of ballot stuffing, including photos taken by volunteers from the right-wing Clean Elections USA group, whose members are monitoring drop boxes for so-called “ballot mules,” and the former president has been boosting those claims, reported Vice. “My dedicated dropbox watching team caught this and sent it up the chain. What do you see in the picture?” sai… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters NEW YORK (Reuters) – Donald Trump was scheduled to give a deposition on Wednesday in a defamation lawsuit brought in New York by writer E. Jean Carroll after the former president denied having raped her. Carroll, a former Elle magazine columnist, sued Trump in Manhattan federal court in November 2019, five months after he denied raping her in the mid-1990s. In denying the allegations, Trump said at the time that Carroll was “not my type.” Trump has accused Carroll of making up the original accusation and said the courts should have thrown out the lawsuit. Alina Habba, a lawyer for Trump, has called the case “entirely without merit.” U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan last week denied Trump’s bid to delay the case, stating that subjecting Trump to a deposition in the case would not impose an “undue burden” on him. An Oct. 19 date was set for Trump’s deposition. Trump had argued that the case should be put on hold while an appeals court decides whether he was acting in his official capacity as president when he called Carroll a liar. His lawyers have argued that Trump was shielded from Carroll’s lawsuit by a federal law providing immunity to government employees from defamation claims. Carroll has said she also plans to sue Trump on Nov. 24 for battery and inflicting emotional distress. On that date, a recently enacted New York state law gives victims of sexual misconduct a one-year window to sue over alleged sexual misconduct even if the statute of limitations has expired. Carroll has accused Trump of raping her in late 1995 or early 1996 in a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan. Trump has accused her of concocting the rape claim to sell her book. (Reporting by Luc Cohen; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Will Dunham) View the full article

Published by AFP The replica of Noah's Ark in Kentucky is in keeping with its supposed Biblical measurements: 150 meters (510 feet) long, 15 meters (51 feet) high, and 25 meters (85 feet) wide Williamstown (United States) (AFP) – A full-sized model of Noah’s Ark sitting in rural Kentucky promotes a worldview that draws visitors from across the United States — that the theory of evolution is false. The Ark Encounter and the associated Creation Museum espouse the belief that God literally created the Earth in six days around 4,000 BC. Evangelical Christians flock to see the spectacular staging and sharp denunciations of scientific facts such as that dinosaurs became extinct about 65 million years ago. Visitors also reflect America’s divided politics as the country heads into midterm elections, with creationists often aligned with the Republican Party on issues such as abortion and gay rights. “Dinosaurs are often used by evolutionists to proclaim their worldview. So we’ve taken the dinosaurs back, if you will,” said Mark Looy, cofounder of the ark amusement park and the museum. Standing a few steps from a model of an allosaurus skeleton, Looy said the site offers a different view of dinosaurs — that “most of them perished during the flood about 4,500 years ago.” The museum opened in 2007 in Petersburg, Kentucky, financed by a donation campaign and supported by Answers in Genesis, a group that believes in strict creationism. The Ark Encounter opened in 2016 about 70 kilometers (45 miles) away in Williamstown, and contains a replica of Noah’s Ark in keeping with its supposed Biblical measurements — 150 meters (510 feet) long, 15 meters (51 feet) high, and 25 meters (85 feet) wide. Bible ‘more than a story’ A combo ticket to the two sites costs $85, and Looys says more than a million people a year browse the exhibits — and also enjoy attractions such as zip-lining and a petting zoo Most visitors are committed to the cause. “My husband and I… believe the Earth is about 6,000 years old,” said Suzanne Swindle, a 37-year-old executive from Atlanta who came to show her four-year-old daughter that the Bible “is more than just a story.” However, she does not deny that species “adapt to their environment,” one of the pillars of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. Similarly, Mike Barrington, a 70-year-old former veteran who lives in Louisiana, calls himself a creationist, but he adds that the exhibit’s explanation of dinosaurs “is new to me.” Such contradictions are mirrored in the polls. According to a 2019 Gallup survey, 40 percent of Americans believe God created man less than 10,000 years ago. But other polls ask subtler questions with more options and find about 15 percent reject the theory of evolution, said Adam Laats, a historian at Binghamton University in New York and author of the book “Creationism USA.” Calling oneself a creationist in the United States is more “an identifying mark of a much broader cultural divide,” he said. “Someone would go and say, ‘Oh, I guess I’m a creationist because I don’t like pornography, I don’t want abortion rights, and I don’t want LGBTQ rights.'” Laats said decades of conflict over which institutions in the United States are trustworthy — ranging from justice and politics to science and the media — has created “radically different ideas about truth and reality.” Election issues The themes are at the heart of key midterm elections on November 8 and Laats sees “a correlation between the most archetypal MAGA (Donald Trump) conservatives and the most ardent museum-type creationists.” At the two sites, “you’d find mostly Republicans,” Mark Looy said, and while the attractions must stay away from endorsing candidates, “we don’t shy away from some of the hot button issues of the day.” In one clear example, a dummy video game at the museum reflects a binary reading of the world. Two camps confront each other: “Man’s world,” associated with “abortion” or “gay marriage,” versus “God’s word,” synonymous with “marriage” and “sanctity of life.” The mix of religion, activism and entertainment is also evident at the museum’s Garden of Eden. After strolling through a bucolic landscape with Adam and Eve, visitors arrive in a screening room with projected black and white photos of the Holocaust, drug addicts and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. To reinforce the message, big letters spell out: “Rejection of God’s word led to corruption.” Peggy Mast, a 74-year-old woman from Kansas, agrees. For her, “chaos reigns” in America, where “people are now committing anarchy with the acceptance of the administration of our government.” So the museum is “a wonderful place to reaffirm the very things that we know about God,” she added. View the full article