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Published by BANG Showbiz English Julian Fellowes has hinted that a third ‘Downton Abbey’ film could be made. The hit period drama returns to the big screen with the sequel ‘Downton Abbey: A New Era’ which is slated for release in March and the show’s creator Julian claims that another movie could follow. The 72-year-old screenwriter told the Radio Times magazine: “We were lucky to reassemble our cast. “I think for them it’s become a sort of club. They say goodbye, everyone cries and two years later, we’re back at it!” Julian added: “I think each time it’s goodbye, but whether it is or not, who knows?” The first ‘Downton Abbey’ film was released in 2019 and proved to be a box office hit and stars Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery and Dame Maggie Smith are all reprising their roles in the latest project. The flick has been filmed at Hampshire’s Highclere Castle last year and was originally scheduled for release, last month before the pandemic led to a delay. It was previously reported that a much-loved character would be killed off in this movie and the scenes would be tear-jerking for fans. The insider added to The Sun newspaper: “Those who have seen the scenes said they are so emotional. “They will really leave fans in floods. It’s heartbreak at Highclere Castle and there won’t be a dry eye in cinemas.” No clues have been given as to who will die, but ‘Downton’ fans could be fearing for Maggie’s Dowager Countess of Grantham. Other characters who could meet their maker include Lord Grantham (Bonneville), Lady Mary Crawley (Dockery) and butler Carson (Jim Carter). View the full article

Published by AFP US gaming giant Activision Blizzard, which faced accusations of discriminating against women, is to merge with Microsoft New York (AFP) – Microsoft announced Tuesday a $69 billion deal to purchase US gaming giant Activision Blizzard, the firm behind hits like “Call of Duty” that has been hit by allegations of sex discrimination against women. “This acquisition will accelerate the growth in Microsoft’s gaming business across mobile, PC, console and cloud and will provide building blocks for the metaverse,” Microsoft said in a statement. Activision, the California-based maker of “Candy Crush” has been hit by employee protests, departures, and a state lawsuit alleging it enabled toxic workplace conditions and sexual harassment against women. Over the past seven months the company has received about 700 reports of employee concerns over sexual assault or harassment or other misconduct, in some cases separate reports about the same incident, The Wall Street Journal has reported. Nearly 20 percent of Activision Blizzard’s 9,500 employees have signed a petition calling for CEO Bobby Kotick to resign. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Prince Andrew used to “shout and scream” if any of his 60 teddy bears were put in the wrong place. The Duke of York is said to have an extensive collection of cuddly toys carefully arranged on a bed and royal staff were even issued a laminated photo of the furry menagerie to ensure they were all put back in the right place after cleaning because the 61-year-old prince would fly into a rage if they weren’t exactly how he liked them. Former protection officer Paul Page – who had access to Andrew’s private quarters when he worked in Royalty and Specialist Protection Command between 1998 and 2004 – told Ranvir Singh on upcoming ITV documentary ‘Ghislaine, Prince Andrew and the Paedophile’: “It had about 50 or 60 stuffed toys positioned on the bed and basically there was a card the inspector showed us in a drawer and it was a picture of these bears all in situ. “The reason for the laminated picture was if those bears weren’t put back in the right order by the maids, he would shout and scream.” Royal writer Elizabeth Day previously recalled coming face-to-face with one of Andrew’s bears and finding his interest “weird”. Writing in 2019 about a meeting a decade before, she said: “I was told to wait in a corridor where my only other companion was an oversized teddy bear squashed into a seat. When I was ushered in to meet Prince Andrew, I asked him about it. He sniggered and told me it had been a wedding gift from his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. “Apparently he had found the bear waiting for him when he got into the horse-drawn carriage that was to take them from Westminster Abbey to their reception. I remember that he found this extremely funny, even several years after the event. “It seemed rather strange to me that a grown man should be so amused by the presence of a stuffed toy, but I suppose the English upper classes have a long history with teddy bears used as transitional objects to express emotions they might feel uncomfortable with. “I wondered if this was someone who had never really grown up because he had never had to. Here he was, taking up space in his mother’s house, carrying out a made-up job to keep him entertained and still having a teddy bear his ex-wife had given him. It was weird.” Last week, it was ruled a lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre against the prince can move forward. Giuffre has accused convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein – who took his own life in August 2019 – and his one-time girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell of arranging and forcing her into having sex with the prince in 2001, when she was 17. Andrew has repeatedly denied Giuffre’s allegations and his legal team recently argued to get her lawsuit dismissed, citing a 2009 deal and $500,000 settlement she agreed with Epstein. However, the judge in New York recently ruled that the case could continue. The documentary will explore how Andrew became embroiled in the sex trafficking scandal surrounding Epstein and Maxwell. View the full article

Published by uPolitics.com Michael Avenatti, known for representing adult-film actress Stormy Daniels in her lawsuits against former President Donald Trump, is seeking $94 million from the United States over mistreatment during his time at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Manhattan in 2020. During that time, Avenatti was awaiting his sentencing in an extortion case. Avenatti alleges that his treatment stemmed from being a public opponent of Trump and former Attorney General William Barr and that under the Federal Tort Claims Act, he deserves to be compensated for the emotional and mental distress, degradati… Read More View the full article

Published by AFP Oxfam said the wealth of the world’s 10 richest men jumped from $700 billion to $1.5 trillion during the pandemic Paris (AFP) – The world’s 10 wealthiest men doubled their fortunes during the first two years of the coronavirus pandemic as poverty and inequality soared, a report said on Monday. Oxfam said the men’s wealth jumped from $700 billion to $1.5 trillion, at an average rate of $1.3 billion per day, in a briefing published before a virtual mini-summit of world leaders being held under the auspices of the World Economic Forum. A confederation of charities that focus on alleviating global poverty, Oxfam said the billionaires’ wealth rose more during the pandemic more than it did the previous 14 years, when the world economy was suffering the worst recession since the Wall Street Crash of 1929. It called this inequality “economic violence” and said inequality is contributing to the death of 21,000 people every day due to a lack of access to healthcare, gender-based violence, hunger and climate change. The pandemic has plunged 160 million people into poverty, the charity added, with non-white ethnic minorities and women bearing the brunt of the impact as inequality soared. The report follows a December 2021 study by the group which found that the share of global wealth of the world’s richest people soared at a record pace during the pandemic. Oxfam urged tax reforms to fund worldwide vaccine production as well as healthcare, climate adaptation and gender-based violence reduction to help save lives. The group said it based its wealth calculations on the most up-to-date and comprehensive data sources available, and used the 2021 Billionaires List compiled by the US business magazine Forbes. Forbes listed the world’s 10 richest men as: Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, former Microsoft CEOs Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, former Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, US investor Warren Buffet and the head of the French luxury group LVMH, Bernard Arnault. View the full article

Bradley Cooper daunted by nude scenes….with Toni Colette Published by BANG Showbiz English Bradley Cooper says filming full-frontal nude scenes in ‘Nightmare Alley’ was “pretty heavy”. The 47-year-old actor stars in Guillermo del Toro’s as an ambitious carnival worker and explained how he had to get his kit off on camera in an intimate scene with Toni Collette’s character in a bathtub. Bradley told ‘The Business’: “I remember reading in the script and thinking, he’s a pickled punk in that bathtub and it’s to story. You have to do it. “I can still remember that day just to be naked in front of the crew for six hours, and it was Toni Collette’s first day. It was just like, ‘Whoa’. It was pretty heavy.” Bradley had no qualms about appearing in the nude during the making of the movie as he felt it was “demanded” to make the project a success. The ‘A Star Is Born’ actor said: “The content of what the movie is, what we were exploring, in order to do it in a real way, it demanded that we’d be naked emotionally and soulfully.” Bradley also explained the process of delving deep to give the best possible performance in the flick. He said: “It really is akin to putting on a miner’s kit, hat and flashlight, and looking at each other and then going down in the tunnel, knowing that you may be excavating a route that won’t ever get you to the end that day but you come back up and go down again the next day.” The ‘Hangover’ star previously explained that it was a “unique experience” making the film amid the coronavirus crisis. Bradley said last year: “We have been making ‘Nightmare Alley’ for the last two and a half years. “It was a unique experience, going through the pandemic, taking six months off and revisiting it. We not only became lifelong friends, but it was an artistic experience.” View the full article

[This post contains video, click to play] Published by BANG Showbiz English ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos’ has aired a tribute to former host Bob Saget. The ‘Full House’ star was found dead in a hotel room last weekend and the long-running television series – which shows humorous homemade clips that are sent in by viewers – opened the latest episode by paying respects. Current host Alfonso Ribeiro said: “As you’ve heard, the world lost a legend this week. And ‘AFV’ lost a family member. Bob Saget is synonymous with ‘AFV’ to this day. This show wouldn’t have been the same without his unique sense of humour. It’s been my honour to continue carrying the torch Bob so brightly lit. Take a look back at Bob being Bob.” After Alfonso read out the introduction, a video montage showed Bob during his days at the helm of the show, with one highlight the comedian crashed through a set window, and another snippet reminding viewers of the time he presented with a monkey sitting on his shoulder. The montage also showed Tom Bergeron – who was one of Bob’s successors on the programme – interviewing the late star as part of the show’s 20th anniversary celebrations back in 2017. A description of the tribute on YouTube read: “By now, pretty much the world has heard of Bob Saget’s passing Sunday morning. Bob was the backbone of a TV show that has gone onto entertain not only America, but the world.” “Bob made us smile, he made us laugh out loud and, often times, he would make us giggle. A comedy legend. A kind soul. Our dear friend. We will miss you, Bob.” Bob was the original host of the show when it premiered back in 1999 and went on to front the series for eight seasons in total. Bob Saget Dirtiest Joke on Towleroad RIP Unintended Star Of Gay Best-Seller, Pence Eulogizes Pet Rabbit, “We Had Some Wild Times Together”; (Lucky For John Oliver, Parody Bunnies Live Forever) More That Explains the Gaga Dog Kidnapping — Why thieves are snatching French bulldogs across the US More Leah Remini reflects on upbringing in Church of Scientology More No vaccine, no French Open for Djokovic, says French Sports ministry More Rabbi threw chair at Texas synagogue hostage-taker before escaping More Family of Martin Luther King Jr. lead D.C. march for right to vote More Coretta Scott King Origin Story; First Lady of Civil Rights Was A Staunch LGBT Ally; Ms. Magazine Says ‘Her Vision…Was Bolder And More Revolutionary’ More Netflix Cheer Season 2; Dark Docuseries, Tough Competitions; ‘Devastated’ Squad Regroups, 1st Season Fame Complicates; We Say …Bring It On More Big brands call for global pact to cut plastic production More Not All Straight People But … Playboy Mansion Secrets: ‘Drugs And Orgies The Norm’, ‘Not Safe Haven Some Women Thought’; Consent? Not So Much. More Trump rallies faithful at ‘MAGA Woodstock’ More Prince Andrew’s Accuser Virginia Giuffre Wants To Destroy And Leave Him ‘Broke’ After His Lawyer Requests To Interview Her Psychologist More Djokovic flies out of Australia after losing court appeal More Load More View the full article

[This post contains video, click to play] Published by AFP The Pence family announced over the weekend that Marlon Bundo — their pet rabbit seen here in May 2017, when Mike Pence was US vice president — had died Washington (AFP) – The family of former US vice president Mike Pence has announced the death of Marlon Bundo, their pet rabbit who starred in a children’s book series by the second family as well as a parody version supporting gay rights. The rabbit, whose name is a pun on actor “Marlon Brando,” lived with the Pence family at the vice president’s official residence in Washington, and was a frequent guest at events for children. “God brought you to us right when we needed you most,” said Pence’s daughter, Charlotte Pence Bond, who authored the series of children’s books told from Bundo’s point of view, in a Twitter post Saturday. “We had some wild times together and I’m forever grateful. Rest in sweet peace, little bunny.” When the first Bundo book was released, British-American comedian John Oliver announced his TV show would publish an alternate version, in which the male bunny falls in love with another male bunny. Sales of the book, which was meant to highlight Mike Pence’s opposition to homosexuality, quickly outpaced the original, and at one point held the number one spot on Amazon. Pence, a conservative Christian, was staunchly opposed to same-sex marriage and opposed LGBTQ-rights legislation while governor of Indiana. Proceeds from both versions of the book went to charity, with the HBO host choosing LGBTQ-focused non-profits. Pence’s daughter, who had originally bought the bunny for a student film, took the jab in stride. “The only thing better than one bunny book for charity is… TWO bunny books for charity,” she wrote on Instagram at the time. View the full article

Published by AFP French bulldogs like Magnolia — seen here sporting a tiny Chanel bag during New York Fashion Week in February 2021 — have become a favored target of thieves, some of them violent Washington (AFP) – The two thieves who brutally robbed 27-year-old Marieke Bayens at gunpoint on a California street were not after her purse — or her. They wanted the little dog at the end of her leash: Merlyn, a French bulldog. From New York to Los Angeles, and from Miami to Chicago, thefts of the prized breed have been on the rise. Small and friendly — and thus easy to grab — French bulldogs are hugely popular, selling for thousands of dollars on the black market. They have the added draw of being a “dog of the stars.” The most famous victim so far has been Lady Gaga. Armed men last year stole her pet bulldogs Koji and Gustav, even opening fire on an employee who was walking them (he was wounded but survived). The superstar singer offered a $500,000 reward for their return and eventually got the dogs back. Police made five arrests in the case. Bayens survived a similarly traumatic attack in November while walking Merlyn, a friend’s dog, in the California city of Oakland. The brazen attack occurred in broad daylight. “I was waiting for Merlyn to go about his business when I saw two people coming,” she told AFP. “Before I knew it, one was in front of me pointing a gun at my face and said, ‘Give me the dog.’ “The other had already grabbed Merlyn off the ground, and when I didn’t respond to the one pointing the gun, the other pulled the rest of Merlyn’s leash out from my hand. They ran away towards their car and sped away down a street,” going the wrong way on a one-way street, she said. Bulldog thefts elsewhere in the country have been carried out with similar cold-blooded tactics. Last year, people in San Francisco heard the distressing story of 30-something Sarah Vorhaus, who was stopped by three armed men — and brutally beaten by one — before they made off with her five-month-old French bulldog Chloe. Pictures on social media showed the young woman with a badly swollen face. Tempting target So why are French bulldogs quite such a tempting target for thieves? Two key reasons: their high resale value — $3,500 to $5,000 or more — and their relative rarity, Brandi Hunter Munden, vice president of the American Kennel Club, told AFP. “This is not a breed that has large litters… and it can take a while to get one,” she said. “Their rise in popularity has led to an increase in thefts. “The use of violence, however, is new and alarming.” In the face of the spate of “dognappings,” experts offer a list of precautions for owners: have a computer chip implanted in the pet to allow tracing; always keep it on a leash when outdoors (and seal any dog door that allows it to leave home unescorted); keep its identity papers in a safe place; use a GPS-equipped collar; and be wary of strangers who come knocking. But the most crucial recommendation — and the one probably least observed — involves social media: owners are strongly urged to resist the temptation of posting cute photos or videos of their pets, which may allow thieves to locate them. Countless celebrities — actors, athletes, musicians, models and influencers — have ignored that rule. They include stars like Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Jackman, Chrissy Teigen, Leonardo DiCaprio, Madonna, Snoop Dogg, Michael Phelps and Hilary Duff. So it’s not surprising that Hollywood has become a hotspot of French-bulldog thievery. In late December, one resident nearly lost his life in an incident near Sunset Boulevard. Robert Marinelli was walking Luca, his eight-year-old bulldog, when he was attacked. Two thieves beat him brutally, and when his shirt was caught in their car door, he was dragged briefly on the ground. He suffered extensive injuries and was hospitalized. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Leah Remini has been “living and working with an 8th grade education”. The 51-year-old star has reflected on growing up in the Church of Scientology and how she was treated like an adult from a very young age, including leaving formal education in her early teens and being held accountable for anything “bad” that happened to her. Sharing a black and white photo taken at the start of her acting career, she wrote on Instagram: “This photo was taken when I was 16. I was so proud of this headshot. I thought my side pony made me look so versatile and like the consummate actress. “By this point, I had been living the life of an adult for years even though I was just a kid. “Scientologists are taught that kids are no different from adults. So from a young age I was held accountable like an adult and regularly told that anything bad that happened in my life, even things that I wasn’t responsible for, was my fault. “Even though I was just 16 at the time, I hadn’t received any sort of formal education for years. Instead, I was working to earn a living to support myself and my family. “L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, had a deep disdain for conventional education and since everything in Scientology is guided directly by his policies, with no room for interpretation, my education was interrupted. “For the last 38 years of my life, I have been living and working with an 8th grade education.” The ‘King of Queens’ star explained how she turned to acting as a “salvation” to raise her position in the church and lift her family out of poverty. She continued: “Scientology was my life. Our friends were mostly Scientologists, I met my agent through Scientologists, and I worked for an insurance company owned by Scientologists. “I saw a successful acting career as a salvation. It would help me get my family out of poverty and give me a higher standing in Scientology which I truly believed was helping to save mankind. “At the time we were living in squalor with no furniture. Every spare cent we had went to Scientology and I was determined to get my family into better circumstances. “I auditioned but was repeatedly told that my brash approach, and thick Brooklyn accent, was taking me nowhere fast. It wasn’t until a voice teacher and casting director discouraged me from losing my brashness and accent that I started getting acting gigs.” Leah has recently returned to her studies and is amazed at how far she’s come since leaving the controversial faith. She concluded: “Had you told me then that I would be a student at NYU at age 51, I wouldn’t have believed it. I had big dreams but looking back they were rooted in my desire to survive, not to educate myself. “And the idea that I would leave Scientology and work to expose the abuses that members face was not a thought I would even conjure up. Had I heard that anyone else was doing that, I would have seen them as an enemy worthy of punishment.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Julien Pretot PARIS (Reuters) – Novak Djokovic could be barred from playing in the French Open as things stand now after the Sports Ministry said on Monday there would be no exemption from France’s new vaccine pass law. World number one Djokovic, who has not been vaccinated against COVID-19, was deported from Australia on Sunday before the first Grand Slam tournament of the year after losing a court case to have the cancellation of his visa overturned. France’s vaccine pass law, approved by parliament on Sunday, will require people to have a certificate of vaccination to enter public places such as restaurants, cafes, cinemas and long-distance trains. “The rule is simple. The vaccine pass will be imposed, as soon as the law is promulgated, in establishments that were already subject to the health pass,” the ministry said. “This will apply to everyone who is a spectator or a professional sportsperson. And this until further notice. “Now, as far as Roland Garros is concerned, it’s in May. The situation may change between now and then and we hope that it will be more favourable. So we’ll see, but clearly there’s no exemption.” Serbian Djokovic, who was barred from bidding to win a record 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, has refused to vaccinate and was criticised for attending public events last month after testing positive for the coronavirus. (Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ed Osmond) View the full article

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A rabbi who was among four Jewish congregants taken captive at a Dallas-area synagogue said on Monday that he and others managed to escape after he threw a chair at the hostage-taker and then rushed for an exit door. The ten-hour siege Saturday at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, west of Dallas, Texas, ended in gunfire with all four hostages released and the suspect dead. It is not clear whether the gunman took his own life or was killed by members of an FBI hostage rescue team. The suspect, identified by the FBI as a British citizen, knocked on the synagogue’s door during Sabbath prayers and was invited in and offered tea, Rabbi Charlie Cytron Walker, who was among those taken captive, told CBS. Walker then returned to prayer, after which he said he “heard a click – and it could have been anything – but it turned out it was his gun.” One hostage was released unharmed after six hours of tense negotiations conducted with help from the family of the suspect, 44-year-old Malik Faisal Akram. Still held captive with two others, Walker said he drew on hostage training from the FBI when determining if and when to try to escape. “When I saw an opportunity where he wasn’t in a good position, I made sure that the two gentlemen who were still with me, that they were ready to go, (and that) the exit wasn’t too far away,” Walker said. “I told them to go. I threw a chair at the gunman, and I headed for the door, and all three of us were able to get out without even a shot being fired.” The FBI’s hostage rescue team then raided the synagogue, leading to Akram’s death. Police in England say they have detained two teenagers for questioning. (Reporting by Rami Ayyub; Editing by Scott Malone and Chizu Nomiyama) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jan Wolfe and Nathan Layne WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Descendants of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and their supporters began marching on Washington on Monday to urge President Joe Biden’s Democrats to pass a bill https://news.trust.org/item/20220113182721-f9syv protecting voting rights. As part of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day D.C. Peace Walk https://mlkholidaydc.org, the King family and more than 100 national and local civil rights groups planned to march across the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge into downtown Washington. The march followed a disappointing week for Biden who went to the Capitol to urge U.S. Senate colleagues to change the chamber’s rules so they could overcome Republican opposition to the bill, only to be forcefully rejected by two conservative Democrats who hold effective veto power. At a rally on Monday before the march, King’s son, Martin Luther King III, praised congressional Democrats for passing a sweeping infrastructure bill last year, but implored them to push through voting-rights legislation. “You were successful with infrastructure, which was a great thing,” King said to a crowd of hundreds, “but we need you to use that same energy to ensure that all Americans have the unencumbered right to vote.” The bill would expand access to mail-in voting, strengthen federal oversight of elections in states with a history of racial discrimination and tighten campaign finance rules. Democratic supporters say it is needed to counter a wave of new restrictions on voting passed in Republican-led states that election observers say would make it harder for minority and low-income voters to cast ballots. New restrictions have emerged following former President Donald Trump’s false claims https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-false-claims-debunked-2020-election-jan-6-riot-2022-01-06 that his 2020 election defeat was the result of widespread fraud. Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer has said the chamber would take up the bill on Tuesday, a delay from his earlier plan to hold a procedural vote on the bill by Monday, the federal holiday honoring King. King III, his wife, Arndrea Waters King, and their daughter Yolanda Renee King, are leading the march. Republicans, who hold half the 100 seats in the Senate, are united in opposition to the bill, which they contend is a partisan power grab. That leaves Biden and Schumer just one path to passing it: persuading conservative Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema to agree to change the chamber’s “filibuster https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-senate-democrats-mull-ending-filibuster-pass-voting-rights-reform-2022-01-11” rule that requires at least 60 senators to agree on most legislation. ‘LINE IN THE SAND’ Some civil rights groups in Georgia that helped propel Biden to presidential victory during the 2020 election boycotted https://www.reuters.com/world/us/some-black-hispanic-voting-rights-groups-boycott-bidens-atlanta-speech-2022-01-10 his voting rights speech in Atlanta last week, saying they were disappointed by Biden’s lack of action. “Black voters risked everything – including their own health at the height of the pandemic – to vote Biden and Senate Democrats into office,” wrote https://blackvotersmatterfund.org/uncategorized/black-voters-matter-biden-speech-marks-a-step-in-the-right-direction-on-voting-rights-but-its-only-the-first-step Cliff Albright and LaTosha Brown, co-founders of Black Voters Matter in a response to Biden’s speech. “It’s time that officials in Washington treat us and our rights with the same level urgency.” Should these groups lose enthusiasm for Democrats, it could increase their chances of losing their razor-thin majorities in at least one chamber of Congress in the Nov. 8, 2022, election. Yolanda Townsend, who called herself a “senior” from the Washington, D.C., area, said at the rally with King III she found Biden’s Georgia speech timely and forceful. “I wish it was drawn earlier, but I think a line in the sand has been drawn and you’re either with us or against us,” Townsend said. King III told Reuters he believed history would judge Sinema and Manchin harshly. He said there was a clear need for action to protect voting rights due to the proliferation of laws to restrict ballot access in Republican-controlled states. Kendra Cotton is the chief operating officer at the New Georgia Project, which has registered more than 250,000 new voters since 2014 and helped Democrats win two Senate seats in Georgia last year that gave them their current slim majority. Without progress in Congress on voting rights, Cotton said she worried there would be little to show voters heading into the 2022 election. (Reporting by Jan Wolfe in Washington and Nathan Layne in Wilton, Connecticut; Writing by James Oliphant; Editing by Scott Malone, Aurora Ellis and Howard Goller) View the full article

Coretta Scott King quotesA Lot More Than Mrs. : Here are a few Coretta Scott King quotes on Gay and Black movements and struggles.Until her death in 2006, Mrs. King was an outspoken ally of LGBTQ people of all colors, speaking of those in the civil rights movement she worked next to as well as philosophically allied with at that time even less diverse gay and lesbian groups. She was there when it counted, graciously, perhaps speaking out about homophobia in black communities. Without being too facile, the playbook is so prevalent it’s not a stretch to say the same tactics and factions that play to gay male insecurities offering reassurance of masculinity if they lead with sexism; while dropping enough misinformation to blame the jews for economic oppression Black Americans. Ms. magazine said her vision of “the beloved community” was bolder and more revolutionary than her husband Martin’s Excerpts of a few of Mrs. King’s statements Justice is Indivisible Press conference introducing ENDA, Washington DC June 1994 “For too long, our nation has tolerated the insidious form of discrimination against this group of Americans, who have worked as hard as any other group, paid their taxes like everyone else, and yet have been denied equal protection under the law…. I believe that freedom and justice cannot be parceled out in pieces to suit political convenience. My husband, Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” On another occasion he said, “I have worked too long and hard against segregated public accommodations to end up segregating my moral concern. Justice is indivisible.” Like Martin, I don’t believe you can stand for freedom for one group of people and deny it to others. So I see this bill as a step forward for freedom and human rights in our country and a logical extension of the Bill of Rights and the civil rights reforms of the 1950’s and ‘60’s. The great promise of American democracy is that no group of people will be forced to suffer discrimination and injustice. Make Room At The Table for Lesbian and Gay People. (4 Quotes from the 25th Anniversary of Lambda Legal Defense Fund March, 1998. four days before the 30th anniversary of her husband’s assassination.) 1. “I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay people and I should stick to the issue of racial justice…But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King Jr. said, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’…I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream to make room at the table of brother- and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people” Homophobia is Like Racism and Anti-Semitism 2. “Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood,” King stated. “This sets the stage for further repression and violence that spread all too easily to victimize the next minority group.” 3. “We are all tied together in a single garment of destiny . . . I can never be what I ought to be until you are allowed to be what you ought to be,” she said, quoting her husband. “I’ve always felt that homophobic attitudes and policies were unjust and unworthy of a free society and must be opposed by all Americans who believe in democracy,” Mrs. King is Outspoken Supporter of Gay and Lesbian People 4. “For many years now, I have been an outspoken supporter of civil and human rights for gay and lesbian people,” …. “Gays and lesbians stood up for civil rights in Montgomery, Selma, in Albany, Ga. and St. Augustine, Fla., and many other campaigns of the Civil Rights Movement,” “Many of these courageous men and women were fighting for my freedom at a time when they could find few voices for their own, and I salute their contributions.” —————— Sexual Orientation is a Fundamental Human Right November 2000 Opening Session, Creating Change Conference, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force “We have a lot more work to do in our common struggle against bigotry and discrimination. I say “common struggle” because I believe very strongly that all forms of bigotry and discrimination are equally wrong and should be opposed by right-thinking Americans everywhere. Freedom from discrimination based on sexual orientation is surely a fundamental human right in any great democracy, as much as freedom from racial, religious, gender, or ethnic discrimination.” We Need a National Campaign Against Homophobia — June, 2001 to Reuters “We have to launch a national campaign against homophobia in the black community,” Against Banning Same Sex Marriage, March, 2004 “A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages is a form of gay bashing and it would do nothing at all to protect traditional marriages.” — Michael Goff, Editor some help from History Muse: [This post contains video, click to play] Published by Radar Online It was during Christmas break at Boston University, 1951, when 22-year-old Martin Luther King Jr. asked friend Mary Powell — an Atlanta transplant attending the nearby New England Conservatory of Music in Boston — if she knew of any “nice, attractive young ladies” who would be a good fit for him. King was getting tired of playing the field. “I was about to get cynical,” he recalled. “I had met quite a few girls in Boston, but none that I was particularly fond of.” Powell handed King the phone number of a young lady from Marion, Ala., named Coretta Scott. Coretta had been given a scholarship to the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, and she later said, “I believe it was God’s will and purpose for my life that led me to Boston where I met Martin Luther King Jr.” King wasn’t thinking about the Almighty when they went on a date. “I met and fell in love with the attractive singer Coretta Scott, whose gentle manner and air of repose did not disguise her lively spirit,” he said. “After an hour, my mind was made up.” It was more than her beauty and charm that convinced King. It was more than the fact that, like his beloved mother, an organist, music was a passion for Coretta. What delighted him was when the conversation turned to other topics. “I never will forget, the first discussion we had was about the question of racial and economic injustice and the question of peace,” King said. “She had been actively engaged in movements dealing with these problems.” Coretta revealed that her upbringing in the segregated South had encouraged her to stand up for her beliefs — a painful history that the budding couple shared. “I was told one way or another almost every day of my life that I wasn’t as good as a white child,” she said. As with King, Coretta credited family with fortifying her sense of self-worth against the relentless tide of racism. Mega “I was blessed with parents who taught me not to let anyone make me feel like I wasn’t good enough,” Coretta said. “And as my mother told me, you are just as good as anyone else. You get an education and try to be somebody. Then you won’t have to be kicked around by anybody.” Early in their relationship, King knew that he wanted to marry this woman. “Coretta is going to be my wife,” he wrote to his mother. “I didn’t want a wife I couldn’t communicate with,” he elaborated. “I had to have a wife who would be as dedicated as I was.” Though Coretta was in love with King, she had reservations regarding marriage. She enjoyed her life in the North and feared that, once married, she would be stuck in Atlanta as the wife of a preacher, her lifelong musical ambitions permanently sidelined. Fortunately, that was not the future King envisioned. Malcolm X’s Assassins Expected To Be Exonerated After Netflix Documentary Inspired DA To Review Case The couple married in Alabama on June 18, 1953. “Although we had returned to Marion to be married by my father on the Scotts’ spacious lawn,” King said, “it was in Boston that we began our married life together.” They resumed their education and were content — until a year later, when King was asked to become pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala. The racial atmosphere in Montgomery was becoming unstable, and the couple sensed an opportunity to facilitate change. “We reviewed our own growth in the South, and the many advantages that we had been deprived of as a result of segregation,” King recalled. “For several days we talked and thought and prayed over each of these matters. Finally we agreed that, in spite of the disadvantages and inevitable sacrifices, our greatest service could be rendered in our native South.” Mega Coretta remembered thinking at the time, “It’s an exciting movement, and this is part of God’s plan. This is what we are supposed to be doing. This is what I’m supposed to be doing.” Martin and Coretta relocated to Montgomery in September 1954. The Dexter Avenue Baptist Church was just a little red-brick building near the center of town — but when he began preaching there in October, King transformed its modest steeple into a guiding light. Even he was caught off-guard by the immediate results. “I had no idea that I would be catapulted into a position of leadership in the civil rights struggle in the United States,” King confessed. On Nov. 17, 1955, the Kings honored the passage in Genesis to be fruitful and multiply. “I became the proud father of a little daughter — Yolanda Denise,” King said. “‘Yoki’ was a big little girl…She kept her father quite busy walking the floor.” Bombshell New Claim! JFK Assassin Lee Harvey Oswald Was CIA-Trained But Terrible At Shooting, Claims Then-Agent Who Says He Trained Him But not for long. On Dec. 1, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a public bus in Montgomery. One day later, during a meeting at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, the Montgomery Improvement Association was created and King was nominated as president. He accepted. Mega Parks recalled it wasn’t just King’s oratory that earned him that post. “Dr. King was chosen in part because he was relatively new to the community and so did not have any enemies.” The group’s first action was to support the Women’s Political Council in a one-day boycott of the city’s buses. “I agreed that some protest was necessary and that the boycott method would be an effective one,” King said. The boycott became the symbol of a need for wider civil rights reform, and went on for more than a year. “As the boycott continued, I had a growing sense that I was involved in something so much greater than myself,” Coretta recalled. “I came to the realization that we had been thrust into the forefront of a movement to liberate oppressed people, not only in Montgomery, but also throughout our country.” While King publicly embraced his newfound role as leader, privately he had his doubts. “It is never easy for one to accept the role of symbolism without going through constant moments of self-examination,” King said at the time. “I must confess that there are moments when I begin to wonder whether I am adequate, or whether I am able to face all of the challenges and even the responsibilities of this particular position.” And always standing by him was Coretta. “She did not need to be told that we would now have even less time together,” King said. “And she seemed undisturbed at the possible danger to all of us in my new position.” “Because it was a spontaneous movement, a lot of his conferences were at the house,” Coretta recalled. “People started coming from all over the media to cover the story, so he had a lot of interviews scheduled there.” She recalled times when King would come home to find members of the press waiting for him, and he’d politely invite them to dine with him. “I learned pretty quickly to have a lot of food on hand, always have more than what Martin and I could eat,” she said. Mega Those weren’t the only changes to their daily life. There was no longer such thing as “me time.” “I learned to live with that,” Coretta said. However, while King had become the center of a political and media cyclone, he never took Coretta’s contributions for granted. “A wife can either make or break a husband,” he said. “My wife was always stronger than I was through the struggle.” Indeed, perhaps Martin and Coretta’s greatest strength was their unconditional devotion to each other. “I believe that Martin was chosen,” Coretta concluded. “I believe that I was chosen…I felt blessed to have been called to be a part of such a noble and historic cause.” But it wasn’t just Coretta who was affected by King’s new mission. There was a growing family, and children have needs of their own. Coretta Scott King Quotes, First Lady of Civil Rights on Towleroad Netflix Cheer Season 2; Dark Docuseries, Tough Competitions; ‘Devastated’ Squad Regroups, 1st Season Fame Complicates; We Say …Bring It On More Big brands call for global pact to cut plastic production More Not All Straight People But … Playboy Mansion Secrets: ‘Drugs And Orgies The Norm’, ‘Not Safe Haven Some Women Thought’; Consent? Not So Much. More Trump rallies faithful at ‘MAGA Woodstock’ More Prince Andrew’s Accuser Virginia Giuffre Wants To Destroy And Leave Him ‘Broke’ After His Lawyer Requests To Interview Her Psychologist More Djokovic flies out of Australia after losing court appeal More Significant tsunami damage feared in Tonga, communications still cut More FBI names Texas hostage-taker as British citizen More Prince Andrew Seen For First Time With Ex Sarah Ferguson After Being Dethroned By Queen Elizabeth, Disgraced Royal Fears ‘Financial Ruin’ More Kevin Spacey Sexual Assault Case: New Witness For Rapp Says Spacey Made ‘A Sexual Advance On Him’ in 1988 When He Was 16. More Michael Avenatti Whines About Prison Treatment, Claims Donald Trump’s Book Was The Only One He Was Allowed To Read More Britney Spears’ Tell-All Interview With Oprah Winfrey ‘In The Works,’ Pop Star Will Reportedly Dish On Family Drama More U.S. Supreme Court to hear dispute over football coach’s on-field prayers More Load More View the full article

[This post contains video, click to play] Published by DPA Trinity Valley Community College’s Maddie Volcik is among the cheerleaders in season two of Netflix’s “Cheer.” Kyle Alexander/Netflix/dpa When “Cheer” was released in January 2020, the Netflix docuseries about elite cheerleaders at a Texas community college became an instant cultural sensation. Within weeks, it turned tough-as-nails coach Monica Aldama and her gritty athletes into overnight celebrities who got spoofed on “Saturday Night Live,” appeared on “Ellen” and interviewed Brad Pitt on the Oscars red carpet. As inspiring as it was unflinching, “Cheer” resonated well beyond the cheerleading community because it told a story about young people overcoming unthinkable adversity — including poverty, sexual abuse and parental neglect — to compete in a physically and emotionally punishing sport often dismissed as a sideline spectacle. But the hardships of Season 1 are nothing compared to Season 2. In the nine episodes that premiered Wednesday on Netflix, the series documents a turbulent two years interrupted by a deadly pandemic, upended by disturbing allegations against a beloved teammate and tainted by the pressures of newfound fame. “There are some pretty complicated issues that we raised in Season 1,” says director Greg Whiteley, “but not quite like what we had to tackle in Season 2.” The Navarro College athletes and their rivals at Trinity Valley Community College, who are newly featured in Season 2, were weeks away from vying for the National Cheerleaders Association championship in Daytona Beach, Florida, when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world in March 2020. Daytona was canceled, leaving the athletes without a competition, and “Cheer” without a finale or a clear narrative path forward. Then, things got worse. In September 2020, Jerry Harris, the ebullient underdog whose giddy mat talk, heartbreaking backstory and infectious passion for cheerleading made him Season 1’s breakout star, was arrested and charged with production of child pornography for allegedly soliciting and receiving explicit material from a minor over social media. In December he was indicted on additional child pornography charges. (He has denied the allegations.) Whiteley and his crew returned to Texas in early 2021 — nearly a full year after COVID hit — to follow the cheerleaders as they regrouped after a lost season and grappled with the allegations against Harris. “Cheer” addresses the charges head on, examining the case and its impact on Harris’ teammates in a gut-wrenching episode called “Jerry.” Whiteley interviews Sam and Charlie (their last names are not disclosed), the twin brothers who allege that Harris solicited them for sex and explicit photos; their mother; and their lawyer, Sarah Klein, who criticizes Aldama for what she sees as an insufficient statement in response to the allegations. (“I have no sympathy for her,” Klein says.) Whiteley says he never considered not moving forward with the series in light of the allegations against Harris. Nor did he feel that he had somehow misrepresented his subject in Season 1. “Human beings are complicated people. As a filmmaking team, we’re as good as anyone at creating a portrait and filming somebody authentically. But in the three months that we’re allowed to film someone, we’re not going to get to the bottom of someone,” he says. “I think as long as we’re humble about that, and that when we do learn something new, we have the integrity to also cover it, not ignore it, then I can sleep at night knowing I’m doing my job.” The news breaks during an already difficult time for the Navarro athletes, many of whom are struggling with the isolation of COVID-19 or floundering without the leadership of Aldama, who is away competing on “Dancing With the Stars.” Harris’ friends struggle to square the allegations with the person they know — and reach varying conclusions. “I don’t care how famous you are,” La’Darius Marshall, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, says in the episode. “That don’t give you the right to do stuff like this, especially when you know one of your best friends went through something like that.” A tearful Gabi Butler concludes, “I can’t turn my back on him because he was there for me when I needed it.” “This was an event that was so impactful on the lives of the team. Even if Jerry was no longer physically present while we were filming, his presence still was very large,” Whiteley says. “You could feel a team that was completely devastated. It was as though a close friend they thought they knew had died. And that isn’t something that goes away in a week, or a month, or even a year.” Season 2 finds Aldama and her team dealing with the roller-coaster ride of celebrity. They marvel at the opportunities they’ve received because of the show — like trying avocado toast for the first time — and use downtime between practice to record lucrative Cameo messages. But the spotlight also creates tension, particularly when Aldama agrees to go on “Dancing With the Stars” and appoints a replacement coach, the improbably named Kailee Peppers, during a vulnerable time. Aldama, the stoic heroine of Season 1, emerges as a more fallible figure this time around, bristling at the criticism she gets on social media and having a painful falling out with one of her star athletes. “There is a certain emotional vulnerability that she shared with us under some very, very difficult circumstances. I left that interaction admiring her more than I did in Season 1,” Whiteley says. Whiteley also introduces us to a new cast of compelling characters, including Navarro’s arch-rivals at Trinity Valley Community College, who finished in second place in 2019 and are hungry for a comeback. The team is led by coach Vontae Johnson, a soft-spoken former football player who was eager to be a part of “Cheer.” “We liked how it portrayed the athletes and athleticism. There’s no way that we would turn it down this season,” he says. Johnson encourages his cheerleaders to go out of their comfort zone and put on a showier performance in order to close the gap with the Navarro squad, which is known for its high-energy style. “You’ve got the best cheerleading programs in the history of cheerleading separated by 30 miles. It didn’t take a genius to go, ‘We should spend more time with this other school,'” Whiteley says. The decision to follow TVCC may have been a no-brainer, but it also made it even more excruciating for the filmmaker to document the teams when they finally faced off in Daytona Beach last April. Whiteley recalls the disorienting experience of being with the losing team as they wept over the results, then following the winners as they took a joyful ceremonial plunge into the ocean. He knew that “if we could somehow get an audience to feel even a semblance of what I’m feeling right now,” they’d have a special season, he says. “There aren’t good guys in this and bad guys in this. There are two teams, and we want the audience to love them both.” Netflix Season 2 page Netflix Cheer Season 2 on Towleroad Big brands call for global pact to cut plastic production More Not All Straight People But … Playboy Mansion Secrets: ‘Drugs And Orgies The Norm’, ‘Not Safe Haven Some Women Thought’; Consent? Not So Much. More Trump rallies faithful at ‘MAGA Woodstock’ More Prince Andrew’s Accuser Virginia Giuffre Wants To Destroy And Leave Him ‘Broke’ After His Lawyer Requests To Interview Her Psychologist More Djokovic flies out of Australia after losing court appeal More Significant tsunami damage feared in Tonga, communications still cut More FBI names Texas hostage-taker as British citizen More Prince Andrew Seen For First Time With Ex Sarah Ferguson After Being Dethroned By Queen Elizabeth, Disgraced Royal Fears ‘Financial Ruin’ More Kevin Spacey Sexual Assault Case: New Witness For Rapp Says Spacey Made ‘A Sexual Advance On Him’ in 1988 When He Was 16. 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Published by Reuters By John Geddie and Joe Brock (Reuters) – International brands including Coca Cola and PepsiCo called on Monday for a global pact to combat plastic pollution that includes cuts in plastic production, a key growth area for the oil industry. World officials will meet at a United Nations Environment Assembly conference (UNEA 5.2) later this year to start negotiations on a treaty to tackle a plastic waste crisis that is choking landfills, despoiling oceans and killing wildlife. It remains unclear whether any deal will focus on waste management and recycling or take tougher steps such as curbing new plastic production, a move that would likely face resistance from big oil and chemical firms and major plastic-producing countries like the United States. The more than 70 signatories to Monday’s joint statement https://www.plasticpollutiontreaty.org/UNEA include consumer goods companies like Unilever and Nestle, which sell a myriad of products in single-use plastic from shampoo to chocolate bars, as well as retailer Walmart and French bank BNP Paribas. “We are at a critical point in time to establish an ambitious U.N. treaty,” the statement said, noting that any deal should “reduce virgin plastic production and use.” “UNEA 5.2 is the decisive, most auspicious moment to turn the tide on the global plastic pollution crisis. We cannot afford to miss it,” the statement said. Less than 10% https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/health-coronavirus-plastic-recycling of all the plastic ever made has been recycled, and a Reuters investigation last year https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/environment-plastic-oil-recycling revealed that new recycling technologies touted by the plastics industry have struggled to combat the problem. Meanwhile, production of plastic, which is derived from oil and gas, is projected to double within 20 years. This is a key source of future revenue for energy majors, as demand for fossil fuels wanes with the rise of renewable energy and electric vehicles. While scaling-up global recycling is critical to tackling plastic waste, these efforts will not prevent plastic pollution from continuing to skyrocket without constraints on production, a landmark 2020 study by Pew Charitable Trusts found. As pressure mounts on firms that sell products in hard-to-recycle plastic to tackle the resulting waste, some have teamed up with cement makers to burn plastic waste as a cheap fuel in the developing world, a Reuters investigation found last year https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/environment-plastic-cement. (Reporting by John Geddie and Joe Brock; Editing by Mark Potter) View the full article

Playboy Mansion Secrets: “crude behavior by celebs…the infamous grotto (a cave-like structure with a pool where orgies took place) was linked to an outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease, and a former valet of Hefner’s said the mogul would occasionally throw a party he called “Pig Night,” where he’d hire sex workers to sleep with friends and film them.” Published by OK Magazine MEGA For decades, the famed Playboy Mansion — the 22,000-square-foot L.A. pad that was home to Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner until his death in 2017 — was the most famous party house in the world. With a rotating cast of A-list guests and gorgeous Playboy bunnies, the legendary estate was celebrated for its opulence (the 30-room abode featured a giant screening room, a zoo, a wine cellar and multiple pools, and required some 80 staff members to keep it running) and good-time vibes. But behind the glitzy facade, all was not as fun and carefree as it seemed. According to sources, the mansion often felt more like a prison than a pleasure palace for the women who lived there, including Holly Madison, 42, and Kendra Wilkinson, 36, who starred alongside Hefner in E!’s hit reality series The Girls Next Door. MEGA HOLLY MADISON RECOUNTS ‘TRAUMATIC’ FIRST SEXUAL ENCOUNTER WITH EX HUGH HEFNER, ‘GIRLS NEXT DOOR’ STAR DESCRIBES ‘EMOTIONAL IMPACT’ IT HAD ON HER “Drugs and orgies were the norm,” says an insider, noting that tales of bitter rivalries, humiliating bedroom antics and crude behavior by celeb guests have come to light in recent years. “The girls had to do what they were told,” adds the insider, “or risk Hugh’s wrath.” While Hefner had a reputation for being a generous host, some former Playmates paint a different picture of the media mogul, who died from sepsis at age 91 (at the time, he was married to his third wife, model Crystal Harris, who was 60 years his junior). In her book, Bunny Tales: Behind Closed Doors at the Playboy Mansion, former model Izabella St. James says Hefner gave his live-in girlfriends an allowance of $1,000 a week, which he would hand out in a bizarre ritual. “We had to go to Hef’s room, wait while he picked up all the dog poo off the carpet — and then ask for our allowance,” she recalled. “We all hated this process. Hef would always use the occasion to bring up anything he wasn’t happy about in the relationship… [like] lack of sexual participation in the ‘parties’ he held in his bedroom.” MEGA The insider says many of the girls felt trapped and knew if they didn’t abide by Hefner’s rules — which included being intimate with him and party guests — they’d be out on the street. “They felt like prisoners. Playmates had 9 p.m. curfews and were expected to participate in whatever antics Hugh had in store for them. It was like living in a cult,” the insider dishes. HUGH HEFNER’S FORMER GIRLFRIENDS KRISTINA & KARISSA SHANNON REVEAL LIFE IN THE PLAYBOY MANSION LEFT THEM WITH PTSD & SEVERE DEPRESSION Some women turned on each other under the pressure. The insider says Madison — who dated Hefner from 2001 to 2008 — felt pitted against Wilkinson and their Girls Next Door costar, Bridget Marquardt, 48. “Holly was forced to share Hef’s bed with his six other girlfriends,” says a source. “It was humiliating. And over time, people were jealous because she was his favorite,” continues the source, adding that things “got very cutthroat” among the girls. In her book, Down the Rabbit Hole, Madison recalled Hefner’s cruel mind games. “He liked to play favorites. How else could he stay in control of seven women?” she wrote. “He needed to somehow maintain the upper hand.” In a new A&E docuseries, Secrets of Playboy, Madison continues to break her silence about the disturbing events she witnessed alongside Wilkinson and Marquardt, whose show premiered 17 years ago. “I felt like I was in the cycle of gross things and I didn’t know what to do,” said Madison, who moved in with Hugh when she was just 21. She added Hefner “flipped out” when she cut her hair short. “He was screaming at me and said it made me look old, hard and cheap,” she detailed. “Hef would be pretty abrasive in the way he said things to Holly,” Marquardt noted. “She came down with red lipstick one time and he flipped out and said he hated red lipstick on girls, [and that she] should take it off right away.” MEGA Madison has also claimed Playmates were given drugs and encouraged to take part in orgies with Hefner while under the influence. Meanwhile, Wilkinson has said she “had to be very drunk or smoke lots of weed to survive” having sex with Hugh. “It was like a job,” she wrote in her 2011 memoir. “Clock in, clock out.” There’s no shortage of women who have opened up about what really went on at the mansion, which was sold to billionaire Daren Metropoulos in 2016 for $100 million. In 2011, the pad’s infamous grotto (a cave-like structure with a pool where orgies took place) was linked to an outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease, and a former valet of Hefner’s said the mogul would occasionally throw a party he called “Pig Night,” where he’d hire sex workers to sleep with friends and film them. “After a while,” says the insider, “it became clear the mansion wasn’t this safe haven that some women thought it might be.” Playboy Mansion Secrets on Towleroad Big brands call for global pact to cut plastic production More Trump rallies faithful at ‘MAGA Woodstock’ More Prince Andrew’s Accuser Virginia Giuffre Wants To Destroy And Leave Him ‘Broke’ After His Lawyer Requests To Interview Her Psychologist More Djokovic flies out of Australia after losing court appeal More Significant tsunami damage feared in Tonga, communications still cut More FBI names Texas hostage-taker as British citizen More Prince Andrew Seen For First Time With Ex Sarah Ferguson After Being Dethroned By Queen Elizabeth, Disgraced Royal Fears ‘Financial Ruin’ More Kevin Spacey Sexual Assault Case: New Witness For Rapp Says Spacey Made ‘A Sexual Advance On Him’ in 1988 When He Was 16. More Michael Avenatti Whines About Prison Treatment, Claims Donald Trump’s Book Was The Only One He Was Allowed To Read More Britney Spears’ Tell-All Interview With Oprah Winfrey ‘In The Works,’ Pop Star Will Reportedly Dish On Family Drama More U.S. Supreme Court to hear dispute over football coach’s on-field prayers More OAN/Newsmax Loses Biggest Distributor. ATT’s DirecTV Drops Big-Lie Broadcaster After 3 Months of Customer Outrage Over Reuters’ Report That ATT Secretly Funded OAN Startup. More RuPaul’s Big Openings Gets Stuffed with Seven More Queens on ‘Drag Race’ More Load More View the full article

Published by AFP Florence (United States) (AFP) – Donald Trump delivered a crowd-pleasing speech to thousands of adoring supporters in Arizona Saturday, insisting yet again that he won the 2020 US presidential election. Some of the faithful had arrived in the area days in advance from as far away as Florida or Texas, waiting to hear the former president trot out a familiar list of grievances. Their patience was soon rewarded. “We are done having our lives controlled by politicians in Washington. We are done with the mandates,” he said, in reference to rules brought in to control the coronavirus pandemic. “The radical Democrats want to turn the United States into a communist country,” he continued. “We won those elections. We won them big. We can’t let them get away with it.” Earlier speakers had kept to similar themes, slamming 2020 election victor President Joe Biden as “weak” and “deranged,” and taking aim at the “lamestream media,” who were duly booed by the crowd. It was a greatest hits of Trumpism, playing all the expected notes: a stolen election, the unfairness of the media, open borders and how the United States has become “a laughing stock all over the world.” There was a carnival feeling for much of the day. Flags proclaiming “Trump 2020” and “Trump 2024” fluttered in the desert wind, as chants of “Let’s Go Brandon” erupted from the good-natured crowd. The slogan has become code in right-wing circles after a news reporter mistook coarse anti-Biden chants. “It’s just a party atmosphere,” said Jonathan Riches, who was attending his 40th Trump rally. “It’s almost like a MAGA Woodstock. It’s patriots from around the country getting together for the common good of this country. We love our president.” MAGA is an acronym for Trump’s 2016 campaign call to “Make America great again.” While some filtered out as Trump was still speaking, perhaps to escape the parking crush, those who stayed until the end declared themselves happy with what they had heard. “He’s encouraging, because he’s not giving up and we’re not giving up because we’ve lost our country,” 58-year-old Tony Cunio said. “I’m supporting him because I want the country to get back to where it was before.” ‘The biggest’ crowd Trump abandoned a pledged press conference on January 6 — the anniversary of the invasion of the Capitol by his supporters — and the rally was his first major public outing since October. As is customary, he proclaimed it to be “the biggest” crowd, going “further than the eye can see,” though accurate figures on attendance were not immediately available. In the lead-up to his election win in 2016, and throughout his presidency, tens of thousands of supporters would throng venues to hear him speak. But crowds have since dwindled, and Saturday’s turnout appeared to be far smaller than those of earlier rallies. The gathering, on farmland in Florence, 60 miles (100 kilometers) from Phoenix, featured a raft of Republicans who have echoed Trump’s unsubstantiated claims that the 2020 election was fixed. They included Kari Lake, whom Trump has endorsed for governor of Arizona in this year’s race. She has previously said she would not have certified Biden’s victory if she had been in office at the time. Trump, who lost his Twitter megaphone for his claims about the poll, has been a much lower-key presence in US politics since leaving office. But he still looms large in the Republican party, where adherence to his theories — or at least not publicly denying them — is often vital to survival for members of Congress and state legislatures. Few Covid-19 precautions Trump has largely shunned major media outlets since leaving office. But last week, he ventured onto National Public Radio (NPR), where he said he recommends that people get vaccinated against Covid-19 — a hot-button issue in the United States, where there is widespread vaccine hesitancy on the right. There were almost no masks or other anti-Covid precautions in evidence among the crowd in Florence, despite the Omicron variant wave that is washing over the United States. Nationwide, more than 750,000 people a day are testing positive for the disease. The rally comes 24 hours after pro-Trump TV channel OAN was dumped by its main distributor. Trump had repeatedly directed his fans towards the conspiracy theory-peddling outlet, which is hoping to take a bite out of the market for right-wing viewers dominated by Fox News. The event also comes after the founder of the Oath Keepers — a far-right militia group — and 10 others were indicted for seditious conspiracy over their role in the January 6 assault on the Capitol. View the full article

Published by Radar Online MEGA Prince Andrew has inserted himself into a whole lot of drama after his lawyer makes a questioning move by requesting mental health records for his alleged victim, Virginia Giuffre. Sources close to Giuffre revealed she vows to make the prince suffer from his actions that legal experts had called “the ultimate form of victim-blaming.” According toreports, the royal defense team has submitted formal requests to interview Giuffre’s husband, Robert Giuffre, and her psychologist, Dr. Ludith Lightfoot, in Australia. His team has disputed Giuffre “may suffer from false memories” and alleged her of inventing stories about Andrew “to deflect from her own participation in Epstein’s sex trafficking scheme.” MEGA They plan to ask Dr. Lightfoot to turn over all records of Giuffre’s mental health, prescription medications, and notes about the “plaintiff’s alleged emotional and psychological harm” and “theory of false memories. In addition, Andrew’s team also wants to examine Giuffre and her husband’s financial records forensically. Women campaigners and other experts have criticized and questioned the integrity of their move towards Andrew’s alleged victim. Dr. Charlotte Proudman, a researcher at Cambridge and attorney, told the Times it was common for victims of abuse to look for therapy and support. “[Andrew’s lawyers] are trying to discredit her,” Proudman claimed. “They are trying to find something she might have said to her psychologist that potentially undermines the claims she has made or to show potential consistencies.” Anna Birley, the co-founder of women’s safety campaign group Reclaim These Streets, also expressed her outrage concerning the strategy from Andrew’s legal team. “It should never be a question of how the victim behaves, what she wears, how much she drank, or what she shared with her therapist,” she explained. “Abuse is never ok and the focus should be on the actions of perpetrator.” MEGA However, an insider shared Giuffre is determined to “ruin” the British royal by making sure he suffers from dire financial woes. “It is Virginia’s firm belief that Andrew should go to jail for what he’s done, but in the end, leaving him broke and destroyed may be enough,” the informant said. “He is already destroyed. Now it’s a matter of how much money he offers [in a settlement] and how broke we leave him.” MEGA As Radar previously reported, Andrew had vehemently denied the accusations by Giuffre, who claimed she was forced to have sex with him when she was only 17 years old. The prince had requested the court to dismiss his case but failed. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan ruled Wednesday he will have to stand on trial, which has been scheduled for September. As a result, Queen Elizabeth has stripped her second son from his military titles and royal patronages, leaving him to fight the case as a “private citizen.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Sudipto Ganguly, Sonali Paul and Loren Elliott MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic flew out of Australia on Sunday after a court upheld the government’s decision to cancel his visa, capping days of drama over the country’s COVID-19 entry rules and his unvaccinated status. The unanimous ruling by a three-judge Federal Court bench dealt a final blow to Djokovic’s hopes of chasing a record 21st Grand Slam win at the Australian Open that starts on Monday, dismaying his family and supporters. The Serbian player went to the airport in Melbourne just hours later. Federal agents escorted him and his team from the business lounge to the gate, where he boarded an Emirates flight bound for Dubai. The flight took off shortly before 11 p.m. (1200 GMT). In a rollercoaster ride, the world’s top men’s player was first detained by immigration authorities on Jan. 6, ordered released by a court on Jan. 10 and then detained on Saturday again pending Sunday’s court hearing. Djokovic said after the ruling he was extremely disappointed as it meant he could not take part in the tournament. “I respect the Court’s ruling and I will cooperate with the relevant authorities in relation to my departure from the country,” he said in a statement, wishing the tournament well. Djokovic, 34, had appealed against Immigration Minister Alex Hawke’s use of discretionary powers to cancel his visa. The minister had said Djokovic could be a threat to public order because his presence would encourage anti-vaccination sentiment amidst Australia’s worst coronavirus outbreak. Chief Justice James Allsop said the court ruling was based on the lawfulness and legality of the minister’s decision in the context of the rounds of appeal lodged by Djokovic’s legal team. “It is no part of the function of the court to decide upon the merits or wisdom of the decision,” Allsop said, adding that the three judges were unanimous in their ruling. Full reasoning behind the ruling would be released in coming days, he said. The player’s family said they were “very disappointed” by the decision and the fact Djokovic had to leave Australia. “Despite the scandalous behavior towards Novak, we believed that the sport would win,” they said in a statement. ‘KEEP BORDERS STRONG’ The player’s visa saga has fuelled global debate over the rights of people who opt to remain unvaccinated as governments take measures to protect people from the two-year pandemic. The controversy became a political touchstone for Prime Minister Scott Morrison as he prepares for an election due by May. His government has faced criticism for its handling of Djokovic’s visa application. Morrison welcomed the court’s ruling, saying the decision will help keep borders strong and Australians safe. “It’s now time to get on with the Australian Open and get back to enjoying tennis over the summer,” he said in a statement. Djokovic had been granted a visa to enter Australia, with a COVID-19 infection on Dec. 16 providing the basis for a medical exemption from Australia’s requirements that all visitors be vaccinated. The exemption was organised via Tennis Australia. That exemption prompted widespread anger in Australia, which has undergone some of the world’s toughest COVID-19 lockdowns and where more than 90% of adults are vaccinated. The government said recent infection alone did not meet its standards for an exemption. WEEPING FANS But the player also had some support, especially in his native Serbia and from Serbians living in Australia. Serbian prime Minister Ana Brnabic said https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/serbia-says-australias-decision-deport-djokovic-scandalous-2022-01-16: “I think that the court decision is scandalous, I am disappointed, I think it demonstrated how the rule of law is functioning or – better to say – not functioning in some other countries.” In the Serbian capital Belgrade, Djokovic’s hometown, many support him though some felt he should have been vaccinated. “I think Australia should be ashamed of itself and that the decision was not a just one. I am sorry for Novak as a tennis player and as a person,” said Danilo Mircic, a student. “If I were him, I would get vaccinated and avoid problems in the future,” said Aleksandar Janjic, a middle-aged computer programmer. In Melbourne, around 70 Djokovic fans, including young children, sang folk songs and chanted in the Federal Court plaza while they waited for the court’s ruling. They gathered around a loudspeaker to hear the judge reading out the decision. Afterward, two women were weeping, while others started up chants for a short while before the crowd dispersed. “What they did today is everything except justice,” said Natasha Marjnovic, 44, a Djokovic supporter wiping away tears. “They killed a beautiful sportsman and his career and for all of us who love tennis.” DISRUPTION TO TENNIS The men’s tennis governing body ATP said “today’s decision to uphold Novak Djokovic’s Australian visa cancellation marks the end of a deeply regrettable series of events”. It added in a statement that decisions of legal authorities regarding public health must be respected. Tennis Australia said it respected the decision. On the tennis circuit, fellow players had become impatient for the media circus to end. But several voiced sympathy for Djokovic following his legal defeat. “The situation has not been good all round for anyone. It feels everything here happened extremely last minute and that’s why it became such a mess,” said former world No. 1 Andy Murray. (Reporting by Loren Elliott, Sudipto Ganguly, Ian Ransom in Melbourne and John Mair and Renju Jose in Sydney; Writing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Frances Kerry; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Praveen Menon WELLINGTON (Reuters) -Tsunami-hit Tonga remained largely uncontactable on Sunday with telephone and internet links severed, leaving relatives in faraway New Zealand praying for their families on the Pacific islands as casualty reports had yet to come through. An underwater volcano off Tonga erupted on Saturday, triggering warnings of 1.2-metre tsunami waves and evacuation orders on the shores of Tonga as well as several South Pacific islands, where footage on social media showed waves crashing into coastal homes. Internet and phone lines went down at about 6.40 p.m. local time on Saturday, leaving the 105,000 residents on the islands virtually uncontactable. There are no official reports of injuries or deaths in Tonga as yet although communications are limited and contact has not been established with outlying coastal areas beyond the capital Nuku’alofa and closer to the volcano, Jacinda Ardern the Prime Minister of New Zealand told a news conference on Sunday. Tonga, an island nation with around 105,000 residents, lies 2,383 kilometres (1,481 miles) northeast of New Zealand. “Nuku’alofa is covered in thick plumes of volcanic dust but otherwise conditions are calm and stable,” Ardern said. “There are parts of Tonga where we just don’t know yet… we just haven’t established communication,” she said. Satellite images captured the volcanic eruption on Saturday as the explosion sent plumes of smoke into the air and about 12 miles above the sea level. The sky over Tonga was darkened by the ash. Concerns were growing among the Tongan community in New Zealand, desperate to make contact with their families back home. Some churches organised community prayers in Auckland and other cities. “We pray God will help our country at this sad moment. We hope everybody is safe,” Maikeli Atiola, the Secretary of the Wesleyan Church of Tonga in Auckland said, Radio New Zealand reported. Ardern said the main undersea communications cable has been impacted, likely due to loss of power. Power was being restored in some areas on the islands and local mobile phones were slowly starting to work, she added. Official damage assessments were not yet available, she said, but the New Zealand high commission in Nuku’alofa had told her the tsunami has had a significant impact on the foreshore on the northern side of Nuku’alofa, with boats and large boulders washed ashore. “Shops along the coast have been damaged and a significant cleanup will be needed,” she said. Australia said it will send a P8 surveillance aircraft to Tonga on Monday to assess damage to critical infrastructure such as roads, ports and power lines, which will determine the next phase of the response effort. In the United States, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the country stands prepared to provide support. PACIFIC IMPACT The Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano has erupted regularly over the past few decades but Saturday’s eruption was so loud that residents parts of faraway Fiji and New Zealand said they heard it. “My entire house was shaking,” said Sanya Ruggiero, a Consulting Communications Advisor based in Suva, the capital of Fiji, some 750 kms from Tonga. “My doors, windows were all rattling like hell. And mine was not even as bad as others. Hundreds of people ran out of their homes,” said Ruggiero, who consults for several agencies including the United Nations. Rumblings and eruptions from the volcano continued to be heard through the night, Ruggiero said. Hundreds of people were moved to evacuation centres in Suva. Fiji Airways had to cancel all its flights due to the ash clouds. “This is the worst disaster Tonga has had in living memory and the recovery from this is going to take years,” Ruggiero said. Experts said the ash fallout could contaminate drinking water and cause respiratory issues. “Help will be needed to restore drinking water supplies. People of Tonga must also remain vigilant for further eruptions and especially tsunami with short notice and should avoid low lying areas,” said Shane Cronin, professor at the School of Environment, University of Auckland. The eight-minute eruption on Saturday triggered tsunami warnings and evacuations in several countries. The eruption caused flooding across portions of coastal Alaska and California in the United States. Floods from the tidal waves were also reported in Chile, some 10,000 kilometres away, and hundreds of thousands of Japanese citizens were advised to evacuate as waves of more than a metre hit coastal areas. (Reporting by Praveen Menon in Wellington and Kirsty Needham in Sydney; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Kenneth Maxwell) View the full article

Published by AFP A police vehicle sits outside of the Congregation Beth Israel Synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, some 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Dallas, on January 16, 2022 COLLEYVILLE (United States) (AFP) – The man who died after holding four people hostage at a Texas synagogue in what President Joe Biden called an “act of terror” was identified by the FBI on Sunday as a 44-year-old British citizen named Malik Faisal Akram. The four hostages — including a respected local rabbi, Charlie Cytron-Walker — were all released unharmed Saturday night, prompting relief in the United States, where the Jewish community and Biden renewed calls to fight anti-Semitism. “There is no question that this was a traumatic experience,” Cytron-Walker said in a statement Sunday. “We are resilient and we will recover,” he added. There was “no indication” that anyone else was involved in the attack on the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in the small Texas town of Colleyville, the statement from the FBI’s field office in Dallas said. It did not give any further information about Akram, or what his motive may have been. A man identifying himself as Akram’s brother Gulbar said in a Facebook post that the suspect had suffered from mental health problems. “We would like to say that we as a family do not condone any of his actions and would like to sincerely apologize wholeheartedly to all the victims involved in the unfortunate incident,” he said, adding that his family hoped to get Akram’s body back to Britain for a funeral. Biden declined to speculate on the motive but appeared to confirm US media reports that the hostage-taker was seeking the release of convicted terrorist Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist known as “Lady Al-Qaeda.” “This was an act of terror” that was related to “someone who was arrested 15 years ago and has been in jail for 10 years,” Biden said in comments to reporters during a visit to a hunger relief organization in Philadelphia. Britain’s foreign minister Liz Truss likewise Sunday condemned the hostage-taking as an “act or terrorism and anti-Semitism.” Siddiqui, the first woman to be suspected by the United States of links to Al-Qaeda and a cause celebre in Pakistan and in South Asian jihadist circles, was detained in Afghanistan in 2008. Two years later she was sentenced by a New York court to 86 years in prison for the attempted murder of US officers in Afghanistan. Siddiqui is currently being held at a prison in Fort Worth, Texas. Her lawyer has said she “has absolutely no involvement” in the hostage situation and condemned it. Any links she may have to Akram remained unclear. Police have not said whether the assault team killed Akram or whether he killed himself. FBI special agent Matthew DeSarno told reporters in Colleyville on Saturday, after the climactic end of the standoff, that the investigation would “have global reach.” He said the suspect’s demands were “focused on one issue that was not specifically threatening to the Jewish community.” Britain’s ambassador to the United States confirmed that British authorities were “providing our full support to Texas and US law enforcement agencies.” “We stand with US in defending the rights and freedoms of our citizens against those who spread hate,” Truss, the British foreign secretary, posted on Twitter. ‘Mind-blowing’ In his statement Sunday, rabbi Cytron-Walker credited his congregation’s previous security training from the FIB and the Anti-Defamation League, among others, with their survival. “Without the instruction we received, we would not have been prepared to act and flee when the situation presented itself.” he said of the hostages’ escape. Other residents of Colleyville, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Dallas, were still struggling to comprehend the incident the next day. “Colleyville … It’s one of the safest towns in North Texas,” said Austin Sewell, owner and founder of the North Texas Kings baseball club, whose field is across the street from the synagogue in a quiet, residential neighborhood. “It’s mind-blowing, to be honest,” he told AFP. At one point the standoff involved some 200 local, state and federal law enforcement officers massed around Colleyville. They included an FBI team flown in from Washington. A Facebook livestream of the congregation’s Shabbat service appeared to capture audio of a man talking loudly, but did not show the scene inside the building. He could be heard saying, “You get my sister on the phone” — apparently using the word “sister” figuratively — and “I am gonna die.” He was also heard saying: “There’s something wrong with America.” One hostage was freed early in the standoff. Hours later, after what police said were extensive negotiations, an elite SWAT team burst into the synagogue and the remaining three hostages were freed. Journalists nearby said they heard a loud bang — likely a flash-bang grenade used as a distraction — and shots. The siege had sparked an outpouring of concern from Jewish organizations in the United States. Biden pledged to “stand against anti-Semitism and against the rise of extremism in this country.” View the full article