Ethan Hawke says River Phoenix’s death is one of the reasons he never moved to Los Angeles.
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Ethan Hawke says River Phoenix’s death is one of the reasons he never moved to Los Angeles.
Do-it-yourself Model and Entertainment Release
CNN.com – RSS Channel – Entertainment
Chadwick Boseman, the iconic “Black Panther” star, has died at age 43 after a 4-year battle with colon cancer. His family released a statement, saying “It is with immeasurable grief that we confirm the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman. Chadwick…
Harvey Weinstein doesn’t want to be dragged to Los Angeles to face further prosecution for alleged sex crimes … because he’s already serving a 23-year sentence in New York and feels a trip to an L.A. jail would be a death sentence because of…
Legendary singer Tony Bennett’s made it another year around the sun, and a couple other famous voices are honoring him … with some of Tony’s own words. The “I Left My Heart in San Fransisco” crooner turned 94 Monday, and got beautiful birthday…
The mysterious seed packs from China that hundreds of Americans received in the mail have been identified, according to the US Department of Agriculture.Federal officials warned those who received the seeds not to plant them over fears that some may be invasive species and could destroy native plants and insects.
The airport in the central Vietnamese tourism hotspot of Danang was packed on Monday after three residents tested positive for the coronavirus and the evacuation of 80,000 people began. The Southeast Asian country is back on high alert after authorities on Saturday confirmed the first community infections since April, and another three cases on Sunday, all in or around Danang. A further 11 cases linked to a Danang hospital were reported late on Monday.
As part of a broader $ 1 trillion coronavirus relief bill, Republican lawmakers are proposing to cut weekly emergency unemployment benefits established in the previous CARES Act from $ 600/week to $ 200/week, people familiar with the unreleased plan told The Washington Post.Democrats want to extend the $ 600 figure, which is set to expire this week, until January while the unemployment rate remains high, and many economists think keeping things as they are or even raising the total a bit makes more sense than slashing. But the Senate GOP isn't on board. The cut would be temporary, however, and is meant to fill the gap between now and until states implement a Republican-favored approach that involves paying workers 70 percent of the income they earned before losing their jobs due to the pandemic. In that scenario, the weekly unemployment boost wouldn't be tied to a specific number, but would vary for individuals. Read more at The Washington Post.More stories from theweek.com Trump only pivoted on coronavirus after reportedly being warned of spikes among 'our people' in red states Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow wears mask at press conference, says it's necessary to reopen economy Supreme Court conservatives reportedly don't trust John Roberts for a 5th vote on gun rights cases
Here’s a real jaw-dropping crime, even in Sin City — a man making off with a humongous dildo without paying, and even though the whole caper’s on camera … it might be tough to nail this guy. We’re told the suspect struck July 14 in broad…
Planned Parenthood of Greater New York announced on Tuesday that it would remove the name of founder Margaret Sanger from its Manhattan clinic because of Sanger's support for eugenics.Sanger founded the first abortion clinic in the U.S. in 1916 in Brooklyn, and in 1921 established the American Birth Control League, which subsequently changed its name to Planned Parenthood. While Sanger is regarded as a pioneer by pro-choice advocates, she was also a supporter of eugenics, including the sterilization of disabled people who could not be treated.The Margaret Sanger Clinic will be renamed the Manhattan Health Center."The removal of Margaret Sanger’s name from our building is both a necessary and overdue step to reckon with our legacy and acknowledge Planned Parenthood’s contributions to historical reproductive harm within communities of color,” Karen Seltzer, Board Chair at Planned Parenthood of Greater New York, said in a statement. “Margaret Sanger’s concerns and advocacy for reproductive health have been clearly documented, but so too has her racist legacy. There is overwhelming evidence for Sanger’s deep belief in eugenic ideology, which runs completely counter to our values at PPGNY. Removing her name is an important step toward representing who we are as an organization and who we serve."Various institutions across the U.S. have chosen to rebrand following massive demonstrations over the death of George Floyd, an African American man killed during his arrest by Minneapolis police officers. Princeton University has decided to rename its Woodrow Wilson Hall, citing the progressive president's racism, while the Washington Redskins football team announced it would change its name following corporate pressure.Planned Parenthood has defended Sanger from charges of racism in the past, releasing a fact sheet touting her ties to black leaders including W.E.B. DuBois. The fact sheet also condemns Sanger's support for "placing so-called illiterates, paupers, unemployables, criminals, prostitutes, and dope fiends on farms and in open spaces as long as necessary for the strengthening and development of moral conduct."
Lisa’s manager, Roger Widynowski, tells TMZ … “She is completely heartbroken, inconsolable and beyond devastated but trying to stay strong for her 11 year old twins and her oldest daughter Riley. She adored that boy. He was the love of her life.”…
A Catholic priest in Indiana has been suspended from his public ministry, after he called Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters “maggots and parasites".Reverend Theodore Rothrock, assigned to St Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church in Carmel, Indiana, was suspended on Wednesday, after he disparaged BLM protesters in a bulletin published on Sunday, according to Huffpost.
A recent Harvard graduate who threatened to “stab” anyone who told her “all lives matter” has been fired from her job, she announced in a tearful video.Claira Janover, who said in a viral but since-deleted TikTok post that she would “stab” those with “the nerve” to say “all lives matter,” posted several tearful videos explaining that her new employer, Deloitte, had fired her.“I know this is what Trump supporters wanted because standing up for Black Lives Matter put me in a place online to be seen by millions of people,” Janover explained. “The job that I worked really hard to get and meant a lot to me just called me and fired me because of everything.”In a second video, Janover claimed that “Trump supporters took my job away from me.”“I have gotten death threats, rape threats, violent threats and it's okay — but now it's just like my future is entirely compromised because Trump supporters have decided to come for my life,” she stated. “I'm too strong for you. I am too strong for any of you, ‘all lives matter’ racist Trump supporters. It sucks but it doesn't suck as much as systemic racism.”Janover also criticized Deloitte, calling out the company for “cowardice.” The firm has not publicly commented on the situation.In the video that led to her firing, Janover warned “all lives matter” supporter that she would stab them. “While you’re struggling and bleeding out, I’ma show you my paper cut and say, ‘My cut matters too,'” she stated. After the video was picked up and circulated on Twitter, Janover posted a message on the video stating that “For legal reasons this is a joke.” She also explained in subsequent videos that her threat was “clearly” an “analogous joke.”“Apparently I’m threatening the lives of people — unlike cops, obviously,” she added.“Anyway, so If I get an email from the Department of Homeland Security or I get kicked out of Harvard or I get arrested or whatever — or I get murdered, according to the many death threats that I’m receiving right now — know that I appreciate you guys standing up for me,” she said.
Senior U.S. Senate Democrats on Monday accused President Donald Trump’s administration of violating the law when it declared his intention last month to withdraw the United States from the Open Skies Treaty. In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mike Esper, the Democrats said the administration had not given the legally required 120 days’ advance notice to Congress before beginning the withdrawal process.
Former national security adviser John Bolton will likely be forced to give all earnings from his controversial new book to the U.S. Treasury, if government lawyers succeed in convincing a federal judge that Bolton violated government rules by moving forward with publication without final sign-off by officials vetting the memoir for classified information, according to a top national security lawyer.
Welcome to the future!!! A gym in Southern California has installed workout pods made out of shower curtains to safely return from its COVID-19 closure … and the scene is pretty surreal. Check out photos of Inspire South Bay Fitness in Redondo…
The US said it will withdraw troops from Iraq in the coming months, six months after the assassination of an Iranian general in Baghdad threatened to see them expelled from the country. The announcement comes amid a spike of Islamic State activity in the country, and as Baghdad and Washington began long-anticipated talks over the future of the presence of the US in the country. A joint statement read: "In light of significant progress towards eliminating the Isis threat, over the coming months the U.S. would continue reducing forces from Iraq.” Relations between the two plummeted to an all-time low this year after the US killed Iranian spy chief Qassim Soleimani in an airstrike near Baghdad airport in January. Iranian-backed militias have since launched repeated rocket attacks on the US Embassy in Baghdad, and on military bases housing US troops. At the time, Iraqi officials were publicly furious, with President Barham Salih, describing the airstrike as a breach of sovereignty. The Iraqi parliament passed a non-binding resolution to expel American troops immediately. Yet, US officials insisted both publicly and privately that they would leave on their timetable, and only when Iraq was capable of handling its own security affairs. US-led efforts against Isil n Syria are heavily reliant on Washington’s presence in Iraq. The October 2019 raid that killed Isil-chief Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi was conducted by forces flown in from bases in Iraq. The withdrawal announcement comes as attacks by Isil surge in the country. A recent study by the Combatting Terrorism Center at West Point notes that Isil claimed 566 attacks in Iraq in the first quarter of 2020 – a notable increase on previous months. The study described Isil as showing “very significant resilience”, adding that “the movement has undertaken an agile, fluid, and pragmatic shift back to insurgency in every area of Iraq where the group has lost physical control of populations and resources.” At 5,200, the current contingent of US troops in Iraq is already considerably reduced compared to the peak in 2007, when numbers topped 160,000 under President George W. Bush. The Trump administration has attempted to balance its desire to bring as many troops as possible home before the presidential election later this year, and a “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran – Iraq is seen as a key battleground in the rivalry. Though no exact figures were given, western officials believe the reduction will halve the number of US troops remaining in Iraq, with further reductions possible before the end of the year.
A 24-year-old black man was found hanging from a tree in Palmdale, California, this week, sparking a massive public outcry and demands for a more thorough investigation after officials almost immediately described it as a suicide. Robert Fuller was found by a passerby at about 3:39 a.m. Wednesday near Palmdale City Hall in Poncitlán Square, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Homicide investigators said they had found “no signs of a struggle” and suggested Fuller had died by suicide—an assessment echoed by city officials who attributed the death to emotional despair caused by the coronavirus pandemic. “Sadly, it is not the first such incident since the COVID-19 pandemic began,” city officials said in a statement offering their “sincere condolences and sympathies” to Fuller’s loved ones. “Many people are suffering extreme mental anguish and the City wants everyone to know that help is available,” City Manager J.J. Murphy said in a statement on Fuller’s death. But critics have questioned why authorities were so quick to deem Fuller’s death a suicide, especially when an autopsy has not yet been completed. And at a Friday afternoon press conference, attendees literally shouted down city officials who reiterated their claim that Fuller was depressed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, with many in the crowd noting that Fuller had marched in a Black Lives Matter protest shortly before he was found dead. That claim could not immediately be verified by The Daily Beast. “Remember what the first coroner said about George Floyd?” one woman shouted after officials noted the coroner’s preliminary conclusion was suicide. In the case of Floyd—an unarmed black man who died at the hands of Minneapolis police officers last month—the initial report did not deem the case a homicide. Residents have asked Palmdale city officials to check surveillance footage from the area where Fuller was found dead, expressing incredulity at the idea he would have hanged himself right in front of City Hall and there would be no video evidence of what happened. Lt. Brandon Dean of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau, who is supervising the investigation into Fuller’s death, told The Daily Beast investigators are “not officially saying that this is a suicide.” But “early indications” point to that, he said, noting that there were no defensive wounds or signs of a physical assault. There was “nothing that would indicate he was put up there against his will,” Dean said. “The rope wasn’t thrown over but tied to the branch, which means somebody had to get up there and tie it.”After the initial autopsy report listed suicide as the cause of death, he said, the coroner has since conducted a full autopsy and the cause of death determination won’t be made until toxicology results are in. “If the toxicology results were to show a high level of a chemical that might have poisoned him or knocked him unconscious and allowed someone to drag him up there, it would give a new direction to the case,” he said. While there are no cameras around City Hall, Dean said investigators have been reviewing footage from businesses near the area to see if they can find video of Fuller and determine whether he was with anyone else. A woman who identified herself as a friend of Fuller’s phoned into a local radio show on Friday to dispute authorities’ suggestion that he died by suicide. “If you knew this young man, you would never get the thought of him having some type of mental illness. … He was always smiling,” the woman, identified only as Abby, said on Big Boy’s Neighborhood. “They’re trying to cover it up as a suicide and it’s not a suicide,” she said. A news report in the Antelope Valley Times also issued an editor’s note on their original story about Fuller’s death, noting that the paper had been “contacted by several readers not connected to this incident who strongly believe that the death was not a suicide and other suspicious factors are at play.” Police have stressed that the investigation is still continuing and that any information released so far is preliminary. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has asked anyone with information to call (323) 890-5500.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
Fears of dismantling local police forces come from a "place of privilege," Minneapolis City Council president Lisa Bender told CNN on Monday."What if in the middle of the night my home is broken into. Who do I call?" CNN anchor Alisyn Camerota asked Bender after the city council president laid out her vision for a post-police city."I hear that loud and clear from a lot of my neighbors, and I know — and myself, too, and I know that that comes from a place of privilege," Bender responded. "For those of us for whom the system is working, I think we need to step back and imagine what it would feel like to already live in that reality where calling the police may mean more harm instead."> Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender on the intent to defund and dismantle the city’s police department: “[We] have looked up ways we can shift the response away from our armed police officers… the groundwork is laid already.” https://t.co/h0eSepelHE pic.twitter.com/wBASgjsIbq> > — CNN (@CNN) June 8, 2020Bender and eight other City Council members, who together form a veto-proof majority on the twelve-seat body, have already signed a pledge to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department. Mayor Jacob Frey has backed reform but refused to defund the city's police force entirely.However, Bender appeared to temper a push to defund the MPD immediately, saying it would take "years" before police would not be necessary. She and other Council Members had come out in support of a "police-free future" in 2017."To me, [a police-free future] is a long way away, and it would take an enormous amount of investment in things that we know work to keep people safe," Bender said. "I know the statement was bold, and I stand by that bold statement, but the work ahead of us will be long."Calls to defund and dismantle police departments have grown after the death of George Floyd, an African American man killed during his arrest by four Minneapolis police officers. The city saw widespread demonstrations and riots following Floyd's death, with rioters looting and burning down buildings including the headquarters of the city's 3rd precinct, where the four officers were stationed.
China on Monday challenged U.S. Senator Rick Scott to show evidence supporting his accusation that Beijing is trying to slow down or sabotage the development of a COVID-19 vaccine by Western countries. Scott declined to give details of the evidence when asked during the interview on Sunday but said it had come through the intelligence community.
George Floyd’s loved ones will pay their final respects in Houston Tuesday … which has officially been declared George Floyd Day in the area. Floyd’s hometown funeral is the last of four services held for him over the past few days. The ceremony…
The US Marine Corps has officially ordered the removal of the Confederate battle flag from public display on its bases and offices, citing the flag's use by racist groups as a "threat to our core values".In a statement on 5 June, the service branch said: "The Confederate battle flag has all too often been co-opted by violent extremist and racist groups whose divisive beliefs have no place in our Corps."
Conor’s really laying it on thick now. He posted a shot of brownie, and it’s all about the icing on it — “Happy retirement, Daddy.” If Conor McGregor were a rapper this would be his biggest hit song, “I’m retired” — a track he’s already dropped…
A powerful video of then-Senator Joe Biden speaking about apartheid South Africa has resurfaced.The clip, taken from C-Span coverage of a Senate committee in 1986, shows Mr Biden passionately speaking out in support of the majority black population of South Africa, and against the oppressive apartheid regime.
Grindr is removing all color lines … it’s scrapping its controversial ethnicity filter, and also pledging to fight racism alongside the Black Lives Matter movement. The popular gay dating app made the long-awaited move while announcing its…
A 28-year-old sumo wrestler from Japan died Wednesday after battling COVID-19, the Japan Sumo Association confirmed. The wrestler is Shobushi — real name Kiyotaka Suetake — who’s been wrestling at the pro level in Japan since 2007. The story is…
The father and son accused of murdering Ahmaud Arbery are sitting ducks in the jail as they await prosecution — and because of that … the men are being isolated behind bars. Glynn County Undersheriff Ron Corbett tells TMZ … Travis and Gregory…
The CIA reportedly believes that China attempted to prevent the World Health Organization from declaring a global health emergency during the beginning stages of the coronavirus pandemic in January.In a report titled "U.N.-China: WHO Mindful But Not Beholden to China," the CIA detailed that China threatened to cease cooperating with the WHO's coronavirus investigation if the agency declared a global health emergency, Newsweek reported on Tuesday. The threats came at the same time that China reportedly "intentionally concealed the severity" of the outbreak in order to hoard medical supplies.U.S. officials told Newsweek that they could not say whether Chinese premier Xi Jinping was personally involved in the effort to pressure the WHO. A German intelligence report published by Der Spiegel last week concluded that Xi was indeed involved in the effort.The WHO declared a global health emergency on January 30, about one month after China confirmed the emergence of the then-unidentified pathogen in the city of Wuhan."Let me be clear: This declaration is not a vote of no confidence in China. On the contrary, WHO continues to have confidence in China's capacity to control the outbreak," WHO Director-General Tedros Anhanom told reporters at the time. The coronavirus outbreak has since become a pandemic, causing over 4,000,000 confirmed infections and killing almost 300,000 worldwide as of Tuesday.Accusing the WHO of mishandling the crisis and kowtowing to China, President Trump in April announced he would suspend U.S. funding for the organization."I’m instructing my administration to halt funding of the WHO while a review is conducted to assess the WHO’s role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus,” Trump said at a White House press conference. “The WHO failed in this basic duty and must be held accountable.”
Ahmaud Arbery died from 2 shotgun wounds, and suffered a third, during the struggle with Travis McMichael. The Glynn County Coroner conducted the autopsy back on Feb. 24 — the day after Ahmaud’s death — and found 25-year-old Ahmaud died from 2…
More than 700 detainees including convicted criminals have been released by the Home Office from immigration detention centres because the coronavirus pandemic means they cannot be deported. The Home Office was forced to release at least 50 of them by judicial tribunals despite warning that they could pose a risk to the public. The Government has had to free them because by law they can only detain them if they can remove them from the UK “within a reasonable time.” More than 40 countries to which the Home Office planned to remove them have either closed their borders or imposed travel restrictions, making deportation impossible and requiring the detainees to be released. A further 370 – described as largely convicted foreign offenders by the Home Office – are still being held in immigration detention centres The release follows legal action begun in March by Detention Action, which claimed a “significant proportion” of the 1,500 held in immigration detention centres had serious underlying health conditions which left them facing a “significant risk of serious harm or death” from coronavirus. It warned their continued detention was unlawful given the lack of flights in which to remove them within a “reasonable period of time.” The Government challenged the release of 58 of the immigrants who had appealed their detention, saying it was reasonable “in light of their particular situation, the likelihood of their absconding if released, and the level of risk they pose to the public.” The 700 include those who have overstayed their visas, asylum seekers, illegal migrants and people with convictions. Detention Action is now considering further legal action to force the release of the remaining 370 to protect them from the deadly coronavirus. Bella Sankey, director of Detention Action, said any foreign offenders released would have served their time and be subject to the same conditions as British offenders including probation and licence restrictions. “We are thinking about options that I think will involve some future litigation because we don’t think the response so far is adequate,” she said. Meanwhile, Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, said a spike in migrant boats making the dangerous crossing of the English Channel is linked to lockdown restrictions on road and train crossings.
Elizabeth Warren’s 86-year-old brother has died just weeks after contracting COVID-19. Don Reed Herring — a 20-year U.S. Air Force veteran who served nearly 6 years in Vietnam — died Tuesday night in Norman, Oklahoma. The former presidential…
Child actor and Hollywood heir Jason Davis’s cause of death was fentanyl … according to the Medical Examiner. L.A. County Medical Examiner documents show Jason died from the “effects of fentanyl.” No other factors are listed in the report … but…
Rapper Fred the Godson has died from coronavirus complications … according to people very close to him. The Bronx MC — popular for tracks like “Toast To That” with Jadakiss and “Doves Fly” featuring Pusha T — died a couple weeks after…
Rapper Fred the Godson has died from coronavirus complications … according to people very close to him. The Bronx MC — popular for tracks like “Toast To That” with Jadakiss and “Doves Fly” featuring Pusha T — died a couple weeks after…
Mexico’s president acknowledged Monday that drug cartels have been handing out aid packages during the coronavirus pandemic, and called on them to stop. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said such handouts have occurred “in several places,” but said the government can’t stop the practice. “It is something that happens, it cannot be avoided,” López Obrador said.
Though the the U.S. intelligence community has long since dismissed the notion that the coronavirus is a synthesized bioweapon, it is still weighing the possibility that the pandemic might have been touched off by an accident at a research facility rather than an infection from a live-animal market.
Carole Baskin took just about everything from Joe Exotic, but she didn’t get the shirt off his back — that belongs to one eBay user who’s trying to hawk it for a quick (and pricey) buck. Yes, one of Joe’s own personal sequin tops (blouses?) is up…
This was bound to happen — several stands have popped up across L.A. selling COVID-19 protective gear … but for once, vendors are NOT fearing getting shut down by cops. We’re told one stand in particular just off Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood is…
The evangelical pastor who vowed to keep preaching unless he was “in jail or the hospital” has died of COVID-19 … only weeks after defiantly opening his church doors. Bishop Gerald Glenn showed off his jam-packed congregation back on March 22 at…
“Saturday Night Live” is figuring it out too — how to keep the show going from home … with self-shot skits, and the perfect host, too, in Tom Hanks. The first celeb survivor of the coronavirus hosted the special ‘SNL from Home’ episode ……
The man never disappoints … Bocelli peformed for about 30 minutes, and the highlights included “Ava Maria” and “Amazing Grace.” The blind tenor performed the latter after walking without a guide the doors of il Duomo to a microphone set up…
Several states down south are dealing with tornadoes and tornado warnings — forcing officials to tell residents to take cover, while also social distancing … if possible. Trying times, to say the least. With tornadoes having already touched down…
Todd Chrisley says the coronavirus “made me the sickest I’ve ever been on this earth” … and forced him to get his ass to an ER, stat!!! The “Chrisley Knows Best” star revealed his diagnosis Wednesday, and said he’s been battling COVID-19 for 3…
Colton Underwood looks like a walking clean bill of health after being stricken by coronavirus — and the first thing on his checklist was a jaunt with his boo. The ex-‘Bachelor’ hit the road Monday for a walk with his girlfriend, Cassie Randolph,…
Ronaldinho — the soccer superstar accused of using a fake passport to enter Paraguay — is finally out of jail … but he ain’t exactly home free. The 40-year-old Brazilian was moved to house arrest Tuesday — after spending the last month locked…
YNW Melly is begging a judge to let him out of prison … because he says he’s on the verge of dying from COVID-19. The rapper’s lawyer, Bradford Cohen, filed legal docs, obtained by TMZ, claiming the rapper — in prison awaiting his murder trial…
The actress who played the mother of the kid who got eaten in “Jaws,” has passed away by a threat that’s becoming more real and dangerous than a great white … COVID-19. Lee Fierro — who portrayed Alex Kintner’s mom, Mrs. Kintner, in the 1975…