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Published by Reuters By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. congressional probe of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by Donald Trump supporters wraps up its summer hearings on Thursday with a prime-time presentation focused on the former president’s actions during the three hours of rage after his raucous speech that day. The hearing will detail both the scenes of violence that played out as Trump supporters fought their way into the Capitol and Trump’s actions in the 187 minutes between his speech urging the crowd to “fight like hell” and the final release of a video urging rioters to go home. Ahead of the hearing, Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger released a video on Twitter in which former White House aides and officials described Trump watching television footage of the crowds that stormed the Capitol in a private dining room at the White House. “To the best of my recollection, he was always in the dining room,” said former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany in the clip, which also showed former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone saying footage of the riot was visible on the screen. Scheduled at 8 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT Friday) to reach a broad television audience, the public hearing is expected to be the last eight the House of Representatives Select Committee has held since mid-June. “The focus of this hearing is what was going on here on Capitol Hill as that mob breached barriers and stormed the Capitol and caused a delay in certification of the Electoral College vote,” a committee aide told journalists, speaking on condition of anonymity to preview the hearing. “We are going to remind people that there was this inaction at the White House,” the aide said, noting that Trump did not release his video telling his followers to go home until after 4 p.m. The panel of seven Democratic and two Republican House members has been investigating the attack on the Capitol for the past year, interviewing more than 1,000 witnesses and amassing tens of thousands of documents. It has used the hearings to build a case that Trump’s efforts to overturn his defeat by Democrat Joe Biden in the November 2020 presidential election constitute illegal conduct, far beyond normal politics. The Washington Post reported that the committee could show outtakes from Trump’s effort to record a video the day after the riot. The newspaper said Trump resisted holding the rioters to account, to call them patriots and refused to say the election was over. Spokespeople for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment. PENCE, MILITIAS AND FRAUD ALLEGATIONS Questioning of witnesses will be led by Kinzinger and Democratic Representative Elaine Luria. Committee aides declined to name witnesses, citing security concerns, but according to media reports they will include Matthew Pottinger, a deputy national security adviser under Trump, and Sarah Matthews, a deputy press secretary in his White House. Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson, the Select Committee’s chairperson, will lead the hearing remotely, after testing positive for COVID-19. Previous hearings have focused on the run-up to the riot, Trump’s pressure on Vice President Mike Pence to deny Biden the victory, militant groups whose members participated in the Capitol attack and Trump’s interactions with close advisers questioning his false allegations of massive voter fraud. Committee members said Trump incited the riot by refusing to admit he lost the election and through comments including a December Twitter post calling on supporters to flock to Washington for a “big protest” on Jan. 6, saying, “Be there, will be wild.” The Republican one-time reality television star, who has hinted he will seek the White House again in 2024, denies wrongdoing. He continues to claim falsely that he lost because of widespread fraud. Trump and his supporters – including many Republicans in Congress – dismiss the Jan. 6 panel as a political witch hunt, but the panel’s backers say it is a necessary probe into a violent threat against democracy. The attack on the Capitol injured more than 140 police officers and led to several deaths. More than 850 people have been charged with taking part in the riot, with more than 325 guilty pleas so far. While Thursday’s hearing is expected to be the last of the current series, the panel left the door open for more in the coming months. The panel has said it had collected far more information than it could present in one series of hearings. “There is no reason to think that this is going to be the Select Committee’s final hearing,” the aide said. The committee is also expected to have some sort of event to mark the release later this year of a report on its findings. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Scott Malone, Andy Sullivan and Alistair Bell) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The defense in Steve Bannon’s trial said it will rest its case on Thursday without calling any witnesses and asked the judge to dismiss the contempt of Congress charges against Donald Trump’s noted former presidential adviser for defying a subpoena by the panel investigating last year’s attack on the U.S. Capitol. A day after the prosecution rested its case, having called only two witnesses, David Schoen, one of Bannon’s lawyers, told U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols that the defense has no plans to put on a case for the jury. That came after Evan Corcoran, after of Bannon’s defense attorneys, made the motion to dismiss. Bannon, 68, has pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor counts after rebuffing the House of Representative select committee’s subpoena requesting testimony and documents as part of its inquiry into the Jan. 6, 2021, rampage by Trump supporters trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat. “We would ask the court to grant our motion for judgment of acquittal. The government has rested its case and they have not presented evidence upon which a reasonable person can find beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Bannon is guilty of the charges of contempt of Congress,” Corcoran told the judge. Bannon’s primary defense is that he believed the subpoena’s deadline dates were flexible and subject to negotiation between his attorney and the committee. Kristin Amerling, a senior committee staff member, testified on Wednesday that the deadlines were not flexible and that a lawyer for Bannon had never sought any extensions. Corcoran on Thursday told the judge that even though Amerling testified the subpoena dates were inflexible, she was unable to articulate why those dates were selected or who picked them. “No reasonable juror could find that Mr. Bannon refused to comply with dates that we now understand were open – were in flux,” Corcoran told the judge. The prosecution asked the judge to reject the defense motion. “The government has presented sufficient evidence,” prosecutor Amanda Vaughn said. “The reasons for the dates are irrelevant. The dates are on the subpoena. The committee made clear in its letters to the defendant that those were the dates and they had violated them.” The prosecution’s two witnesses testified on Tuesday and Wednesday. Amerling testified that Bannon disregarded the subpoena’s two deadlines, sought no extensions and offered an invalid rationale for his defiance – a claim by Trump involving a legal doctrine called executive privilege that can keep certain presidential communications confidential. The other prosecution witness was FBI special agent Stephen Hart, who investigated the circumstances of Bannon’s defiance of the subpoena. On Wednesday, the judge let the defense inform jurors that Trump this month gave the green light for Bannon to testify before the committee after previously asking him not to cooperate. The judge also allowed him to introduce other recent correspondence between Bannon and the committee related to Bannon’s abrupt offer to testify. Nichols told jurors they cannot consider Bannon’s belief about executive privilege as an excuse or consider future offers of compliance as a defense against prior non-compliance. Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol and attacked police in a failed effort to block formal congressional certification of his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, which Trump falsely claims was the result of widespread voting fraud. Bannon was a key adviser to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, then served in 2017 as his chief White House strategist. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Will Dunham and Aurora Ellis) View the full article

Published by AFP The annual arts Honors are normally a major fundraiser for The Kennedy Center, Washington's performing arts complex that serves as a living monument to slain president John F. Kennedy. Washington (AFP) – Film icon George Clooney and soul legend Gladys Knight are among this year’s crop of Kennedy Center honorees, one of America’s most prestigious arts awards. Irish rockers U2, Cuban-born American composer Tania Leon and the contemporary Christian and pop artist Amy Grant round out the 45th class, which will be feted at the center’s annual gala on December 4. The Kennedy Center — Washington’s performing arts complex that serves as a living monument to slain president John F. Kennedy — has like all arts institutions suffered during the pandemic and been forced to cancel, postpone or rein in previous celebrations. But barring the unexpected this year’s appeared to be on track to bring the glitz to Washington, where such red carpet events are rare. Last winter President Joe Biden attended, marking the first time a sitting president had attended the event in five years. Donald Trump bucked tradition and did not attend during his presidency, after several of the honored artists threatened to boycott the gala in his first year in office if he were present. This year’s event promised a slate of star-studded tributes to those being inducted. “Growing up in a small town in Kentucky I could never have imagined that someday I’d be the one sitting in the balcony at the Kennedy Center Honors. To be mentioned in the same breath with the rest of these incredible artists is an honor,” Clooney, star of “Michael Clayton” and “Gravity,” said in a statement. “Midnight Train to Georgia” singer Knight echoed the sentiment, saying she’s “humbled beyond words to be included amongst this prestigious group of individuals, both past and present.” “The Kennedy Center’s commitment to the arts is unparalleled and I am so very grateful for this moment.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Rose Horowitch WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill to protect access to contraception, responding to concerns that it could be threatened by a conservative Supreme Court that revoked the ruling that guaranteed a nationwide right to abortion. The bill passed the Democratic-controlled House on a vote of 228-195, with all 220 Democrats and eight of the chamber’s 211 Republicans supporting it. It faces uncertain odds in the evenly divided Senate. The bill would create a federal right for people to access contraceptives and for doctors and pharmacists to provide them. Contraceptives are used by 88% of U.S. women of childbearing age who are not trying to get pregnant, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion rights advocacy group. Some state legislatures have introduced bills to restrict access to contraceptives, though they have not passed. In addition, 12 states allow health providers to refuse contraception, according to the Guttmacher Institute. “We need federal legislation to make it absolutely clear that people have the right to use and buy birth control,” Democratic Representative Kathy Manning, the bill’s sponsor, said in an interview. Republican Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers said the right to contraception was not at risk and that Republicans understood there is a “clear distinction” between contraception and abortion. The bill would force healthcare providers to “violate their religion,” she said in debate on the House floor. Democrats introduced the bill after the Supreme Court ended the nationwide right to abortion in June by overturning its 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling. Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the court should reconsider other rulings that established rights to contraception and same-sex marriage because they were based on the same legal argument as Roe. Democrats hope the bill will draw a contrast with Republicans ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm elections, when control of Congress is at stake. The House on Wednesday passed a bill to protect same-sex and interracial marriage with bipartisan support. Last week, the House passed bills to establish nationwide abortion rights and to protect the right to travel between states for an abortion, with votes largely along party lines. It is unclear whether any of these bills will pass the Senate for Democratic President Joe Biden to sign into law. (Reporting by Rose Horowitch; editing by Andy Sullivan and Jonathan Oatis) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Trevor Hunnicutt, Steve Holland and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Joe Biden, the oldest person ever to serve as president of the United States, has tested positive for COVID-19, is experiencing mild symptoms and will continue working but in isolation, the White House said on Thursday. Biden, 79, has a runny nose, fatigue and an occasional dry cough, symptoms which he began to experience late on Wednesday, White House physician Kevin O’Connor said in a note released on Thursday. Biden has begun taking the antiviral treatment Paxlovid, O’Connor said. “He is fully vaccinated and twice boosted and experiencing very mild symptoms,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. The White House will provide a daily update on Biden’s health, and he will follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and isolate at the White House while continuing to work, she said. Biden faces dual challenges of soaring inflation and Russia’s land assault on Ukraine. His popularity has dropped sharply over the past year. A Reuters/Ipsos survey completed on Tuesday showed 36% of Americans approve of his job performance. His illness forced cancellation of a trip to Pennsylvania where Biden intended to lay out plans to ask Congress for $37 billion for crime prevention programs. “Folks, I’m doing great. Thanks for your concern. Just called Senator Casey, Congressman Cartwright, and Mayor Cognetti (and my Scranton cousins!) to send my regrets for missing our event today. Keeping busy!” Biden wrote on Twitter. A picture accompanying the tweet showed the president smiling, wearing a blazer and sitting at a desk with papers. The White House provided an unusually detailed account of the president’s morning activities, including a series of phone calls to political allies. HARRIS, PELOSI TEST NEGATIVE Multiple members of Biden’s administration and other senior figures in Washington have tested positive for the coronavirus in recent months, including Vice President Kamala Harris and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, both of whom have since tested negative and resumed working. Representative Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the congressional probe of the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, plans to run Thursday night’s hearing remotely as a result of testing positive. U.S. stocks briefly headed lower following reports of the president’s diagnosis, with the S&P 500 dropping about 0.5% over the following 10 minutes. The index quickly retraced that loss and by mid-morning was back to near the unchanged mark on the day. While many Americans have moved on from the strict precautions of the pandemic’s early months, returning to offices and schools and resuming summer travel, the virus continues to spread. Cases in the United States are up more than 25% in the last month, according to CDC data, as the rapidly spreading BA.5 subvariant has taken hold. Evading the immune protection afforded either by vaccination or prior infection, BA.5 has been the dominant subvariant in the United States since at least early July and has driven a surge of new infections globally. PAXLOVID The Pfizer Inc antiviral drug Paxlovid that Biden is taking has been shown to reduce the risk of severe disease by nearly 90% in high risk patients if given within the first five days of infection. But Paxlovid has in some cases been associated with rebound infections, in which patients improve quickly and test negative after a five-day course of the drug, with symptoms returning days later. Dr. Bruce Farber, chief of infectious diseases at Northwell Health in New York, who is not treating the president, said Paxlovid is likely the only treatment Biden will get, unless his symptoms worsen. “Elderly people are more at risk for developing complications from COVID,” Farber said. “It dramatically is lower if you’ve been vaccinated and doubly boosted, which he has been, so I anticipate he will do very well.” ‘GET VACCINATED NOW’ Biden set up strict COVID-19 safety protocols at the White House, urged Americans to take the virus seriously and campaigned for everyone to get fully vaccinated. He is tested regularly for the disease and anyone who meets with him or travels with him is tested beforehand, the White House has said. Biden had last tested negative on Tuesday. He has stopped wearing a mask at public events in recent months, and the White House dropped its mask requirement ahead of his March 1 State of the Union Address. Asked by Reuters on Wednesday what the country should do with COVID cases on the rise, Biden encouraged vaccination. “It’s not in their interest or the public’s interest not to get vaccinated,” Biden, told reporters at Joint Base Andrews, referring to people who were not vaccinated. “We have the capacity to control it. They should get vaccinated now.” Biden joins a roster of other world leaders who have contracted COVID since the pandemic started in early 2020. A month before he lost the 2020 presidential election to Biden, his Republican predecessor Donald Trump was hit hard by the virus. He, his wife Melania and other White House staff contracted it after an event for Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett in September 2020. Trump, then 74, was hospitalized on Oct. 2, 2020, and underwent aggressive treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in a suburb of Washington. His low oxygen levels alarmed his medical team. “We are in a very different place than the last time a POTUS got COVID,” Ezekiel “Zeke” Emanuel, a physician and former member of Biden’s COVID transition team, wrote on Twitter. “Biden is fully vaxxed/boosted and reportedly on a therapeutic (Paxlovid) that significantly mitigates symptoms. If anything, this shows how contagious BA5 is. Feel better, @POTUS!” (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Steve Holland; Additional reporting by Chris Gallagher, Nandita Bose, Susan Heavey, Michael Erman and Julie Steenhuysen; Writing by Scott Malone; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Howard Goller) View the full article

Published by Reuters (Reuters) – A U.S. venue cancelled Dave Chappelle’s stand-up show just hours before he was due on stage on Wednesday, after critics lamented the scheduled gig following controversy over the comedian’s jokes about transgender people. In a statement on its website, First Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota said Chappelle’s show would moved to the city’s Varsity Theater, where the U.S. comedian is also due to perform on Thursday and Friday. First Avenue had announced the Chappelle show earlier this week, drawing criticism on social media. Chappelle drew a backlash last year for material in his Netflix comedy special “The Closer” that some in the LGBTQ+ community said ridiculed transgender people. His supporters viewed it as a cry against cancel culture. “To staff, artists, and our community, we hear you and we are sorry. We know we must hold ourselves to the highest standards, and we know we let you down. We are not just a black box with people in it, and we understand that First Avenue is not just a room, but meaningful beyond our walls,” First Avenue said. “The First Avenue team and you have worked hard to make our venues the safest spaces in the country, and we will continue with that mission. We believe in diverse voices and the freedom of artistic expression, but in honoring that, we lost sight of the impact this would have. We know there are some who will not agree with this decision; you are welcome to send feedback.” A representative for Chappelle could not immediately be reached for comment. In May, the Emmy Award winning entertainer was tackled on stage during his show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. A 23-year-old man was charged with four misdemeanor counts. (Reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky) View the full article

Published by AFP Kyle Planck — photographed in New York on July 19, 2022 — recently recovered from the monkeypox virus New York (AFP) – “It was the worst pain that I have experienced in my life,” says 26-year-old New Yorker Kyle Planck, recalling his recent monkeypox infection. Although anyone can catch monkeypox, Planck first took note of the virus in spring when authorities said many of the first cases in Europe and America were in men who have sex with men. “I was a little bit worried that it would eventually affect us here in the United States, especially being a member of the LGBTQ+ community,” he remembers. At the end of June, the PhD candidate in pharmacology says he started to feel very sick. A fever, swollen lymph nodes and a negative Covid-19 test made him think it could be monkeypox. A doctor told him to wait and see how his symptoms evolved, but after four days of being feverish he developed spots that left him in no doubt. “They had started on my arms and my hands and over the course of a day they spread all over my body. “I had about 30 lesions develop at that point,” he says at his apartment in the borough of Queens. Planck was able to get tested on July 5 and the following day started treatment with TPOXX, or Tecovirimat, an antiviral drug originally used against human smallpox but authorized in a trial against monkeypox. Planck concedes that his proximity to the medical community made it easier for him to enroll in a study. “I know that is not the reality for most people in New York, which is really unfortunate,” he says. Monkeypox usually clears up on its own but can be extremely painful. Planck was in intense pain for a week, especially from the lesions on his mucus membranes, before the drugs started to relieve his symptoms. “The pain was so severe for me that I basically was taking warm baths six or seven times a day, just because that was the only thing that would make me feel better,” he says. Planck found the experience “exhausting” and adding to his stress was a fear of contaminating his roommate, even though transmission occurs by close contact. He believes his case was “relatively mild” because he was able to receive treatment and that “so many people are going through worse.” Planck feels that US health authorities were too slow to react to the first outbreak of cases and says that preventative messaging has been too weak. Vaccine doses “I think the government was kind of like, ‘let’s wait and see what happens, let’s wait and see if this becomes a problem,’ and that really doesn’t take into account how infectious diseases work,” he says. Planck has written multiple letters to elected officials asking them to increase access to the antiviral drug. “We have millions of doses of the TPOXX treatment available. And months into this outbreak, we’re still not really able to mobilize those resources,” he says. The United States initially had 100 million doses of the ACAM2000 vaccine. It is designed to treat human smallpox but can cause significant side effects and is not recommended for immunocompromised people. Only a thousand doses of the newer and safer Jynneos vaccine were available as cases first started multiplying, largely because nearly 800,000 doses were blocked in Denmark pending approval by the Food and Drug Administration. Availability is increasing, however. New York City — which has 711 confirmed cases, the highest concentrated number in the country — has received 21,500 doses and is awaiting a supply of 25,000 more. Appointments have gone in minutes and long queues have formed outside clinics in recent days. “I don’t want anyone to have to go through what I went through,” concludes Planck. View the full article

Published by Radar Online EliotPress/MEGA Ricky Martin is set to testify this week in court and “vigorously deny” shocking claims that he and his 21-year-old nephew had a sexual relationship, Radar has learned. The Livin’ La Vida Loca singer, 50, will appear virtually tomorrow before a judge in Puerto Rico via Zoom. MEGA Martin is prepared to challenge explosive allegations that he allegedly stalked and harassed his nephew, according to TMZ. At this time, Martin has not been arrested, nor does he currently face any charges, although he was slapped with a protective order. The nephew got a temporary restraining order last Friday. The judge presiding over the case will soon decide whether to extend the restraining order. Reports claim that Martin could potentially be facing up to 50 years in prison if he’s charged. His brother, Eric Martin, recently disclosed the alleged victim’s identity after it was left a mystery. Spanish news website Marca shared the update — identifying Martin’s accuser as Dennis Yadiel Sanchez. MEGA After the jaw-dropping claims were brought to light, Martin’s attorney, Marty Singer, said his client was more than ready to clear his name and set the record straight. “Unfortunately, the person who made this claim is struggling with deep mental health challenges. Ricky Martin has, of course, never been — and would never be — involved in any kind of sexual or romantic relationship with his nephew,” said Singer. “The idea is not only untrue, it is disgusting,” Singer told RadarOnline.com. “We all hope that this man gets the help he so urgently needs. But, most of all, we look forward to this awful case being dismissed as soon as a judge gets to look at the facts.” Prior to his statement shared via Singer, Martin issued a response to the original restraining order filing in early July. MEGA “The protection order entered against me is based on completely false allegations,” he wrote via social media, thanking fans for their words of affirmation. “Because it is an ongoing legal matter, I cannot make detailed statements at this time. I am grateful for the countless messages of solidarity, and I receive them with all my heart.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Lizzo is a huge Beyonce fan. The ‘About Damn Time’ hitmaker adores the ‘Break My Soul’ hitmaker – who is due to drop her next album, ‘Renaissance’ later this month -and wants to “make people feel” with her music how the 40-year-old superstar allows her to. The 34-year-old pop star told Elle UK: “I’ve seen Beyoncé maybe up to 10 times live now, and she continues to give me that feeling. That excitement never goes away. She doesn’t just put out music for the sake of putting out music – there’s going to be something real, you know what I mean? A teachable moment. Every time I hear her, it’s like, ‘Man, I want to make people feel this way. How can I make people feel this way, too?’” Lizzo won’t put tracks – even if she loves them – on an album “if they don’t serve the greater purpose”. She said: “I have so many songs at this point, some that are my favourite I’ve ever written. But I’m not putting them on the album if they don’t serve the greater purpose. You know? And I think the greater purpose is: what do I need to say right now that can help people forever?” The Grammy Award winner opened up about how she adopted the “fake it till you make it” approach to becoming her confident self. Lizzo said: “In doing the fake it till you make it method, I began attracting a lot of people who thought I was beautiful. But she [her best friend] genuinely thought I was beautiful and helped me believe it and verbalise it out loud. I was like, “Oh no, my [beauty] is real.” And I think that’s an important thing. You start attracting people who see you the way you see yourself. Anyone around you is going to notice you how you view yourself.” She added: “I spent years being ashamed. It took a lot of work for me to feel worthy of being in this place. To feel worthy of being a force to be reckoned with.” The ‘Juice’ hitmaker also detailed how she longs to “open the door” for more people who look like her. Lizzo said: “I’ve had a lot of shoots with people making outfits from scratch for me. And I’m not mad at it. Thank you. But what about the millions of people who are my size or bigger who can’t get access to chic and glamorous clothing? I don’t want to be the token big girl for the fashion world. I want to open the door. I want this for everybody.” The September issue of ELLE UK is on sale from 28 July. Read more at https://www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/a40638394/lizzo-cover-september-2022/ View the full article

Published by Reuters By Brendan Pierson (Reuters) – A Georgia law banning abortion when a fetal heartbeat is detected, typically around six weeks, will take effect after a federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected a challenge to it by abortion providers. Chief Judge William Pryor of the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrote for a unanimous three-judge panel that the state had a “rational basis” for the law, given its interest in “providing full legal recognition to an unborn child.” Georgia passed the law, which also defines “person” to include an “unborn child,” in 2019. A federal judge blocked it that October before it could take effect, finding it violated the right to abortion established by the U.S. Supreme Court in its 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade ruling. However, the Supreme Court last month overturned that ruling, clearing the way for Wednesday’s decision. The law will now take effect when the 11th Circuit issues its official mandate, typically 28 days after the decision, according to Planned Parenthood, one of the providers in the lawsuit. “This is a grave human rights violation, and Planned Parenthood, along with its partners, will do everything in our power to fight back and ensure all people can get the health care they need, regardless of where they live,” Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson said in a statement. The office of Georgia Attorney General Christopher Carr did not immediately respond to a request for comment. About half of U.S. states have or are expected to seek to ban or curtail abortions following the Supreme Court’s June 24 ruling. Judges have largely upheld the laws against legal challenges, though some, including in Utah and Kentucky, have been blocked for now. The Georgia law includes exceptions for medical emergencies, and for cases of rape or incest where a police report was filed. (Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Jonathan Oatis) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Alexandra Ulmer and Jason Lange (Reuters) – A big Democratic Party fundraising group on Wednesday filed a complaint against the Federal Election Commission, accusing it of allowing Donald Trump to break campaign finance law by spending political donations on a 2024 presidential bid he has yet to launch. The group, American Bridge, complained in March to the FEC about Trump’s Save America fund. Under U.S. law, the fund can pay for political activities such as Trump’s travel, hotel stays and contributions to political allies, but it cannot be used to fund the former Republican president’s own election campaign. American Bridge says Trump is flouting campaign finance laws by dropping frequent hints that he is planning to seek the White House again while having Save America pay for rallies nationwide and digital advertising promoting him. Wednesday’s suit, filed in the U.S. Court for the District of Columbia, alleges the FEC has failed to act on the March complaint, effectively allowing Trump to raise money for a presidential run without declaring himself candidate. “The Commission’s inaction has allowed Mr. Trump to continue violating the law,” American Bridge said in the suit. “As each day passes that Mr. Trump is accepting excessive contributions, he sets himself up to have an unlawful head start against his opponents.” Trump has repeatedly hinted at another White House run but has not officially declared himself a candidate. Trump spokesperson Taylor Budowich did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Budowich has previously described American Bridge’s complaint as “frivolous” and with “zero merit.” The FEC declined comment. When American Bridge filed the complaint in March, the FEC said it could not comment until the matter was resolved or closed. The FEC’s leadership includes three Republicans, two Democrats and an independent. It often deadlocks on contentious issues. Trump launched his Save America fund days after losing the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden. The group has more than $100 million in the bank, a formidable war chest. Campaign finance analysts have speculated about the ways Trump could try to use the money should he run in 2024. To date, it has been used to pay for rallies where Trump has appeared with Republican candidates for November’s midterm congressional election and talked about another presidential bid. Trump continues to top national polls among his party’s possible 2024 presidential candidates, although other potential contenders have raised their profiles in recent weeks. (Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer and Jason Lange, editing by Ross Colvin and Cynthia Osterman) View the full article

Published by AlterNet By Meaghan Ellis Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) recently launched an attack against his Democratic opponent Val Demings, who appears to be using TikTok as a driving force for campaign fundraising. On Wednesday, July 20, Rubio released a new online ad for his re-election campaign. According to NBC News, Rubio focused on highlighting the contrast between “his anti-communist bonafides with the Demings campaign’s prolific use of the wildly popular social media app, which is owned by a Chinese company.” The lawmaker shared his perspective amid the rise in concerns about possible private user data mining… Read More View the full article

Published by Raw Story By Sarah K. Burris The co-hosts of “The View” unleashed on Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) who spoke out on the floor of the House that the bill codifying marriage equality was unnecessary. Jordan spoke out against the bill saying that Democrats were trying to distract from inflation with issues like gay marriage. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) shot back that the reason laws like that are necessary is that same-sex married couples need the same rights as straight couples. He specifically cited the problem that an LGBTQ spouse can’t make decisions for their partner when they’re in the hospital without being mar… Read More View the full article

Published by DPA Ryan Gosling stars as former CIA agent Court Gentry aka Sierra Six in Netflix’s “The Gray Man”. Courtesy Of Netflix © 2022/dpa Exotic settings like in James Bond, thrilling car chases á la Fast & Furious, brutal contract killings like in the Bourne series, mixed with a bit of Mission Impossible: The new Netflix action thriller “The Gray Man” wants to do it all – and has the budget to achieve it. Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, best known for their work in the Marvel universe, have pulled out all the action stops and paired them with no other than the fair Ryan Gosling, starring as CIA mercenary Court Gentry, recruited directly from jail. The world is no La La Land in “The Gray Man.” Working under the name of Sierra Six, Gentry travels around the world to carry out gruesome missions for the agency. When he accidentally uncovers incriminating secrets about the CIA, he is forced to go on the run and soon becomes a primary target, hunted around the world by psychopathic former colleague Lloyd Hansen, played by Chris Evans. That this pretty much summarises the plot is telling – but action fans might not be looking for the most profound of narratives. The Russo brothers’ unapologetic mix of cartoonesque humour, cheeky dialogue and brutal torture scenes makes up for a lack of plausibility and profundity, as do spectacular stunts, sophisticated fight scenes and a high-profile cast, including Billy Bob Thornton, Alfre Woodard and Ana de Armas. A former Bond girl in “No Time to Die,” Armas plays CIA agent Dani Miranda who saves Gentry’s neck a couple of times. “The Gray Man,” which is based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Mark Greaney, proceeds at high speed, as a good action movie á la James Bond should, taking us across the world in 129 minutes, from Bangkok to Azerbaijan, Croatia, Berlin and Vienna to Prague. Netflix is said to have spent some $200 million on the film – the streaming service’s most expensive in-house production to date. Whether or not it was worth it remains to be seen. “The Gray Man” will be available to stream on Netflix from July 22, and has already been released in cinemas in several countries. Ryan Gosling stars as former CIA agent Court Gentry aka Sierra Six alongside Chris Evans as Lloyd Hansen in Netflix’s “The Gray Man”. Netflix/dpa View the full article

Published by Reuters By Gloria Dickie LONDON (Reuters) – Hungry polar bears are turning to garbage dumps to fill their stomachs as their icy habitat disappears. On Wednesday, a team of Canadian and U.S. scientists warned that trash poses an emerging threat to already-vulnerable polar bear populations as the animals become more reliant on landfills near northern communities. This is leading to deadly conflicts with people, the report published in the journal Oryx said. “Bears and garbage are a bad association,” said co-author Andrew Derocher, a biologist at the University of Alberta. “We know that very well from a brown bear and black bear perspective, and now it’s an issue developing with polar bears.” Polar bears rely on sea ice to hunt seals. But with the Arctic warming four times faster than the rest of the world, sea ice is melting out earlier in the summer and freezing up later in the fall. This forces bears to spend more time ashore, away from their natural prey. To fatten up, the report said polar bears are now gathering en masse around open dumps in places in the Arctic and sub-Arctic such as Russia’s Belushya Guba, and whale bone piles left over from Inuit hunts near Kaktovik, Alaska. Such behaviour is risky. Local wildlife managers may kill bears out of concern for public safety. And consuming garbage can make bears sick. Wrappers are often frozen into food scraps so polar bears end up eating plastic and other non-edible materials. This can cause fatal blockages. “Bears don’t know all the negatives that come with plastic ingestion and the diseases and toxins they’re likely exposed to in a (landfill) setting,” said co-author Geoff York, senior director of conservation at Polar Bears International, an advocacy group. The situation, scientists said, is likely to get worse. Human populations are increasing in the Arctic. Nunavut, Canada, — where thousands of polar bears live — is projected to grow nearly 40% by 2043. Improving waste management remains a challenge for remote communities. The ground is often frozen, making it hard to bury garbage. And trucking it out is expensive. Federal funding will be required to fix the problem, scientists said. “Already we’ve had a couple human fatalities in the eastern Canadian Arctic,” said Derocher. “It’s surprising just how many places that never had polar bear problems are now having emerging issues.” (Reporting by Gloria Dickie; Editing by Alison Williams) View the full article

Published by Reuters LONDON (Reuters) – The United States decision to end the constitutional right to abortion domestically will have no impact on how the country funds family planning services overseas, according to its global health lead. The U.S. Supreme Court in June overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that recognized the right of women nationally to terminate pregnancies. Calling the decision “sobering” domestically, Loyce Pace, Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs at the U.S Department of Health, said it would not affect the country’s position as the largest bilateral donor to family planning services globally. “Those investments and those commitments remain the same in the wake of this decision,” she told a media briefing in Geneva. The U.S. has long-standing legislation which prevents the funding of abortion overseas directly, but it does fund post-abortion care and abortion counselling. Pace also said the U.S was ready to learn from other countries that have “managed their own challenges with regards to access to essential health care and services”. (Reporting by Jennifer Rigby; Editing by Nick Macfie) View the full article

Published by AlterNet By Alex Henderson During the Bill Clinton years, the term “originalism” was primarily used in connection with two far-right U.S. Supreme Court justices: Clarence Thomas and the late Antonin Scalia. Others on the High Court, from the late liberal Clinton appointee Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Justice Sandra Day O’Connor to Justice Anthony Kennedy — a right-wing libertarian and Ronald Reagan appointee who was fiscally conservative yet protective of gay rights and abortion rights — rejected originalism, which is often synonymous with far-right social conservatism. The Clinton years are long gon… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The top U.S. Senate Democrat wants to bring a bill protecting same-sex marriage to a vote on the Senate floor and is working to get Republican support necessary to pass it, Senator Chuck Schumer said on Wednesday. (Reporting by Moira Warburton in Washington) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department unveiled a $1.2 billion healthcare fraud crackdown on Wednesday, revealing criminal charges against 36 defendants for alleged fraudulent billing schemes tied to telemedicine, genetic and cardiovascular testing, and equipment. The criminal charges, which were unsealed across 13 federal districts between July 11 through July 20, target clinical laboratory owners, marketers, medical professionals and telemedicine executives. Prosecutors said the schemes intended to bilk Medicare out of $1.2 billion, though the actual losses are closer to $440 million. “The cases announced today include charges against people who brazenly used Medicare funds to purchase luxury items, medical professionals who corruptly approved testing and equipment, and business owners who submitted false and fraudulent claims for services patients did not need,” Kenneth Polite, the head of the department’s criminal division, told Reuters in a statement. Separately, the Center for Medicare Services, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, took parallel administrative action against 52 companies involved in similar schemes. The alleged fraud schemes relate to both older and well-known billing and kick-back practices that target the Medicare program, as well as a burgeoning new fraudulent practice which involves “preying on patients’ fear of cardiovascular disease” by duping them into submitting to medically unnecessary cardiovascular disease screening tests, a Justice Department official told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday. Billing for such cardiovascular genetic tests has spiked in the past year, Justice Department officials added, noting that some of these tests get billed for as high as $10,000 each, with claims sometimes paying out as much as $8,000. The official said the total amount billed in the cases involving cardiovascular genetic testing fraud was $748 million, of which $223 million was paid. However, those figures also include billings for genetic cancer screenings that were tacked on as well. Prior to the pandemic, investigators were focused on schemes related to the billing of unnecessary purchases of durable medical equipment such as crutches and walkers, as well as genetic testing screenings to determine risks for developing inherited cancers. In a 2019 special report https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fraud-genetics-specialreport/special-report-new-frontier-in-health-fraud-genetic-tests-of-the-elderly-idUSKBN1WA2H1, Reuters reported that the U.S. was probing more than 300 matters involving genetic test schemes, in which seniors were tricked into providing a cheek swab to determine their risk for developing cancer. The tests were ordered by doctors who in many cases had no medical relationship to the patients and sent to labs. The tests were then billed to Medicare. One of the labs featured in the report was later raided https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fraud-genetics/u-s-agents-raid-genetic-testing-labs-charge-35-in-medicare-fraud-probe-idUSKBN1WC1PH by federal agents, as part of the government’s crackdown on genetic testing fraud in a takedown dubbed Operation Double Helix. Although telemedicine played a role in prior fraud schemes, its use has greatly expanded since the pandemic, as U.S. regulators relaxed certain rules to make telemedicine more accessible to patients. Since 2019, the department charged more than 200 defendants with telemedicine fraud and kickback schemes, representing a combined alleged total of $10 billion in intended losses. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Scott Malone, Richard Pullin and Diane Craft) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Nia Williams (Reuters) – Pope Francis arrives in Canada on Sunday to apologize for the wrongs done to indigenous people by Roman Catholic priests and nuns who ran abusive residential schools. Here are key things to know about the Pope’s week-long visit. WHAT HAPPENED IN CANADA’S RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS? Between 1831 and 1996, more than 150,000 indigenous children were taken from their homes and put into residential schools run primarily by Christian churches, predominantly the Catholic church, on behalf of the government. The stated aim of the schools was to assimilate indigenous children. Many children were subjected to rape, abuse and malnutrition in what Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2015 called “cultural genocide”. HOW DID THE POPE’S TRIP COME ABOUT? In May 2021, the Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation, near Kamloops, British Columbia, said they had found the suspected remains of 215 people, some as young as three years old, on the grounds of the Kamloops Indian Residential School, which closed in 1978. The discoveries caused outrage, reopening old wounds over Canada’s residential school legacy and leading to fresh demands for accountability from the Catholic Church. The suspected remains of more than 1,000 people have since been found buried on or near the sites of former residential schools around the country. Francis issued an apology after meetings with delegates from various indigenous nations at the Vatican in April. However, calls grew for an apology on Canadian soil, including from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. WHERE WILL THE POPE GO? The July 24-30 trip will include at least five meetings with indigenous people. He is also scheduled to deliver nine homilies and addresses and say two Masses. Francis will start his visit in Edmonton, Alberta, then travel to Quebec and finish in Iqaluit, capital of the territory of Nunavut in Canada’s far north, where he is due to have a private meeting with residential school survivors. WHAT HAS BEEN THE REACTION TO THE POPE’S VISIT RoseAnne Archibald, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said in May she was “deeply disappointed” by the Pope’s itinerary, which does not include the First Nation territory in Kamloops where the first remains were found. After the Kamloops discovery and before his trip was proposed, the Pope said he was “pained” by news of the remains, a response that was dismissed by some survivors and indigenous leaders. The discoveries also added pressure on Canadian governments to pursue reconciliation in other ways – for example in a pair of C$20 billion ($15.5 billion) settlements to compensate indigenous children taken from their families and put in foster care, and to reform the system that took them. ($1 = 1.2870 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Nia Williams; Additional reporting by Anna Mehler Paperny in Toronto; Editing by Richard Pullin) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English A new patent appears to suggest new iPhone and Apple Watches could come with lasers. As reported by Pocket-lint, Horizontal Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers (or HCSEL) under the display The outlet suggests lasers could be used to improve Face ID and Touch ID or analyse air quality. However, the patent points to using lasers for AR features, noting they can “gather performance metrics for the user’s interaction with an augmented or virtual world.” The patent also mentions them being “used to provide insights into a user’s general wellness, or may be used as positive feedback to individuals using technology to pursue wellness goals.” Elsewhere, HCSELs could be used to take the camera to new levels. As always, just because it’s in the patent, does not necessarily mean it will come to fruition. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Priscilla Presley has rejected the idea Elvis was “racist”. The 77-year-old businesswoman – who was married to the King of Rock and Roll for six years until their divorce in 1973 – has defended her late husband against the idea he was “prejudiced in any way”. Appearing on TalkTV’s ‘Piers Morgan Uncensored’ on Tuesday night (19.07.22), she said: “He was not a racist. He’s never been a racist. “Elvis had friends, Black friends, friends from all over. He loved their music. He loved their style. “He loved being around, you know, black musicians. I mean, Fats Domino, when he was in Vegas, he was in the lounge playing and he would always, we would always, go and hang out with him. “Sammy Davis Jr, the same thing, he would always come into the dressing room. He loved, loved being around blacks and being around anyone actually.” Priscilla – who has daughter Lisa Marie with the ‘Jailhouse Rock’ legend – described the current climate as “frightening”, claiming people are “looking” for ways to “somehow dispose” anyone they can. She added: “He was just not prejudiced in any way. And not racist in any way. “You know, this is a very frightening time… it’s almost like, you know, we’re looking for something from everyone that we can somehow dispose them in some way. And that’s why it’s so frightening, right now.” Despite some accusations of racism due to the influence he took from African-American musicians, Elvis had always voiced his admiration for Black performers, as well as pushing back against segregation and racial prejudice which was seen in the southern states at the time. Meanwhile, Priscilla – who met Elvis when she was 14 in Germany, 10 years his junior – previously revealed she “knew” what she was getting into with the attention he had from the media. She said: “The beginning [of the marriage] was very difficult, but I knew what I was in for because I saw it at a very young age.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Tim Reid LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – Susie Lee, one of the U.S. Congress’s most endangered Democrats, has spent this year fighting a tough re-election campaign in the face of soaring inflation and weighed down by President Joe Biden’s dismal approval numbers. Then on June 24, the U.S. Supreme Court threw a potential lifeline to the Nevada congresswoman as she seeks a third term in this November’s midterm elections: the justices ended federal abortion rights by overturning the landmark 1973 Roe-v-Wade decision. Within 24 hours, armed with an issue she hopes will galvanize voters and reverse a disastrous-looking election year for Democrats, Lee launched the first ad of her campaign – a $500,000 TV and digital attack on her pro-life Republican opponent on the issue of abortion rights. “We have a stark choice in the race for Congress,” the ad declares. Lee, like dozens of fellow endangered Democratic incumbents across the United States, is refocusing much of her campaign on abortion rights, hoping the Supreme Court’s decision can help win back suburban voters who have soured on her party because of high food and gas prices and an unpopular president. Frustrated with what they see as weak messaging by national party leaders on Biden’s policy achievements, some Democratic foot soldiers say the overturning of Roe-v-Wade has thrown them a political lifeline, a foot in the door of voters otherwise disinclined to listen to them because of high inflation. Party strategists and analysts warn, however, that the issue of abortion rights will likely not be enough to save Democrats from losing control of the U.S. House of Representatives, and possibly the Senate too. Brian Stryker, a Democratic pollster, said that while there has been a shift of about three percentage points in national opinion surveys toward Democrats since the court’s ruling, “inflation is still far and away voters’ top concern.” Kyle Kondik, a non-partisan political analyst at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said he understood why Democrats had moved quickly to focus on abortion rights, “but it’s not clear to me it’s moving the needle a ton.” Lee’s district encompasses parts of suburban Las Vegas, in a state with one of the highest inflation rates in the country at 14.9 percent. Lee has spent months confronting the issue in her swing district, frequently urging her party’s leaders in Congress to do more to ease supply chain problems and lower food and gas prices. But, now she is focusing on abortion as much as the economy because “as a woman I believe this an issue that will galvanize women,” she told Reuters. April Becker, Lee’s Republican opponent, said in an interview that Democrats like Lee were using abortion as a way to “distract” voters from their most pressing concerns: the cost of food and gas. “I don’t blame her for trying to change the subject,” said Becker, who opposes abortion except in the cases of rape, incest and if the mother’s life is in danger. She said she has no plans to try to overturn abortion rights enshrined in Nevada under a 1990 referendum, and said she does not support a federal abortion ban, which many Republicans in Congress support. PHONE BANKS, TEXT CAMPAIGNS Democratic volunteers, activists and women’s rights groups in Lee’s district say the Supreme Court’s decision has energized them as they try to stop a Republican blowout this November. Local Democratic clubs in the Las Vegas area have seen a surge in membership, club leaders told Reuters. Deidre Radford, co-president of the Red Rock Democratic Club, said friends normally uninterested in politics have contacted her asking to work on phone banks and text campaigns for Lee and other Democrats. Radford is holding a “Roe, Roe, Roe Your Vote” event on July 27, and membership of her club has increased from about 150 to nearly 190 because of the abortion issue, she said. A rally to protest the ruling on the day it was announced was organized in just three hours, rather than the weeks it usually takes such protests, said Sue Burtch, co-executive director of the Nevada National Organization for Women. “The Supreme Court did us a favor and gave us a talking point,” Burtch said. Often voters are so allergic to partisan politics they don’t want to engage, but the ending of federal abortion rights cuts through that. It gave volunteers on the ground an opening to approach voters with a real-world event that could impact their families, Burtch said. Some activists interviewed expressed frustration with Democratic leaders over the Supreme Court ruling, saying they have been too timid on the issue in the face of Republican assaults on abortion rights. “Democratic messaging has been all over the place. It’s been soft. Republicans are really good at messaging,” Burtch said. Lee bristled when asked about the frustration expressed by Burtch and other activists. “They should be pissed off at Republicans,” she said. Some of the eight on-the-ground Democrat workers and abortion activists who talked to Reuters conceded that surging inflation is still a big problem for Democrats, and that the abortion issue may not be enough keep Congress in Democrats’ hands. “Everyone feels the pinch at the gas pump, the bite every time you go to the grocery store,” said Lani Paz, head of the Southwest Democratic Club. (Reporting by Tim Reid, Editing by Ross Colvin and Alistair Bell) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives panel on Wednesday was set to advance a bill banning assault-style rifles such as those used in recent mass shootings, and another bill that would allow lawsuits against firearms manufacturers. The bill faces slim odds in the Senate, where it would need at least 10 Republicans allowing the measure to be brought up for debate. Republicans in the past have rejected similar bills, citing the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution dealing with the right to bear arms. The House Judiciary Committee, emboldened by growing public outrage over the criminal use of the rapid-fire weapons and approval last month of a limited gun control bill, has scheduled a 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT) work session to approve the twin measures. On May 14, 10 people were killed and three wounded when an avowed white supremacist allegedly opened fire at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket, using an AR-15 assault-style weapon. Ten days later, 19 children and two teachers killed at a Uvalde, Texas elementary school with the same kind of weapon, according to police. Seven people celebrating the July 4 holiday in Highland Park, Illinois, were killed, with dozens wounded at a parade. These were only the latest in a long string of mass shootings that have killed hundreds of Americans. The second House Judiciary Committee bill would remove current federal prohibitions against gun and ammunition makers being sued for damages resulting from the unlawful misuse of firearms. Vigorous gun industry lobbying has blocked such a move in the past. If the panel approves the bills, the full House is likely to pass them. But that could be as far as the legislative effort goes in the months leading up to the Nov. 8 midterm elections, when Republicans are favored to win back a majority in at least one chamber of Congress. “I’m sorry to say that unless they (Senate Republicans) are keeping their feelings confidential, it does not appear encouraging,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin told reporters on Tuesday when asked about prospects in that chamber. A 10-year ban on assault weapons expired in 2004 and several attempts to bring it back have so far failed. A 2021 study conducted by Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine found that the 1994 assault weapons ban resulted in a significant decrease in mass shootings. The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday will also zero in on civilians’ access to military-style assault weapons. Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering will be among those testifying at its hearing. Last month, Republicans objected even to raising the minimum age for buying semi-automatic assault weapons to 21 from 18. (Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Scott Malone and David Gregorio) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Linda Evangelista has returned to fashion by shooting her first campaign in six years. The supermodel took a long break from the industry after undergoing a cosmetic procedure which she claimed left her looking ‘deformed’ – but she has now made a comeback in a new photoshoot for Fendi. She shared a picture of herself starring in the fashion brands new adverts on Instagram, and wrote: “On September 9 2022 @Fendi will host a special fashion show in New York City to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the #FendiBaguette, designed by @silviaventurinifendi, and two years since @mrkimjones joined the Maison as Artistic Director of Couture and Womenswear.” The picture shows her holding two of the brand’s bags with pink sunglasses perched on her nose and three silk baseball caps stacked on her head. She disappeared from the spotlight after undergoing a CoolSculpting procedure – which uses cold temperatures to reduce fat deposits and is also known as body contouring – and she took legal action over the op. The 56-year-old star returned to social media this week to confirm the case has been settled and she’s keen to move on with her life. She wrote: “I’m pleased to have settled the CoolSculpting case. “I look forward to the next chapter of my life with friends and family, and am happy to put this matter behind me. I am truly grateful for the support I have received from those who have reached out.” Linda previously opened up about the procedure and her disappearance from the modelling industry, telling PEOPLE.com: “I loved being up on the catwalk. Now I dread running into someone I know. I can’t live like this anymore, in hiding and shame. I just couldn’t live in this pain any longer. I’m willing to finally speak. “Why do we feel the need to do these things [to our bodies]? I always knew I would age. And I know that there are things a body goes through. But I just didn’t think I would look like this. “I don’t recognise myself physically, but I don’t recognise me as a person any longer either. She (the supermodel) is sort of gone. I hope I can shed myself of some of the shame and help other people who are in the same situation as me. That’s my goal.” View the full article