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Published by Raw Story By Sky Palma The Trump-endorsed GOP candidate for Wisconsin governor called for people to take up “pitchforks and torches” in reaction to a story that detailed his giving to anti-abortion groups and churches, News8000 reports. Tim Michels, who faces Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, slammed a story published by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel detailing charitable giving by he and his wife’s foundation to anti-abortion and anti-LGBT causes. “I believe people should just, just be ready to get out on the streets with pitchforks and torches with how low the liberal media has become,” Michels said Thursda… Read More View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega; @DanRapoport/Facebook The anti-Putin businessman found dead outside his apartment building last month reportedly criticized the Russian army weeks before his suspected suicide, Radar has learned. As RadarOnline.com previously reported, 52-year-old Dan Rapoport was found dead outside his Washington, D.C. apartment building on August 14 after allegedly jumping from the roof. @DanRapoport/Facebook Although the businessman from Moscow was in the United States alone at the time, he was reportedly working to bring his wife and their young daughter over from Ukraine prior to his death. Now, according to Daily Mail, a podcast featuring Rapoport from June 15 has resurfaced in which the outspoken Vladimir Putin critic mocked the Russian strongman and lambasted the Russian army’s capabilities in fighting Ukraine. “We all see the poor state of Russian equipment and technology,” Rapoport said during the podcast with Ukrainian journalist Olena Sharpanska. “I doubt anything can even fly from Russia.” Rapoport also suggested the Russian army was becoming “weaker every day” in their fight against Ukraine. Mega Later in the recorded interview, the 52-year-old Latvian-born businessman expressed his excitement to bring his wife and daughter over from Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv. “I left Kyiv in May. I have to arrange my family, so I returned to America,” he told Sharpanska eight weeks before his death. “I spent the first two weeks in Florida, then I went to New York, and now I am in Washington.” As RadarOnline.com reported, Rapoport’s wife and friends have disagreed with investigators’ claims his death was a suicide. “I think the circumstances of his death are extremely suspicious,” Bill Browder, a financer who also once lived and worked in Moscow, stated. “Whenever someone who is in a negative view of the Putin regime dies suspiciously, one should rule out foul play, not rule it in.” @DanRapoport/Facebook “He was a well-known critic of Putin in the West and had been an effective critic,” Browder continued during an interview with Politico. “He was also an open supporter of Alexei Navalny, and he had all these connections in the elite of Washington, D.C.” After Rapoport’s body was found, the DC Metropolitan Police immediately ruled the businessman’s death a suicide with no foul play suspected in the case. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Lea Michele has “an edge to [her]” personality. The 36-year-old actress admits that her “perfectionist” mentality may have previously had a negative impact. Lea – who is best known for playing Rachel Berry in the hit TV series ‘Glee’ – said: “I have an edge to me. I work really hard. I leave no room for mistakes. That level of perfectionism, or that pressure of perfectionism, left me with a lot of blindspots.” Lea was previously accused by her former ‘Glee’ co-star Samantha Ware of tormenting her with “traumatic microaggressions”. The actress subsequently apologised for her past behaviour, and she now insists that her attitude has changed. She told The New York Times newspaper: “I really understand the importance and value now of being a leader. It means not only going and doing a good job when the camera’s rolling, but also when it’s not. “And that wasn’t always the most important thing for me.” Samantha slammed Lea on social media in 2020, after the actress expressed her support for the Black Lives Matter movement. In response to Lea’s comments, Samantha wrote on Twitter: “LMAO REMEMBER WHEN YOU MADE MY FIRST TELEVISON GIG A LIVING HELL?!?! CAUSE ILL NEVER FORGET. I BELIEVE YOU TOLD EVERYONE THAT IF TOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY YOU WOULD “‘S*** IN MY WIG!’ AMONGST OTHER TRAUMATIC MICROAGRESSIONS THAT MADE ME QUESTION A CAREER IN HOLLYWOOD… (sic).” Lea subsequently issued an apology, although she admitted she couldn’t specifically remember making hurtful remarks towards her co-star. The actress said in a statement: “What matters is that I clearly acted in ways which hurt other people. “One of the most important lessons of the last few weeks is that we need to take the time to listen and learn about other people’s perspectives and any role we have played or anything we can do to help address the injustices that they face.” View the full article

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House called on China on Thursday to immediately cease “atrocities” against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities and urged Beijing to allow unfettered access to Xinjiang. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the United States welcomed a report from the United Nations’ human rights chief on Wednesday that said China’s “arbitrary and discriminatory detention” of Uyghurs and other Muslims in its Xinjiang region may constitute crimes against humanity. “We will call on China to immediately cease committing these atrocities,” she told reporters, urging China to allow independent investigators full and unhindered access to the region. (Reporting by Jeff Mason and Steve Holland; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. military experienced its highest recorded level of sexual assault among women last year, in findings the Pentagon on Thursday described as tragic, disappointing and devastating. The U.S. military, which is already struggling to meet recruiting goals after decades of war, revealed the gloomy data just months after announcing new reforms that critics said were too slow and too limited to resolve the crisis. Reports of sexual assault increased by roughly 13% in 2021 compared with the previous year. A staggering 8.4% of active-duty women are estimated to have experienced some form of unwanted sexual contact in fiscal-year 2021, while the figure for men roughly doubled to 1.5%, according to a survey in a Pentagon report published on Thursday. While the report said the results could not be scientifically compared to previous years because of a government-directed change in metrics, one senior Pentagon official said it was the highest rate for women since 2006 and the second-highest level for men. “These numbers are tragic, and extremely disappointing. On an individual level, it is devastating to conceptualize that these numbers mean that over 35,000 service members’ lives and careers were irrevocably changed by these crimes,” Elizabeth Foster, executive director of the Pentagon’s Office of Force Resiliency, told reporters. “Every incident has a ripple effect across the unit and impacts unit cohesion, ability to trust and distracts from the critical mission at hand,” Foster added. The Marine Corps had a 13.4% sexual assault prevalence rate among women in 2021, up from about 10.7%, according to the survey. U.S. Representative Jackie Speier, who is also co-chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, said the results were disturbing and she would hold a hearing in the coming weeks for more answers. “The watchful eye of Congress is needed to ensure that military leadership is held to account and any additional changes deemed necessary to address this national embarrassment and crisis are made,” Speier said in a statement. This year President Joe Biden signed an executive order to make sexual harassment an offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. In December, lawmakers passed the National Defense Authorization Act which included an overhaul of the military justice system. It would take decisions on whether to prosecute cases of rape and sexual assault out of the hands of military commanders. Still, some lawmakers and activists said it does not go far enough, particularly given the extent to which sexual assault victims tend to have a lack of faith in the military justice system. Only 39% of women in the military said they trusted the system to treat them with dignity and respect after an incident, compared with 66% in 2018. Only 34% of them trusted the military to protect their privacy after reporting an incident, down from 63% in 2018. Six out of 10 women did not express trust in the military to ensure their safety after an incident, the data showed. (Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Felix Light (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin is to miss the funeral of the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, denying the man who failed to prevent the collapse of the Soviet empire the full state honours granted to Boris Yeltsin. Gorbachev, idolised in the West for allowing eastern Europe to escape Soviet communist control but unloved at home for the chaos that his “perestroika” reforms unleashed, will be buried on Saturday after a public ceremony in Moscow’s Hall of Columns. The grand hall, within sight of the Kremlin, hosted the funerals of Soviet leaders Vladimir Lenin, Josef Stalin and Leonid Brezhnev. Gorbachev will be given a military guard of honour – but his funeral will not be a state one. State television on Thursday showed Putin solemnly placing red roses beside Gorbachev’s coffin – left open as is traditional in Russia – in Moscow’s Central Clinical Hospital, where he died on Tuesday aged 91. Putin made a sign of the cross in Russian Orthodox fashion before briefly touching the edge of the coffin. “Unfortunately, the president’s work schedule will not allow him to do this on Sept. 3, so he decided to do it today,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. He said Gorbachev’s ceremony would have “elements” of a state funeral, and that the state was helping to organise it. Nevertheless, it will be a marked contrast to the funeral of Yeltsin, who was instrumental in sidelining Gorbachev as the Soviet Union fell apart and hand-picked Putin, a career KGB intelligence officer, as the man most suited to succeed him. When Yeltsin died in 2007, Putin declared a national day of mourning and, alongside world leaders, attended a grand state funeral in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Russia’s intervention in Ukraine appears aimed at reversing at least in part the collapse of the Soviet Union that Gorbachev failed to prevent in 1991. Gorbachev’s decision to let the countries of the post-war Soviet communist bloc go their own way, and East and West Germany to reunify, helped to trigger nationalist movements within the 15 Soviet republics that he was powerless to quell. Five years after taking power in 2000, Putin called the breakup of the Soviet Union “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century”. It took Putin more than 15 hours after Gorbachev’s death to publish a restrained message of condolence that said Gorbachev had had a “huge impact on the course of world history” and “deeply understood that reforms were necessary” to tackle the problems of the Soviet Union in the 1980s. Gorbachev’s foundation said the funeral would begin at 12 noon (0900 GMT), not 10 a.m. (0700 GMT) as previously announced. (Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Peter Graff) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Gloria Estefan felt “overjoyed” to learn that she’d inspired a new Barbie doll. The 65-year-old singer has been a fan of the “American icon” since her childhood, and she’s thrilled that she’s inspired the new doll. She explained: “Overjoyed is pretty much the word. I’ve gotten every award that you could possibly imagine. But somehow this was so incredibly special for me, maybe because I played with Barbie since I was a kid, a little girl, and she’s an American icon.” Gloria celebrates her 65th birthday on Thursday (01.09.22), and she admits that the new doll is a huge honour. She told PEOPLE: “To have them celebrate my image and my career and my culture on my birthday … it’s really special. “They were really, really sticklers about making sure that I was very involved in choosing her image, the clothes. I actually sent them my thigh-high boots and my jacket so that they could see the detail. That jewellery, the microphone, we made sure the hair was right, that she represented me in the way that was important to me. And I’m just beyond thrilled. “What can I tell you? I’m a Barbie.” The new doll has been specifically inspired by Gloria’s outfit in her music video for ‘Get On Your Feet’. And despite everything she’s achieved in her career, the singer continues to be amazed by her own success. The seven-time Grammy Award winner said: “I’ve got a Christmas album that I did with my daughter and my grandson that is coming out in a month – and to have Barbies celebrating my life right at this moment is just … there’s a lot going on and it’s all great and I’m thrilled about it.” View the full article

Published by AFP Steven Silverman, Senior Technical Program Manager and Manager of Imagery Solutions for Google, says the array of camera gear used to create a 360-degree map of the world positions the company to be a player in the metaverse Mountain View (United States) (AFP) – Fifteen years after its launch, a Google Maps feature that lets people explore faraway places as though standing right there is providing a glimpse of the metaverse being heralded as the future of the internet. There was not yet talk of online life moving to virtual worlds when a “far-fetched” musing by Google co-founder Larry Page prompted Street View, which lets users of the company’s free navigation service see imagery of map locations from the perspective of being there. Now the metaverse is a tech-world buzz, with companies including Facebook parent Meta investing in creating online realms where people represented by videogame-like characters work, play, shop and more. “Larry Page took a video camera and stuck it out the window of his car,” Google senior technical program manager Steven Silverman said, while showing AFP the garage where the company builds cameras for cars, bikes, backpacks, and even snowmobiles dispatched to capture 360-degree images worldwide. “He was talking to some of his colleagues at the time, saying, ‘I bet we can do something with this.’ That was the start of Street View.” Street View lets people click on locations in Google Maps to see what it might look like were they at that spot, and even look around. Now, the internet behemoth is introducing an “immersive view” that fuses Street View images with artificial intelligence to create “a rich, digital model of the world,” Miriam Daniel, Google Maps Experiences vice president, said in a post. “You’ll be able to experience what a neighborhood, landmark, restaurant or popular venue is like — and even feel like you’re right there before you ever set foot inside,” Daniel said. “With a quick search, you can virtually soar over Westminster to see the neighborhood and stunning architecture of places, like Big Ben, up close.” Google will start rolling out immersive view later this year, starting in Los Angeles, London, New York, San Francisco and Tokyo. From maps to metaverse Street View imagery has been gathered in more than 100 countries and territories, ranging from places such as Mount Fuji and Grand Canyon National Park to the Great Barrier Reef. “If you want to see what it’s like to go down a ski slope, you can see where that snowmobile has gone,” Silverman said, nodding toward a maroon snowmobile in the garage in the Silicon Valley city of Mountain View, California. “That trike was really funny because it went around Stonehenge; and we put it on a barge and went down the Amazon River,” he said of another vehicle. He pointed to a backpack camera system taken for a zip-line ride in the Amazon, to provide a bird’s-eye perspective. Years spent capturing the real world in 360-degree imagery bodes well for Google when it comes to a future in which internet life shifts to immersive digital worlds, said Creative Strategies tech analyst Carolina Milanesi. “It absolutely plays into the metaverse,” Milanesi said. “The idea of a digital twin of the world is certainly one aspect of it that Google will solve.” Silverman reasoned that, in a sense, Street View has been giving users a virtual experience for more than a decade, and the imagery naturally lends itself to depicting the real world in virtual settings. “Ideally, that metaverse, that world that we move into, we’re going to be there,” Silverman said. Scores of tech firms have been rushing to invest in building the metaverse, a loose term covering the growing ecosystem of interactive online worlds, games and 3D meeting places that are already attracting millions of users. Facebook renamed its parent company to Meta last year to emphasize its virtual reality vision, and opened Horizon World virtual reality platform to the North American public. Earlier this year, Japanese giant Sony and Lego’s Danish parent firm announced a $2 billion investment in US gaming powerhouse Epic Games for its work toward joining the metaverse vision for the internet’s future. In the form of video games such as Epic’s hit Fortnite, the precursors of the metaverse already exist in minimalist ways, with people coming together not only to play, but also to interact and participate in events. What started as a “far-fetched idea” by Page is “critical to our mapping efforts — letting you see the most up-to-date information about the world, while laying the foundation for a more immersive, intuitive map,” Google Maps product director Ethan Russell said in a blog post. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Kanye West has aimed a blistering rant at Kim Kardashian raging about a “porn addiction” which “destroyed” his family and comparing the men to “sperm donors”. The rapper posted a series of messages online which appeared to be part of a disagreement with Kim over where to send their four children – North, nine, Chicago, four, Saint, six, and Psalm, three – to school with Kanye suggesting he wanted the kids to attend the institution he founded – the Donda Academy – instead of the private Sierra Canyon school in Los Angeles. In one of the notes posted online, Kanye wrote: “It’s not up to Calabasas or Hulu where my kids go to school I’m not the crazy one here It’s up. I won’t stop until I have a say so on my kids no matter what it legally takes.” Another post referred to Tristan Thompson, Scott Disick, and Travis Scott – who have all dated Kardashian sisters – and compared them to sperm “donors”. The star added: “We’re in this together.” Tristan has two kids with Khloe Kardashian, while Scott has three children with Kourtney, and Travis is dad to a son and daughter with Kylie Jenner. Kanye also shared a screen shot which appeared to show an exchange between him and his ex Kim, with the reality TV star writing: “Can u please stop (sic)” and Kanye replied: “No … We need to talk in person. You don’t have say so of where the kids go to school. Why get say say. Cause you half white?” Another screen shot appeared to show Kim passing on a message from her mum Kris Jenner. She wrote: “‘From my mom – PLEASE. Tell him to please stop mentioning my name. I’m almost 67 years old and I don’t always feel great and this stresses me to no end.” Kanye responded: “Y’all don’t have so so over my black children and where they go to school.” In another message, Kanye seemingly referenced Kim’s infamous sex tape and a shoot she did for Playboy as well as another shoot for the magazine by her sister Kylie. The musician wrote: “Don’t let Kris make you do playboy like she made Kyle and Kim do Hollywood is a giant brothel Pornography destroyed my family I deal with the addiction Instagram promotes it. Not gonna let it happen to (daughters) Northy and Chicago.” ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’ star Kim and Kanye married in 2014 and became parents to four kids before they split in early 2021. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Denise Richards’ husband Aaron Phypers helps her shoot her saucy OnlyFans content. The 51-year-old ‘Wild Things’ star joined the raunchy website in June just days after her 18-year-old daughter Sami signed up for the service, and Denise has now recruited her partner to help her take the sexiest shots for the adult platform – admitting she values his opinion. During an appearance on Sirius XM’s ‘Jeff Lewis Live’, she explained: “Aaron takes a lot of my content for me. He knows what guys like. I ask him, I show him things, and say, ‘What do you think?’” Denise went on to reveal she takes pictures in bikinis and lingerie and isn’t afraid to show off her body – insisting pictures of her semi-naked already exist on the internet, She told host Jeff: “I do bikini, I do lingerie, I do stuff that is sexier ’cause I also think, ‘Why not?’ if I’m able to do stuff outside of some of the more conservative stuff that’s on my Instagram. I do show my boobies, my tush,” she explained. “They’re already out there if you Google them.” The actress said she first joined the site to show support for her daughter, but she grew to understand why it feels “empowering”. She went on: “I did it to support my daughter, being a mom who is an actress who has done stuff, and I just thought it was empowering too as a woman … to take control,” she said. “You own all of the content and (on) a lot of the other platforms, you don’t own the content. So, it’s nice to be able to control it.” Sami previously faced opposition from her actor dad Charlie Sheen, who wasn’t happy with her decision to join OnlyFans, and she recently revealed he still hasn’t been won over. The teenager told TMZ: “(My mom) has been incredibly supportive from the jump. I’m grateful to have to her in my corner. But my dad hasn’t seen the light yet. “ Charlie is also dad to another daughter, Lola, 17, with ex-wife Denise. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Jennifer Coolidge thought she was too fat to star in ‘The White Lotus.’ The 60-year-old actress stars as Tanya McQuoid on the HBO comedy series about a group of holidaymakers at a vacation resort in Hawaii but had gained so much weight during the COVID-19 lockdowns that she almost turned down the part. She said: “It was COVID, [I was] locked up with this very nice girl that I knew in New Orleans. She was sort of a friend [and] my house sitter. It was just very lonely times … and so she and I got obsessed with these vegan pizzas and we were eating a lot of them each day. The number kept increasing. You can sort of numb out any worry you have in the world if you just eat another pizza. … And not that I was 110 pounds before, but somehow it led to my demise.” The ‘American Pie’ star went on to explain that when show creator Mike White presented her with the project, she didn’t feel as if she was in “fighting shape” and only changed her mind when a friend told her she would be “out of her mind” to reject the part. She told PEOPLE: “I was like, ‘I just don’t think I can do that.’ I had no time, I can’t work out!’ It was sort of weird, it was not that big a difference from what I usually looked like, but somehow it became my excuse not to do it. For whatever reason, I didn’t feel like I was in fighting shape. “A girlfriend just gave me this [pep talk and said], ‘You are out of your mind. I don’t even think you know what this is. This is self-sabotage. I’ve been your friend all these years, this is incredible opportunity for you. Are you really going to f*** this up? Are you really going to f*** this up, Jennifer? This is the worst thing you could do to yourself. Just go, just f****** do it. So, for once in my life, I listened.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By David Kirton SHENZHEN, China (Reuters) -The main districts of Chinese tech hub Shenzhen shut down public transport and extended curbs on public activities on Friday as cities across China battled COVID-19 outbreaks that have dampened the outlook for economic recovery. Six districts comprising the majority of the city’s population of almost 18 million announced that all residents would be tested twice for COVID-19 over the weekend as subway and bus services were suspended. Employees should work from home, with the exception of those in self-contained “closed-loop” operations, essential supplies and public services. In the southwestern metropolis of Chengdu, which put its 21 million people under lockdown on Thursday, factories including plants run by auto giants Toyota and Volkswagen kept production running under closed-loops. Curbing movements of tens of millions of people intensifies the challenge for China to cushion the economic impact of a “dynamic-zero” COVID policy that has kept its borders mostly shut to international visitors and made it an outlier as other countries learn to live with the coronavirus. China has given little indication of any plans to pull back on its stringent controls. Economists at Nomura said in a Friday report that market expectations for easing once China’s ruling Communist Party completes a once-in-five-years Congress in October are optimistic. Nomura expects COVID curbs to remain at least until March, when the annual parliamentary session takes place. Even then “we expect the economy and markets to experience a difficult period, as people will be either disappointed about no real opening or be overwhelmed by a surging COVID infection”, the economists wrote. The world’s second-biggest economy slowed sharply in the second quarter due to widespread lockdowns, and a nascent third-quarter recovery appears in danger of stalling. “We believe markets still underestimate the severity of this round of (COVID),” Nomura wrote. China’s blue-chip stocks sagged on Friday. ‘CAN’T JUST GIVE UP’ In Shenzhen on Thursday, city officials sought to quell rumours that a full lockdown was imminent. In March, the city swiftly locked down for a week to fight community infections. They said people could leave and return to their homes with proof of a test result less than 24 hours old. “We need to get the virus under control, we can’t just give up like some countries,” said a woman surnamed Tang volunteering to help food deliveries at a locked-down housing compound in Futian, Shenzhen’s hardest-hit district. “But I don’t know when it will end, it’s really hurting businesses.” On Friday, officials reported 87 new locally transmitted COVID infections in Shenzhen for Thursday, up from 62 a day earlier. Eight of the new cases were outside quarantine areas. CLOSED LOOPS In Chengdu, uncertainty remained over whether the lockdown would be lifted after daily mass testing ends on Sunday. The city reported 150 new local cases for Thursday, compared with 157 a day earlier. Non-essential employees in Chengdu were told to work from home, while manufacturers capable of managing on closed campuses were exempted from work-from-home requirements. Toyota Motor’s Chengdu plant, which has an annual production capacity of 105,000 vehicles, was “operating normally” and inside a closed loop at the request of the Sichuan province government, a company official told Reuters. A Volkswagen plant in Chengdu that makes the Sagitar and Jetta models has been operating in a closed loop since Thursday, a VW China representative told Reuters. Foxconn was continuing to operate a plant that makes Apple iPads in the city, Bloomberg reported. However, Sweden’s Volvo Cars, majority owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, has shut its Chengdu plant, a company spokesperson said on Thursday. (Reporting by David Kirton, Ryan Woo, Norihiko Shirouzu and Liz Lee; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan, Tomasz Janowski, Tony Munroe, John Stonestreet and Nick Macfie) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Michael Jackson’s ex-wife Debbie Rowe felt she “should have done something” to help him battle his addictions. The King of Pop died aged 50 in 2009 after suffering a cardiac arrest following an overdose of heavy sedative propofol and Debbie – who was married to him between 1996 and 1999 – now looks back on his drug problems with regret that she didn’t do more to help the singer as he struggled. Speaking in a new documentary for Fox TV, Debbie got emotional as she said: “I should have done something and I didn’t. There is a number of people that died from addictions and in some way I was part of it.” Debbie previously worked as an assistant to Jackson’s dermatologist Arnold Klein – who had provided the star with strong pain relief – and admitted she felt sorry for her part in the tragedy. She said: “I was basically as bad as him (Klein) and I am so sorry I participated in it.” Klein died in 2015 at the age of 70. Debbie and Jackson married in 1996 and she was the surrogate mother of his two eldest children, Prince and Paris. They’d previously met 15 years earlier while the singer was being treated for a skin condition. She rarely talks about her relationship with the star, which was shrouded in secrecy from the very start. During an appearance in 2003 TV ‘Michael Jackson: The Footage You Were Never Meant To See’, Debbie spoke about her relationship with the kids – insisting she was determined to help the ‘Thriller’ star fulfil his dream of becoming a dad. She said: “I did it for him to become a father, not for me to become a mother. You earn the title parent. I have done absolutely nothing to earn that title. That is because Michael did all the parenting. “I didn’t do it to be a mother. I didn’t change diapers. I didn’t get up in the middle of the night, even when I was there, Michael did it all.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Catherine Deneuve has declared she was “never a sex symbol”. The 78-year-old actress opened up about her life and career as she was presented with the Golden Lion award for lifetime achievement at the Venice Film Festival in Italy on Wednesday (31.08.22) and she insisted she felt it was a “challenege” to be attractive despite being considered one of the most beautiful women in the world. She said: “I was never a sex symbol. You won’t find me in very sexy photos … It was a challenge to be good-looking, but it’s not something which has been too important for me these past few years, of course. And it’s much better to be old in Europe than it is in America, especially as a woman.” She also gave a modest observation of her 65-year career, insisting: “There was a lot of luck.” Catherine also dismissed herself being labelled an “icon”, retorting: “No! That’s a word that can be used, but I’m not, no.” The screen star has been returning to work recently since suffering a stroke in 2019. She fell ill while filming the movie ‘De Son Vivant’ in France and spent several weeks in hospital before being allowed to return to her home in Paris to continue her recovery. In the film she plays a mother whose son is dying of cancer, and she since admitted it felt important to go back to set to finish the film after her health scare. She told Variety: “After my accident, I simply went back on the shoot of Emmanuelle Bercot’s film because it was important for me to finish it; I thought it would bring me some satisfaction.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) – A New York City agency overseeing workplace affairs said on Friday it sued Starbucks Corp because the coffee chain illegally fired a longtime barista and union organizer shortly after employees in his store voted to join a union. The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection called the case on behalf of Austin Locke, a Starbucks employee for 5-3/4 years, the city’s first for violating “just cause” protections under a 2017 law meant to protect fast-food workers. The Fair Workweek Law prohibits fast-food employers from firing or laying off workers, or reducing their hours by more than 15%, without just cause or legitimate economic reasons. According to a petition filed with the city’s Office of Administrative Trails and Hearings, Starbucks fired Locke on July 5, one month after employees in his store in the Astoria section of the borough of Queens decided to unionize. The lawsuit seeks Locke’s reinstatement and back pay, as well as civil penalties. A Starbucks spokeswoman said the Seattle-based company does not discuss pending litigation, but plans to defend against claims it violated the law. The petition said Starbucks claimed it fired Locke because he failed to complete a questionnaire required by its COVID-19 protocols, and falsely reported that a supervisor made unwanted contact during a dispute by placing his hand on Locke’s chest. Both incidents took place two days after the unionization vote, the petition said. In a statement provided by the city, Locke said “Starbucks continues to wrongfully fire pro-union workers nationwide in retaliation for union organizing.” He called on Starbucks to negotiate a contract with Starbucks Workers United, which represents employees at more than 200 stores. Last month, Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc agreed to pay $20 million to about 13,000 workers to settle city claims it violated the Fair Workweek Law. Chipotle was accused of failing to give workers their schedules two weeks in advance, award premium pay for unscheduled shifts, and let workers use accrued sick leave. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Josie Kao) View the full article

Published by Reuters (Reuters) -The U.S. government will provide abortion services to veterans in cases of rape or incest, or when the pregnancy puts the life of the woman at risk, even in states that have banned or restricted the practice, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said on Friday. The agency said in a policy document that it decided to offer abortions to veterans in response to a wave of U.S. states enacting bans and restrictions on such services since the Supreme Court ended the nationwide right to abortion in June. The department determined that “providing access to abortion-related medical services is needed to protect the lives and health of veterans” and the rule was meant to “avert imminent and future harm” to veterans, according to the policy document, which the department submitted to the Office of the Federal Register as an “interim final rule.” “This is a patient safety decision,” Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough said in a statement. By week’s end, 11 states will likely have near-total bans on abortion at all stages of pregnancy in force: Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas. In Texas, abortion providers could face up to lifetime imprisonment for helping patients terminate a pregnancy. In Oklahoma, where abortion was already banned with few exceptions, a law that took effect on Thursday makes providing an abortion a felony punishable with up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine. The department’s new policy removes or changes some of provisions in the medical benefits package for veterans that excluded abortion services until now. Veterans Affairs healthcare providers will determine whether the pregnancy is a risk to the life and health of the veteran on a case-by-case basis, the department said. In cases of rape or incest, self-reporting by a veteran would constitute sufficient evidence to justify the abortion, it said. (Reporting by Ismail Shakil; Editing by Mark Porter and Jonathan Oatis) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Chris Rock says Will Smith managed to do an impersonation of a “perfect man for 30 years” before showing he is “just as ugly as the rest of us”. The comic, 57, finally shared his extensive feelings about being slapped by the 53-year-old actor at this year’s Oscars during a gig with fellow stand-up Dave Chappelle at Liverpool’s M and S Arena on the first night of their joint multi-date tour. Dave, 49, asked Chris in front of the crowd: “Did that s*** hurt?” prompting Chris to exclaim: “Goddam right… the mother***** hit me over a bulls*** joke – the nicest joke I ever told. “Will did the impression of a perfect person for 30 years, and he ripped his mask off and showed us he was as ugly as the rest of us. “Whatever the consequences are… I hope he doesn’t put his mask back on again, and lets his real face breathe. I see myself in both men.” Chris also took aim at Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, 41, during the show on Thursday night (01.09.22) by mocking her complaints about life and the royal family. He said: “I just don’t get it,” as he spoke about today’s obsession with ‘victimhood’, which the comic labelled a way of getting famous. Will stormed the stage at the Academy Awards in March and whacked Chris after the comic compared the ‘Seven Pounds’ actor’s wife’s shaven head to actress Demi Moore’s buzzcut in the 1997 film G.I. Jane. The actor then twice howled at Chris from his seat in front of stunned A-listers and while watched by millions of film fans around the world: “Keep my wife’s name out your f****** mouth.” Dumfounded Chris said after the slap: “Will Smith just slapped the s*** out of me. Oh, I could go…“ while looking into the stage wings, and then saying: “That was the greatest night in the history of television.” It was later highlighted Will’s wife of 25 years Jada Pinkett Smith, 50, had shaved her head as she suffers alopecia. While issued a grovelling apology in on online video earlier this month and has admitted Chris has not responded to his attempts to reach out. He said: “I will say to you, Chris, I apologise to you. My behaviour was unacceptable and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.” There was widespread outrage when Will went on to cry on the Oscars stage after the slap while picking up his best actor trophy for best actor for his role in ‘King Richard’, with many of his critics saying he should have immediately been kicked out of the ceremony by Oscars bosses, banned from after-parties, not allowed to pick up his award and questioned by police. He has since been banned from Oscars events for 10 years. Chris is scheduled to perform with Dave Chappelle in London, Copenhagen and Amsterdam before they return to America later this month for more shows. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Sarah N. Lynch and Jason Lange WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The FBI recovered more than 11,000 government documents and photographs during its Aug. 8 search at former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate, as well as 48 empty folders labeled as “classified,” according to court records that were unsealed on Friday. The unsealing by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in West Palm Beach came one day after she heard oral arguments by Trump’s attorneys and the Justice Department’s top two counterintelligence prosecutors over whether she should appoint a special master to conduct a privilege review of the seized materials at Trump’s request. Cannon deferred ruling immediately on whether to appoint a special master but said she would agree to unseal two records filed by the Justice Department. Former U.S. Attorney General William Barr, who was appointed by Trump, questioned the usefulness of such an appointment. “I think at this stage, since they’ve (FBI) already gone through the documents I think it’s a waste of time” to have a special master, Barr said in an interview on Fox News. Barr, who left the post in late December 2020, defied Trump by not backing his false claims that the presidential election that year had been stolen from him. In the interview, Barr added that he saw no “legitimate reason” for Trump having documents at his Florida estate if they were classified. He added, “I frankly am skeptical of this claim (by Trump) that ‘I declassified everything.’ Because frankly I think it’s highly improbable and second, if he sort of stood over scores of boxes not really knowing what was in them and said ‘I hereby declassify everything in here,’ that would be such an abuse, show such recklessness that it’s almost worse than taking the documents.” One of the records https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.618763/gov.uscourts.flsd.618763.39.1_1.pdf, released on Friday, provides a little more detail about the 33 boxes and other items the FBI found inside Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, as part of its ongoing criminal investigation into whether he illegally retained national defense information and tried to obstruct the probe. It shows that documents with classification markings were at times co-mingled with other items such as books, magazines and newspaper clippings. Also found were unspecified gifts and clothing items. Of the more than 11,000 government records and photos, 18 were labeled as “top secret,” 54 were labeled “secret” and 31 were labeled “confidential,” according to a Reuters tally of the government’s inventory. “Top secret” is the highest classification level, reserved for the country’s most closely held secrets. There were also 90 empty folders, 48 of which were marked “classified,” while others indicated that they should be returned to staff secretary/military aide. It is not clear why the folders were empty, or whether any records could be missing. The other record https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.618763/gov.uscourts.flsd.618763.39.0_2.pdf that was unsealed is a three-page filing by the Justice Department updating the court about the status of its investigative team’s review of the documents seized. That filing, dated Aug. 30, said investigators had completed a preliminary review of the materials seized and will investigate further and interview more witnesses. The Justice Department’s criminal investigation could be potentially put on pause if Cannon agrees to appoint a special master to come in and conduct an independent third-party review of the seized records. However, Cannon signaled at Thursday’s hearing she might be willing to permit U.S. intelligence officials to continue reviewing the materials as part of their national security damage assessment, even if a special master is appointed. The Justice Department has previously said in court filings it has evidence that classified documents were deliberately concealed from the FBI when it tried to retrieve them from Trump’s home in June. The Justice Department also opposes the appointment of a special master, saying the records in question do not belong to Trump and that he cannot claim they are covered by executive privilege, a legal doctrine that can be used to shield some presidential communications. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Jason Lange; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Richard Cowan and Lisa Shumaker) View the full article

Published by The Boot Dolly Parton‘s classic “9 to 5″ is getting revamped as a duet with Kelly Clarkson. The song gets a significant production update from in-demand Nashville producer and songwriter Shane McAnally, as well as Sasha Alex Sloan and King Henry. “I was blown away when I heard what Shane had done with my song,” says Parton, according to Rolling Stone. “This arrangement shows how differently a song can be done and the story can be told in a whole new way. And special thanks to [Dolly Parton Enterprises creative director] Steve Summers for getting the ball rolling on this musical venture.” It was Summers… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Dolly Parton is releasing wigs for dogs. The ‘9 to 5’ hitmaker has teamed up with SportPet designs to create a pet apparel line called ‘Doggy Parton’ and as well as a “blonde bombshell” hairpiece, items in the range include a pink cowgirl hat with tiara, a “gingham Western print two-piece collar and leash set,” tour t-shirts, cowgirl dresses, bandanas, and squeaky toys. A portion of the proceeds from the range will go to rescue organisation Willa B. Farms. Dolly said in a statement: “‘Puppy Love’ was my very first record and six decades later, my love for pets is stronger than ever. “This inspired me to start my own line of Doggy Parton apparel, accessories, toys and more with a little ‘Dolly’ flair. “Part of the proceeds will support Willa B Farms, a rescue where animals in need find never-ending love. Don’t we all need that?’ “ Earlier this month, the 76-year-old county legend unveiled another non-musical venture; plans for a new rollercoaster at her Dollywood theme park. The Big Bear Mountain will open at the attraction – which opened in Tennessee in 1986 – in 2023 and will feature “three separate launches, multiple airtime hills, high-speed carousel turns, and tunnels, including a pass behind a waterfall”. The ‘Jolene’ singer is excited fans will be able to travel the Smoky Mountains themselves via the ride while referencing her 1994 song ‘Smoky Mountain Memories.’ She tweeted: “The Smokies are all about adventure and going exploring. I’m excited our guests will be able to head out on their own trip into the Smokies to see if they can find that Big Bear. Whether he’s out there or not, I’m sure they’ll find a lot of memories along the way that they’ll keep forever.” Meanwhile, Dollywood president Eugene Naughton explained that the ride was “family-friendly” and described it as being “comfortable fun.” He said: “If you’re going to be the No. 1 family attraction in the United States, your product needs to be family-friendly. So, within this ride called Big Bear Mountain, I like to call it comfortable fun.” View the full article

Published by AFP US actress Jane Fonda has announced she is battling non-Hodgkin's lymphoma Los Angeles (AFP) – US actress and activist Jane Fonda announced Friday that she has cancer, and has begun chemotherapy. The 84-year-old Oscar winner, a prominent supporter of the Democratic Party vowed to fight the “very treatable” illness. “I’ve been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and have started chemo treatments,” she wrote on her verified Instagram account. “This is a very treatable cancer. 80 percent of people survive, so I feel very lucky. “I’m also lucky because I have health insurance and access to the best doctors and treatments.” Fonda, an avowed environmentalist and social campaigner, said her position was more fortunate than that of many others in her situation. “Almost every family in America has had to deal with cancer at one time or another and far too many don’t have access to the quality health care I am receiving and this is not right.” Fonda first appeared on screen in 1960, and scored Academy Awards for best actress for “Klute” (1971) and “Coming Home” (1978). She has scored five other Oscar nominations in her career, four of them for best actress. Fonda continues to work, and appears as the voice of an elegant dragon who is the CEO of a luck-making operation in the Apple TV+ animation “Luck”. She also stars in the popular, long-running Netflix hit “Grace and Frankie.” View the full article

Published by Mongabay By Elizabeth Fitt U.N. member states came tantalizingly close to sealing a deal for a high-stakes, legally binding treaty to conserve biodiversity on the high seas, areas beyond national jurisdiction that comprise two-thirds of the global ocean. At the close of negotiations on Aug. 26 in New York, however, delegates had failed to net consensus. Top sticking points included fair access to marine resources for all and how to establish marine protected areas. The meeting of 168 U.N. member states ended with a commitment to reconvene before the year is over. “We’re closer to the finish line than w… Read More View the full article

Published by Morning Honey More sleepless nights are in store for Taylor Swift fans, as the singer announced her new album “Midnights” will drop this fall! The 32-year-old shared the update on her Instagram with an image of the cover, which shows her holding a lighter and gazing at the flicker through her glittered eyelids. “Midnights, the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life, will be out October 21,” Swift captioned the post on Monday, August 28. “Meet me at midnight,” she added. In the second slide of her post, she gave some insight into the songwriting process. “We lie awake in love and in fear… Read More View the full article

Published by The San Diego Union-Tribune SAN DIEGO — In 1995, 23-year-old Indian filmmaker Aditya Chopra wrote and directed his first Bollywood movie, “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.” The globe-hopping romantic comedy told the story of two young British Indians, Raj and Simran, who fall hopelessly in love, even though Simran has been pledged by her father to an arranged marriage with a stranger in India. Nicknamed “DDLJ” by its legions of fans, the movie became one of the highest-grossing Indian films in history. Chopra would go on to produce some of the nation’s biggest blockbusters. The film’s lead actors Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol bec… Read More View the full article