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Published by Reuters By Jonathan Allen BRUNSWICK, Ga. (Reuters) -One of the three white men on trial for the killing of Ahmaud Arbery told police that as they chased the Black man around their southern Georgia neighborhood Arbery realized “he was not going to get away,” a jury heard on Wednesday. “He was trapped like a rat,” Gregory McMichael, 65, told a Glynn County detective a few hours after the deadly pursuit of Arbery, according to an interview transcript read aloud in the county Superior Court. McMichael, his son Travis McMichael, 35, and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan, 52, have pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges. They say they thought Arbery might have been fleeing a crime when he ran through Satilla Shores, a suburb of the small coastal city of Brunswick, on Feb. 23, 2020. Prosecutors say Arbery was an avid runner out for a Sunday afternoon jog. They pursued Arbery in pickup trucks before the younger McMichael pointed a shotgun and fired as Arbery ran toward him and reached at the weapon. Their lawyers say this was justified self defense. “I think he was wanting to flee and he realized that, you know, he was not going to get away,” the elder McMichael said in the interview with Roderic Nohilly, the county detective. Nohilly told the jury he had known McMichael for years: the defendant had previously worked at the local prosecutor’s office and would drop off paperwork at the police station. McMichael said he “had never laid eyes” on Arbery before he ran past his driveway, according to the interview transcript. Nohilly asked McMichael the reason for the chase: “Did this guy break into a house today?” “Well that’s just it, I don’t know,” McMichael replied. Prosecutors from the Cobb County district attorney’s office are seeking to undermine the defense that the three men were trying to make a citizen’s arrest under a state law that was subsequently repealed. They have drawn jurors’ attention to the sometimes sympathetic treatment the McMichaels and Bryan received from the officers and detectives on the scene, most of whom are also white. On the day of the shooting, Matthew Albenze, a Satilla Shores resident, was in his yard when he noticed Arbery standing outside a nearby house that was under construction. Albenze told the jury he grabbed his cellphone, put his handgun in his pocket and called the non-emergency number for the county police after seeing Arbery go inside the construction site. “I did not see an emergency,” Albenze said when asked by prosecutor Linda Dunikoski why he did not dial 911. He told the police operator he could see a suspicious Black man in a white T-shirt. “I just need to know what he was doing wrong,” the operator asked, according to a recording played in court. “He’s been caught on camera a bunch before, it’s kind of an ongoing thing out here,” Albenze told the operator, saying Arbery was now running off the property. The operator said police would head over, and Albenze went back home. A few minutes later, Albenze heard gunfire: three shots. (Reporting by Jonathan AllenEditing by Alistair Bell) View the full article

Published by AFP People attend the first mass vaccination event to get inoculated with Johnson & Johnson at the Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan in March 2021 San Juan (AFP) – Puerto Rico has an underfunded health care system, high levels of poverty and its infrastructure remains devastated by a major hurricane that swept through the island in 2017. So how is the US territory leading the rest of the country in Covid vaccinations? Experts credit the surprising success to two major factors: a sense of solidarity forged from past brushes with disasters, and a public health response untainted by political polarization seen on the mainland. No fewer than 74 percent of the island’s 3.2 million people are now fully vaccinated — well above the US total of 58 percent — but also ahead of wealthy and liberal northeastern states such as Massachusetts and Vermont. “Everyone should get vaccinated,” Jose de Jesus, a retired government employee, told AFP. “You have to take care of yourself, you have to live life until you can,” added the 74-year-old, who happily got a Moderna booster shot last week. As a result of the high uptake, Puerto Rico is crushing its coronavirus curve, with daily cases currently running at three per 100,000 people compared to 22 for the country as a whole, and deaths at 0.1 per 100,000. The situation is the complete opposite of what was expected at the start of the pandemic, when the odds seemed stacked against the Caribbean archipelago. Puerto Rico’s poverty rate is 43 percent, more than double that of Mississippi, the poorest US state. Its government is facing an ongoing financial crisis: since 2005 it has lived under strict austerity imposed by successive governments to try to reduce its high debt. A hammer blow came in September 2017, when Hurricane Maria ravaged the island, leaving nearly 3,000 dead. Many of the victims perished from a lack of resources and poor post-disaster response. The storm struck the island less than a month after Hurricane Irma passed by, causing vast power outages. After that, protests in 2019 led to the resignation of a governor, Ricardo Rossello, and an earthquake destroyed nearly 8,000 homes in January 2020. Lessons learned “I couldn’t sleep, I kept thinking the pandemic would be handled as badly as the responses to Hurricane Irma and Maria,” Monica Feliu Mojer, spokesperson for the nonprofit Ciencia Puerto Rico organization that advocates for science in Puerto Rico, told AFP. Instead, though, the memory of these disasters has made “people do their part,” creating a critical wave of unity to respond to the challenge. The Puerto Rican government began vaccinating in December 2020, like the rest of the United States. And in just a few weeks, professional groups, hospitals, universities, private corporations and non-profit organizations joined the effort, collaborations key to the later Covid vaccination campaign. Paradoxically, the trauma of Hurricane Maria prepared Puerto Ricans to face the coronavirus. The work of the NGO VOCES, which has administered more than 378,000 doses since January, is an example of this. According to its founder, Lilliam Rodriguez, the organization began in 2013 to promote vaccinations against various diseases. After the hurricane destroyed vaccine dose stockpiles, the NGO’s mission changed. Instead of just advocating for immunization, it began receiving funding and vaccines, and its workers “went to the fields, to the neighborhoods, to administer them,” Rodriguez recalls. “That prepared us to develop skills of first responders in the area of public health and vaccination. What we’re doing now is not very different to what we did after Maria,” she adds. Sticking to the science Feliu Mojer points to another key to the success of the vaccination push. Unlike what happened in the rest of the United States, Puerto Rico “has not politicized” the response to the pandemic. “In the United States there is a relationship between people, their political party and their willingness to get vaccinated,” says the expert, something that does not exist in Puerto Rico. On the island, “the main parties are not organized around conservative or progressive ideologies, but status preferences” over the future of the island’s political relationship with the United States, she explains. That unity allowed the government to take tougher preventative measures over the summer, at the height of the global wave driven by the Delta variant. The government reimposed restrictions like masking and ordered vaccination or weekly negative PCR test for public employees, as well as for workers and customers of certain businesses like restaurants and gyms. Public response was largely favorable. The success “has been a combination of science and solidarity,” sums up Feliu Mojer. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Henry Cavill feels honoured to be spoken about as a potential James Bond. The 38-year-old actor has revealed he’d love to speak to the producers of the iconic film franchise about replacing Daniel Craig as 007. Asked about the prospect of playing Bond, Henry – who is best known for playing Superman – shared: “Look … I hate it when people start a sentence with, ‘Look …’ – it sounds like they’re lying about something. I think it would be very exciting to have a conversation with the producers. … In an ideal world, I’d never have to turn anything down. “Nothing is off the table. It’s an honour to even be part of that conversation.” Henry enjoys starring in action movies, and doesn’t have a particular desire to turn his focus towards other genres. The actor also enjoys the challenge of being in tip-top physical condition for so many of his on-screen roles. He told The Hollywood Reporter: “I’m very happy to keep doing movies that use action as a form of storytelling, and I have no particular desire to say, ‘I just want to do drama now.’ I enjoy being in the best shape of my life, year after year, despite the injuries. I want to be pushed so I can get better. I don’t want to sit down.” Henry has a packed work schedule for the next few months and he actually loves that he’s so busy. He said: “After 21 years of hard work, I have three jobs lined up. Maybe it’s me, maybe it’s my approach, maybe my value as a commodity increases being attached to things like ‘The Witcher’. Now I can really focus on the storytelling and grow from here.” View the full article

Published by AFP While Los Angeles (AFP) – Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of Broadway sensation “Hamilton,” said Wednesday he had returned to his first love of cinema with his directorial debut “tick tick… Boom!” — but is itching to write musical theater again. The movie, which had its world premiere at AFI Fest in Los Angeles, pays tribute to Jonathan Larson, the writer of “Rent” who was Broadway’s wunderkind a generation before Miranda. “Film was my first love. I fell in love with movies, my grandfather owned a VHS video store when I was a kid — Miranda Video,” Miranda told AFP. “I spent my summers watching everything — very little of it appropriate to a child of seven or eight years of age, but I watched it all! “And so I feel like I’ve come all the way back around to my first love.” Miranda’s “tick tick… Boom!” is an adaptation of Larson’s stripped-down musical of the same name, which recounted his struggles to create art and his fear of growing old without success. Larson died aged just 35, never getting to see and enjoy the huge popularity, plethora of Tony Awards and Pulitzer Prize for drama that “Rent” would garner. “It’s the only movie I ever actually daydreamed about [making] as a movie before I even got the opportunity to direct,” said Miranda, who saw Larson’s musical while still at university. “It was the month after the terrorist attacks of September 11, when everyone was questioning, like, ‘what am I even doing with my life?’ “And the entire musical is about ‘what are you even doing with your life?’ “It felt like a personal attack and a call to action.” The film cuts between Larson — played by Andrew Garfield — performing the original rock monologue of “tick tick… Boom!” on stage in New York, and flashbacks to the life events that inspired it. “I brought the music I loved — hip hop music and Latin music — into my work the same way Jonathan took rock music into his,” said Miranda. “Sort of just advancing his thesis, I feel like a student of his.” “It’s worked out pretty well!” ‘Itching to write’ While “tick tick… Boom!” is Miranda’s first feature film as director, he has been in growing demand in Hollywood since the colossal success of “Hamilton.” Disney bought the streaming rights to a taped stage production of “Hamilton” — which tells the story of the United States’ founding fathers via hip-hop — for $75 million. Miranda also produced a film version of his first musical, “In The Heights,” and wrote the songs for Disney’s forthcoming Colombia-set magical realist fantasy “Encanto.” Former “The Amazing Spider-Man” star Garfield told AFP that Miranda had “set up an atmosphere of community that you only really get in theater, that you don’t often find in film.” Co-star and “Hamilton” alumnus Joshua Henry joked that while navigating his way as director, Miranda sometimes “would say cut when he meant action and vice versa.” “But seeing him come into his own was a really inspiring thing.” While delays due to the pandemic closing theaters for months have caused the releases of Miranda’s various big-screen efforts to coincide, he told AFP he is back “seeing as much theater as I can” on Broadway. “And I’m itching to write again too, once I’m on the other side of all of these movies that are all coming out the same week because of the pandemic. “I’m excited to clear my desk.” AFI Fest runs until Sunday. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Tyler Clifford and Kanishka Singh (Reuters) -A federal judge on Wednesday approved a settlement worth $626 million for victims of the lead water crisis in Flint, Michigan, in a case brought by tens of thousands of residents affected by the contaminated water. “The settlement reached here is a remarkable achievement for many reasons, not the least of which is that it sets forth a comprehensive compensation program and timeline that is consistent for every qualifying participant,” U.S. District Judge Judith Levy said in a 178-page order. Earlier this year, the judge gave preliminary approval https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-michigan-flint-water-idUSKBN29Q2WZ to a partial settlement of lawsuits filed by victims of the water crisis against the state. Flint’s troubles began in 2014 after the city switched its water supply to the Flint River from Lake Huron to cut costs. Corrosive river water caused lead to leach from pipes, contaminating the drinking water and causing an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease. The Flint water crisis was one of the country’s worst public health crises in recent memory. The case became emblematic of racial inequality in the United States as it afflicted a city of about 100,000 people, more than half of whom are African-Americans. The contamination prompted several lawsuits from parents who said their children were showing dangerously high blood levels of lead, which can cause development disorders. Lead can be toxic and children are especially vulnerable. Former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder was charged in January https://www.reuters.com/article/us-michigan-flint-water-idUSKBN29J1CG with two counts of willful neglect of duty over the lead-poisoning of drinking water in Flint. Payouts from the settlement approved on Wednesday will be made based on a formula that directs more money to younger claimants and to those who can prove greater injury. Michigan’s attorney general has previously said that the settlement would rank as the largest in the state’s history. “Although this is a significant victory for Flint, we have a ways to go in stopping Americans from being systematically poisoned in their own homes, schools, and places of work”, Corey Stern, a counsel for the plaintiffs, said in a statement after the judge’s order on Wednesday. (Reporting by Tyler Clifford and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Tim Ahmann and Karishma Singh) View the full article

Published by Reuters (Reuters) – Kyle Rittenhouse, the 18-year-old charged with murdering two men and wounding another during racial justice protests in the Wisconsin city of Kenosha last year, took the witness stand at his trial on Wednesday in risky and dramatic testimony. Rittenhouse, charged in the killing of Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and the wounding of Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, has pleaded not guilty and has said he acted in self-defense. Here are some key moments from the trial: Nov. 10 – Rittenhouse testifies that Rosenbaum twice threatened to kill him and ambushed him before their final encounter. Rittenhouse broke down sobbing as he recalled the events immediately before he shot Rosenbaum, prompting the judge to call for a recess. After returning to the stand, Rittenhouse testified that Rosenbaum charged at him, telling the jury, “I remember his hand on the barrel of my gun.” Rittenhouse told the prosecution during cross examination: “I did what I had to do to stop the person who was attacking me.” He admitted using deadly force but said he did not intend to kill anyone. Nov. 9 – Nicholas Smith, who was protecting a used car dealership, said he spoke to Rittenhouse after he shot three people, describing him as nervous, sweating and pale. “He repeats: ‘I just shot someone,’ over and over,” said Smith. Nov. 8 – Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, the only protester shot by Rittenhouse to survive, testified that he had pointed his Glock pistol in Rittenhouse’s direction and only advanced on the teenager as a last resort because he thought he “was going to die.” Under cross-examination by the defense, Grosskreutz said Rittenhouse did not fire when his hands were up and only did so when he moved toward Rittenhouse with his pistol pointed at him. “It wasn’t until you pointed your gun at him, advanced on him, with your gun, now your hands down pointed at him, that he fired, right?” asked Corey Chirafisi, Rittenhouse’s lawyer. “Correct,” Grosskreutz responded. The prosecution rests. Nov. 5 – Jason Lackowski, a former Marine, was with Rittenhouse on the night of the shootings. Prior to the shootings, Lackowski said Rosenbaum had taunted him and other armed men. Lackowski answered “no” when asked whether he considered the unarmed Rosenbaum a threat. Nov. 4 – Richie McGinniss – chief video director of the Daily Caller, a conservative website – said Rosenbaum yelled as he advanced toward Rittenhouse in the parking lot of a used-car dealership and then lunged for the youth’s semi-automatic rifle. Ryan Balch, a military veteran who was among the armed men with Rittenhouse at the used car dealership, testified that Rosenbaum was acting in a “violent” manner that night, throwing rocks and trying to set fires. Nov. 3 – Video was the star witness at the second day of the trial. Jurors saw a series of graphic videos showing the chaotic moments after Rittenhouse shot three protesters, including one man who lay motionless and bleeding and another screaming as blood gushed from his arm. The jury was also shown video of Rittenhouse fleeing the scene of the Rosenbaum shooting and being chased by a growing crowd of protesters, some of them yelling things like “Get him” before he has a series of violent encounters. Nov. 2 – Jurors hear opening arguments. Prosecutors portrayed Rittenhouse a vigilante killer, repeating seven times that the teenager was the only person to have shot anyone that night. The defense said Rittenhouse opened fire in self-defense and in response to attacks by a mob. (Reporting by Nathan Layne; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jake Spring and Valerie Volcovici GLASGOW (Reuters) – A surprise deal between China and the United States, the world’s two biggest greenhouse gas emitters, has boosted the COP26 U.N. climate summit as it enters two final days of tough bargaining to try to stop global warming becoming catastrophic. Britain’s conference president, Alok Sharma, told delegations that the latest draft conclusions that he had seen showed “significant” progress, but that “we are not there yet”. In particular, he called for more effort on “climate finance” – the perennially vexed question of how much the rich countries whose development caused most global warming should pay the poorer ones who will bear most of its consequences. Developing nations want tougher rules from 2025 onwards, after rich countries failed to meet a 2009 pledge to provide $100 billion a year in climate finance by 2020 to help them curb emissions and cope with the effects of rising temperatures. Campaigners say that sum is anyway woefully inadequate. A first draft published on Wednesday merely “urges” developed countries to “urgently scale up” aid to help poorer ones adapt to climate change, and calls for more funding through grants rather than loans, which add to debt burdens. China, the world’s biggest producer of greenhouse gases, has gradually accepted more responsibility for its emissions from an economy that has grown beyond measure in the last two decades. U.S. climate envoy John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua unveiled a joint declaration late on Wednesday in which China, the biggest producer and user of coal, promised to accelerate its transition from the dirtiest fossil fuel. MESSAGE The deal between two global powers, which have been divided by many diplomatic disputes on other issues, sent a powerful message to COP26, including the producers of the fossil fuels that are the main cause of manmade global warming. Although scant on numbers, leaders said it offered a strong signal to other countries and could persuade them to do more to seal agreement at the summit. “This is a boost to negotiations as we go into the final days of COP26 and continue working to deliver an ambitious outcome for the planet,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Twitter. Kerry told a news conference: “Together we set out our support for a successful COP26, including certain elements which will promote ambition.” A joint declaration said China, home to half the world’s coal-fired plants, would begin phasing out its coal consumption from 2026-30 and also cut its emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas many times more potent than carbon dioxide. Observers had been worried before the announcement that Chinese President Xi Jinping was not attending the talks in Glasgow, and Beijing had made no substantial new pledges. China’s climate plan had also not addressed its methane emissions, linked largely to its sprawling coal industry. The United States has set a goal to decarbonise its economy by 2050, although President Joe Biden has been struggling to pass crucial legislation to do so through a politically divided Congress. “It’s really encouraging to see that those countries that were at odds in so many areas have found common ground on what is the biggest challenge humanity faces today,” EU climate policy chief Frans Timmermans told Reuters. He also said negotiators were edging toward a compromise on a long-elusive deal on taxing global carbon markets to fund climate adaptation in poor countries. Poor countries say a tax on carbon markets would provide critical support but rich nations, including EU members, are concerned about the costs. They also want to siphon off money from a carbon market that some experts say could be valued at around $170 billion per year by 2030 to pay for measures to adapt to increasingly destructive floods, droughts and rising seas. ‘TIME RUNNING OUT’ The last two days of negotiations are likely to be fierce and Pope Francis sounded a warning in a letter to Scotland’s Catholics, saying: “Time is running out”. The conference host, Britain, says the goal is to “keep alive” hopes of capping global temperatures at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, still far out of reach under current national pledges to cut emissions. The landmark 2015 Paris Agreement legally bound its signatories collectively to keep the rise “well below” 2.0 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) this century, and to “pursue efforts” to keep it below 1.5C. Since then, scientific evidence has grown that crossing the 1.5C threshold would unleash significantly worse sea level rises, floods, droughts, wildfires and storms than those already occurring, with irreversible consequences. On Tuesday, the Climate Action Tracker research group said all national pledges so far to cut greenhouse gases by 2030 would, if fulfilled, allow the Earth’s temperature to rise 2.4C by 2100. Wednesday’s first draft of the final agreement implicitly acknowledged that current pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions up to 2030 were insufficient to avert climate catastrophe, asking countries to “revisit and strengthen” their targets next year. In a first for a U.N. climate conference, it also called for huge state subsidies to the oil, coal and gas industries to be phased out. (Additional reporting by Elizabeth Piper, Kate Abnett, William James, Simon Jessop; Writing by Kevin Liffey; Editing by Alexander Smith) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Andy Dick has been arrested for allegedly hitting his partner with a bottle. The 55-year-old comedian reportedly got into an argument with his boyfriend at his Los Angeles home on Monday (08.11.21) and thinks got physical as the row escalated. When cops arrived at the abode, they arrested Andy for felony domestic battery but he was released around three hours later after posting bond of $50,000, TMZ reports. Sources told the outlet this is the second time in as many months that police have been called to Andy’s house over domestic disputes as in October, he allegedly hit his boyfriend in the face with a frying pan. In June, he was arrested for allegedly assaulting a man with a deadly weapon and was released from jail after posting bond. His fiancee at the time, Elisa Jordana, spoke out about the incident at the time. She said: “I saw pictures, I saw the video; it’s not good. It was the worst week with him. Every day there was some sort of problem.” She later admitted things were “not going too great” with Andy after she talked about his arrest. She said: “He’s mad at me. I regret saying it, but I want to help. I want someone to help me. It’s very hard dealing with these things. I love Andy and he is the best in many ways. In hindsight maybe I shouldn’t have said anything, but I did. And I feel alone. “He’s a cute guy. A talented guy. He’s helped me tremendously, he makes me laugh, he has a lot of characteristics that are really good,” she added. The ‘Less Than Perfect’ actor was previously sentenced to 14 days in jail for sexual battery in 2019 after squeezing a random woman’s butt in the street and failing to complete his community service. And in 2018, he was charged with misdemeanour sexual battery after an Uber driver accused him of grabbing his crotch. In October 2019, video circulated of him getting into a fight with an Uber Eats delivery driver. A spokesperson for Andy declined to comment on his recent arrest. View the full article

Published by Reuters AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A pandemic advisory panel in the Netherlands on Thursday recommended imposing western Europe’s first partial lockdown since the summer, putting pressure on the government to take unpopular action to fight a COVID-19 surge. Caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s cabinet is expected to decide on Friday on measures following the recommendation of the Outbreak Management Team, broadcaster NOS reported. The government often follows the expert panel’s recommendations. Steps under consideration include cancelling events, closing theatres and cinemas, and earlier closing times for cafes and restaurants, the NOS report said. Schools would remain open. After a partial lockdown of around two weeks, entrance to public places should be limited to people who have been fully vaccinated or have recently recovered from a coronavirus infection, according to the advice. Even as infections spike to record levels, many developed countries have taken the view vaccine rollouts mean lockdowns are unnecessary. Britain is relying on booster shots to increase immunity and to try to avoid overwhelming its healthcare system. The Netherlands has so far provided booster shots to a small group of people with weak immune systems. It will start offering them to people aged 80 years and older in December, while extra shots will eventually be available for anyone older than 60. Despite an adult vaccination rate nearing 85%, hospitals in parts of the Netherlands have been forced to scale back https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/dutch-hospitals-urge-new-measures-covid-19-cases-near-record-2021-11-09 regular care to treat COVID-19 patients. Last month, roughly 56% of Dutch COVID-19 patients in hospitals and 70% of those in intensive care were unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated. Unvaccinated COVID-19 patients in Dutch hospitals had a median age of 59, compared to 77 years for vaccinated patients, data provided by the Netherlands’ Institute for Health (RIVM) showed. Last week, the Netherlands re-introduced masks and expanded the list of venues that require a “corona pass” that demonstrates vaccination or a negative test result, to gain access. New coronavirus infections in the country of 17.5 million have roughly doubled in the last week to more than 400 per 100,000 inhabitants, and are as high as in the worst weeks of December last year. (Reporting by Anthony Deutsch and Bart Meijer; Editing by Peter Graff, Gareth Jones and Barbara Lewis) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Promit Mukherjee and Emma Rumney JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa’s last white president Frederik Willem (FW) de Klerk, who negotiated a peaceful transfer of power to a Black-led government under Nelson Mandela, died on Thursday aged 85 after a battle with cancer, his foundation said. De Klerk won praise worldwide for his role in scrapping apartheid and he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Mandela in 1993. The following year Mandela won South Africa’s first multi-racial elections with his African National Congress (ANC). In a message of condolence, President Cyril Ramaphosa paid tribute to de Klerk’s “vital role” in South Africa’s transition to democracy in the 1990s. “He took the courageous decision (as president) to unban political parties, release political prisoners and enter into negotiations with the liberation movement amid severe pressure to the contrary from many in his political constituency,” Ramphosa said. Mandela’s foundation said in a separate statement that de Klerk would “forever be linked to Nelson Mandela in the annals of South African history”. However, de Klerk’s role in the transition from minority white rule to democracy remains highly contested. Many Blacks were angered by his failure to curb political violence in the turbulent years leading up to the 1994 elections, while right-wing white Afrikaners, who had long ruled the country under de Klerk’s National Party, viewed him as a traitor to their causes of white supremacy and nationalism. De Klerk’s foundation said he had died peacefully at his home in Cape Town on Thursday morning after a battle with mesothelioma, a cancer that affects the tissue lining the lungs. “He is survived by his wife Elita, his children Jan and Susan and his grandchildren,” it said, adding the family would in due course announce the funeral arrangements. PRAISE AND CRITICISM “May FW de Klerk rest in peace and rise in glory,” Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a veteran of the struggle against white minority rule and seen by many as South Africa’s moral conscience, said in a statement released by his office. John Steenhuisen, leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA), South Africa’s second biggest party after the ANC, said de Klerk’s success in bringing the majority of white voters with him over the need to abolish apartheid helped ensure that “the transition happened peacefully”. The DA is the main rival of the ANC but has struggled to shed its image as a party of white privilege. Julius Malema, who heads the Marxist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), the country’s third biggest political party, was much more critical, saying de Klerk should be referred to not as a “former president” but as a “former apartheid president”. Critics of de Klerk took to Twitter to say he should not get a state funeral due to his roots in the old apartheid regime. Mandela, who died in 2013, had acknowledged in his autobiography “Long Walk to Freedom” de Klerk’s key role in the transition to multi-racial democracy. “To make peace with an enemy one must work with that enemy, and that enemy becomes one’s partner,” he wrote. Though long retired from active politics, de Klerk prompted anger among supporters of then-president Jacob Zuma in 2016 when he accused them and their leader of seeking to advance their personal interests and of endangering South African democracy. De Klerk again drew criticism last year when he told a national broadcaster that he did not believe apartheid was a crime against humanity, as declared by the United Nations. The backlash triggered by his remarks forced de Klerk to withdraw from a virtual seminar with the American Bar Association (ABA) in the United States, where he had been due to speak on minority rights and racism. (Additional reporting by Nqobile Dludla and Wendell RoelfEditing by Gareth Jones) View the full article

Pulse MemorialPulse Arsonist Arrested Nearly one month after the Pulse arson occurred, a 64-year-old man is in Orlando Police custody today after allegedly setting fire to a portion of the memorial outside of the former Pulse Nightclub honoring the 49 people who died in the 2016 mass shooting. According to the Orlando Fire Department, Mark Henson faces one charge of felony criminal mischief after setting a portion of the Pulse memorial on fire on Oct. 12. Focus centered on Henson after the onePULSE Foundation released security camera footage of the criminal act on its Facebook page Saturday. The video shows a man, believed to be Nelson, approaching the memorial in a wheelchair and setting multiple banners, including a collage of the 49 people who lost their lives in the shooting. Pulse survivor Orlando Torres connected Henson to the video after seeing him near the former nightclub on Tuesday, noticing that a logo on the back of Henson’s wheelchair matched one seen in the security footage. “I broke out my camera and started taking pictures of him to make sure I had the right guy, Torres told the Orlando Sentinel. He subsequently called the police after the discovery. Felony criminal mischief carries a maximum punishment of five years in prison under Florida statutes. Chinese LGBTQ Advocacy Group Shuts Down LGBT Rights Advocacy China, one of the nation’s most prominent LGBTQ advocacy organizations, closed its doors last week without any explanation. The move leaves China’s LGBTQ population without a major ally as the Chinese government continues its own culture war against the community. The organization has been lauded in recent years for offering legal assistance and pushing for equal rights for LGBTQ Chinese citizens. The group spearheaded the push for same-sex marriage in China and helped LGBTQ workers sue employers in cases of workplace discrimination. The group shut down its social media accounts on Thursday after announcing it would “stop all of our work indefinitely.” LGBT Rights Advocacy China founder Peng Yanzi did not respond to a request for comment from NBC News. The organization’s closure continues the growing trend of regression as it pertains to Chinese LGBTQ representation and visibility. The nation’s longest-running Pride celebration, Shanghai Pride, ceased operations in August 2020 and the Chinese government has advised media companies operating in the country to stop depicting male characters as “effeminate” and including LGBTQ characters altogether earlier this year. 2021 Deadliest Year For Trans Individuals The Marquiisha Lawrence’s death by gunshot on November 4 marked a somber and tragic loss, but it also represented a macabre benchmark in the heightened rate at which trans people face violence and murder. Lawrence’s death marked the 45th known trans or gender-diverse individual to be killed in the U.S. this year, making 2021 officially the most deadly year for trans, nonbinary and gender non-conforming people since the Human Rights Campaign began tracking statistics. Cavallo, who plays for Australian team Adelaide United, has hopes of donning his nation’s kit in World Cup competition, but holding the tournament in Qatar, where homosexuality continues to be criminalized, gives him extreme pause in his dream. “I read something along the lines of that [they] give the death penalty for gay people in Qatar, so it’s something I’m very scared [of] and wouldn’t really want to go to Qatar for that,” he said during an appearance on the Guardian Today’s Focus podcast. “That saddens me,” Cavallo continued. “At the end of the day the World Cup is in Qatar and one of the greates achievements as a professional footballer is to play for your country, and to know that this is in a country that doesn’t support gay people and puts us at risk of our own life, that does scare me and makes me re-evaluate: is my life more important than doing something really good in my career?” Despite Cavallo’s qualms, tournament chief executive Nasser al-Khater has made reassurances that LGBTQ people face no danger in coming to Qatar for the World Cup, calling Qatar “one of the most safe countries in the world” and stating that LGBTQ people will “all be welcome here.” Pulse Arson: Previously on Towleroad Pulse Arsonist Arrested; 2021 Officially Deadliest Year For Trans Community; Chinese LGBTQ Group Shuts Down; World Cup Homophobia: News Roundup Brian Bell November 10, 2021 Read More Space Pride: Richard Branson Honors Pulse Victims with Pride Flag on First Commercial Space Flight Brian Bell July 12, 2021 Read More Senate Votes to Designate Pulse Nightclub a National Memorial; ‘Thank you … For Recognizing Our Hallowed Ground’ Brian Bell June 12, 2021 Read More U.S. House Approves National Pulse Shooting Memorial Bill, Heads to Senate; ‘We Owe It to Those We Lost’ Brian Bell May 13, 2021 Read More Pulse Survivors Host Orlando March Celebrating Alleged ‘Freedom’ from Homosexuality Andy Towle September 16, 2019 Read More Pulse Survivors Headlining ‘Ex-Gay’ ‘Freedom March’ 10 Minutes from Nightclub Towleroad August 19, 2019 Read More Photo courtesy of Dannel Malloy/Creative Commons View the full article

=Buck SlipTatum and Hardy to play former members of U.S. special-forces who jump in to help their Afghan counterparts get out.— On ‘Pussy Island’ Tatum will play a tech mogul, joining Kravitz for her directorial debut. She says she wrote the part for him, ‘Chan was my first choice’ for the role…I just knew from ‘Magic Mike’… I got the sense he’s a true feminist Published by BANG Showbiz English Channing Tatum and Tom Hardy are to star in a new Afghanistan-set drama. The pair have boarded the cast of the untitled Universal Pictures project that is based on an original idea from George Nolfi. The movie is based on recently reported true stories and will focus on three former special forces team members who jump back into the fray alongside their Afghan counterparts, to rescue families and allies left behind as the country fell to the Taliban during the summer. Channing and Tom will produce the film with Jules Daly, Reid Carolin and Peter Kiernan. Nolfi will serve as an executive producer on the flick. No director is attached to the project at this moment in time. Meanwhile, Channing will team up with rumoured girlfriend Zoe Kravitz on the thriller ‘Pussy Island’ – which will mark the directorial debut for the ‘Big Little Lies’ actress. The plot centres on Frida, a young and clever Los Angeles cocktail waitress who has her eyes set on philanthropist and tech mogul Slater King (Tatum). She skilfully moves her way into King’s inner circle and gets an invite to an intimate gathering on his private island. Despite the epic setting and ever-flowing champagne, Frida senses that there is more to King’s island than meets the eye. She can’t quite put her finger on it, but it fills her with a sense of terror. Zoe explained that Channing was her ideal choice to play the tech mogul in the movie and that the pair worked together to develop the character. The 32-year-old actress said: “Chan was my first choice, the one I thought of when I wrote this character. “I just knew from ‘Magic Mike’ and his live shows, I got the sense he’s a true feminist and I wanted to collaborate with someone who’s clearly interested in exploring this subject matter.” Channing Tatum Tom Hardy Afghanistan Evacuation on Towleroad Paul Rudd Sexiest Man Alive, So Says People Mag; Rudd Excited For More Time With Clooney, Pitt, Yachts; Wife Wins ‘Best Mixed Reaction’ More Dalai Lama: China’s leaders ‘don’t understand variety of cultures’ More Twitter Blue launches with undo tweet feature More Britney Spears Reveals Donatella Versace Is Making Her Wedding Dress ‘As We Speak’ More Civil rights groups want White House clemency for more inmates released in pandemic More Lady Gaga: Patrizia Reggiani isn’t a ‘sexy gold digger’ More Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala marries at home in Britain More Net closes as January 6 probe shifts to Trump’s role in violence More Rittenhouse breaks down in tears testifying on fatal Wisconsin shooting More U.S. judge denies Trump bid to block January 6 Select Committee investigation More Biden Democracy Summit to Include Unlikely (India, Phillipines); Poland Will Not Attend, Took Umbrage at LGBTQ Rights Suggests More Load More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Paul Rudd has been named People’s Sexiest Man Alive. The 52-year-old actor admitted he was surprised to take the 2021 honour because he believes there are “so many people” who should have taken the accolade ahead of him. Speaking to People magazine about the honour, he said: “I do have an awareness, enough to know that when people hear that I’d be picked for this, they would say, ‘What?’. This is not false humility. There are so many people that should get this before me.” The ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ actor’s wife Julie – with whom he has kids Jack, 17, and 12-year-old Darby – was “stupefied” by the news and initially laughed at her husband. He said: “She was stupefied. But you know she was very sweet about it. After some giggling and shock, she said ‘Oh, they got it right.’ And that was very sweet. She was probably not telling the truth, but what’s she going to say?” And Paul is expecting his friends to give him “so much grief”, but he doesn’t care as he plans to boast about his new title as much as possible. He said: “As they should. I would. I mean I’m going to lean into it hard. I’m going to own this. I’m not going to try to be like ‘Oh, I’m so modest.’ I’m getting business cards made. But all of my friends will destroy me and I expect them to. And that’s why they’re my friends.” The ‘Knocked Up’ actor thinks his life will change “a lot” thanks to his new title and he’s looking forward to hanging out more with last year’s Sexiest Man Alive, Michael B. Jordan, and other previous recipients, including George Clooney and Brad Pitt. He joked: “I’m hoping now that I’ll finally be invited to some of those sexy dinners with Clooney and Pitt and B Jordan. “And I figure I’ll be on a lot more yachts. I’m excited to expand my yachting life. “And I’ll probably try to get better at brooding in really soft light. “I like to ponder. I think this is going to help me become more inward and mysterious. And I’m looking forward to that.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Antoni Slodkowski and Elaine Lies TOKYO (Reuters) – Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama criticised the leaders of China on Wednesday saying they “don’t understand the variety of different cultures” there and there is too much control by the main Han ethnic group. But he also said he had nothing against “Chinese brothers and sisters” as fellow humans and he broadly supported the ideas behind Communism and Marxism. The 86-year-old Dalai Lama, taking part in an online news conference anchored in Tokyo, was answering a question about whether the international community should consider boycotting the Beijing Winter Olympics over the suppression of minorities, including those in the western region of Xinjiang. “I know Communist Party leaders since Mao Zedong. Their ideas (are) good. But sometimes they do much extreme, tight control,” he said from his base in India, adding he thought things would change in China under a new generation of leaders. “Regarding Tibet and also Xinjiang, we have our own unique culture, so the more narrow-minded Chinese Communist leaders, they do not understand the variety of different cultures.” Noting that China consisted not only of ethnic Han people but also other, different, groups, he added: “In reality, too much control by Han people.” China seized control of Tibet after its troops entered the region in 1950 in what it calls a “peaceful liberation”. Tibet has since become one of the most restricted and sensitive areas in the country. Beijing regards the Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, as a dangerous “splittist” or separatist. He has worked for decades to draw global support for linguistic and cultural autonomy in his remote, mountainous homeland. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin, asked at a regular press briefing on Wednesday about relations with the Dalai Lama, referred to “an out-and-out separatist political group”. ‘QUITE DELICATE’ The Dalai Lama said he broadly supported the ideas of Communism and Marxism, laughing as he related an anecdote about how he once thought of joining the Communist Party but was dissuaded by a friend. When asked about Taiwan, the centre of increased military tension in the region, he said he thought the island was the true repository of China’s ancient culture and traditions since on the mainland it was now “too politicised”. “Economically Taiwan gets a lot of help from mainland China,” he said. “And culture, Chinese culture, including Buddhism, I think mainland Chinese brothers and sisters can learn a lot from Taiwanese brothers and sisters.” Though the Dalai Lama said he had no plan to meet China’s leader, Xi Jinping, he said he would like to visit again to see old friends since “I am growing older” – but would avoid Taiwan since relations between it and China are “quite delicate”. “I prefer to remain here in India, peacefully,” he said, praising it as a centre of religious harmony – despite complaints from Muslims in recent years. In the end, though, he said believed all religions had the same message. “All religions carry the message of love and use a different philosophy of views. So now the problem (is) the politicians, in cases some economists … use this difference of religion. So now, religion is also politicised – so that is a problem.” (Reporting by Elaine Lies and Antoni Slodkowski; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Robert Birsel) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Twitter Blue has launched and the service allows users to pay for features including the the ability to undo a tweet or read ad-free articles. The new subscription service was launched in the US and New Zealand this week – costing $3 and NZD 4.49 per month respectively – is targeted at people who regularly use the site on mobile devices, as well as news junkies or early adopters of new features. Sara Beykpour – Twitter’s senior director of product management – said: “Twitter is still and will always be free. “With Twitter, Blue, we’re providing the most engaged and leaned in people on Twitter more ways to customize and control their experience and get exclusive access to premium features.” To access the feature, a user will click on the profile menu with the service available at the top. Clicking that will take you to the settings page, where tools can be added, including early access to features being tested, such as unploading 10-minute videos and pinning a chat at the top of your DMs. The undo tweet feature gives people a 30-second timer before the tweet goes live, so they can review any typos and other mistakes. Meanwhile, users can customise their app experience with icons and themes, as well as sorted tweets in a bookmark folder. View the full article

Published by OK Magazine Britney Spears has made a big revelation about her upcoming wedding. The blonde beauty showed off a long pink off-the-shoulder dress on Instagram on Tuesday, November 9. “No … this is not my wedding dress bahahah !!!!” she captioned the post. “Donatella Versace is making my dress as we speak …. Have a good night folks !!!!” the “Circus” singer revealed. MEGA BRITNEY SPEARS’ HUNKY BEAU SAM ASGHARI SHOWS OFF HIS ROCK-HARD BEACH BOD IN MAUI — PHOTOS Fans took to the comment section to share their thoughts. “you’ll have the wedding of your dreams,” one fan gushed. “Well this dress is stunning and so are you,” another wrote. “Britney and Donatella are a super duo OMG,” a third fan commented. NETFLIX DROPS ‘BRITNEY VS SPEARS’ DOCUMENTARY TRAILER ABOUT POP STAR’S BOMBSHELL CONSERVATORSHIP CASE WITH NEW DETAILS — WATCH MEGA Spears and Sam Asghari announced their engagement on September 13. The couple first met in 2016 when the hunk was cast in her “Slumber Party” music video. A hearing is scheduled for Friday, November 12, to determine whether or not Spears’ 13-year long conservatorship should come to an end. Her father, Jamie Spears, was suspended from the conservatorship in September. John Zabel was appointed temporary conservator of Spears’ estate. Spears’ attorneyMathew Rosengart made note of a prenup when he filed documents in September calling for the “immediate suspension” of Jamie. “With Ms. Spears’s consent and pursuant to her instructions, Ms. Spears and the undersigned counsel are in the process of engaging a family law attorney to craft a prenuptial agreement,” Rosengart wrote at the time, per E! News. “The prenuptial agreement process will require communications with and cooperation from the Conservator of her Estate but, as referenced above and well-established in the record, given that Ms. Spears’ s relationship with that Conservator (her father) is broken, Mr. Spears’s continued involvement would impede the ability to negotiate and consummate a contract that all can agree is in Ms. Spears’s best interests,” the filing continued. STRONGER THAN YESTERDAY! A DEFINITIVE TIMELINE OF EVENTS THAT LED TO BRITNEY SPEARS’ CONTROVERSIAL CONSERVATORSHIP: PHOTOS MEGA It’s not clear when the blonde beauty and the personal trainer plan on getting hitched. An insider previously told TMZ that the couple has not made any wedding plans due to the upcoming court hearing. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Sarah N. Lynch and Jarrett Renshaw WASHINGTON – U.S. civil rights groups are asking the White House to broaden a plan to grant clemency to inmates released to home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying its current policy wrongfully excludes people convicted of non-drug-related crimes or those still facing lengthy sentences. The clemency initiative is an attempt to prevent the return to prison of some 4,800 federal inmates who were released early due to the pandemic emergency, as the Bureau of Prisons scrambled to slow transmission rates in its facilities. The 29 advocacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the Justice Action Network and FAMM – a group that opposes mandatory minimum sentences – are not alone in questioning the return of so many people to prison: U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has raised the same concerns. “It would be a terrible policy to return these people to prison,” Garland told lawmakers last month. But the Justice Department he leads argues it lacks the legal authority to allow the prisoners to continue to serve their sentences at home after the state of emergency allowed by a March 2020 law expires. There is no clear date for when that may occur, though the Biden administration expects the public health crisis to last through at least 2021. The Justice Department and the White House are only allowing the released inmates to apply for clemency if they are low-level non-violent drug offenders with 18 months to four years left on their prison terms. That bars drug offenders serving lengthy prison terms, as well as white-collar offenders, such as those convicted of tax evasion, bank or mail and wire fraud. The White House and Justice Department declined to disclose how many of the 4,800 inmates will be eligible or to explain why they had offered clemency only to that particular class of inmates. But criminal justice advocates said they believe just a tiny fraction will be eligible, since federal drug convictions carry steep mandatory minimum sentences. “We argued for the entire population to get clemency. In response, they came back with this very, very narrow solution,” said Inimai Chettiar, a director at the Justice Action Network, which advocates for criminal justice reforms. While the Justice Department typically reviews and makes recommendations for clemency, the White House has the sole power to commute federal sentences or issue pardons. A White House official told Reuters the clemency review underway is “just the beginning.” “This is an initial clemency review, consistent with the president’s campaign promise and it’s the starting point for our process, leaving the door open for other populations,” the official said. Criminal justice advocates have long complained that the president’s clemency powers have not been used enough to spare low-level drug offenders, many of whom are often addicts, from lengthy mandatory minimum sentences. Such strict sentencing requirements for drug offenses have disproportionately impacted African Americans, in part thanks to rules which treated drug crimes involving crack more harshly than those involving cocaine. In recent years views on how to treat drug offenders have also evolved, with some experts saying people with drug addictions should be rehabilitated rather than locked in prison. NEED FOR CONGRESSIONAL ACTION Criminal justice advocates have lobbied the White House and the Justice Department to rescind the memo outlining the department’s views on the limits of its home confinement authority, and provide a legal pathway to keep people home, though Bureau of Prisons Director Michael Carvajal has previously said only Congress can change the law. Without an immediate legislative fix — and with the bitterly divided Congress facing a steep to-do list — the groups urged the White House to take action on clemency for all the released inmates. “We don’t want any arbitrary line-drawing between someone who happened to sell drugs and somebody who failed to pay taxes,” said Kevin Ring, president of the advocacy group FAMM. At stake is the future of people like Travis Rogers, who was released from federal prison in Springfield, Missouri, to home confinement in June 2020, but has seven years remaining on his sentence for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. A recovering addict for 11 years, he has built a new life since his return home by landing a job building car engines, reconnecting with his adult daughter and helping care for his aging father. “I feel like it’s unjust,” Rogers said in an interview, noting he has turned down promotions at work because he fears he could be returned to prison. He said that his crimes were driven by addiction, and that he has learned his lesson after serving a decade in prison. “It would be better to try to rehabilitate drug dealers than throwing them in prison,” he said. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Scott Malone and Aurora Ellis) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Lady Gaga thinks it is wrong to describe her ‘House of Gucci’ character as a “sexy gold digger”. The 35-year-old star plays Patrizia Reggiani – who was convicted for hiring a hitman to kill her ex-husband Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) – in Sir Ridley Scott’s new movie and feels that there her alter ego desired more than money as she killed her former partner. Speaking at the UK premiere of ‘House of Gucci’ at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London on Tuesday night (09.11.21), Gaga said: “Anybody who thinks Patrizia was a sexy gold digger, they’re wrong. I believe that she went through a lot. “What I would say with this character is when she married him, his father had turned his back on him and he had no part of Gucci and when she killed him they were divorced.” Gaga also explained that the movie taught her that she could go “beyond her limits” to reflect the suffering that Patrizia went through. The ‘Rain On Me’ hitmaker said: “I really learned that even when I have limits, I can push beyond them. I think that’s what it means to understand a woman who was pushed beyond her limits.” Gaga previously starred alongside Bradley Cooper in the 2018 adaptation of ‘A Star Is Born’ but revealed that she was a lot less nervous about acting in this project. She said: “I was less scared this time compared to before.” Gaga was hailed as a “rule breaker” by co-star Jared Leto, who plays Paulo Gucci in the flick. The 49-year-old actor said: “She’s fantastic. She’s a risk taker and rule breaker and I really appreciated working with her.” View the full article

Published by Reuters LONDON (Reuters) – Malala Yousafzai, the campaigner for girls’ education and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who survived being shot aged 15 by a Taliban gunman in her native Pakistan in 2012, has got married, she said on social media on Tuesday. The 24-year-old, who lives in Britain, said she and her new husband, who she named only as Asser, had wed in the city of Birmingham and celebrated at home with their families. “Today marks a precious day in my life. Asser and I tied the knot to be partners for life,” she wrote on Twitter, adding four pictures to her post. Malala gave no other information about her husband apart from his first name. Internet users identified him as Asser Malik, general manager of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s High Performance Centre. Reuters could not confirm this. Malala is revered in many parts of the world, especially in Western countries, for her personal courage and her eloquence in advocating for the rights of girls and women. In Pakistan, her activism has divided public opinion. As recently as July this year, Malala told British Vogue magazine that she was not sure if she would ever marry. “I still don’t understand why people have to get married. If you want to have a person in your life, why do you have to sign marriage papers, why can’t it just be a partnership?” she was quoted as saying in a lengthy profile. The comment drew criticism from many social media users in Pakistan at the time. (Reporting by Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Angus MacSwan) View the full article

Published by AFP A federal judge ruled that White House records that could implicate former President Donald Trump in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol can be released to a congressional committee investigating the violence Washington (AFP) – A flurry of subpoenas targeting top lieutenants and a court affirming lawmakers’ investigating powers have sent Donald Trump a decisive message as he seeks to run down the clock on the January 6 insurrection probe: you cannot escape justice forever. The former president suffered a stinging legal blow late Tuesday when a federal court in Washington rejected his effort to block documents and other information requested by lawmakers probing the deadly attack on the Capitol. Meanwhile the investigation’s shift from focusing on security failures to targeting big names in Trump’s orbit has demonstrated a new spotlight on his role in a plot to spread lies about the 2020 election being stolen and prevent Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s victory, leading to the violence. David Greenberg, a journalism and history professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey, said it was impossible to predict the political effect of the latest developments for Trump, who escaped conviction twice after being impeached and emerged largely unscathed from several federal misconduct investigations. “But the investigation is important for more direct, material, and concrete reasons,” he told AFP. “It is already establishing a fuller and more comprehensive picture of who in Trump’s administration and orbit was involved in the planning of the January 6 riot, what they did to bring it about, and what they hoped or expected would happen.” The first batch of documents related to the assault is now set to be turned over to House investigators by Friday unless a court intervenes, although Trump’s attorneys have already made clear they will appeal, holding up the release. ‘Presidents are not kings’ It was made possible when District Judge Tanya Chutkan contended that Biden, who is opposing Trump’s demands, is “best positioned” to determine if a former president can keep Oval Office conversations with advisors secret. “At bottom, this is a dispute between a former and incumbent president. And the Supreme Court has already made clear that in such circumstances, the incumbent’s view is accorded greater weight,” Chutkan said in a 39-page decision. “[Trump’s] position that he may override the express will of the executive branch appears to be premised on the notion that his executive power ‘exists in perpetuity’… But presidents are not kings, and plaintiff is not president.” Chutkan also ruled that the House panel’s probe was serving a “valid legislative purpose,” rejecting another argument by Trump’s legal team to challenge the authority of the investigation. The case is likely to end up in the Supreme Court, meaning investigators would not see the disputed evidence any time soon. “The battle to defend Executive Privilege for Presidents past, present & future — from its outset — was destined to be decided by the Appellate Courts,” Trump’s spokesman tweeted in reaction to the ruling. “Pres. Trump remains committed to defending the Constitution & the Office of the Presidency, & will be seeing this process through.” But Bennie Thompson, who chairs the nine-member select committee, hailed the decision as a victory for lawmakers conducting investigations involving the White House. ‘Decisive ruling’ “The select committee appreciates the court’s swift and decisive ruling on the former president’s lawsuit, which I consider little more than an attempt to delay and obstruct our investigation,” Thompson said in a statement. “The presidential records we requested from the National Archives are critical for understanding the terrible events of January 6.” The court decision was the latest in a whirlwind of activity by the House January 6 select committee, which dramatically accelerated efforts this week to compel testimony from Trump’s inner circle. The committee has interviewed more than 150 witnesses and issued 35 subpoenas, including 16 this week alone, many to former aides who had front row seats to the chaotic final weeks of Trump’s presidency as he sought to cling to power. Many held sensitive posts inside the West Wing, including White House advisor Stephen Miller and press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, both of whom made false statements promoting Trump’s baseless claims of 2020 voter fraud. Other targets include campaign aides and law professor John Eastman, who crafted a six-step blueprint setting out how the Trump team could disregard the will of millions of voters and reverse the election. The committee’s investigators have also interviewed former Department of Justice lawyer Jeffrey Clark, who was at the center of Trump’s pressure campaign to get the department to interfere in the election. Liz Cheney, the top Republican on the committee, has said Trump’s pressure on allies to defy subpoenas showed he was “personally involved in the planning and execution of January 6.” She warned Tuesday that the 45th president presents an unprecedented threat as he attempts to “unravel the foundations of our constitutional republic, aided by political leaders who have made themselves willing hostages to this dangerous and irrational man.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Nathan Layne KENOSHA, Wis. (Reuters) -Teenager Kyle Rittenhouse broke down crying while testifying in his own defense on Wednesday in his Wisconsin trial, saying one of the two men he is charged with murdering threatened to kill him and “ambushed” him before he opened fire with an AR-15-style rifle. Rittenhouse, 18, is charged in the killing of Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and the wounding of Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, during racial justice protests in the city of Kenosha on Aug. 25, 2020. He has pleaded not guilty and has said he acted in self defense. Dressed in a navy blue suit and dark blue tie, Rittenhouse was composed on the witness stand until his attorney began asking him to detail his encounter with Rosenbaum, who video evidence showed was pursuing the teen when he turned and shot him four times. “I didn’t notice Mr. Rosenbaum until he came out from behind the car and ambushed me,” Rittenhouse told the jury, before he started to breathe heavily and lose his composure, appearing to shed tears as the judge called for a break. Moments earlier, Rittenhouse testified that Rosenbaum threatened twice to kill him before their final encounter in the parking lot of a used car dealership in Kenosha. Rittenhouse said Rosenbaum, speaking to his group earlier in the night, said “I’m going to cut your fucking hearts out.” Rittenhouse testified that he was asked to help guard a used car dealership, separate from the one where he shot Rosenbaum, along with other armed men. Rittenhouse said his objective that night was to provide medical aid to anyone hurt, which is why he offered his bullet-proof vest to another person in his group. By the night of the shootings, Kenosha had endured two nights of chaotic protests over the police shooting of a local Black man, Jacob Blake. Several businesses were burned to the ground and there were incidents of looting. Police used rubber bullets and tear gas to control the crowds. The prosecution rested its case on Tuesday. The case is the most high-profile civilian U.S. self-defense trial since George Zimmerman was acquitted in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager, in Florida in 2013. Like Zimmerman, Rittenhouse has emerged as a divisive figure and politics has coursed through the case. He is a hero to some conservatives who believe in unfettered gun rights and see the shootings as justified during the chaos in Kenosha, while many on the left see him as a symbol of a gun culture run amok. During five days of testimony, prosecutors have tried to paint Rittenhouse as a vigilante killer who used deadly force without justification. He was 17 at the time of the shootings and has been charged with underage possession of his gun. The two assistant district attorneys prosecuting the case struggled to elicit testimony countering Rittenhouse’s claims that he feared for his life. Some witnesses they called spoke about the erratic behavior of Rosenbaum that night. (Reporting by Nathan Lane; Editing by Will Dunham) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jan Wolfe WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Tuesday ruled that a congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol can access some of former President Donald Trump’s White House records. (Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Andy Sullivan) View the full article

Biden Democracy Summit Published by Reuters By Humeyra Pamuk and Simon Lewis WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden is getting ready to deliver on a key campaign promise by convening a Summit for Democracy: a first-of-its kind gathering of more than 100 countries to help stop democratic backsliding and erosion of rights and freedoms worldwide. But rights advocates are questioning whether the virtual event can push those world leaders who are invited, some accused of harboring authoritarian tendencies, to take meaningful action. “If the summit is to be anything more than just another meeting, each attendee, including the United States, will need to follow through on meaningful commitments on democracy and rights issues in the year ahead,” said Annie Boyajian, vice president for policy and advocacy at Freedom House, a non-profit group specializing in human rights and democracy. Administration officials say the December event is just the “launch” of a longer conversation about democracy and that countries will need to fulfill the reforms they pledged to be invited to the follow-up summit planned next year. The event – to be held on Dec. 9 and 10 – is a test of Biden’s longstanding claim, announced in his first foreign policy address as president in February, that the United States would return to global leadership under his tenure to face down authoritarian forces led by China and Russia. A tentative invite list first reported by Politico and confirmed by a source familiar with the matter shows that the event will bring together mature democracies such as France and Sweden but also countries including Philippines and Poland, where activists say democracy is under threat. In Asia, some U.S. allies such as Japan and South Korea were invited, while others like Thailand and Vietnam were not. Representation from the Middle East was slim with Israel and Iraq among the few countries invited and notable U.S. allies such as Egypt and NATO partner Turkey absent from the list. Rights groups praise Biden’s pledge to reinstate the promotion of rights and freedoms as a foreign policy priority, after the disinterested approach of his predecessor Donald Trump, who openly praised strongmen such as Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. They also say the invitation to countries with problematic human rights records raises doubts about the credibility of the event, but at the same time illustrates the administration’s struggle to balance wider U.S. national security interests, such as countering a rising China, with higher ideals. “Clearly, strategic considerations about countering China are at play in inviting very troubled, backsliding democracies like India and the Philippines that are in China’s neighborhood,” said Amy Hawthorne, research director at the Project on Middle East Democracy, an advocacy group. “The same might be true for inviting deeply flawed democracy Iraq, the neighbor of U.S. adversary, the Iranian theocracy,” she added. ‘MAKE CHOICES’ Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, who has in the past stated he does not “care about human rights”, and Indian President Narendra Modi, who advocacy group Freedom House said is driving India toward authoritarianism, will be among those discussing with Biden how to help democracy flourish globally. An official at the Philippines’ foreign ministry confirmed Duterte was invited to the online forum and said Washington had imposed “absolutely no conditions” on his attendance. The country’s government was still considering whether to participate, the official said. A senior U.S. official involved in the planning of the summit told Reuters that invites were sent to countries with different experiences of democracy from all regions of the world. “This was not about endorsing, ‘You’re a democracy, you are not a democracy.’ That is not the process we went through,” the official said. Biden administration officials say they had to “make choices” to ensure regional diversity and broad participation. Human rights groups said that with only weeks until the summit it was unclear how Washington would monitor implementation of commitments and hold the leaders who participate to their word. ‘A PLACE OF HUMILITY’ Poland, which is locked in a feud with the European Union over what Brussels says is democratic backsliding, was invited, but officials there took umbrage at an earlier message from Washington that appeared to place conditions on the invitation, according to a Polish government source. The earlier email contained a list of suggested actions that would demonstrate Poland’s commitment to freedom and democracy, including respect for LGBTQI rights – a major sore point in Washington’s dealings with Poland’s right-wing government that has moved to restrict gay rights. U.S. officials said they did not dictate any conditions but called on invited countries to come forward with commitments to take action. “The idea has never been to prescribe or to be prescriptive,” said one of the officials. The United States would also make its own commitments, the official added, as Washington faces skepticism about the health of its own democracy. After losing the November 2020 election to Biden, Trump’s false claims of fraud paved the way for his supporters’ Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, an unprecedented episode that stunned foreign governments and armed authoritarian leaders with cause to question the robustness of American democracy. “In all of our diplomatic communications around the summit, we are starting from a place of humility and recognizing that no democracy, including of course the United States, is perfect,” said a second administration official. (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Simon Lewis; Additional reporting by Joanna Plucinska in Warshaw and Neil Jerome Morales in Manila; Editing by Mary Milliken and Daniel Wallis) Biden Democracy Summit on Towleroad Oklahoma court overturns $465 million opioid judgment against J&J More White House condemns Gosar video, Pelosi urges investigations More Adele reveals Heartbreak on New Single. Hold On Tease is part of Amazon’s Marketing With This Ad More Trump allies Flynn, Miller, Eastman, others subpoenaed by Jan 6 committee More The Lady Gaga Gucci Movie Is A Good Time for Her to Review 17 of her Looks. Was Inside the 2011 Grammy Egg for 3 Days More U.S. Supreme Court weighs Puerto Rico’s exclusion from benefits program More Missing Teenager found after Alerting with viral TikTok signal. 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Published by Reuters By Nate Raymond (Reuters) -The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned a $465 million judgment against Johnson & Johnson in a lawsuit by the state alleging the drugmaker fueled the opioid epidemic through the deceptive marketing of painkillers. The decision marked the latest setback for states and local governments pursuing lawsuits to hold pharmaceutical companies responsible for a drug abuse crisis the U.S. government says led to nearly 500,000 opioid overdose deaths over two decades. The court ruled https://tmsnrt.rs/3bSrnrj that the state’s public nuisance law does not extend to the manufacturing, marketing and sales of prescription opioids and that a trial judge went too far in holding the company liable under it. “However grave the problem of opioid addition is in Oklahoma, public nuisance law does not provide a remedy for this harm,” Justice James Winchester wrote. New Brunswick, New Jersey-based J&J in a statement said it sympathized with those affected by the epidemic but that the court “appropriately and categorically rejected the misguided and unprecedented expansion of the public nuisance law.” A spokesperson for Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor did not respond to requests for comment. His office had on appeal sought $9.3 billion from J&J to fund treatment and other programs to address the epidemic. The Oklahoma lawsuit was the first of the more than 3,300 lawsuits over the opioid crisis against pharmaceutical manufacturers, drug distributors and pharmacies to go to trial. The trial pre-dated an agreement this year by J&J and the three largest U.S. drug distributors – McKesson Corp, Cardinal Health Inc and AmerisourceBergen – to pay up to $26 billion to settle thousands of opioid-related cases against them. PUBLIC NUISANCE LAWS Tuesday’s decision came days after a similar trial in California pitting several large counties against J&J and three other drugmakers resulted in a tentative ruling in the companies’ favor. Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman ruled in August 2019 that J&J had engaged in misleading marketing about the benefits of painkillers Duragesic and Nucynta, and concluded that their addictive risks caused a public nuisance. J&J had argued that there was scientific support for the marketing claims and said that Duragesic and Nucynta accounted for a tiny fraction of the opioids sold in Oklahoma. The company, which no longer promotes the drugs, also argued the state’s public nuisance law should not apply. In Tuesday’s ruling, Winchester agreed that the law only applied to discrete, localized problems involving criminal or property-based conflicts, not policy problems. “The district court’s expansion of public nuisance law allows courts to manage public policy matters that should be dealt with by the legislative and executive branches,” Winchester wrote. Paul Geller, a plaintiffs’ lawyer at the law firm Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd who helped draft the $26 billion nationwide settlement proposal, said the Oklahoma ruling could lead to increased participation in the settlement. “Perhaps the realization that, despite the gravity of the epidemic, trials are inherently risky and appellate courts are largely unpredictable will ultimately help increase participation,” he said. Eight states have declined to sign-onto the deal with J&J, which agreed to pay up to $5 billion. Local governments in states that did join the have until January to sign-on. The ultimate payout is contingent on participation. The Oklahoma ruling, coupled with the California decision, could prompt states and localities who have not backed the proposed nationwide settlement to re-think their positions, said Elizabeth Chamblee Burch, a University of Georgia law professor. “To the extent folks are on the fence about going into that settlement, this definitely changes the risk profile,” Burch said. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston, Editing by Noeleen Walder, Bernadette Baum, Aurora Ellis and Jonathan Oatis) View the full article