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Published by OK Magazine MEGA Peloton has taken down their latest advertisement following the sexual assault allegations lodged against Chris Noth. On Thursday, December 16, reports surfaced of two women who claimed to have been sexually assaulted by the Sex and the City star on separate occasions in 2004 and 2015. The 67-year-old later released a statement, denying the allegations and calling them “categorically false.” Nevertheless, Peloton is still taking action to remove content involving Noth in light of the scandal. MEGA As OK! previously reported, the exercise company released an ad last week in response to Noth’s famous character Mr. Big’s death on the SATC reboot, And Just Like That…. (Spoiler: In the series premiere, Carrie Bradshaw’s husband suffers a heart attack and dies after a workout on the exercise bike.) ZOE LISTER-JONES CLAIMS CHRIS NOTH ‘CAPITALIZED ON THE FANTASY THAT WOMEN BELIEVED MR. BIG REPRESENTED’ AMID SEXUAL ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS While the commercial featuring Noth was intended to do some damage control following misconceptions about the safety of cycling, the company now finds themselves trying to dissociate from the embattled actor. In a statement to NPR, Peloton claimed it was “not aware” of the allegations against Noth when the ad was first created. MEGA “Every single sexual assault accusation must be taken seriously,” the statement read. “We were unaware of these allegations when we featured Chris Noth in our response to HBO’s reboot. As we seek to learn more, we have stopped promoting this video and archived related social posts.” Peloton has since taken down the tweet with Noth’s ad — which featured a narration from actor Ryan Reynolds. According to Us Weekly, the 45-year-old Deadpool star also removed his announcement of the collaboration with Noth. The allegations were made by two women under the pseudonyms Zoe and Lily, who both detailed their stories in a report to The Hollywood Reporter, released Thursday, December 16. Zoe claimed Noth: “rape[d] her from behind” back in 2004, and “laughed” at her when she asked him to use a condom. “I realized there was blood on my shirt. I got out of there. I went to my friend’s apartment],” she recalled, noting she received medical attention following the alleged attack. “I had stitches. Two police officers came. I wouldn’t say who it was.” MEGA RYAN REYNOLDS EXPLAINS HOW ‘WHIRLWIND’ PELOTON AD WITH CHRIS NOTH CAME TOGETHER SO QUICKLY FOLLOWING ‘AND JUST LIKE THAT..’ PREMIERE: ‘WE ALL KNEW JUST WHAT TO DO’ Lily also described her alleged encounter with the Golden Globe nominee, which she claimed happened in his New York City apartment in 2015. She stated Noth, “was having sex with me from the back in a chair. We were in front of a mirror. I was kind of crying as it happened.” In his response, Noth claimed, “The accusations against me made by individuals I met years, even decades, ago are categorically false. These stories could’ve been from 30 years ago or 30 days ago — no always means no — that is a line I did not cross. The encounters were consensual.” “I don’t know for certain why they are surfacing now, but I do know this: I did not assault these women,” the embattled actor declared. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Steve Stecklow and Jeffrey Dastin LONDON (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc was marketing a collection of President Xi Jinping’s speeches and writings on its Chinese website about two years ago, when Beijing delivered an edict, according to two people familiar with the incident. The American e-commerce giant must stop allowing any customer ratings and reviews in China. A negative review of Xi’s book prompted the demand, one of the people said. “I think the issue was anything under five stars,” the highest rating in Amazon’s five-point system, said the other person. Ratings and reviews are a crucial part of Amazon’s e-commerce business, a major way of engaging shoppers. But Amazon complied, the two people said. Currently, on its Chinese site Amazon.cn, the government-published book has no customer reviews or any ratings. And the comments section is disabled. Amazon’s compliance with the Chinese government edict, which has not been reported before, is part of a deeper, decade-long effort by the company to win favor in Beijing to protect and grow its business in one of the world’s largest marketplaces. An internal 2018 Amazon briefing document that describes the company’s China business lays out a number of “Core Issues” the Seattle-based giant has faced in the country. Among them: “Ideological control and propaganda is the core of the toolkit for the communist party to achieve and maintain its success,” the document notes. “We are not making judgement on whether it is right or wrong.” That briefing document, and interviews with more than two dozen people who have been involved in Amazon’s China operation, reveal how the company has survived and thrived in China by helping to further the ruling Communist Party’s global economic and political agenda, while at times pushing back on some government demands. In a core element of this strategy, the internal document and interviews show, Amazon partnered with an arm of China’s propaganda apparatus to create a selling portal on the company’s U.S. site, Amazon.com – a project that came to be known as China Books. The venture – which eventually offered more than 90,000 publications for sale – hasn’t generated significant revenue. But the document shows that it was seen by Amazon as crucial to winning support in China as the company grew its Kindle electronic-book device, cloud-computing and e-commerce businesses. The 2018 briefing document spells out the strategic stakes of the China Books project for Jay Carney, the global head of Amazon’s lobbying and public-policy operations, ahead of a trip he took to Beijing. “Kindle has been operating in China in a policy grey area,” the document stated, and noted that Amazon was having difficulty obtaining a license to sell e-books in the country. “The key element to safeguard” against its license problem with the Chinese government “is the Chinabooks project,” the document stated. The document also noted: “Amazon.com/China books project has also gained wide recognition among Chinese regulators.” LIFE IN XINJIANG The books include many apolitical titles, such as Chinese language textbooks, cookbooks and children’s bedtime stories. But they also include titles that amplify the Communist Party’s official line. One book extols life in Xinjiang, where United Nations experts have said China interned one million ethnic Uyghurs in a network of camps. The book – “Incredible Xinjiang: Stories of Passion and Heritage” – discusses an online comedy show situated in the region. The book quotes an actor who plays a Uyghur “country bumpkin” saying that ethnicity is “not a problem” there. That echoes the position of Beijing, which has denied mistreating minority groups. Some books portray China’s battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in the Chinese city of Wuhan, in heroic terms. One is titled “Stories of Courage and Determination: Wuhan in Coronavirus Lockdown.” Another begins with commentary from Xi: “Our success to date has once again demonstrated the strengths of CPC (the Communist Party of China) leadership and Chinese socialism.” The state-owned firm that partners with Amazon on China books, China International Book Trading Corp, or CIBTC, told Reuters that the venture is a “commercial relationship between two enterprises.” China’s National Press and Publication Administration, or NPPA, the state propaganda arm with which Amazon has had a partnership, had no comment. In response to questions, Amazon said it “complies with all applicable laws and regulations, wherever we operate, and China is no exception.” It added that “as a bookseller, we believe that providing access to the written word and diverse perspectives is important. That includes books that some may find objectionable.” Amazon said it has “a wide selection of books” on China, and the China Books portal “is an additional channel for serving our Chinese readers in the United States and elsewhere.” CIBTC is “just one of the millions of selling partners around the world offering products in our stores.” The new details about Amazon’s China strategy demonstrate the challenges Western companies face in accessing the world’s most populous market – and in coping with an authoritarian regime that has been tightening control over public discourse. The company’s compromises with Beijing contrast with its efforts to get around regulators in the world’s two largest democracies. In India, Reuters this year has documented how Amazon circumvented local regulations and, to promote its own brands, rigged search results on its Indian website. In the United States, Reuters detailed how Amazon gutted or killed state privacy bills designed to protect consumers. Amazon said it has always complied with the law in India and doesn’t favor its private-label products in search results. Regarding the United States, the company said it prefers U.S. federal privacy legislation, and that it protects consumers’ privacy and doesn’t sell their data. Some companies have responded to Beijing’s demands by leaving the market. Yahoo recently exited China and Microsoft Corp’s LinkedIn announced it would pull out some of its services. Both cited the country’s difficult business environment and regulatory requirements. Amazon, by contrast, has grown into a powerful economic force in China in recent years, providing lucrative export opportunities to thousands of Chinese businesses while growing its own industry-leading cloud-services unit. Amazon Web Services, or AWS, is now one of the largest providers to Chinese companies globally, according to a report this year by analysis firm iResearch in China, and people who have worked for AWS. Still, by 2018, Amazon was receiving an “increasing number of requests from (Chinese) watchdogs to take down certain content, mostly politically sensitive ones,” stated the briefing document prepared that year for Carney. He previously served as communications director for U.S. President Joe Biden, when Biden was vice president, and as press secretary for President Barack Obama. Amazon declined to make Carney available for an interview. According to the briefing document, the Cyberspace Administration of China, or CAC, asked Amazon in 2018 to take down a “link to China’s new blockbuster film Amazing China because of especially harsh user reviews.” The CAC is responsible for online security and content regulation. “Amazing China” praises the country’s accomplishments since Xi became president in 2013. CAC wanted the link removed from IMDb, an Amazon-owned website of movie information and reviews. Amazon’s China office responded to CAC that “it is difficult for Amazon China to accommodate such requests, and we’ll relay the message to” Amazon headquarters “and seek their views about possibilities,” the briefing document stated. The film remains on IMDb’s U.S. website. Shortly after the request, some negative reviews disappeared, archived screenshots of IMDb.com on archive.org show. Others remain, and “Amazing China” currently has an overall rating of just 2.3 out of a top score of 10. Some reviews call it “pathetic,” “garbage” or “government propaganda.” “Some reviews submitted for the title ‘Amazing China’ were removed because they violated our user review content guidelines, with the majority being off topic,” Amazon told Reuters. “IMDb is not aware of any request from external parties (including the Chinese government) to do anything about reviews for this title.” CAC didn’t respond to a request for comment. ‘WINK AND A NOD’ Amazon entered China in 2004 through a $75 million deal to acquire Joyo.com, an online book-and-media seller. Eventually, Amazon wanted to introduce e-books and its popular Kindle reading devices to the Chinese market. To accomplish that, it worked with the General Administration of Press and Publication, or GAPP, a regulator that engages in state censorship in its role as overseer of publications in China. NPPA now handles most of GAPP’s responsibilities. NPPA, in turn, is overseen by the Communist Party’s Publicity Department, which was previously known as the Propaganda Department. According to a former Amazon executive involved in talks with China, the company secured some, but not all, of the government approvals it needed to sell Kindle devices and e-books. That situation gave the government leverage over the retailer, the former executive said. Amazon’s public-policy team came up with the China Books project as a novel way “to get what we wanted on Kindle and other things,” the person said. “It was a wink and a nod.” Amazon soon began working with GAPP to set up China Books, according to the briefing document. The company planned to tout the portal to Chinese authorities as Amazon’s only store named after a country, the document said. Amazon dedicated several employees to the effort, which involved CIBTC, the government book-trading company, which the document described as “the executing body from GAPP.” A photograph on CIBTC’s website shows Chinese officials toasting the launch of the project at a hotel in Beijing in September 2011. In October 2012, China Books was awarded the title, “a key national culture export” project, by a group of Chinese government bodies, including GAPP, as well as the entity now known as the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China. Two months later, Amazon launched its electronic-books business in China and soon began selling Kindles. By the end of 2017, China had become Kindle’s largest global market, “accounting for 40%+ of our world device sales volume,” according to the 2018 briefing document. By then, Amazon had added a Chinese e-book store to its American website and had translated 19 books. And Carney, the top public-policy executive who then reported to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, went to China in April 2018. There, he told an alternate member of the Communist Party central committee that Amazon would make “every effort” to promote China Books and make it “bigger and stronger,” according to a CIBTC press release. The briefing document prepared for Carney stated: “Both China Books and Kindle Chinese eBook Store are Amazon China’s main commitment to assist China in ‘Going Abroad,’ an umbrella project that aims to promote Chinese culture to the world.” Amazon’s China Books webpage prominently displays CIBTC’s name, but doesn’t disclose that it’s a project that Amazon created in a partnership with a Chinese government agency. “Details about the company are readily available online,” Amazon told Reuters, “and CIBTC has placed its name and logo prominently throughout its page. Our relationship with CIBTC is entirely appropriate.” Eventually, the China Books project flopped financially, according to a person who has been involved in it. Few of the portal’s titles have sold well, and Amazon even shipped back books because its warehouses lacked space for them. Nonetheless, the China Books project continues. The Chinese-language version of “Xi Jinping: The Governance of China Volume Three” – is listed first on China Books’ “BEST SELLER” page. It recently showed a sales rank of 1,347,071. Another “best seller,” about COVID-19, was ranked 10,654,483. The Xinjiang title, which Reuters purchased, had been ranked 13,441,455. But sales weren’t the goal, according to the person who has been involved in the project. “It’s a high-level photo-op,” part of a “soft-power campaign to basically put the books out there and just have it be visible.” In its statement to Reuters, CIBTC, the government book-trading company, said it doesn’t “rank books sold through Amazon.” It didn’t elaborate. A THREAT TO ‘RETALIATE’ Amazon continued its Chinese expansion in 2013, announcing the introduction in Beijing of Amazon Web Services, its cloud-computing business. At the time, no Chinese law regulated cloud services, the 2018 briefing document noted. In 2016, China began taking actions that made it more difficult for foreign cloud-computing firms, such as AWS, to operate in the country. The government began requiring cloud providers to hold a new license that only Chinese-owned companies could obtain, according to the briefing document. “Regulators have since become very hostile” toward AWS, the 2018 document stated. The result was that Amazon took an unusual step for the company: It handed off its cloud technology to local companies so it could keep operating in China. The Chinese companies – not Amazon – were responsible for “monitoring and taking down illegal content, collecting and reporting basic information of customers … and working with PRC (the People’s Republic of China) authorities on all compliance-related inquiries that may arise,” the 2018 document stated. In its statement to Reuters, Amazon said that AWS, as a foreign cloud provider, has to license or sell technology to local partners in China in order to have a presence there. That structure didn’t shield AWS from Chinese pressure, however. In February 2018, China’s Ministry of Public Security, or MPS, called AWS to a meeting, the briefing document stated. MPS threatened to “retaliate” against Amazon unless it removed content and blocked a website it hosted in the United States for Guo Wengui, a Chinese dissident. AWS refused, the document said. But the company asked Guo to take an action that exposed the dissident’s Internet Protocol, or IP address, and AWS “provided to MPS” this data, the document stated. An IP address is a unique code that identifies a computer accessing the internet. The ministry “recognized our effort to find a solution, though not … to their satisfactory level,” the document stated. The 2018 briefing document advised Carney to raise the government’s request on Guo when meeting a top Ministry of Commerce official in Beijing, and stress that China shouldn’t make requests that involve data stored abroad. Asked about the Guo incident, Amazon confirmed it received the Chinese government’s request, but said it “did not provide any non-public information or any other customer information.” The commerce ministry said Guo wasn’t discussed at the meeting with Carney. Amazon didn’t say whether Guo came up. An employee for MPS said the ministry doesn’t respond to requests for comment. An attorney for Guo said Guo had no comment. AWS’s China business continues to grow. Despite being blocked from selling cloud services to the government and some state-owned enterprises, AWS has landed key customers in China, say people familiar with the matter. Among them are two Chinese companies, Tiktok developer ByteDance and video-surveillance firm Hikvision, as well as multinationals Nike, Samsung and Philips, according to the 2018 briefing document and a 2019 blog on AWS’s website. Philips declined to comment; the other four companies didn’t respond to requests for comment. In June, AWS announced it was expanding further in the country, “to support the demands of our growing customer base in China.” (Reporting by Steve Stecklow in London and Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco. Additional reporting by the Reuters Shanghai newsroom. Editing by Peter Hirschberg.) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Dionne Warwick joined Twitter because she felt it “needed a grown up’s presence”. The 81-year-old singer has amassed over half a million followers on the social media platform and has developed a “wonderful” relationship with her younger fans as a result. She told Closer US: “I thought maybe a grown-up’s presence was needed on Twitter. It has become a wonderful relationship with the youngsters.” She has delighted fans with her exchanges on the platform, including one with Chance The Rapper last year when she questioned his moniker. She wrote: “If you are very obviously a rapper why did you put it in your stage name? I cannot stop thinking about this.” Chance admitted he was “freaking out” that she knew him, she replied: “Of course I know you. You’re THE rapper. Let’s rap together. I’ll message you.” She also made waves as she offered to “pay the postage” to get Jake Gyllenhaal to return Taylor Swift’s scarf after she sang about leaving the accessory at the house of a sister of a man she was dating on ‘All Too Well’. Some fans believe the mystery pair to be Jake – whom Taylor dated from October 2010 until January 2011 – and his sister Maggie, and Dionne later added: “I mean it. Man, what’s he doing with the scarf? Give it back to her. What’s the point?” Meanwhile, the ‘I’ll Never Fall in Love Again’ singer – who was twice married and divorced to William Elliott and shares actor David, 52, and singer Damon, 48,with the drummer – has also revealed her “proudest accomplishment” is becoming a mother. She told Closer US: “I have always encouraged and supported them with anything they wanted to do. Being a mother is my proudest accomplishment.” The singer – who turned 81 on December 12 – then went on to blast those in Hollywood who turn to plastic surgery and reminded them that they cannot “improve on perfection”. She said: ” I tell people who want to get face lifts and tucks – how can you improve on perfection? This is what God gave you. Trying to improve on it? It’s impossible.” View the full article

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Longtime Donald Trump adviser Roger Stone appeared before a congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol on Friday but said he refused to answer questions. Speaking to reporters after his closed-door appearance, Stone said he invoked his constitutional protection against self-incrimination. (Reporting by Tim Ahmann and Jan Wolfe; editing by Andy Sullivan) View the full article

Published by Reuters UK By Clara-Laeila Laudette (Reuters) – The risk of reinfection with the Omicron coronavirus variant is more than five times higher and it has shown no sign of being milder than Delta, a study by Imperial College London showed, as cases soar across Europe and threaten year-end festivities. The results were based on UK Health Security Agency and National Health Service data on people who tested positive for COVID-19 in a PCR test in England between Nov. 29 and Dec. 11. “We find no evidence (for both risk of hospitalisation attendance and symptom status) of Omicron having different severity from De… Read More View the full article

Published by Radar Online MEGA Jason Momoa hit the beach in Hawaii to show off his incredibly fit body that he worked on for months before filming Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom. The 42-year-old actor — who recently finished filming the sequel to his DC superhero flick in his home state— was spotted paddleboarding this week. In the shots, Jason flashed his insane six pack while rocking a pair of black board shorts. The buff star looked like a pro while he navigated around the ocean. MEGA Jason looked to be in good spirts — most likely because he wrapped the blockbuster which is set to be another box office hit. He announced the update in an Instagram video telling fans, “Aw man, that’s a wrap. That’s a wrap, Aquaman 2. I have so much to share with you, I wish… I could tell you so much. What an epic day. I love you. ‘So good to have been home to finish this, so many good surprises. Love you and… it’s been a long time. I’m taking a break. Aloha.” Later in the day, Jason walked away rocking beach chic with a trucker hat and a pair of brown ripped shorts. MEGA Jason looks a lot better in the photos compared to his appearance at the House of Gucci premiere after-party in November. The actor was spotted stumbling out of the party being held up by a male friend. In paparazzi snaps taken at 3 AM, the actor’s shoes were falling off as he tried to make his way to his SUV. His assistant — who happens to be his cousin. — was seen guiding him to the exit. Jason stuck out his tongue and posed for the camera as he walked out. MEGA Jason later laughed off the photos claiming he was just having a good time. He also laughed off the talk that his marriage to Lisa Bonet is in trouble despite them not being seen together in months. Lisa has avoided all of Jason’s big premieres in the past year. The two have not been photographed together since early 2020. MEGA View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Jussie Smollett‘s only Black juror, Andre Hope, opened up about his reasoning behind finding the actor guilty of faking a hate crime. Hope explained why he found Smollett’s stories didn’t add up, leading him to believe the star hired attackers to stage the assault. According to Hope, the circumstances presented to the panel leading up to the attack raised some questions. “Two o’clock in the morning,” he shared. “Cold outside. When you just use your common sense as what’s there, yeah, it just, it didn’t add up.” He continued, “I still have not figured out a motive for why he did, why this had to even happen. He was a star.” Mega In his testimony, the former Empire actor told the jury that he was attacked by two masked men sporting MAGA hats who shouted homophobic and racist slurs at him near his home in Chicago. Smollett also claimed they tied a noose around his neck and drowned him in bleach. After the alleged attack, he reportedly went home and put the rope back around his neck so the police who arrived at his apartment could witness it themselves. The Black juror did not understand Smollett’s action concerning the noose, explaining he wouldn’t have taken similar steps if he was in his situation. “As an African American person, I’m not putting that noose back on at all,” he said. As Radar previously reported, another juror spoke out for the first time following Smollett’s guilty verdict, sharing the 12-person panel found his alleged attacker Abimbola Osundairo to be more credible. “I listened to both sides. We wanted to make sure that those who had doubts didn’t feel pressured,” the unidentified woman stated. She also shared the jury was doing the actor a favor by convicting him on only five of the six counts of felony disorderly conduct. “It wasn’t an easy decision,” the juror revealed. “You’ve got the mother sitting there. You feel bad. We didn’t know what the penalty would be. Are we sending this guy to jail?” Mega Smollett was hit with criminal charges for filing a false report in connection to the racist and homophobic attack in 2019. He faces three years behind bars, but experts believe he will receive a light sentence due to his lack of criminal history. Smollett’s attorney, Nenye Uche,said he “disrespectfully disagreed” with the jury’s verdict. “He [Smollett] is 100% confident that this will be reversed on appeal,” Uche claimed. “At the end of the day, we will believe justice will prevail. We don’t believe it was done today, but we’re very confident that he will be cleared, and he will be found to be innocent.” View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega John F. Kennedy‘s assassination files have been released Wednesday by the National Archives after more than 50 years since his tragic death. The estimated 1,500classified documents included details of his assassin Lee Harvey Oswald‘s connection with KGB agents prior to killing the former President. Mega The notes show two months before Oswald shot and killed JFK, he had a meeting with Consul Valeriy Vladimirovich Kostikov, a KGB agent in Mexico City. “According to an intercepted phone call in Mexico City, Lee Oswald was at the Soviet Embassy there on 23 September 1963 and spoke with Consul Valeriy Vladimirovich,” the documents read. “Oswald called the Soviet Embassy on 1 October identifying himself by name and speaking broken Russian, stating the above and asking the guard who answered the phone whether there was ‘anything concerning the telegram to Washington.'” Mega Oswald’s Russian wife Marina is also mentioned in the files. Another detail emerged stating a Morrocan student had contacted the CIA after the shooting claiming Oswald had been her boyfriend. However, it is unknown if the information is relevant to their investigation. Reports also revealed how Oswald had tried to renounce his US citizenship to become Russian four years before the assassination. In the memo, released after months of delays by Biden’s administration due to COVID backlogs, anonymous calls were made a year before the shooting to the US embassy in Canberra, Australia, warning the officials about Soviet Government’s desire to have Kennedy killed. Another call was placed two days after the assassination to inform the government that Russia was involved in the murder plot. Some of the documents are still being held for further review until next December. The hold-up has sparked outrage from Kennedy’s family. JFK’s nephew, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., expressed his disappointment concerning the unreleased files earlier this year. “It’s an outrage,” he stressed. “It’s an outrage against American democracy. We’re not supposed to have secret governments within the government.” He continued, “How the hell is is 58 years later, and what in the world could justify not releasing these documents?” Former Rep. Patrick Kennedy also blasted President Biden‘s decision to keep the files redacted, saying, “I think for the good of the country, everything has to be out there, so there’s a greater understanding of our history.” On November 22, 1963, JFK was killed when he was sitting in the back seat of a convertible vehicle with First LadyJackie Kennedy while campaigning in Texas. At 12:30 PM, a bullet struck him in the neck, and he was immediately rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead half an hour after the incident. Oswald, a former marine, was arrested in a theater shortly after. He maintained his innocence during police interviews. In addition to the assassination, Oswald was also charged with shooting police officer J.D. Tippit. Although, he was shot two days later by a nightclub owner, Jack Ruby, while transported by the police. Ruby claimed the death of JFK was the motivation behind the killing. View the full article

Published by Reuters (Reuters) – The United States on Wednesday registered the highest number of hurricane-force gusts on record in a single day, the National Weather Service (NWS) said, days after one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history. More than 55 gusts of above 75mph (121kph) were recorded across a number of mostly Midwestern states, the NWS Storm Prediction Center said in a tweet, citing data up to 10:00 p.m. Central Time. The Center also registered 19 tornadoes. Previously, in data going back to 2004, the most hurricane-force gusts in a single day was 53 on August 10, 2020, it said. Wednesday’s severe weather caused multiple power outages and disruption at Kansas City International Airport, and triggered reports of wildfires. Seventy-four people died in Kentucky and 14 in nearby states after a tornado-riddled storm system swept through the region on Friday. (Reporting by Shivam Patel in Bengaluru; editing by John Stonestreet) View the full article

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Published by Reuters By Luc Cohen NEW YORK (Reuters) – Ghislaine Maxwell’s defense lawyers on Thursday called a psychologist who studies “false memories” to testify at the British socialite’s sex abuse trial, part of their effort to undermine the credibility of Maxwell’s accusers. Elizabeth Loftus, a psychology professor at the University of California, Irvine, has previously testified in or consulted for hundreds of trials, including those of Harvey Weinstein and O.J. Simpson. Maxwell, 59, is accused of recruiting and grooming teenagers for the late financier Jeffrey Epstein to abuse between 1994 and 2004. She has pleaded not guilty, and her attorneys have argued that the memories of the four accusers who testified as prosecution witnesses have become corrupted over the years. “I am here as a professor and a scientist who studies human memory to talk about the nature of memory, the workings of memory, how people can develop memories of things that didn’t happen or remember things differently from the way they actually were,” Loftus said. Loftus was the third witness called to the stand by Maxwell’s defense. The prosecution rested its case last Friday, following two weeks of emotional testimony from four women who said Maxwell set them up for abuse by Epstein when the women were teenagers. (Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Peter Cooney, Mark Porter and Noeleen Walder) View the full article

Writer, Intellectual bell hooks Dead At 69. Critic of Popular And Rarified Culture; Forged Many Core Concepts in Modern Race, Class, Gender Conversations 15bell hooks influenced influencers, inspired many considered inspirational; and educated educators, but she drew a line at disappearing into a lif as 522522 the academicians academic, making accessibility an indivisible part of her work and tools that came at race, class, gender in an overarching them of love and its uses in overturning white supremacist capitalist patriarchy, adding imperialist colonialist bell hooks walked the walk, did the work, didn’t pull punches, considered critiques, projected confidence and assertiveness on her own behalf, and that’s just the first 5 minute of being on stage. And she’s shared stage with the likes fo Laverne Cox, Cornell West, Gloria Steinem. [This post contains video, click to play] Published by Reuters By Sharon Bernstein (Reuters) -Black feminist author and intellectual bell hooks, whose pioneering work took on new urgency amid the racial justice protests that swept the United States in the wake of the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, died Wednesday at her home in Berea, Kentucky, her sisters said. Hooks was the pen name of Gloria Jean Watkins, who used the lower case moniker to honor her grandmother. “The family of Gloria Jean Watkins is deeply saddened at the passing of our beloved sister,” sisters Gwenda Motley and Valeria Watkins said in a statement posted on Twitter. Hooks died at home, surrounded by family and friends, they said. She was 69. The fourth of seven siblings, hooks was born in 1952 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. She published her first book of poems in 1978, and by the end of her life had written 40 books that have been translated into 15 languages, her sisters said. After studying and teaching at several universities, she returned to Kentucky, teaching at Berea College, which established the bell hooks center as an inclusive space for historically under-represented students. Her work on racism, feminism, gender and other issues drew particular attention during the 2020 protests. “The family is honored that Gloria received numerous awards, honors and international fame for her works as poet, author, feminist, professor, cultural critic and social activist,” her sisters wrote. “We are proud to call her sister, friend, confidant and influencer.” Tributes to hooks flooded social media. “Devoured her work, taught her work and she taught me so much,” Maya Harris, an activist, author and the sister of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris wrote on Twitter. “An immeasurable legacy and teachings that will live on forever.” Melina Abdullah, professor of Pan-African Studies at California State University, Los Angeles, and one of the original Black Lives Matter organizers, said hooks’ work had a profound impact on her. “She changed my life. Shaped me into who I am in so many ways,” Abdullah wrote. “Thank you, Sister, for your beautiful, powerful, life work and Spirit.” The Washington Post reported that the cause of death was end stage renal failure, citing her family. (Reporting by Sharon Bernstein, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien) .mcclatchy-embed{position:relative;padding:40px 0 56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;max-width:100%}.mcclatchy-embed iframe{position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%} bell hooks dead on Towleroad An Italian Church Had to Apologize After a Bishop Told Kids Santa Isn’t Real More WNBA Champ Candace Parker, Former Teammate Come Out on Wedding Anniversary; Rapinoe’s New Nike Clothes Line; Top 200 LGBTQ Pro Wrestlers More William Shatner: We’re ‘insignificant’! Space Shot ‘Made Him Realize The Futile Nature Of Humanity’s Existence’: WATCH ‘Rocketman’ More Jennifer Lopez Is ‘Livid’ With Ben Affleck After He Trashed His Ex-Wife Jen Garner During Disastrous Howard Stern Interview More Olly Alexander Gets Kylie Minogue Beauty Tips and Her Key London Style Insights Before Performing Together in London More U.S. study suggests COVID-19 vaccines may be ineffective against Omicron without booster More After months on the run, two zebras caught close to US capital More U.S. House holds former Trump aide Meadows in contempt More Keechant Sewell appointed New York’s first woman police chief More Derek Chauvin expected to change plea to guilty in George Floyd civil rights case More Carl Nassib Designs Custom LGBTQ Cleats For NFL Charity Program; First Time Multiple Players Honor LGBTQ Orgs More Load More View the full article

An Italian Church Had to Apologize After a Bishop Told Kids Santa Isn’t Real 3 Published by InsideHook By Kayla Kibbe As a former child raised in the Catholic faith, I can confirm that there are many things kids who grow up Catholic may one day come to resent about their religious upbringing. In addition to the sexual repression and constant reminders of mortality, an unfortunate group of youngsters who were subjected to the senseless Santa spoilers of an Italian bishop will have yet another thing to add to that list of grievances against Catholicism. A church in Noto in Sicily has issued an apology after Bishop Antonio Staglianò took it upon himself to inform a church full of innocent children… Read More View the full article

Candace ParkerWNBA Champion Candace Parker Comes Out Two-time WNBA champion Candace Parker, one of the most decorated basketball players in WNBA and NCAA history, came out on Tuesday in a heartfelt Instagram post celebrating the second anniversary of her marriage to former basketball pro Anya Petrakova. “Two years ago, I got to marry my best friend in front of our close family and friends. My heart could have exploded. I cried like a baby,” Parker said. “To know me or you is to know our love. This journey hasn’t been easy. I am proud of us and what we have built and who we have grown to become both individually and together.” Released over seven days last week, the comprehensive list includes performers at all levels — rookies to absolute legends of the ring; hailing from a dozen countries, and spanning the full range of LGBTQ identity and expression including multiple trans and gender diverse grapplers. Start with the top 20, but no reason to stop there. Access the full list, here. Candace Parker: Previously on Towleroad WNBA Champ Candace Parker, Former Teammate Come Out on 2nd Anniversary; Rapinoe’s New Nike Clothes Line; Top 200 LGBTQ Pro Wrestlers Brian Bell December 15, 2021 Read More Carl Nassib Designs Custom LGBTQ Cleats For NFL Charity Program; First Time Multiple Players Honor LGBTQ Orgs Brian Bell December 14, 2021 Read More Chicago Blackhawks Covered Up Player’s Report of Sexual Assault By Former Coach in 2010; NHL Fines $2 Million, Execs And Coach Resign Brian Bell October 29, 2021 Read More Texas House Votes to Ban Transgender Girls From Sports. No Sign of An Issue. Just More Red Meat For the Gaslit Base Towleroad October 15, 2021 Read More Biopic on Fallon Fox, trans MMA trailblazer, in development Brian Bell April 23, 2021 Read More Updated: North Dakota Governor vetoes anti-trans sports bill, veto sustained Brian Bell April 22, 2021 Read More Photo courtesy of Lorie Shaull/Creative Commons View the full article

Star Trek’s William Shatner went to space and all he got was fatalistic nihilism. [This post contains video, click to play] Published by BANG Showbiz English William Shatner had an epiphany about how “insignificant” human beings really are when he travelled into space. The 90-year-old actor – who is best known for his role as Captain James T. Kirk in the ‘Star Trek’ TV series and movies – became the oldest person to go up into space when he blasted off on Jeff Bezos’ New Shepard NS-18 rocket alongside Audrey Powers, Blue Origin’s Vice President of Mission and Flight Operation, and crew members Chris Boshuizen and Glen de Vries back in October. The crew made it up to an altitude of around 66 miles on the suborbital flight and felt weightlessness due to a lack of gravity before heading back down to Earth after approximately 10 minutes thanks to three parachutes which aided the capsule’s descent back to land. Shatner admits seeing the entire planet from space made had a profound effect on him and made him realise the futile nature of humanity ‘s existence. Appearing on UK TV show ‘Loose Women’, he said: “I saw the vague white blue of Earth, the nurturing Earth, the life of Earth, then I saw the circumference of Earth. “You get to see the beginning and the end of the Earth and how small and insignificant it is and we live on an insignificant pile of rock. “We are insignificant.” The Hollywood icon likened the experience of being a passenger on the rocket as being like travelling on a space submarine. He shared: “I looked behind me to see where we had been and I saw a lake from behind as though we were a submarine in the air “That’s unusual. Then I turned to look where we were going and I saw the blackness of space. It’s cold there are you can die there.” Although Shatner had no hesitation in accepting Amazon founder Bezos’ invitation to join him on the voyage, he admits he did fear that something could go wrong with the rocket. He said: “It’s a complicated voyage up there. I come from an age where I remember the footage of the Hindenburg disaster – the space vehicle breaking and people dying.” Jokingly alluding to his advanced age, he added: “I knew there is human error, they were filling up the rocket with hydrogen, the same thing the Hindenburg had, so there was risk, but I also was at risk of going up 11 flights of stairs!” The Hindenburg disaster was an airship accident that occurred in New Jersey on May 6, 1937. The German airship caught fire whilst it tried to dock which resulted in multiple fatalities. William Shatner Space Shot on Towleroad Jennifer Lopez Is ‘Livid’ With Ben Affleck After He Trashed His Ex-Wife Jen Garner During Disastrous Howard Stern Interview More Olly Alexander Gets Kylie Minogue Beauty Tips and Her Key London Style Insights Before Performing Together in London More U.S. study suggests COVID-19 vaccines may be ineffective against Omicron without booster More After months on the run, two zebras caught close to US capital More U.S. House holds former Trump aide Meadows in contempt More Keechant Sewell appointed New York’s first woman police chief More Derek Chauvin expected to change plea to guilty in George Floyd civil rights case More Carl Nassib Designs Custom LGBTQ Cleats For NFL Charity Program; First Time Multiple Players Honor LGBTQ Orgs More Washington, D.C., sues Proud Boys, Oath Keepers over deadly attack on Capitol More Non-religious surge in US as Christianity declines More Indian Artist/Model Takes Miss Trans Global Pageant; Delaware LGBTQ Bar Fire Relief; Palm Springs Gets First Trans Mayor State: GOOD VIBES More Load More View the full article

Published by Radar Online MEGA Jennifer Lopez is fuming after Ben Affleck decided to unload on his Jen Garner during his cringe interview with Howard Stern this week — where he revealed he’d still be drinking if he was married to his ex-wife. Sources close to Lopez tell Radar, “Jennifer (Lopez) is Livid.” The singer/actress believes Affleck broke an agreement they had with each other. “They both agreed that they wouldn’t talk about their private lives in any depth after what happened last time they were together,” the insider spills. We’re told Lopez had carefully planned blending her family with Affleck’s family — including Garner and the three kids he shares with his ex. MEGA “It was all carefully planned that they would do pix together but that’s all,” we’re told. “At events the press is told ‘no questions about JLO and Ben. Only questions about the film’ Now he shot off his big mouth and dragged her into it.” Our sources add, “Jen (Lopez) has been working really hard to build a relationship with Ben’s children. They are going read the quotes from their dad trashing their mon. Jen has also worked really hard to have a relationship with Jennifer (Garner). Ben just blew that up too.” The Howard Stern interview really sentLopez into a tizzy. “She doesn’t tolerate this sloppy shit. She is buttoned up. She has her shit together,” the insider adds. MEGA During his disastrous interview, Affleck told Stern he would “probably still be drinking” if he was married to Garner. The actor — who has struggled with alcohol addiction for years and completed multiple rehab stints — said, “It’s part of why I started drinking … because I was trapped.” “I was like ‘I can’t leave ’cause of my kids, but I’m not happy, what do I do?’ What I did was drink a bottle of scotch and fall asleep on the couch, which turned out not to be the solution.” Affleck and Garner got married in 2005 and separated in 2015. Their divorce was finalized in 2017. MEGA View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Kylie Minogue has urged fans to “exfoliate” as she reveals her key beauty tips. The 53-year-old singer has given some beauty and grooming advice, and even offered some words of wisdom when it comes to taking off false eyelashes. Asking for her tips as she spoke to Olly Alexander before their ‘Secret Socials with Hilton’ show, she said: “Exfoliate! “Take your makeup off. No not pull those false eyelashes off – slowly, surely!” The ‘I Should Be So Lucky’ hitmaker also reflected on moving to London when she was 21, and the impact it had on her style. The Australian star added: “That is when I got into club culture, and meeting designers – I’d be up and down Kings Road, because you didn’t have stylists, you went and did everything yourself!” Olly – who was born in Harrogate, North Yorkshire – recalled his own experiences moving down to London from Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire. He explained: “I moved when I was 18, from my mum’s in the Forest of Dean. “I started going out in my early 20s in East London to all the gay clubs that are now closed, but that was my real coming of age.” Earlier this year, Kylie urged people to “follow their path” as she won the Gamechanging Icon Award at GLAMOUR’s Women of the Year Awards. Speaking via a video message, she said: “I think the constant I’ve always had and that I’ve always fought for is to not be boxed in, and to be able to really shapeshift and morph and grow and develop, and for that reason to be part of your Gamechangers Awards is very much meaningful to me. “If that can be encouraging to anyone to follow their path and to enjoy that voyage of self-discovery, that’s just amazing.” To help reconnect with the people and places we love, Kylie Minogue and Olly Alexander surprised 50 lucky fans at a secret Hilton concert in London. Hilton is hosting a series of exclusive events across several of its iconic properties as part of ‘Secret Socials with Hilton’, throughout 2022 and beyond. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Michael Erman NEW YORK (Reuters) – All three U.S.-authorized COVID-19 vaccines appear to be significantly less protective against the newly-detected Omicron variant of the coronavirus in laboratory testing, but a booster dose likely restores most of the protection, according to a study released on Tuesday. The study from researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Harvard and MIT that has not yet been peer reviewed tested blood from people who received the Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines against a pseudovirus engineered to resemble the Omicron variant. The researchers found “low to absent” antibody neutralization of the variant from the regular regimens of all three vaccines – two shots of the Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines or one of J&J’s single-dose vaccine. But the blood from recent recipients of an additional booster dose exhibited potent neutralization of the variant, the study found. The scientists also suggested that Omicron is more infectious than previous variants of concern, including about twice as transmissible as the currently dominant Delta variant, which may soon be overtaken by Omicron. The results are in line with other studies recently published. Researchers at the University of Oxford said on Monday that they found the two-dose Pfizer and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine regimens do not induce enough neutralizing antibodies against the new variant. BioNTech and Pfizer said last week that a three-shot course of their COVID-19 vaccine was able to neutralize the new Omicron variant in a laboratory test, but two doses resulted in significantly lower neutralizing antibodies. Moderna and J&J have yet to release any of their own data about how the vaccines perform against the new variant. J&J declined to comment on the new study and Moderna did not respond to request for comment. (Reporting by Michael Erman, additional reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Caroline Humer and Bill Berkrot) View the full article

Published by AFP Zebras in a Kuwait City zoo enclosure on May 7, 2021 Washington (AFP) – Two zebras that had been on the run for months in the countryside outside Washington, DC, have finally been caught, an official said Tuesday. The pair had escaped from an exotic animal farm in Maryland at the end of August and eluded numerous attempts to capture them, their escapade enthralling local residents and media. But after repeatedly thwarting the authorities, the quadrupeds have been snagged, said Richard Bell of the US Department of Agriculture, without providing any further details. Prince George’s County, where the pair had been running free, announced several weeks ago that it planned to use “food and other zebras” to try to lure the striped fugitives back to the exotic animal farm. The affair had been documented on social media by bemused residents, but the saga took a sad turn when a third zebra that had escaped with the others died after being caught in an illegal snare. Their owner, Jerry Holly, owns a large farm with a herd of around 30 zebras. He is facing charges of cruelty to animals after yet another zebra was found dead on his property in October, local media said. The possession of exotic animals, a phenomenon highlighted in the hit Netflix series “Tiger King,” is allowed in some US states. View the full article

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives approved a resolution on Tuesday holding Mark Meadows, who served as White House chief of staff for former President Donald Trump, in contempt of Congress and recommended he face federal charges. The vote was 222 to 208, with just two Republicans joining Democrats in backing the measure. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) View the full article

Published by AFP New York's mayor-elect Eric Adams, pictured here on October 22, will appoint Keechant Sewell as the city's first-ever woman police chief New York (AFP) – New York will appoint Keechant Sewell as its first-ever woman police chief to head the largest force in the country, mayor-elect Eric Adams said Tuesday, at a time when the city’s trust in law enforcement has been shattered. Sewell will also be only the third Black person in the post, and will have to restore faith in a police department that has faced accusations of harboring violent, racist and corrupt officers in its ranks. Adams, a Democrat and former police officer, will become New York’s second Black mayor when he takes office on January 1. With Sewell’s appointment, he fills a key post two weeks before his formal start, with security having been one of the main issues during his campaign. “Keechant Sewell is a proven crime fighter with the experience and emotional intelligence to deliver both the safety New Yorkers need and the justice they deserve,” Adams told The New York Post. “Chief Sewell will wake up every day laser-focused on keeping New Yorkers safe and improving our city, and I am thrilled to have her at the helm of the NYPD.” “Violent crime is the number one priority,” Sewell told the Post. “I want to actually take a look at what’s working in the city and what’s not working,” she added. Commanding approximately 36,000 police officers in the largest city in the United States, 49-year-old Sewell will shoulder the tough task of maintaining security in New York at a time when a surge in crime has accompanied the coronavirus pandemic. “We welcome Chief Sewell to the second-toughest policing job in America. The toughest, of course, is being an NYPD cop on the street,” said Patrick Lynch, head of the main police union in the city, the Police Benevolent Association. Sewell is currently chief investigator in Nassau County, east of New York City. The New York Times reported that she has served in the department for 23 years, working in the narcotics and major cases unit, and as a hostage negotiator. View the full article

Published by Reuters (Reuters) – White former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is expected to plead guilty on Wednesday in a federal court in Minnesota to charges that he violated George Floyd’s civil rights during the Black man’s murder, reversing his not-guilty plea in September. The U.S. District Court in Saint Paul announced the change-of-plea hearing on Monday, an indication Chauvin, 45, would change his plea to guilty. Chauvin’s lawyer Eric Nelson did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. The charges carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment or death, depending on the circumstances of the crime and the resulting injury. Prosecutors have not indicated any intent to seek the death penalty. Chauvin has already been sentenced to 22-1/2 years in prison in state court for the 2020 murder of Floyd, on whose neck the then-policeman knelt for nearly nine minutes while a bystander captured it on her cellphone. His April conviction in state court, on charges of unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter, was seen by many as a landmark rebuke of the disproportionate use of police force against Black Americans. The video showed Chauvin kneeling on the neck of the handcuffed Floyd for more than nine minutes during the arrest caused global outrage — and triggered one of the biggest protest movements in the United States in decades. Chauvin and three other officers — Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao — were arresting Floyd on suspicion of using a fake $20 bill. Lane, Kueng, and Thao face charges in a state trial due to begin in March that they aided and abetted the killing of Floyd. In addition to the state charges, all four officers were federally indicted in May on charges of depriving Floyd of his civil rights by failing to provide him with medical attention. Chauvin also was federally charged with violating Floyd’s right to be free from unreasonable seizure and unreasonable force by a police officer. Thao and Kueng were federally charged with violating Floyd’s right to be free from unreasonable seizure by not intervening to stop Chauvin from kneeling on Floyd’s neck. Chauvin has also pleaded not guilty to federal charges of violating the civil rights of a 14-year-old boy he arrested in 2017. (Reporting by Julia Harte; editing by Jonathan Oatis) View the full article

Carl Nassib’s LGBTQ CleatsRainbow Cleats For a Rainbow Clause Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib, the first out gay active player in NFL history, hasn’t been shy about his identity since coming out prior to the 2021 NFL season. He aided fundraising efforts for The Trevor Project after giving $100,000 to the organization when he came out. Nassib and boyfriend Erik Gudzinas have been a hit on Instagram, with the two showing their love publicly. Nassib’s advocacy streak continued recently when the NFL’s My Cause My Cleats campaign rolled around this season. The program gives NFL players the ability to design custom cleats supporting a charitable cause or organization of their choosing. The cleats were worn during week 13 of the NFL season earlier this month and are currently being auctioned off for charity. According to Outsports, Stanton chose Athlete Ally out of a desire to help LGBTQ people feel more welcomed to participate in sports. “The fact that some people don’t feel comfortable enough in their own identity to participate in sports breaks my heart,” Stanton said. “No one should feel unwelcome on the field or court. If just one person being an ally can help them feel more comfortable, then I’m happy to be that person.” Stanton’s uncle, Patrick Stanton, was an Olympic-level swimmer who remained in the closet during his athletic career. “He never felt comfortable enough to come out while he was swimming,” Stanton told Outsports. “I don’t want the athletes coming out today to feel like they can’t be themselves.” Visible messages like those of Nassib and Stanton represent the changes in how LGBTQ communities interact with major male sports leagues, and specifically the NFL, in recent years. And the rest of the NFL is listening. The Washington Football Team became the first NFL team to host a Pride Night in September and the San Francisco 49ers became the first team to establish an official LGBTQ fan group in 2019. Carl Nassib: Previously on Towleroad Carl Nassib Designs Custom LGBTQ Cleats For NFL Charity Program; First Time Multiple Players Honor LGBTQ Orgs Brian Bell December 14, 2021 Read More Chicago Blackhawks Covered Up Player’s Report of Sexual Assault By Former Coach in 2010; NHL Fines $2 Million, Execs And Coach Resign Brian Bell October 29, 2021 Read More Texas House Votes to Ban Transgender Girls From Sports. No Sign of An Issue. Just More Red Meat For the Gaslit Base Towleroad October 15, 2021 Read More Biopic on Fallon Fox, trans MMA trailblazer, in development Brian Bell April 23, 2021 Read More Updated: North Dakota Governor vetoes anti-trans sports bill, veto sustained Brian Bell April 22, 2021 Read More Out gay pro wrestler Anthony Bowens: ‘Thank You, [All Elite Wrestling], for letting me be me’ Brian Bell April 21, 2021 Read More View the full article