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Published by BANG Showbiz English Zendaya has insisted ‘Euphoria’ isn’t a “moral tale”. The 25-year-old actress has spoken out to defend her show after anti-drug education group D.A.R.E. slammed the programme for “glorifying” substance abuse and “misguidedly and erroneously” depicting high school drug use. Zendaya insisted the show has set out to reassure viewers they are not “alone” in their struggles, but it’s never encouraged the audience to live their lives in a particular way. She told Entertainment Weekly: “Our show is in no way a moral tale to teach people how to live their life or what they should be doing. If anything, the feeling behind ‘Euphoria,’ or whatever we have always been trying to do with it, is to hopefully help people feel a little bit less alone in their experience and their pain. “And maybe feel like they’re not the only one going through or dealing with what they’re dealing with.” Season 2 of the HBO series culminates in an intervention for Zendaya’s character Rue, which the actress called the “light at the end of the tunnel” and she hopes her alter ego’s experiences allow viewers to gain “a little bit more understanding and [be] empathetic over the experience of addiction.” She added: “My biggest hope is that people are able to connect to it and those who need to heal and grow with Rue hopefully, by the end of this season, feel that hope and feel that change in her.” While working on the show, Zendaya has heard from a lot of viewers who see “parallels” from their own lives and she admitted their messages mean a lot to her. She said: “I’ve had a lot of people reach out and find so many parallels from all ages, all walks of life. So many parallels with Rue and her story and Rue means a lot to them in a way that I can understand, but also maybe in a way that I could never understand, and that means the most to all of us.” D.A.R.E. have accused the programme of normalising teen drug abuse. They said in a statement last month: “Rather than further each parent’s desire to keep their children safe from the potentially horrific consequences of drug abuse and other high-risk behaviour, HBO’s television drama, ‘Euphoria,’ chooses to misguidedly glorify and erroneously depict high school student drug use, addiction, anonymous sex, violence, and other destructive behaviors as common and widespread in today’s world “It is unfortunate that HBO, social media, television programme reviewers, and paid advertising have chosen to refer to the show as ‘groundbreaking,’ rather than recognising the potential negative consequences on school-age children who today face unparalleled risks and mental health challenges.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Aram Roston WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Federal Bureau of Investigation is probing a meeting in a downtown DC garage the day before the January 6 Capitol Hill riot between the then-leader of the Proud Boys extremist group, the now-indicted leader of the Oath Keepers militia and other far-right figures, according to two witnesses interviewed by FBI agents. Among the half dozen people gathered at a garage near the Phoenix Park Hotel was Oath Keepers head Stewart Rhodes, who was indicted this year on charges of “seditious conspiracy” in the insurrection. Proud Boys Chairman Enrique Tarrio, who was not present at the riot, was also at the garage meeting but left Washington afterward. The meeting put the heads of the nation’s two best-known violent far-right pro-Trump groups in immediate proximity to each other 24 hours before the breach of the Capitol. Three attendees or their representatives contacted by Reuters say they did not discuss matters related to January 6. Bianca Gracia, who heads a pro-Trump coalition called Latinos for Trump and an affiliated Political Action Committee named Latinos For America First, was at the garage meeting as well, according to witnesses and video taken by a documentary film crew. Also present was Kellye SoRelle, a lawyer for the Oath Keepers and Latinos for Trump. SoRelle told Reuters she was invited by Gracia to meet Tarrio and share information about criminal defense attorneys. She said her role in the meeting was brief, and did not concern plans for the next day. A U.S. House of Representatives committee is investigating the January 6 riot, in which supporters of then-President Donald Trump sought to block Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s election as president. The committee has subpoenaed the phone records of a photographer who accompanied Tarrio to parts of the garage meeting. Tarrio told Reuters last June that his meeting at the garage with Rhodes was unplanned and not significant. “By coincidence,” Tarrio said, “he was inside … that parking garage.” He said he shook hands with Rhodes solely to be polite. “He’s here, I’m not going to not shake somebody’s hand.” He has denied any Proud Boys planning ahead of January 6. Reached again in January, Tarrio said he would not answer further questions. “I usually speak to all reporters,” he texted back after one question, “but when they become conspiracy theorists … that’s usually when I sever ties.” Tarrio has said he stepped down as Proud Boys chairman earlier this year. An attorney for Rhodes, who is being held pending trial, emailed Reuters that “there was no coordination” between Rhodes and Tarrio. The FBI’s investigation of the meeting has not previously been reported, nor have the circumstances of the gathering. A short clip of the gathering appeared in a British Channel 4 documentary last year about the Proud Boys, spurring some chatter on Twitter. Michael Simmons, who was present during part of January 6 with Rhodes, said Rhodes had not mentioned meeting Tarrio. When Reuters told him of the meeting, Simmons said he was shocked because, he said, Rhodes had been critical of Tarrio and the Proud Boys. “Why would you meet Enrique in a fucking parking garage?” said Simmons, who has not been charged. “It just blows my mind. That’s crazy!” Federal prosecutors have charged multiple leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers with playing leading roles in the mayhem of January 6. Tarrio has not been indicted in the case. The Proud Boys is an all-male group that encourages street brawling against leftist protesters and calls itself “Western chauvinist.” Oath Keepers wear military-style uniforms, train in military tactics and often carry firearms in operations. Last March, prosecutors cited the social media messages of one Oath Keeper leader indicted in the January 6 case. “This week I organized an alliance between Oath Keepers, Florida 3%ers, and Proud Boys,” he allegedly wrote in a Facebook message before the riot, citing a different gathering, prosecutors said in a court filing. The Three Percenters is a loosely organized far right militia, some of whose members have been charged in the Capitol attack. So far, however, the Justice Department has not disclosed clear evidence that the far-right groups plotted to come together on January 6. An FBI spokesperson declined to comment. ‘OUT OF SIGHT’ On the afternoon of January 5, 2021, Washington teemed with Trump supporters preparing for January 6, when Congress was scheduled to ratify Biden’s presidential victory at the Capitol. Tarrio had just been released after a night in a Washington jail, where he was held on charges of burning a Black Lives Matter flag in December 2020. A judge ordered him to leave town until his court appearances. Tarrio later served nearly six months for burning the banner and carrying illegal rifle magazines into the city that December. After he was released on January 5, the documentary film crew working on the Proud Boys report drove Tarrio to the Phoenix Park Hotel, not far from the Capitol building, said a source familiar with the matter. Oath Keepers leader Rhodes had left Texas on January 3, spending over $10,000 on firearms equipment on his journey to the DC area, prosecutors say in an indictment unsealed January 4. The indictment said he conspired “to oppose by force the lawful transfer of presidential power.” He stayed at a hotel in Vienna, Virginia. Just as Tarrio arrived from jail January 5, Rhodes was outside the Phoenix Park Hotel in DC, said a source at the scene. Gracia, the president of Latinos for Trump, was inside the hotel. SoRelle, the lawyer for Latinos for Trump, says Gracia invited her to meet Tarrio. While Tarrio is best known as the Proud Boys chairman, he was also previously involved in Latinos for Trump and had been its Florida state director. Sorelle said her recollection was that Tarrio and a couple of others were in the garage when she walked in with Rhodes and Gracia. She said Rhodes shook Tarrio’s hand and the two exchanged pleasantries. Then she briefly discussed Tarrio’s need for a lawyer in the DC criminal case, for which he’d been arrested the previous day. She said about six people were there. Latinos for Trump has not been accused in the January 6 violence. Contacted this January, Gracia declined to discuss the garage meeting. Previously, she told Reuters her group had a morning rally on January 6 near the U.S. Senate, and that she left by 12:15 PM, went to her hotel and slept through the insurrection. “We’re a very spiritual group and we’re grounded in God and we stayed where we were supposed to stay and we prayed,” she said. SoRelle says she too went to the morning January 6 rally by Latinos for Trump, where she spoke, as did Rhodes, SoRelle and Simmons said. The photographer, Amy Harris, was also with Tarrio at the garage meeting January 5, two sources said. Harris, who originally specialized in photography of music concerts and festivals, had shifted to protests in 2020, and had begun focusing on Tarrio and the Proud Boys. The House committee has subpoenaed Harris’s phone records; she is suing the January 6 committee to block the subpoena. “Harris’s work documenting Tarrio throughout the remainder of 2020 earned her Tarrio’s trust as a journalist and, accordingly, the trust of the members of his group,” her suit said. Harris and her lawyers declined to comment. SoRelle said the garage meeting left her puzzled and she says she is unclear why it was held. She said the meeting was not necessary, as she had already shared information about possible lawyers with Tarrio and others. “There was no reason for him to show up and there was no reason for me to be there,” she said. The documentary film crew was from a company called “Saboteur Media.” It gathered a snippet showing Tarrio, Rhodes and Gracia standing in the garage but does not have audio, according to a source familiar with it. Reuters has seen a photo of the participants standing together at the garage. The FBI has obtained a copy of the footage, a source told Reuters. (Reporting by Aram Roston. Editing by Ronnie Greene) View the full article

Published by Reuters By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Top U.S. Senate Republican Mitch McConnell’s goal to project an image of moderation for his party as it seeks to regain control of Congress this year has taken a hit with its fresh infighting over last year’s Capitol attack and censure of two lawmakers. McConnell at an afternoon news conference is expected to address the Republican National Committee’s censure last week of Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, the only two Republicans serving on the House of Representatives select committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, rampage, according to a person familiar with the matter. The RNC took its action on Friday and called the Democratic-led committee’s inquiry an attack on “legitimate political discourse.” Supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in a failed attempt to prevent Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. Republicans are hoping to regain majorities in the House and Senate in the Nov. 8 midterm elections. McConnell, the Senate minority leader and one of his party’s most wily political tacticians, has been trying to paint Biden as a former moderate radicalized by the Democratic Party’s left wing. McConnell’s hopes of projecting an image of moderation for his own party could help Senate Republican candidates in key states. Lawmakers close to McConnell found themselves on the defensive about the RNC censure resolution. “They said, in the resolution, they wanted Republicans to be unified. That was not a unifying action,” said Senator John Cornyn of Texas. Other Senate Republican leaders were quick to acknowledge the trouble that party divisions might pose for Republican Senate candidates. “If we want to win the elections in November, there are better things for us to be focused on,” said Senator John Thune, the chamber’s No. 2 Republican after McConnell. “The focus right now needs to be forward, not backward. If we want to get majorities in the fall, then it’s better to turn our fire on Democrats and not on each other,” Thune added. Democrats may be vulnerable, particularly considering Biden’s falling public approval numbers in opinion polls. The party of sitting presidents typically loses congressional seats in the first midterm elections after winning the White House. McConnell has sought to cast Biden and his pricy “Build Back Better” social spending plan that is stalled in the Senate as creatures of the Democratic Party’s left wing. McConnell has accused Biden of ignoring troubles facing American families such as inflation including higher energy costs. “If the president starts acting like a moderate, like he campaigned, we can do business,” McConnell told Fox News last month. While McConnell is calling for bipartisanship, he often has been a partisan warrior himself. As majority leader, he refused to consider Democratic President Barack Obama’s nominee to fill a Supreme Court vacancy and last year said he might block Biden’s nominees to the high court if Republicans gain Senate control. He also has used the Senate’s filibuster rule to thwart parts of Biden’s legislative agenda including voting rights. McConnell did delivered critical Republican votes last year for two bipartisan priorities – a $1 trillion infrastructure bill and a deal to avert a default on the federal government’s debt. Both prompted enraged statements from Trump, who has called for McConnell’s ouster from his Senate leadership post. McConnell has also said he is open to a bipartisan effort to revamp an 1887 law that Trump tried to use to overturn Biden’s 2020 victory. The push to reform the law called the Electoral Count Act could succeed, after Democrats failed to pass their voting rights legislation amid unified Republican opposition. (Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Will Dunham and Scott Malone) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Sarah N. Lynch and Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Dozens of U.S. Democratic lawmakers with the Congressional Black Caucus have urged the Justice Department to step up legal efforts to protect voting rights across the country, condemning what they say are “anti-democratic” Republican efforts to restrict ballot access for voters of color. “These unabashedly racist and partisan attacks on our nation’s democratic principles must be forcefully condemned and expeditiously reversed,” the 44 members of the House of Representatives wrote in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday. Among the lawmakers who signed the letter were Congressional Black Caucus Chair Joyce Beatty and Representatives Ilhan Omar, Barbara Lee, James Clyburn and Ayanna Pressley. “It is critical that you enforce every applicable law to ensure all citizens can vote”, they wrote in the letter. “No lawsuit is too trivial when it comes to the voting rights of citizens.” President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats suffered twin legislative defeats last month in their push to toughen voting rights protections in the run-up to this November’s mid-term elections that will determine control of Congress in 2023. Senate Republicans had blocked the Democrats’ move to advance the voting rights legislation toward passage. They had employed the decades old “filibuster” rule to stop the legislation, which requires the cooperation of at least 60 of the Senate’s 100 members to keep bills alive. The Senate currently is split 50-50. Democrats have accused Republicans in various states of exploiting their majorities in state legislatures to craft electoral maps that diminish the clout of Black and other racial minority voters while maximizing the power of white voters. Dozens of lawsuits have been filed in states around the country challenging congressional lines drawn as part of a once-a-decade cycle. (This story corrects number of lawmakers who signed the letter to 44 from 41 in second paragraph) (Reporting by Sarah Lynch in Washington, writing by Kanishka Singh; Editing by Aurora Ellis) View the full article

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Donald Trump’s aides are looking for more White House records after the National Archives said it retrieved 15 boxes of official materials from the former president’s Florida resort, according to the agency. “Former President Trump’s representatives have informed NARA that they are continuing to search for additional Presidential records that belong to the National Archives,” the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) said in a statement on Monday. The hunt for additional documents and items raises questions about Trump’s compliance with federal law requiring the preservation of all communications regarding official presidential duties. The archives confirmed officials retrieved the boxes from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property – one year after they should have been transferred to the agency when Democratic President Joe Biden took office. “The Presidential Records Act is critical to our democracy, in which the government is held accountable by the people,” U.S. Archivist David Ferriero said. The statement followed reports by the Washington Post on the boxes found in Florida and the Trump administration’s haphazard recordkeeping, including Trump’s habit of tearing up official documents. Representatives for Trump, a Republican, could not be immediately reached for comment. Former aides to Trump told the Post and the New York Times the materials handed over to the archives were packed up hastily during the former president’s exit. Several presidential historians said the violations under Trump were unprecedented. “It’s a pretty shocking disregard for the Presidential Records Act,” historian Lindsay Chervinsky told CNN on Tuesday. “Presidential documents belong to all of us Americans, not some ex-President,” historian Michael Beschloss tweeted on Monday. “Crucial now for all Americans to know exactly how many and what Presidential documents were illegally taken, hidden or destroyed.” Among the items retrieved in January were letters to Trump from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Trump’s predecessor, former Democratic president Barack Obama, according to the reports. The U.S. House of Representatives is investigating Trump supporters’ Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump sought to block congressional investigators from obtaining his records but the U.S. Supreme Court last month rejected his request. Experts said it was unclear what, if any, repercussions could follow regarding the materials’ improper handling. “There has never been a prosecution under the Presidential Records Act because no president has ever flouted it to this extent,” Chervinsky said. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Susan Heavey; Editing by Howard Goller) View the full article

Published by Radar Online MEGA Don Lemon could barely contain his hate towards his former friend Chris Cuomo during a heated CNN meeting on Monday. On Monday, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar made a video appearance with the staff at the New York offices following Jeff Zucker’s resignation. The employees who feel Zucker was wrongfully pushed out of his job decided to grill Kilar during the meeting. MEGA As Radar first reported, Zucker carried out a “consensual relationship” with CNN exec VP and Chief Marketing Officer Allison Gollust. Sources tell Radar the affair led to both of their marriages ending. MEGA As part of the Chris Cuomo investigation, Zucker was questioned about his relationship with Gollust. He declined to provide the date in which it started and then was forced to resign due to him violating company policy on office romances. Zucker’s supporters accuse Cuomo of going full scorned earth on CNN after Zucker refused to pay him severance after his contract was terminated. During his stop, Kilar declined to offer additional details about the decision to get rid of Zucker. “I do consider Jeff’s resignation closed and I’m not going to be speaking about the details of it as a matter of policy.” MEGA Lemon — who is facing his own sexual assault lawsuit at the moment — had a meltdown during the Kilar meeting. Insider obtained audio from the meeting that was conducted by video. The first anchor to speak out was Alisyn Camerota who told Kilar her and other colleagues were experiencing psychological stress from Zucker’s departure. Lemon had one thing on his mind during the meeting — his ex-friend Chris Cuomo. The anchor asked if Cuomo would be paid his severance. Cuomo is fighting for the $18 million left on his contract. Kilar refused to comment on the matter. Lemon then asked, “Did you think about what message it sends to the journalists in this company and to the larger public, that someone can be found to break these journalistic standards and then get paid handsomely for it?” MEGA “And what is to stop the next person from possibly getting compensated for it, to spread rumors or what have you to the press?” Brian Stelter — whose own job is likely in jeopardy for his role in the Zucker scandal — also made an appearance at the meeting to moan about Kilar not having a global town hall. View the full article

Published by AFP Neil Young continued his battle with Spotify, urging employees to quit the company New York (AFP) – Neil Young is urging Spotify employees to quit their jobs at the company he’s accused of spreading disinformation, urging them to leave before “it eats up your soul.” Young has been leading a boycott of the streaming giant for weeks after he demanded it choose between him and controversial podcaster Joe Rogan, who has faced criticism including for discouraging Covid-19 vaccination in young people. In his latest missive published late Wednesday, Young, 76, told Spotify employees that the Swedish company’s CEO, Daniel Ek, “is your big problem — not Joe Rogan. Ek pulls the strings.” “Get out of that place before it eats up your soul. The only goals stated by EK are about numbers — not art, not creativity,” wrote the “Heart of Gold” artist on his website. Young also told musicians and creators to “find a better place than SPOTIFY to be the home of your art.” So far, Joni Mitchell along with Young’s former bandmates David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash have followed Young’s suit and left Spotify. Singer India.Arie also pulled her music from the platform, citing Rogan’s “language around race.” For its part, Spotify’s Ek has condemned Rogan’s use of a racial slur but insisted that “I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer.” The company has a $100-million multi-year exclusive contract with the podcaster. Spotify has also said it will add advisories to any podcast episodes that discuss Covid-19. In his message this week, Young — a longtime environmental advocate — also asked his fellow baby boomers to remove their money from the major US banks Chase, Citi, Bank of America and Wells Fargo for their “continued fossil fuel damage even as the global temperature keeps climbing.” View the full article

Published by DPA Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI arrives at the airport for his return flight to the Vatican. Pope Benedict on Tuesday asked victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church for forgiveness but rejected allegations that he was involved in any cover-up. Sven Hoppe/dpa-Pool/dpa Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on Tuesday asked victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church for forgiveness but rejected allegations that he was involved in any cover-up. The retired pontiff was responding to an independent report, released on January 20, which chronicles decades of alleged abuse and misconduct in the archdiocese of Munich, which he led as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger from 1977 and 1982. “I have borne great responsibility in the Catholic Church. My pain is all the greater for the misdemeanours and errors that occurred during my terms of office and in the places concerned,” he said in a statement released by the Vatican. In the letter, Benedict expressed his “deep shame” and “great pain,” as well as his “sincere request for apology to all victims of sexual abuse.” Benedict has faced severe criticism after the report detailed accusations of misconduct against him in four cases. Experts from the law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl (WSW) believe that Ratzinger reassigned priests who had abused children to other areas during his time as archbishop of Munich and Freising. These accusations were categorically denied by Ratzinger’s lawyers and advisers in a “fact check” also published on Tuesday. “The expert report contains no evidence to support an allegation of misconduct or assistance in a cover-up,” it says. “As archbishop, Cardinal Ratzinger was not involved in any cover-up of acts of abuse.” Benedict also commented himself on accusations that he had lied about his participation in a meeting concerning the transfer of a priest from Essen in North Rhine Westphalia to Bavaria. This priest is alleged to have abused several other children in two Upper Bavarian parishes. The false statement – that he had not been present at the meeting in question – was based on a misunderstanding, Benedict said. This occurred while his statement on the expert report was being written up with the help of “a small group of friends.” “In the enormous work of those days – the drafting of the statement – an oversight occurred concerning the question of my participation in the ordinariate meeting of January 15, 1980,” he wrote, adding that the mistake was “not intentional” – and “I hope, also excusable.” “The fact that the oversight was exploited to cast doubt on my truthfulness, indeed to portray me as a liar, has affected me deeply,” the 94-year-old said. Participation in the meeting does not prove that Benedict knew about earlier acts of abuse committed by the Essen priest, his lawyers stressed. The files show “that it was not discussed at the meeting in question that the priest had committed sexual abuse,” they noted. According to the WSW law firm’s report, at least 497 children and young people were sexually abused by priests, deacons or other church employees in the archdiocese of Munich and Freising between 1945 and 2019. The experts counted at least 235 alleged perpetrators – including 173 priests and 9 deacons – while noting that a large number of cases would likely have gone unreported. In his letter, Ratzinger asks the faithful to pray for him. “More and more I understand the revulsion and fear that overtook Christ on the Mount of Olives when he saw all the terrible things that he was now to overcome from within,” he wrote. “That at the same time the disciples were able to sleep is, unfortunately, the situation that exists anew today and in which I too feel addressed.” In a short statement, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the current archbishop of Munich, welcomed Benedict’s letter while stressing how seriously his diocese was taking the independent experts’ findings. “I emphasize once again that the archdiocese and I as archbishop take very seriously the report, which particularly in terms of the management levels deals with personal and institutional responsibility,” Marx said, vowing to “take up the recommendations together with the victims’ advisory council and the Independent Reappraisal Commission.” View the full article

Published by AFP A person wearing a face mask leaves a store on January 26, 2022 in New York City; mask-wearing became a political battleground in the United States in the early days of the pandemic New York (AFP) – Several Democratic-run US states have announced plans to lift mask mandates in indoor places and schools as coronavirus infections decline in America. The announcements signal a move towards a policy of accepting Covid-19 as part of everyday life. Mask-wearing became a political battleground in the United States in the early days of the pandemic. Many Democratic governors enforced strict mandates, while Republican-led states such as Texas and Florida banned the enforcement of face coverings. California governor Gavin Newsom announced Monday evening that the state’s indoor mask mandate would end for vaccinated residents on February 15. “CA’s case rate has decreased by 65 percent since our Omicron peak. Our hospitalizations have stabilized across the state,” tweeted Newsom. “Unvaccinated people will still need to wear masks indoors. Get vaccinated. Get boosted,” he added. Newsom’s announcement came after New Jersey governor Phil Murphy announced that children and staff would not need to wear masks in schools from March 7. “This is not a declaration of victory as much as an acknowledgment that we can responsibly live with this thing,” he said, referring to the coronavirus. In Connecticut, Governor Ned Lamont said he was recommending that school boards drop mandatory mask-wearing in schools after February 28. Delaware governor John Carney announced that his state’s indoor mask mandate would expire on Friday, and that masks in schools will end by March 31. “We’re in a much better place than we were several weeks ago,” he wrote on Twitter. In Oregon, Governor Kate Brown tweeted that she “will lift mask requirements no later than March 31.” New York, the early epicenter of America’s outbreak in spring 2020, has not yet announced any plans to lift its mask requirements, but Governor Kathy Hochul is expected to address the issue on Wednesday. CDC recommendations The varying measures highlight the disparate nature of mask rules, which can differ between local authorities in the heavily defederalized country. The lifting of the mandates still allows individual school boards to require masks if they want to. But the mandates’ revoking appears to be out of sync with guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which Joe Biden’s administration follows. The CDC recommends that vaccinated people wear masks indoors if they are “in an area of substantial or high transmission.” Wearing a mask that covers the nose and mouth is required on planes, buses, trains and other forms of public transportation traveling into, within or out of the United States. The CDC also requires masks inside US transportation hubs such as airports and train stations. The United States is currently recording about 73,000 new cases a day, down from a peak of about 800,000 a day in early January, according to the CDC. More than 900,000 people have been killed by Covid-19 in the United States, according to the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracker. Despite falling numbers of new cases linked to the Omicron variant, daily deaths are still averaging 2,300, according to government figures. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Boy George has announced plans for an NFT project called ‘CryptoQueenz’. The protect – which has been created alongside Pixel Potent – aims to be the first LGBTQ+ NFT and will include 9,999 “totally unique” Non-Fungible Tokens featuring original artworks created by the Culture Club legend. In a statement, he said: “As a creator and artist I’ve long been interested in the different mediums which can act as a canvas for self-expression. “NFTs and digital art are a great example of this and help to democratise the stuffy artworld for everyone. “I hope this project will help to bring a little colour and joy into everyone’s lives whilst helping to support the LGBTQ+ community which I’m very proud to be a part of.” The ‘Karma Chameleon’ hitmaker will launch the NFTs from March 1, with the collection set to give collectors and fans the opportunity to own a very piece of artwork. The pieces will feature the face of ‘Scarman’ – one of the singer’s most celebrated works – which have been combined with his hat collection to create 9,999 “totally unique algorithmically generated” NFTs. Meanwhile, 2% of the proceeds from each sale will go to support the Elton John Aids Foundation and Shelter, while royalties will be given in perpetuity from the sale of each NFT “long into the future”. Meanwhile, the star – whose real name is George O’Dowd – peviously hit out at contemporary pop stars for lacking “edge” and becoming too predictable. He said: “Things that have got a bit of an edge to them. That’s what we’re looking for. “We don’t want pop stars to just kind of dial it in and give us what we expect. I’m very objective about it. I’m a songwriter, that’s what I do.” The NFTs will be available from www.cryptoqueenznft.com and on the secondary market at OpenSea. View the full article

Leslie Jones is tired of fighting without support. NBC Olympics coverage concerns tell you just how big a deal she’s become. “I’m Tired Of Fighting Them” The Leslie Jones Olympics connection has become a welcomed addition to Olympics coverage in recent years. The Emmy-nominated comedian and former “Saturday Night Live” star is beloved for her candid and humorous coverage of the Olympics through her social media accounts since 2016. But she may be hanging it up after the Beijing Games because she doesn’t feel “welcomed” anymore by Olympics broadcaster NBC. “I love the athletes and they love me doing it … But now it’s just gotten too hard. And no one is fighting for or with me. So I guess I’ll leave it to the professionals,” Jones added. “Leslie Jones does not stay anywhere I’m not welcomed.” Jones is right when she says that Olympians enjoy her videos. U.S. Women’s hockey team member Hilary Kinght and freestyle skier Caroline Claire replied to her Instagram post with messages of support for Jones. “[Please] keep doing it. I’m trying to have you live-tweet my run in ski slopestyle next week,” wrote Claire. Fan Reactions The possibility that Jones walks away from live-tweeting the Olympics riled up a swathe of fans, some of whom said they only engage with the Olympics through her social media accounts. Jones has upward of 4 million followers across her Twitter, Instagram and TikTok accounts, and they all let her know how much her posts are appreciated while calling out NBC for throwing up roadblocks. “If the folks at NBC were smart they’d realize that you are drawing an audience to watch the Olympics that otherwise may have tuned out,” wrote an Instagram user. “I had not started watching until I saw your commentary and then went to check out the live coverage.” “You are the best commentator and the only reason I tune in. NBC should really pay attention to what the people want,” said another. “Hey NBC fuck off with that trash and give Leslie the props she deserves. Y’all would have never had as brilliant an idea as having a comedian live-tweet the Olympics if she hadn’t done it first! You’ll never be as good at it either,” a Twitter user wrote. NBC has not responded to any request for comment regarding Jones’ comments or claims that the network is attempting to block Jones’ content on social media platforms. Leslie Jones Olympics: Previously on Towleroad Leslie Jones’ Live Olympic Tweets Are Hilarious, Convert Viewers, Are Driven by Passion, and May Soon Be Done. Why’s NBC Sports Not More Welcoming? Brian Bell February 7, 2022 Read More Michael Phelps’ Trans Ex-Girlfriend Taylor Lianne Chandler Believes Gold Medalist Is To Blame For Influencing UPenn Swimmers To Demand Lia Thomas Be Banned From Competing Towleroad February 5, 2022 Read More Winter Olympics 2022 Start With LGBTQ Athletes Primed For The Medal Podium; Preview This Weekend’s Action In Figure Skating, Curling and Gayest Team Ever Brian Bell February 4, 2022 Read More 2022 Winter Olympics Features More Than 30 Out LGBTQ Olympians, Including First Out Nonbinary Athlete Brian Bell January 30, 2022 Read More Queen Honors Olympian Tom Daley for His Athletics and Advocacy; Diver, Knitting Entrepreneur Now ‘Officer of the Order of the British Empire’ Brian Bell January 4, 2022 Read More Tom Daley Diving into Career as Children’s Author After Gold Medal Win in Tokyo 2020 Towleroad August 23, 2021 Read More Screenshot via YouTube View the full article

Published by InsideHook By Kayla Kibbe Mark Wahlberg would like to make one thing very clear: he did not give his Uncharted co-star/noted short king Tom Holland a sex toy. It was a massage gun, one that is strictly “for muscle recovery, nothing else,” Wahlberg clarified in a recent Instagram video showing off the massage tool in question, the Power Plate Pulse. Wahlberg apparently felt compelled to clear up any confusion surrounding the workout recovery tool he gifted his costar after Holland admitted he initially thought the massager was for “self-pleasure” during an interview with Access Hollywood last week. “Mark … Read More View the full article

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Published by Radar Online mega;@ggoldencurlss/instagram Joe Rogan‘s 23-year-old adopted biracial daughter Kayja Rose has been MIA from social media for several weeks — and has been silent about the N-word scandal surrounding the podcast host. Rogan continues to face backlash and the calls for his show to be pulled from Spotify over allegations he has been spreading misinformation about vaccines but also for his past use of the N-word. Earlier this month, India Aire posted a video explaining she was pulling her music from Spotify not only because of Rogan discussions on COVID but “his language around race.” mega;@ggoldencurlss/instagram She then posted a long video compilation showing Rogan use the N-word 24 times over the past 12 years. In one clip, Rogan was heard comparing a Black neighborhood to a Planet of the Apes movie. India said, “He shouldn’t even be uttering the word — don’t even say it, under any context.” Days later, Rogan released a video of himself addressing the scandal. He said the video was a “teachable moment.” He called it “the most regretful and shameful thing I’ve ever had to talk about publicly.” mega “I know that to most people, there’s no context where a White person is ever allowed to say that, never mind publicly on a podcast, and I agree with that,” he said. “Now, I haven’t said it in years,” he added. Spotify continues to stick by Rogan claiming they will not censor him. “I know this situation leaves many of you feeling drained, frustrated, and unheard,” the CEO Daniel Ek wrote in an email to employees. “While I strongly condemn what Joe has said and I agree with his decision to remove past episodes from our platform, I realize some will want more,” Elk wrote. “I want to make one point very clear—I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer.” The N-word use is interesting given Rogan has been the father to a biracial daughter for years. He is married to a woman named Jessica Ditzel. The two share two kids but Jessica also had Kayja from a previous relationship with late musician/H-Town lead singer Keven A. Connor aka Dino. The musician tragically passed away in 2003 when he was killed in a car accident. @ggoldencurlss/instagram Rogan and Ditzel married in 2009. They kept an extremely low profile and live out in Texas. Kayja is a musician who was active on social media until December. She posted a final photo writing, “Going on hiatus for a while to heal fully, and grow into the person I am destined to become. I will be unreachable. Wishing peace, growth, and love for everyone here.” She has yet to comment on Rogan’s N-word controversy. @ggoldencurlss/instagram View the full article

Published by Reuters By Bhargav Acharya and Shivani Tanna (Reuters) – Spotify Chief Executive Officer Daniel Ek said on Sunday he “strongly” condemns racial slurs and other comments made by popular U.S. podcaster Joe Rogan but will not be removing him from the platform. Ek’s comments, sent in a letter to staff seen by Reuters, come on the heels of Rogan issuing an apology for the second time in a week, the latest for using racial slurs after a montage video surfaced showing him repeatedly using the N-word. Ek said it was Rogan’s decision to remove a number of past episodes from “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, following discussions with the music streaming platform and his own reflections on some of the content in the show, including the usage of racially insensitive language. “While I strongly condemn what Joe has said… I want to make one point very clear – I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer,” Ek said. Ek reiterated his stand on Spotify’s content moderation policies and said that he believes the company should have clear boundaries around the content being published. The company should take actions when they are crossed, but he cautioned that canceling voices is a slippery slope. The company will also commit $100 million for the licensing, development, and marketing of music and audio content from historically marginalized groups, in a bid to elevate creators from a diversity of backgrounds, according to the letter, which was confirmed by a Spotify spokesperson. In his apology, Rogan had said the montage showed him using the epithet in conversations on shows over the last 12 years, and included examples of him discussing its use by Black and white comedians and others. A mixed martial arts commentator and a prominent vaccine skeptic, Rogan has courted controversy with his views on COVID-19 vaccines, the pandemic and government mandates to control the spread of the virus. Prominent singer-songwriters including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell said that they were removing their music from Spotify in protest at coronavirus misinformation broadcast on the platform. The backlash against COVID-19 misinformation on the streaming service wiped more than $2 billion off its market value last week. Spotify has said it would add a “content advisory” to any episode with discussion of COVID-19. (Reporting by Shivani Tanna and Bhargav Acharya in Bengaluru; Editing by Michael Perry) View the full article

Published by DPA China's Shuai Peng in action against Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova during day eight of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon. Shuai says she was the one who deleted the social media post last year that was seen as an allegation of sexual assualt against a top Chinese politician. Anthony Devlin/PA Wire/dpa Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai says she was the one who deleted the social media post last year that was seen as an allegation of sexual assualt against a top Chinese politician. In an interview with the French sport newspaper L’Équipe published on Monday, the 36-year-old was asked why the post disappeared. “I erased it,” she said. “Why? Because I wanted to.” She also said the emails sent to the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) in her name were written by her. The WTA has voiced concern that Peng was coerced to publicly retract the allegations, and suspended its tournaments in China citing concerns for her wellbeing. Peng, a former world number one in doubles, largely disappeared from public view after posting an allegation of sexual assault against a leading Chinese politician on Weibo. The post was deleted soon after and Peng denied making the allegations. Athletes, politicians and human rights experts have expressed concern for Peng despite the IOC having video calls with her last year. In the interview with L’Equipe, which was conducted in Chinese with an interpreter translating Peng’s answers into English, she again denied having made accusations of sexual assault. “I never said anyone had sexually assaulted me in any way,” she said. She also denied having disappeared. “I never disappeared. Everyone could see me,” Peng said. Peng also said in the interview that she had met with Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, and had “a nice discussion and exchange.” The IOC confirmed a meeting took place between Peng, former Chair of the Athletes’ Commission Kirsty Coventry and Bach in a Beijing hotel on Saturday. Before the start of the Beijing Winter Olympics, the IOC had promised a meeting with the Chinese player would take place during the Games. The IOC said Peng accepted an invitation to visit their headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, during the meeting. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Rich McKay (Reuters) – Three white men were convicted last year of murdering Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black jogger who was chased and shot while on a Sunday run in a mostly white neighborhood in Georgia on Feb. 23, 2020. A state court found Travis McMichael, 36; his father Gregory McMichael, 66, and neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, 52, guilty of murder and other charges. All were sentenced to life in prison, with only Bryan given possibility of parole after 30 years. Now they on trial for federal hate-crimes charges in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia. WHAT IS A FEDERAL HATE CRIME? A federal hate crime is a criminal act committed based on race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, and or gender identity. GREGORY MCMICHAEL * Interference with rights – a hate crime- specifically for “willfully, by force and threat of force, injure, intimidate and interfere with Ahmaud Arbery, an African American man, because of Arbery’s race and color.” The charge carries a maximum of life in prison. * Attempted kidnapping, punishable by 20 years in prison. * Brandishing a firearm, punishable by 7 years in prison. TRAVIS MCMICHAEL * Interference with rights – a hate crime- specifically for “willfully, by force and threat of force, injure, intimidate and interfere with Ahmaud Arbery, an African American man, because of Arbery’s race and color.” The charge carries a maximum of life in prison. * Attempted kidnapping, punishable by 20 years in prison. * Brandishing and discharging a firearm, punishable by 10 years in prison. WILLIAM “RODDIE” BRYAN * Interference with rights – a hate crime- specifically for “willfully, by force and threat of force, injure, intimidate and interfere with Ahmaud Arbery, an African American man, because of Arbery’s race and color.” The charge carries a maximum of life in prison. * Attempted kidnapping, punishable by 20 years in prison. (Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Aurora Ellis) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Julia Love and Helen Coster (Reuters) – With just weeks to go before an expected launch, Donald Trump’s new media venture is trying to strike a delicate balance with its app: giving Trump’s base the freedom to express themselves, without running afoul of Apple and Google’s app store policies. The launch of Truth Social comes a year after the former U.S. president was banned from Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. It will be a major test of whether Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) and other tech companies that describe themselves as champions of free speech can scale alongside the Silicon Valley gatekeepers that conservatives have accused of squelching free expression. TMTG has pledged to deliver an “engaging and censorship-free experience” on its Truth Social app, appealing to a base that feels its views around such hot-button topics in American life as vaccines and the outcome of the 2020 presidential election have been scrubbed from mainstream tech platforms. Yet Trump’s tech team must erect guard rails to ensure Truth Social does not get kicked out of the app stores run by Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google – a fate that befell popular conservative app Parler in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, riots in the U.S. Capitol. Without these stores, there is no easy way for most smartphone users to download the app. The risk of such “de-platforming” is a top priority for TMTG Chief Executive Devin Nunes, a former Republican congressman, as his team builds the app, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. Recognizing that the app will be a major target for hackers from day one, Nunes wants to have cyber talent at the “nation-state level,” one of the people said. Nunes has said publicly that the company’s goal is to launch its Truth Social app by the end of March. A spokesperson for TMTG did not respond to a request for comment. TMTG remains shrouded in secrecy and is regarded with skepticism by some in tech and media circles. Two conservative media executives pointed to the venture’s apparent failure to launch a beta service in November, as planned, and cited the lack of known involvement by high-profile media, tech or political players – other than Nunes – as evidence it may be more bluster than substance. “No one has approached me or my team,” said one conservative media insider. “Trump has always been a bit of (his) own island.” CONTENT MODERATION TMTG’s mission of standing up to Big Tech is limited by its reliance on Google and Apple, which operate app stores that dominate the smartphone market. TMTG is working with Hive, a San Francisco-based company that does AI-based content moderation, to flag sexually explicit content, hate speech, bullying and violent content. That partnership is driven in part by TMTG’s desire for the Truth Social app to remain in the Apple App and Google Play stores, according to a person familiar with the venture. Truth Social will need robust content moderation in the form of both automated detection and in-person teams, as well as a way for users to report offensive posts, said David Thiel, the big data architect and chief technology officer of the Stanford Internet Observatory. “Where it is going to become difficult is if they get into a situation like with Parler, where they have such a degree of hate speech that the hosting service and potentially the App Store starts to take notice,” he said. The Truth Social app will be subject to Apple’s App Store rules that require developers to offer a way for users to report offensive content and provide “timely responses.” The rules also bar content that “encourages violence” or “depictions that encourage illegal or reckless use of weapons and dangerous objects.” As of Feb. 4, TMTG had 12 job openings listed on the company website, for technical roles such as a developer to be part of the Android team and an iOS engineer. Salaries range from $80,000 to $220,000, according to the postings, which beckon candidates to work for a “well-funded,” “remote-first” and “conservative-leaning” startup. A requirement for the iOS engineer role is “knowledge of Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines and App Store Review Guidelines (which are more like rules).” One posting describes the ideal candidate as someone who “enjoy(s) companies that are scrappy and able to do more with less.” Among other positions, the company is seeking to hire at least one developer with experience with Elixir, a back-end programming language, according to a job posting. In a Jan. 13 interview with radio host Ray Appleton, Nunes said the Palm Beach, Florida-based company will be looking for a more “permanent” location – favoring states like Florida, Tennessee and Texas over Silicon Valley. In the company’s early months, some tech talent has been working in the Atlanta area, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. (Reporting by Julia Love in San Francisco and Helen Coster in New York; Editing by Kenneth Li and Matthew Lewis) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Ross Kerber (Reuters) – New York State’s top pension official has asked streaming music platform Spotify Technology SA for details about the effectiveness of its new content rules, citing complaints including that podcaster Joe Rogan has spread misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines. New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who oversees funds that hold Spotify shares, requested the report in a letter sent to Spotify Chief Executive Daniel Ek on Feb. 2, which was shown to Reuters. The letter also urged Spotify to give users an easy mechanism to report content that could violate its rules, and to define how its board oversees content risks and enforcement. DiNapoli cited reports of Spotify hosting content that has included COVID-19 misinformation, and racist and antisemitic material. Prominent rock musician Neil Young last month left the platform last month because he said Rogan has misled people about vaccines, followed by other stars. “As we have seen with other technology and media companies who host or publish content, the failure to successfully moderate content on a company’s platforms can lead to various reputational, regulatory, legal, and financial risks,” DiNapoli wrote. Spotify representatives did not respond to requests for comment. Rogan, former host of the TV reality show Fear Factor and mixed martial arts commentator who signed a $100 million deal giving Spotify exclusive rights to his podcast, has pledged more balance on his show. The company said it would add a content advisory to any episode with discussion of COVID to try to quell the controversy. On Jan. 30 Spotify also announced “platform rules” against things like “content that incites violence or hatred towards a person or group of people based on race, religion, gender identity or expression,” and other areas. Retirement funds overseen by DiNapoli held shares in Spotify worth $41 million as of Dec. 31, only the 73rd-largest stake in the company. But DiNapoli has been among a group of influential activists that have successfully pushed for more content oversight at other social media companies. (Reporting by Ross Kerber; Editing by David Gregorio) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English The nominations for the 2022 Razzie Awards have been revealed. The ceremony that celebrates the worst movies of the year have created a special category for Bruce Willis alone this year – with his performances in ‘American Siege’, ‘Apex’, ‘Cosmic Sin’, ‘Deadlock’, ‘Fortress’, ‘Midnight in the Switchgrass’, ‘Out of Death’ and ‘Survive the Game’ all up for ‘Worst Performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 Movie’. The Razzie Awards will take place on March 26 in its traditional slot on the day before the Oscars. Netflix’s ‘Diana: The Musical’ leads the field with nine nods including for Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Actor and Worst Actress. Both the Broadway show and the film were panned by critics and the stage production only lasted 33 performances before being closed. Thrillers ‘Karen’ and ‘The Woman in the Window’ joined ‘Diana’ on the Worst Picture shortlist with ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’ and ‘Infinite’ also making the list. Bad acting nominations went to A-listers such as Amy Adams, LeBron James, Mark Wahlberg, Ben Affleck and Jared Leto. The full list of nominees for the 2022 Razzie Awards are as follows: Worst Picture: ‘Diana the Musical’ (Netflix version) ‘Infinite’ ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’ ‘The Woman in the Window’ Worst Actor: Scott Eastwood – ‘Dangerous’ Roe Hartrampf – ‘Diana the Musical’ LeBron James – ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’ Ben Platt – ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ Mark Wahlberg – ‘Infinite’ Worst Actress: Amy Adams – ‘The Woman in the Window’ Jeanna de Waal – ‘Diana the Musical’ Megan Fox – ‘Midnight in the Switchgrass’ Taryn Manning – ‘Karen’ Ruby Rose – ‘Vanquish’ Worst Supporting Actress: Amy Adams – ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ Sophie Cookson – ‘Infinite’ Erin Davie – ‘Diana the Musical’ Judy Kaye – ‘Diana the Musical’ Taryn Manning – ‘Every Last One of Them’ Worst Supporting Actor: Ben Affleck – ‘The Last Duel’ Nick Cannon – ‘The Misfits’ Mel Gibson – ‘Dangerous’ Gareth Keegan – ‘Diana the Musical’ Jared Leto – ‘House of Gucci’ Worst Performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 Movie: Bruce Willis – ‘American Siege’ Bruce Willis – ‘Apex’ Bruce Willis – ‘Cosmic Sin’ Bruce Willis – ‘Deadlock’ Bruce Willis – ‘Fortress’ Bruce Willis – ‘Midnight in the Switchgrass’ Bruce Willis – ‘Out of Death’ Bruce Willis – ‘Survive the Game’ Worst Screen Couple: Any Klutzy Cast Member and Any Lamely Lyricized (or Choreographed) Musical Number – ‘Diana the Musical’ LeBron James and Any Warner Cartoon Character (or Time-Warner Product) He Dribbles On – ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’ Jared Leto and Either His 17-Pound Latex Face, His Geeky Clothes or His Ridiculous Accent – ‘House of Gucci’ Ben Platt and Any Other Character Who Acts Like Platt Singing 24-7 is Normal – ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ Tom and Jerry – ‘Tom and Jerry the Movie’ Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel: ‘Karen’ ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’ ‘Tom and Jerry the Movie’ ‘Twist’ ‘The Woman in the Window’ Worst Director: Christopher Ashley – ‘Diana the Musical’ Stephen Chbosky – ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ ‘Coke’ Daniels – ‘Karen’ Renny Harlin – ‘The Misfits’ Joe Wright – ‘The Woman in the Window’ Worst Screenplay: ‘Diana the Musical’ ‘Karen’ ‘The Misfits’ ‘Twist’ ‘The Woman in the Window’ View the full article

Published by Reuters By Rich McKay Atlanta (Reuters) -Jury selection began on Monday in the U.S. federal hate-crimes trial of the three white men who murdered Ahmaud Arbery, a Black jogger who was chased and shot while running through a mostly white Georgia neighborhood. The jury will be asked to decide whether racial animus drove the defendants to fatally pursue Arbery in the Satilla Shores neighborhood in coastal Georgia in February 2020. Gregory McMichael, 66, his son Travis McMichael, 36, and neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan, 52, were convicted of murder in an earlier state trial. A state judge sentenced the men to life in prison, ruling that the two McMichaels would not be eligible for parole, after a jury of one Black man and 11 white men and women rejected the men’s self-defense claims in November. Jury selection in the federal trial, which the U.S. District Court in Brunswick has said could take two weeks, comes shortly after Gregory and Travis McMichael offered to plead guilty to the hate crime charges in agreements with prosecutors that were later scrapped.. Selecting a jury to hear the case will be complicated by the publicity that surrounded both the murder and the earlier trial, said Julie Campanini, a jury consultant with Magna Legal Services based in Philadelphia. “Potential jurors might have firm opinions,” she said. “That doesn’t disqualify them though. The test is whether they can set that aside and decide the case only on the evidence presented.” The McMichaels nearly avoided the federal trial by entering into a plea deal with prosecutors. At a hearing last week, Travis McMichael said he was willing to admit to trying to apprehend Arbery because of his “race and color” as part of the plea agreement. But he changed his mind after U.S. District Judge Lisa Wood rejected that agreement. She said she would not accept it because it bound her to a fixed sentence: 30 years in federal prison before he would be handed back to the state of Georgia to serve out the rest of his life sentence for murder. Gregory McMichael had reached a similar plea agreement with prosecutors, but also withdrew from it. Arbery’s father Marcus Arbery said the family wanted to see the case go to trial. “We want the world to see a trial, see why these men did what they did,” he said in an interview. The men are charged in federal court with using threatening force to interfere with Arbery’s rights on the basis of race, a hate crime. The charge carries a maximum of life in prison. The three are additionally charged with attempted kidnapping, and the McMichaels face gun charges. Judge Wood said in court that she plans to call 50 potential jurors a day, drawn from 43 south Georgia counties, until a panel of 12 jurors and four alternates are found. Campanini said that the court could struggle to call 50 people every day, given there are three sets of defense attorneys, as well as the prosecution, all of whom could possibly interview each potential juror. “They’ll seat a jury, but don’t count on it being quick,” she said. “It will take a significant about of time.” (Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Aurora Ellis and Jonathan Oatis) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Gloria Dickie LONDON (Reuters) – Advances in satellite technology have revealed that the world’s glaciers contain significantly less ice than previously thought, according to a study published in Nature Geoscience on Monday. The revised estimate reduces global sea level rise by 3 inches if all glaciers were to melt. But it raises concern for some communities that rely on seasonal melt from glaciers to feed rivers and irrigate crops. If glaciers contain less ice, water will run out sooner than expected. While some ice naturally melts throughout the year, rising temperatures due to climate change are speeding up glacier retreat. Between 2000 and 2019, these rivers of ice lost roughly 5.4 trillion tonnes. Countries are already struggling with disappearing glaciers. Peru is investing in desalination to make up for declining freshwater. And Chile hopes to create artificial glaciers in its mountains. But, “we’ve had quite a poor understanding of how much ice is actually stored in glaciers,” said lead study author Romain Millan, a glaciologist at Université Grenoble Alpes. Past analyses, for example, double-counted glaciers along the peripheries of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, overestimating ice volume. The Nature Geoscience study assessed how quickly glaciers were moving across the landscape, or their velocity. Such measurements allow scientists to more accurately measure volume, as the way glaciers flow indicates where ice is thick or thin. But collecting this information has been limited by technology. High-resolution satellites deployed in recent years, however, allowed for the first analysis of how 98% of the world’s glaciers are moving, “from small glaciers in the Andes up to massive glaciers in Svalbard and Patagonia,” said Millan. The work analyzed more than 800,000 pairs of images of glaciers taken between 2017 and 2018, and found that many were shallower than previously assessed. Scientists now estimate there is 20 percent less glacial ice present with the potential to melt into the ocean and raise sea levels. Currently, glaciers are responsible for 1 mm of annual sea level rise, or 30% of the yearly increase. “This is one of the first really impressive results coming out” from satellite advances, said Daniel Farinotti, a glaciologist at ETH Zurich not involved in the research. Millan and his colleagues also found that Asia’s Himalayas contain 37% more ice than previously estimated, while South America’s Andean glaciers contain roughly 27% less ice. Already, Peru’s glaciers have lost 40 percent of their surface area since the 1970s. “This will put more pressure on freshwater in the Andes,” he said. “On the contrary, water will be more secure in the Himalayas.” (Reporting by Gloria Dickie; Editing by Katy Daigle and Janet Lawrence) View the full article