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Published by BANG Showbiz English Chris Rock is ignoring Jada Pinkett Smith’s plea for him to reconcile with Will Smith. The ‘Top 5’ star was slapped by the ‘King Richard’ actor on stage at the 2022 Oscars after he made a joke about the ‘Red Table Talk’ host’s shaved head, and though the ‘Girls Trip’ actress recently made a public call for them to put their differences behind them, Chris is reportedly “not concerned” about the drama with the couple at the moment and is focused on his own career. A source told ‘Entertainment Tonight’ that Chris is the “most genuine person ever” and he is “not caught up in the Hollywood scene”. They added: “He’s not concerned with the Smiths at the moment. He’s touring and he’s preparing for a comedy special.” Last week, Jada admitted she hoped Will and Chris would “talk out” the situation and ultimately “reconcile”. During the latest episode of ‘Red Table Talk’, she said: “Now, about Oscar night, my deepest hope is that these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, talk this out, and reconcile. “The state of the world today, we need them both, and we all actually need one another more than ever. “Until then, Will and I are continuing to do what we have done for the last 28 years, and that’s keep figuring out this thing called life together.” Jada suffers from alopecia – a condition that causes hair loss – and the actress revealed that “thousands” of people have contacted her since the Oscars ceremony, when Chris made a joke about her appearance. She said: “Considering what I’ve been through with my own health and what happened at the Oscars, thousands have reached out to me with their stories.” Will – who has been married to Jada since 1997 – previously described his behaviour at the Oscars as “shocking, painful, and inexcusable”. As a result of his actions, the ‘Men in Black’ actor resigned from the Academy after issuing an apology. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also announced the actor would be banned from attending any of their events, both virtually and in person, for 10 years. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Natalia Zinets KYIV (Reuters) – Oleg Averyanov’s factory produced fire trucks and employed 600 people until it was forced to halt operations and close its doors as a Russian invasion force poured over the border into his region in northeastern Ukraine on Feb. 24. Months later, the 44-year-old is gearing up to restart some of the plant’s operations 700 km (435 miles) away in the western city of Lviv, where he has moved some staff and 20 rail cars of equipment and production lines that weighed hundreds of tonnes. “No one believed this could happen. But the war began and we decided to diversify the risks, move part of the production line to western Ukraine,” he told Reuters by phone. Averyanov is part of a wave of businesspeople taking up a government programme to relocate businesses westwards from war-ravaged areas to protect manufacturers and shield them from further damage to an economy facing its greatest ever crisis. The economy is projected to contract 35-45% this year as the war severs export routes for Ukrainian grains and metals, jacks up inflation and unemployment, and devastates heavy industry in the south and east where fighting has been fiercest. Now it is transforming the geography of industry too. More than 600 enterprises have already relocated to Ukraine’s western regions, and 390 of them had already resumed work by early June, according to Economy Ministry data. Some 150 of those companies have moved to the Lviv region that borders Poland and has been relatively unscathed by the war, the regional administration said. “The large-scale relocation of business to safe areas will help Ukraine maintain production, jobs and meet the demand of the army and civilian population for a number of goods and services that are necessary to defeat the enemy,” Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko wrote on Facebook on March 29. TWO FACTORIES Averyanov plans to retain some of his business’s operations at his original plant in Chernihiv region that was overrun by Russian troops in the first phase of the war before Moscow withdrew its forces there. “The war will finish and we’ll have two factories – one in western Ukraine and one in Chernihiv region,” Averyanov said. His company, Ukraine’s only producer of fire engines and fire equipment that are vital to the war effort, hopes to start operating in Lviv region by the end of June. He plans to recruit and train about 100 local residents or internally displaced people this summer. Though grateful for the support, he now wants the government to provide enterprises like his with procurement orders and criticised the preference shown to imported goods. “We have retained our manufacturing capabilities… and our team of employees. But if the state does not think about how to provide orders to enterprises like ours that are moving to western Ukraine, then we will not survive,” Averyanov said. His message was echoed by Central Bank Governor Kyrylo Shevchenko who has urged the government to scrap tax breaks for imports and to impose additional taxes on non-vital imported goods. “The incentives created for imports in the form of the abolition of import duties and value-added tax deprive Ukrainian producers of an advantage,” he wrote in a column on the ZN.UA news website. RUINED INDUSTRY Ukraine has lost 200 large factories during the war, said Andriy Yermak, head of the presidential office. In the east, the war has brought operations to a standstill at the Azovstal and Illich metallurgical plants in the city of Mariupol, the chemical Coke and Chemical Plant in Avdiivka and the Azot chemical plant in Sievierodonetsk. “The government is doing a good job helping to evacuate businesses, it would be much worse without it,” said Mykhailo Kolisnyk, a professor at the Kyiv School of Economics. But with their share of gross domestic product at no more than 1-2%, the number of relocated enterprises is not enough to noticeably improve the economy, he said. A few large agricultural and metallurgical enterprises make up a sizeable chunk of Ukrainian gross domestic product but their production facilities cannot be relocated, he said. “There is a number of such conglomerate enterprises in the east, and most of them have stopped making their contribution to GDP,” Kolisnyk said. “Russia, the invaders, are deliberately destroying these enterprises and taking away their products.” (Reporting by Natalia Zinets; Writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Gareth Jones and Edmund Blair) View the full article

Published by AFP Tesla Chief Exeuctive Elon Musk threatened to withdraw his bid for Twitter if the company does not provided requested information on fake accounts New York (AFP) – Elon Musk threatened Monday to withdraw his bid to buy Twitter, accusing it of failing to provide data on fake accounts, in the latest twist in the Tesla billionaire’s push to acquire the social network. Twitter has committed “a clear material breach” of its “obligations under the merger agreement and Mr. Musk reserves … his right not to consummate the transaction,” according to a document filed with securities regulators. The filing marks an escalation of Musk’s prior statements that have highlighted fake accounts as a threat to his proposed $44 billion deal to take over Twitter. Musk has said that the real number of bots may be four times higher than Twitter estimates. Bots can be used on social media to spread false news or create a distorted impression of how widely information is being consumed and shared. Twitter chief executive Parag Agrawal has said that fewer than five percent of accounts active on any given day at Twitter are bots, but that analysis cannot be replicated externally due to the need to keep user data private. Musk has been dismissive of Twitter’s responses and reiterated that stance in Monday’s filing. To execute the deal, Musk “must have a complete and accurate understanding of the very core of Twitter’s business model — its active user base,” said the filing. “Mr. Musk believes Twitter is transparently refusing to comply with its obligations under the merger agreement, which is causing further suspicion that the company is withholding the requested data due to concern for what Mr. Musk’s own analysis of that data will uncover.” Shares of Twitter fell 3.6 percent to $38.70 in early trading. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Congress’s probe of the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol by Donald Trump supporters trying to overturn his election defeat enters a new phase this week with hearings meant to refocus attention on the violence and those who planned it. The Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Jan. 6 will attempt to reverse Republican efforts to downplay or deny the violence of the day, with five months to go until Nov. 8 midterm elections that will determine which party controls Congress for the next two years. “This was a coup organized by the president against the vice president and against the Congress in order to overturn the 2020 presidential election,” Representative Jamie Raskin, one of the Democratic members of the nine-member committee, said in a recent interview. “We’re going to tell the whole story of everything that happened. There was a violent insurrection and an attempted coup and we were saved by (then-Vice President) Mike Pence’s refusal to go along with that plan,” Raskin said. The panel of seven Democrats and two Republicans has spent much of the past year investigating the events preceding and driving the attack by thousands of Trump loyalists, who stormed the building in a failed bid to prevent Congress from formally certifying his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden. The committee has not yet said what witnesses it will call at its Thursday 8 p.m. ET (0000 GMT June 10) hearing, a prime time spot intended to capture the attention of as many Americans as possible. ABC and CBS News programming schedules showed that the networks planned to carry Thursday’s hearing live. Five more hearings are expected in the next two weeks. The committee said in a statement the hearings would “provide the American people a summary of its findings about the coordinated, multi-step effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and prevent the transfer of power.” “It will be a combination of exhibits, staff testimony, outside witnesses,” the committee’s chairperson, Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson, recently told reporters. Prospects for success are not clear, in a deeply divided country. A Washington Post-ABC News poll last month found that only 40% of Americans believe the committee is conducting a “fair and impartial” investigation of the attack, while 40% say it is not. Many Americans are simply not paying attention, more worried about inflation, a spate of mass shootings and summer vacations than an attack 18 months ago. CLOSED DOORS, SHIFTING NARRATIVE The panel and its dozens of investigators have conducted more than 1,000 depositions and interviews and collected more than 140,000 documents. The investigation has focused on efforts by Trump and associates to promote his false election claims, with committee members contending that the fate of American democracy is at stake. “People are going to be absolutely surprised how much was known,” Denver Riggleman, a Republican former congressman who worked as an adviser to the committee said on CNN on Sunday. “When you look at the totality of the evidence, it’s pretty apparent that at some point President Trump knew what was going on.” Some congressional Republicans condemned Trump in the first days after the attack, but since then almost all of shifted their tone. Members of Congress have refused to cooperate and disputed accounts of the riot, despite thousands of photographs and videos. Republican Representative Andrew Clyde, who helped barricade the doors of the House chamber against the mob, said the Trump supporters who stormed the building behaved “in an orderly fashion.” The Republican National Committee called the assault “legitimate political discourse.” Four people died the day of the attack, one fatally shot by police and the others of natural causes. More than 100 police officers were injured, and one died the next day. Four officers later died by suicide. The Capitol sustained millions of dollars in damage. Trump, who is publicly flirting with another White House run in 2024, has denied wrongdoing and accused the committee of engaging in a political attack. He has leveled harsh criticism particularly at Representative Liz Cheney, the panel’s Republican vice chairperson, as she runs for re-election. Representative Adam Kinzinger, the panel’s other Republican member, is retiring from Congress. Every Republican House leader voted to overturn 2020 election results in the hours after the riot. Cheney – the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney – was removed from Republican leadership for criticizing Trump. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, who refused to comply with a committee subpoena, called the committee invalid, for reasons including having too few members and lacking a formal Republican “ranking member.” The June sessions will not be the committee’s first public hearings. The panel held one last July, at which police officers described being beaten, threatened and taunted with racial insults as they faced the worst attack on the seat of the U.S. government in more than two centuries. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, additional reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Scott Malone) View the full article

Published by DPA Handshakes are back. The risk of a coronavirus infection through the ritual is actually much lower than many believe – at least compared with the risk via airborne respiratory droplets. Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa/dpa-mag Sometimes they’re firm and other times rather limp, but mainly – after more than two years of the Covid-19 pandemic – they now feel oddly antiquated. In any case, handshakes are gradually making a comeback these days. Many people are hesitant to resume the traditional greeting ritual though, worried it can put them at risk of infection with the novel coronavirus or other pathogens. Infectiologist Dr Peter Walger, from the German Society of Hospital Hygiene (DGKH), has answered some questions addressing such concerns. How much of a health risk are handshakes? Peter Walger: Infection with the coronavirus or other pathogens causing respiratory illness isn’t possible via your hands alone. But handshaking can contaminate them with secretions containing the viruses, and if the secretions are transmitted by your hands to mucous membranes in your mouth or nose, for example, you can become infected. Your risk of infection via handshaking naturally depends on whether the other person has touched highly infectious secretions. This is the case, for example, if he or she was near someone ill and touched secretions expelled by that person’s coughs or sneezes. So the risk of infection isn’t nil, but it’s low – at least compared with the risk via airborne respiratory droplets. This is particularly true in the warm months of summer, when fewer respiratory illnesses are transmitted. Does handshaking bolster our immune system by exposing us to various germs? Walger: All our lives we’re confronted with potential pathogens in our environment, so handshaking shouldn’t be overstated. Many pathogens on our skin cause illness only when they enter the body in some way: via an injury, during an operation, or when we inhale them. Some viruses get into our nose and throat region via mucous membranes, where they lead to an infection. The most advisable “training programme” for the immune system is a vaccination. Recovery from an infection contracted naturally would be the best protection, but at the price of illness. The handshake is now returning in many places. How can we practice it as safely as possible, both for ourselves and others? Walger: You should regularly wash your hands, of course. This is a general rule, irrespective of a specific pathogen. Not everyone follows it though, as can be seen in any public lavatory. But handwashing is important, particularly after “critical situations” – for instance after touching a damp handkerchief or a railing that’s been touched by a lot of other people. If you don’t have an opportunity to wash your hands, it will do to use hand sanitizer you carry around in a small bottle. But washing your hands is preferable to disinfecting them. And you shouldn’t touch your face with your hands. This is easier said than done, but you can train yourself to avoid it. During the Covid pandemic, many people switched to elbow and fist bumps as greeting rituals to minimize the risk of a coronavirus infection. Zacharie Scheurer/dpa View the full article

Published by AFP Boosting renewable capacity and combating climate change are a priority for President Joe Biden whose green ambitions have met with mixed success Washington (AFP) – US President Joe Biden on Monday will suspend tariffs for two years on solar panel imports from four countries and invoke a key power to compel domestic manufacture of clean energy technology, the White House said. The moves are aimed at boosting renewable capacity and combating climate change, a priority for the president whose green ambitions have met with mixed success. “Today’s clean energy technologies are a critical part of the arsenal we must harness to lower energy costs for families, reduce risks to our power grid, and tackle the urgent crisis of a changing climate,” the White House said in a fact sheet. It added that, compared to when Biden took office, the United States was on track to triple domestic solar manufacturing capacity by 2024, from 7.5 gigawatts to 22.5 gigawatts, enough to enable 3.3 million homes to switch to solar each year. Duties will be lifted on certain solar parts from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam — but not China — as a “bridge” to ensure the United States has access to sufficient parts to meet electricity needs while domestic capacity scales up. China is excluded as the Commerce Department investigates whether some Chinese companies are circumventing US customs duties by assembling parts in the four countries. At the same time, Biden’s administration will invoke the Defense Production Act (DPA) to accelerate production, and use the federal government’s purchasing power to increase demand. Solar panel parts, building insulation and efficient heat pumps are all targeted under the DPA. Former president Donald Trump used the same powers during the Covid pandemic to increase production of medicines and equipment, and it was also invoked during World War II. Most recently, Biden used the act to help baby formula makers to overcome a production shortfall. The administration will also look to permit more clean energy projects on public lands, including both solar and wind. “The fact is with a stronger clean energy arsenal, the United States can also be a stronger power partner to our allies all around the world, especially in the face of Putin’s war in Ukraine,” a senior administration official told reporters. “The stakes are high and the president is taking action.” Biden has succeeded in getting Congress to pass a bipartisan infrastructure law, a pillar in his climate policy, but has failed to pass a second proposed law, the Build Back Better act. At the same time he has been criticized by environmental groups for plans to resume oil and gas drilling on public lands, reneging on a campaign promise. View the full article

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Monday he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was experiencing mild symptoms. “I plan to work remotely while isolating according to CDC guidelines, and look forward to when I can safely return to the office and the road,” Buttigieg said on Twitter. A number of U.S. cabinet secretaries have tested positive for COVID-19. (Reporting by David Shepardson) View the full article

[This post contains video, click to play] Published by BANG Showbiz English Andrew Ridgeley is working with Netflix on a new Wham! documentary. The 59-year-old singer starred alongside George Michael in the 1980s, and he’s now joined forces with the streaming giant to help to make a new documentary. A source shared: “The Netflix team jumped at the chance to make this film. The Wham! story is an incredible one and who better to offer insight than Andrew? It is a really exciting project and they are putting a lot of resources into it. “Andrew is also very keen for the opportunity to look back over his years with George in the band – though it will, of course, be bittersweet for him.” The Netflix documentary promises to give fans a behind-the-scenes look at their ups and downs as a pop duo. The insider explained: “It is a welcome chance to celebrate what they achieved together and will give fans a unique look behind the scenes.” The new documentary is being billed as an intimate look at Andrew and George’s chart success. And Netflix hopes that it’ll be similarly successful to Taylor Swift’s ‘Miss Americana’ and Lady Gaga’s ‘Five Foot Two’. A second source told The Sun on Sunday newspaper: “The bosses are confident this will be just as much of a hit, if not more.” George passed away on Christmas Day in 2016, aged 53. But prior to his death, the ‘Faith’ hitmaker revealed he wanted to be remembered as someone “with integrity”. The pop icon had been working on a documentary film called ‘George Michael Freedom Uncut’ in the months before his death. And in a clip from the planned project, he said: “I want to leave songs … that will mean something to later generations. I want to be remembered as someone who had some kind of integrity.” View the full article

Published by Sports Illustrated By Jon Wertheim His hilariously timed home runs have become the stuff of internet legend. What are the odds?! We found out. Never mind the honeyed delivery, the wit or the accumulated baseball wisdom. For all his various and sundry broadcasting gifts, Vin Scully was blessed, above all, with exquisite timing. “He may have called baseball games all those years, but he would have been a wonderful conductor or musician,” says Al Michaels, a Scully protégé dating back to his Brooklyn boyhood. “He just has this intuition for the rhythm of a game.” The running joke was that baseball waited for Scully… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters UK By Jiraporn Kuhakan BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thousands of members of Thailand’s LGBTQ+ community raised rainbow flags in the country’s first official pride parade on Sunday evening to celebrate pride month and support gender equality. Also waving blue, pink, and white transgender flags, marchers made their way through the main streets of Bangkok. Some chanted and called for same-sex marriages to be legalised and for sex workers’ rights. Designer Cpeeranat, 24, who made his costume with a long rainbow flag, said the parade had given him goosebumps. The relatively big parade was supported by the loca… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Katharine Jackson WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican U.S. Representative Liz Cheney warned that the nation’s democratic system is threatened by ongoing efforts to deny the legitimacy of Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss. “People must pay attention. People must watch, and they must understand how easily our democratic system can unravel if we don’t defend it,” Cheney said during an interview broadcast on CBS Sunday Morning, days before Congress’ official probe of the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol begins public hearings. Cheney, a vocal critic of Trump who voted to impeach him, is one of two Republicans serving on the committee. She warned that Trump continues to damage trust in American democracy by repeating his false claims that his loss was the result of widespread fraud. Those claims have been repeatedly debunked by courts, state and local election officials and members of Trump’s own administration. “It’s an ongoing threat,” Cheney said of the efforts to undercut confidence in elections. “It is extremely broad. It’s extremely well organized. It’s really chilling.” The House of Representatives Select Committee investigating the attacks will hold a prime time hearing at 8 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT June 10) on Thursday, the committee announced. It will be the first of six public hearings, set for June 13, 15, 16, 21 and June 23, according to media reports. With seven Democrats and two Republicans, the panel has spent much of the past year investigating the events preceding and driving the attack by thousands of Trump supporters, who stormed the building in a failed bid to prevent Congress from formally certifying his 2020 election loss to now-President Joe Biden. Cheney was once the third most powerful Republican in Washington. She was ousted from leadership after repudiating Trump’s false claims that the election had been stolen. Trump has endorsed a challenger to Cheney in Wyoming’s August primary. (Reporting by Katharine Jackson; Editing by Richard Chang) View the full article

Published by PopCrush The 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards winners will be revealed shortly! The awards show will air on Sunday (June 5), at 8 PM ET with winners being awarded the coveted golden popcorn trophy. This year, Vanessa Hudgens will host the telecast while Jack Black will be honored with the Comedic Genius Award in addition to Jennifer Lopez being awarded the Generation Award. The event will take place in Los Angeles at the Barker Hangar. In addition to the awards show, MTV will also air the MTV Movie & TV Awards: Unscripted special which will begin at 10 PM ET. Competition and reality television series will be… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Sarah Wu and Jessie Pang TAIPEI/HONG KONG (Reuters) -Hundreds of people gathered in Taipei on Saturday to commemorate China’s bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square 33 years ago. Chinese-run Hong Kong deployed heavy security to prevent any sign of protest there. Saturday is the anniversary of Chinese troops opening fire to end the student-led unrest in and around the square in central Beijing. China has never provided a full death toll from the events of June 4, 1989, but rights groups and witnesses say the figure could run into the thousands. China bans any public commemoration of the event on the mainland, and Hong Kong authorities have clamped down too, making democratic Taiwan the only part of the Chinese-speaking world where it can be remembered openly. “It’s a symbol of how democracy is precious and fragile at the same time, and how people who care about democracy need to stand up for it or else authoritarians everywhere will think people don’t care,” said author Jeremy Chiang, 27, attending the event at Taipei’s Liberty Square. Activists assembled a new version of the “Pillar of Shame” – a statue commemorating Tiananmen protesters that a leading Hong Kong university removed in December from its campus, where it had stood for more than two decades. Shouts in support of Hong Kong rang out after the statue was put up. Hong Kong’s leader, Carrie Lam, said this week that any events to commemorate those killed in the 1989 crackdown would be subject to national security laws. In the Hong Kong’s Victoria Park, where people had come together for an annual vigil before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, authorities blocked off main parts of the venue and warned residents against illegal gatherings. Hundreds of police, some with sniffer dogs, patrolled the park area and conducted stop-and-search checks. As night fell, floodlights lit up an empty expanse of football pitches. The last time the vigil was held in Hong Kong, in 2019, more than 180,000 people attended, according to organiser estimates, filling six football fields. “Everyone is remaining silent because they are terrified of getting arrested,” Hong Kong resident Victor, 57, who asked to be identified only by his first name, said inside the park. China imposed a national security law on Hong Kong in June 2020 punishing acts of subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison. Beijing said the law was necessary to restore stability after anti-government protests in 2019. ‘TO REMEMBER IS TO RESIST’ Since the legislation was imposed, people or organisations affiliated with the sensitive June 4 date and events to mark it have been targeted by Hong Kong authorities. Hong Kong has banned the annual vigil since 2020, citing coronavirus restrictions. Some democracy campaigners accuse authorities of using those rules to suppress activism, a claim that officials reject. Last year, police blocked off the Hong Kong park to prevent people gathering to commemorate the anniversary and arrested the planned vigil’s organiser. “To remember is to resist,” prominent Chinese human rights lawyer Teng Biao told Reuters from the United States. “If nobody remembers, the suffering of the people will never stop and the perpetrators will continue their crimes with impunity.” In Chinese-claimed Taiwan, President Tsai Ing-wen decried the “collective memory of June 4 being systematically erased in Hong Kong”. “But we believe that such brute force cannot erase people’s memories,” she posted on her Facebook and Instagram pages. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the Tiananmen crackdown “a brutal assault”, adding in a statement: “The efforts of these brave individuals will not be forgotten”. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, at a routine news conference on Thursday, reiterated Beijing’s line on the events. “The Chinese government has long ago come to a clear conclusion about the political incident that happened in late 1980s,” he said. (Reporting by Sarah Wu and Jessie PangAdditional reporting by James Pomfret, Phoebe Law, Joyce Zhou and Anne Marie RoantreeWriting by Ben BlanchardEditing by Stephen Coates, William Mallard and Frances Kerry) View the full article

Published by AFP Heather Booth says that she founded the Washington (AFP) – Heather Booth was a student in Chicago in 1965 when she received a call from a friend in need. His sister, he said, was pregnant but not ready to have a child. She was “nearly suicidal.” Drawing on her contacts in the city, Booth helped the young woman find a doctor willing to perform an illegal abortion — in what she believed would be a one-off “act of goodwill.” “But word must have spread,” the 76-year-old said in an interview from her home in Washington, more than half a century later. That one act would grow into an underground network of women called “Jane,” whose members helped end thousands of unwanted pregnancies, safely and without stigma — eventually performing 11,000 abortions themselves. By January 22, 1973 — when the US Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision created a nationwide right to abortion — seven “Jane” members were awaiting trial. One of them was Martha Scott, who at the age of 80 — and with the court now expected to repeal that right — looks back defiantly on her decision to break the law many years ago. “I felt very strongly… that we are doing this illegal thing because it is important to do, because it can’t be done legally,” Scott said in a video interview from her home in Chicago. “We were just ladies down the street,” she said, but “bad laws require you to choose to act in ways that may be a little risky.” ‘Caring community’ Booth and Scott, whose journey with the “Janes” is spotlighted in an upcoming HBO documentary, have stark memories of the time before Roe — when desperate women would harm themselves attempting to end their pregnancies. “Some were taking lye (a caustic ingredient in soap), some were using a coat hanger,” said Booth. “Some were doing damage to themselves, throwing themselves down stairs or off a rooftop.” Without alternatives, women sought out abortions from illegal providers, many of whom were motivated by profit or unscrupulous in other ways, with little concern for women’s health. Eleanor Oliver, another former member of the network, said when she sought an illegal abortion in Washington, she was told the doctor might want her to be “a little cozier and friendlier than just a patient.” Fortunately, said the now-84-year-old Oliver, “he was very businesslike, very official.” As word got out that Booth could help women get a safe abortion, more and more began contacting her — and she recruited others to help. To be discreet, they told callers to leave a message for “Jane” — and the group, established as a “caring community,” was born. After some time, the group discovered their abortionist was not a licensed doctor — a shock that led some members to leave. But others, said Scott, realized that if a man without professional training could learn how to safely perform abortions, so could they. – ‘Furious’ – In May 1972, the police barged into the apartment where the “Jane” collective was operating. “They kept saying ‘So where’s the doctor?’…’‘Where’s the guy who’s doing abortions?'” recalled Scott, who was in one of the bedrooms-turned-surgeries. “Well, of course, it wasn’t any guy who was doing abortions… we were doing abortions.” She and six others were rounded up and taken to jail, where they spent the night — before being released pending trial. In the wake of Roe v. Wade, the charges against the “Janes” were dropped, and the group disbanded. Half a century later, though, their work appears relevant all over again, after a leak revealed that the Supreme Court is seriously considering a full reversal of Roe. Scott was “furious, just furious” at the news — but “not surprised” either, in light of former president Donald Trump’s nomination of three anti-abortion conservative justices, tilting the bench decisively to the right. If the nationwide right to abortion is struck down — leaving states free to enact “dangerous” restrictions — Scott expects a new generation of activists will need to step up. “What we need to do is use every tool at our disposal,” echoed Booth. While conservative-led states are expected to drastically curb abortion rights if given free rein, it would remain legal in many other states — “islands in the storm,” as Booth calls them. Some, like Illinois, have already moved to loosen their abortion restrictions in anticipation of the Supreme Court decision. The poorest women — less able to travel out of state — will be the hardest-hit, as seen in Texas where abortions after six weeks have already been effectively banned. But new medication can safely induce abortions up to 10 weeks into a pregnancy and — though it would still be illegal — can easily be sent through the mail. And so, Scott and Booth hold out hope that the United States will not be going back to the dark days of back-alley abortions. “The abortions won’t stop,” Booth said, citing data that shows one in four American women will terminate a pregnancy at some point in their lifetime. “It’s not rare, and it needs to be safe.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English George Michael wanted to be remembered as someone “with integrity”. The ‘Careless Whisper’ hitmaker had been working on documentary film ‘George Michael Freedom Uncut’ in the months leading up to his shock death in December 2016, and in the film, he speaks poignantly about his legacy. According to the Sunday Times Culture magazine, he said: “I want to leave songs . . . that will mean something to later generations. I want to be remembered as someone who had some kind of integrity.” Sir Elton John was interviewed for the documentary and remembered his ‘Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me’ collaborator as outspoken and very talented. He said: “Dinner with him was always an event because he would have a definite opinion on anything. He took something I thought was near perfect in Don’t Let the Sun and made it better. That’s the biggest compliment I can pay.” George lived next door to supermodel Kate Moss and the pair had a lot of fun together. She said: “My favourite night was after the Olympics closing ceremony. We went back to his house and we danced and laughed and rewatched his performance. It was a very long night, I was still there when the sun came up. “I told George that I really wanted to go to the final Wham! concert and sat on the phone for eight hours, but they sold out. I was heartbroken. His music is still on all my playlists.” The ‘Freedom’ hitmaker worked on the film with his best friend, David Austin. David reflected: “George made this film the way he made everything. He took complete control.” After his pal’s death, David stopped listening to George’s music for some time. He added “But a few years ago I was in New York walking down Madison Avenue and Praying for Time came on. It took me by surprise. It really hit me and I listened in a different way. I thought, ‘He can really sing.’ “We met when we were a few months old in our prams. We started writing songs together when we were around five. One was called ‘Music Maker of the World’ and we played ‘Crocodile Rock’ by Elton John. George was the drummer and I played guitar and we recorded everything. “He was such a kind, caring, gentle, giving person. I miss my friend. I miss our friendship, doing all the normal things together, speaking three or four times a day. Music was our first love.” View the full article

Published by DPA Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) watches the Victory Day military parade marking the 77th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany during World War II at Red Square in central Moscow. Putin has warned that if Kiev receives long-range missiles, Russia will move and strike sites that have been off-target so far. -/Kremlin/dpa Supplying long-range missiles of Western manufacture to Ukraine will result in a strong response from Russian forces, President Vladimir Putin told state broadcaster Rossija 1. “If they supply, then we will draw the corresponding conclusions from this and deploy our means of destruction, of which we have enough, to deliver blows to those objects that we are not yet attacking,” he said. The West’s aim in supplying arms to Ukraine was to draw out the conflict, Putin said. The Russian leader appeared relaxed about the delivery of modern HIMARS multiple rocket launchers announced by the United States, saying it would not change the balance of forces fundamentally. “There’s nothing new here,” he said, noting that the Ukrainian army already had similar, Russian-made systems and that US deliveries would just replace systems that had been destroyed. Precisely which missiles were deployed would be decisive, Putin said. According to his information, missiles with ranges of between 45 and 70 kilometres would be supplied, similar to Russia’s Uragan, Smerch and Grad systems. Ukraine had 515 such systems when the “operation” began and is still thought to have 360, he said. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Michael Holden and Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) -Military bands, dancers, performers and celebrities paraded through the streets of London on Sunday to mark the final day of the Platinum Jubilee celebrating Queen Elizabeth’s 70 years on the British throne. Under leaden skies, open-topped buses, vintage cars, Olympic cyclists and troops from Britain and the Commonwealth travelled along the route the 96-year-old queen took on her coronation day in 1953. Reflecting the different decades of the queen’s reign, dancers dressed in 1950s outfits danced down the Mall – the grand boulevard leading up to Buckingham Palace – while Morris Minor cars carried Union flags and honked their horns. The Gold State Coach that carried the queen to Westminster Abbey to be crowned in 1953 was seen in public again for the first time in 20 years. Sunday’s pageant through central London was due to conclude the fourth and final day of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee that has been marked by a military parade, a Royal Air Force flypast, a service of thanksgiving and a glittering concert. The queen has been forced to miss a number of the events however because of “episodic mobility problems” which have recently caused her to cancel engagements. She has been on the throne longer than any of her predecessors. The monarch was not present at the start of the parade, with her son and heir Prince Charles, and grandson Prince William, watching on from the seated area in front of Buckingham Palace. Emma Woodhouse, a 21-year-old nanny from the eastern county of Norfolk had arrived on the Mall at 5:30 a.m. to get a good view, clutching Union Jack shower caps just in case. “I think everyone’s going to have great spirits,” she told Reuters. “We’re ready to be here, rain or shine.” NATIONAL TREASURE Hundreds of thousands of royal supporters have appeared to watch the events and enjoy picnics in what is for many the first major national public event since the COVID-19 pandemic. Singer Ed Sheeran and more than 100 “national treasures” ranging from former soccer player Gary Lineker to model Kate Moss, runner Mo Farah and children’s TV puppet Basil Brush were also part of the 10,000 strong, eccentric parade. It also included people dressed as flowers, swans and animals, while others danced to Abba. A series of “Big Jubilee Lunches” were being held across Britain, as part of an estimated 16,000 street parties. Another 600 such gatherings took place across the globe, including in Canada, Brazil, New Zealand, Japan and South Africa. Reflecting the country’s quirky sense of humour, races were being held between Corgis, the dog breed beloved by the queen, while on Saturday the monarch appeared in a comic sketch with Paddington Bear before she tapped in time with the Queen anthem “We Will Rock You”. The final day of festivities comes after Prince Charles, 73, paid a personal tribute to his mother at the pop concert outside Buckingham Palace on Saturday night. “You pledged to serve your whole life – you continue to deliver. That is why we are here,” he said in his message to the queen, who was at her Windsor Castle residence outside London. “You have met us and talked with us. You laugh and cry with us and, most importantly, you have been there for us, for these 70 years,” Charles added, referring to the queen as “mummy”. Elizabeth ascended the throne aged 25 on the death of her father, George VI, in 1952, inheriting dominion over a Britain still emerging from the ravages of World War Two and with Winston Churchill as prime minister. In total, there have been 14 UK prime ministers and 14 U.S. presidents during her reign; the Berlin Wall rose and fell; Britain joined and left the European Union; and its once-mighty empire disintegrated, replaced by a Commonwealth of 54 nations. Opinion polls suggest a majority of Britons believe the monarchy should remain and a recent Ipsos survey found nine out of 10 respondents supported the queen. (Additional reporting by Helena WilliamsEditing by David Holmes, Frances Kerry and Raissa Kasolowsky) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Kanishka Singh (Reuters) – A mass shooting in Philadelphia left at least three people dead and 11 others wounded, police said on Sunday in the latest case of gun violence in the United States after recent massacres in Texas, New York and Oklahoma where dozens died. A gunman opened fire in Philadelphia’s busy South Street area, which has multiple bars and restaurants, around midnight on Saturday. Two men and a woman were killed, officials said. “There were hundreds of individuals just enjoying South Street, as they do every single weekend when this shooting broke out,” Philadelphia Police Inspector D F Pace said. The incident followed recent shootings at a grocery story in Buffalo, New York, an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and a medical building in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that left dozens dead. Gun safety advocates are pushing the U.S. government to take stronger measures to curb gun violence. There have been at least 239 mass shootings in the United States so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit research group. It defines a mass shooting as one in which at least four people are shot, excluding the shooter. Philadelphia police officers observed “several active shooters shooting into the crowd,” with one officer “within about 10 to 15 yards” of an individual firing into the crowd, police said. That officer fired at the suspect, they said. The whereabouts of the shooters were not immediately known, Pace said. Two handguns were recovered at the scene, including one with an extended magazine, he added. There were no immediate arrests. U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday called on Congress to ban assault weapons, expand background checks and implement other gun control measures to address the string of mass shootings. A broad majority of American voters, both Republicans and Democrats, favor stronger gun control laws, but Republicans in Congress and some moderate Democrats have blocked such legislation for years. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis) View the full article

Published by Radar Online ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA A spokesperson for embattled Prince Andrew announced he would be missing the Queen‘s Platinum Jubilee celebrations after testing positive for COVID-19, but royal fans aren’t convinced. Some speculate it is a convenient cover-up to avoid a public appearance in the wake of his military and royal titles being stripped following sexual assault allegations. ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA “After undertaking a routine test, the duke has tested positive for COVID and with regret will no longer be attending tomorrow’s service,” the statement on Thursday read, leading many Twitter users to speak out about the sudden change-up. “The institution knew it would be terrible PR to have him there, but for him to choose not to go would seem like an admission of guilt,” one person speculated. “This is clearly coordinated,” another theorized. A third tweeted, “I just really wish we could have seen the look on #PrinceAndrew’s face when he was told that to save the, ‘firm,’ he was going to test positive for COVID so as not to be seen during the #PlatinumJubilee.” James Whatling / MEGA On Wednesday, he was spotted riding a horse on the Royal Estate in Windsor. The following day, however, he did not appear at their Trooping the Colour event. Many of the royal family members gathered today in honor of Elizabeth’s 70 years on the throne, celebrating with “bible readings, prayers and congregational hymns, to recognize and give thanks for The Queen’s reign, faith and lifetime of service.” Buckingham Palace said in a statement on Thursday evening that Elizabeth had “greatly enjoyed” the jubilee’s opening events and made the decision to miss Friday’s service “with great reluctance.” A National Service of Thanksgiving is being held at St. Paul’s Cathedral for the occasion. James Whatling / MEGA Andrew has been avoiding the spotlight for the most part after Virginia Giuffre, who was trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein, accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17. Amid the bombshell claims, Andrew’s lawyers said the duke “unequivocally denies Giuffre’s false allegations against him.” Although he never faced criminal charges, the two parties later agreed to an out-of-court settlement, which was reportedly around $12 million. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jonathan Allen (Reuters) – Ohio is set to enact a law that allows teachers and other staff to be armed with guns in schools once they have completed up to 24 hours of initial training. Proponents hope armed teachers will reduce the frequency and deadliness of school shootings, which have become recurrent in the United States. The bill’s opponents, including teachers’ unions and the state’s main police officer union, say it will only make schools more dangerous for children. The bill was finalized 10 days after a teenager with an AR-15-style rifle attacked a school in Uvalde, Texas. Nineteen students and two teachers were killed in the massacre. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, a Republican, has said he will sign the bill into law. The bill https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/134/hb99 was passed by the Republican-controlled Ohio General Assembly this week. It was designed to defuse a ruling last year by the Ohio Supreme Court that said a longstanding state law required teachers to complete more than 700 hours in a peace-officer training program before they could be armed with a gun on school premises. Proponents of the bill said it would allow school staff to confront an armed attacker before police entered. “In emergency situations at our schools, seconds matter and tragedies can be prevented,” Representative Thomas Hall, the bill’s sponsor, said in a statement https://ohiohouse.gov/members/thomas-hall/news/hall-champions-historic-school-safety-bill-110271. Armed teachers would be required to undergo criminal background checks and receive 8 hours of additional training each subsequent year. DeWine said in a statement the governor’s office had worked with lawmakers since the Uvalde shooting “to remove hundreds of hours of curriculum irrelevant to school safety, and to ensure training requirements were specific to a school environment.” The Ohio Education Association and the Ohio Federation of Teachers said in a joint statement that the bill was rushed and risky. The bill, they said, put “educators in the impossible position of making split-second life-and-death decisions without sufficient training. This could undoubtedly lead to more tragedies in our schools.” Under the new law, school districts would have to notify parents if they decide to let armed teachers onto school premises. It was not immediately clear how many school districts would choose to allow teachers to be armed. (Reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis) View the full article