How much was Seann William Scott paid for 'American Pie'? Actor earned a pittance for movie that grossed $235M
Seann William Scott played Steve Stifler in the iconic teen sex comedy
2023-07-29 17:56
Trump shares threatening video as midnight deadline to appear before Jan 6 grand jury closes in - live
Donald Trump could be indicted by a grand jury investigating his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the January 6 Capitol riot by Friday. The Independent learned that a possible indictment could be handed down as soon as this week, charging the former president in his third criminal case. Mr Trump announced on Tuesday that he had been sent a letter by special prosecutor Jack Smith informing him that he is the “target” of a grand jury investigation. The target letter cites three statutes under which he could be charged including conspiracy to commit offence or to defraud the United States, deprivation of rights under colour of law and tampering with a witness, victim or informant, multiple outlets reported. William Russell, a former White House aide who now works for the Trump presidential campaign and spent much of January 6 with the then-president, is scheduled to testify before the grand jury when it meets today. The former president was given until today to report to the Washington, DC, federal courthouse but with a midnight deadline is not expected to appear. Instead, he shared a fan video on Truth Social with a threatening mob boss feel using audio featuring an expletive and lifted from comments he made in 2020 on Iran. Read More Donald Trump brands US a ‘third-world hellhole’ run by ‘perverts’ and ‘thugs’ Ron DeSantis campaign fires staff as Florida governor trails Trump in the polls Fundraising takeaways: Trump and DeSantis in their own tier as Pence and other Republicans struggle RFK Jr revives antisemitic conspiracy theory that Covid-19 was ‘ethnically targeted’ to spare Jewish people
2023-07-21 04:19
US proposes 18% fuel economy increase for new vehicle fleet from 2027 through 2032
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2023-07-29 03:20
G7 summit: Zelensky accuses some Arab leaders of 'blind eye' to war ahead of Japan trip
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2023-05-19 22:48
Who is Chloe Fineman? Lily-Rose Depp and The Weeknd react to comedian's NSFW 'The Idol' spoof
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'90 Days Fiance' star Angela Deem faces Internet's wrath after she accuses a follower of 'being rude': 'You deserve everything you get'
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Why New Hampshire is the most likely state where Trump could lose a primary
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Ukraine war: ‘Every family’ in Hroza village affected by missile attack
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2023-10-06 15:18
Mother charged after New Jersey investigators solve 1984 ‘Baby Mary’ cold case
Nearly 40 years after an infant was found wrapped in a towel, inside plastic bag and left to die on a cold December morning in a wooded area of Mendham Township, New Jersey, investigators have solved the case. The baby girl’s body was discovered by two young boys who were fishing at Woodland Lake in the Dismal Harmony Natural Area on the morning of Christmas Eve in 1984. She was baptized by Rev. Michael Drury of St. Joseph Church, who gave her the name “Baby Mary.” But her identity remained a mystery until this year. After a multiyear investigation and new DNA analysis, the baby’s mother was arrested in South Carolina and charged with manslaughter, Morris County Prosecutor Robert Carroll announced at a press conference on Thursday. Prosecutors declined to share the mom’s name because she was a minor at the time of the alleged crime. The man who authorities identified as the baby’s father has since passed away. There is no evidence that he was aware of the pregnancy or the birth. The baby was found around 10.35am on the morning of Christmas Eve near Mt. Pleasant Road in Mendham Township, New Jersey. Her body was wrapped in a towel, inside a plastic bag. Her umbilical cord was still attached. The Medical Examiner determined the infant had been alive at the time of her birth. Her death was ruled a homicide. On April 24, 2023, a juvenile delinquency complaint was filed against Baby Mary’s mother. She was charged with one count of manslaughter, an offense which would be a second-degree crime if committed by an adult. “This arrest is the culmination of decades of effort, across multiple generations of law enforcement,” Mr Carroll said. “It is a tribute to the tenacity and dedication of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, our Major Crimes Unit, the Morris County Sheriff’s Office, and the Mendham Township Police Department. “The death and abandonment of this baby girl is a tragic loss and even after nearly 40 years, remains just as heartbreaking. Justice may not take the form the public has imagined all these years, but we believe with this juvenile delinquency complaint, justice is being served for Baby Mary. Nothing can right this terrible wrong. Thanks to the men and women who worked so diligently on this case, we hope the community is given a sense of closure.” Read More Date set for retrial decision on serial killer nurse Lucy Letby Stepfather who murdered 10-month-old baby will not have sentence increased Lucy Letby: Mum demands fresh probe into baby’s death after finding picture of her with killer
2023-09-08 05:53
Federal funds will pay to send Iowa troops to the US-Mexico border, governor says
About a hundred Iowa National Guard troops will be sent to the U.S.-Mexico border for the month of August in a federally funded operation, Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Wednesday. The move reflects a broader trend across the country of Republican governors joining forces with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to counter President Joe Biden's immigration policies, which they say have created a crisis at the border. “Since the administration refuses to invest in securing the border and protecting its citizens, Texas has asked other states to help, and Iowa is ready and willing to assist," Reynolds said in a statement. The Biden administration sent 1,500 active-duty troops for a 90-day deployment in May, amid concerns that the end of asylum restrictions linked to the pandemic would lead to an increase in illegal border crossings. Even when the restrictions were in place, a record number of people were crossing the border. Instead, numbers have fallen, and 1,100 troops will conclude their 90-day mission by Aug. 8, a defense official said on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss details ahead of an announcement. The remaining 400 will be extended through August 31. An additional 2,300 National Guard troops remain at the border under federal orders. This is the third time since 2020 that Reynolds is sending troops to the country’s southern border. Officers with the state’s Department of Public Safety will follow National Guard troops at the end of August for the month of September. The governor’s office indicated in May, when the deployment was first announced, that about 30 public safety officers would be sent. Iowa's neighbor, Nebraska, will also dispatch about 60 troops to the southern border in August, Republican Gov. Jim Pillen announced Monday. Governors in Florida, Virginia and South Carolina, among other states, have made similar deployments for Operation Lone Star, a multibillion dollar operation that is distinct from federal efforts, and whose lack of transparency and metrics have drawn questions. ___ Associated Press writers Tara Copp and Rebecca Santana contributed to this story from Washington. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide
2023-08-03 07:47
A feud between a patriarch and a militia leader adds to the woes of Iraqi Christians
Iraqi Christians have struggled since the Nineveh plains, their historic homeland of rolling hills dotted with wheat and barley fields, were wrested back from Islamic State extremists six years ago. Although the threat from IS has receded, some towns are still mostly rubble. There are few inhabited homes or basic services, including water. Many Christians have given up and left for Europe, Australia or the United States. Others are trying to follow. Now the shrinking religious minority that was also violently targeted by al-Qaida before the rise of IS has been rocked by yet another crisis in the form of a political showdown between two influential Christian figures — a Vatican-appointed cardinal and a militia leader, with land and influence at the core of the drama. The dispute adds to the woes of Iraqi Christians, who have often felt sidelined in the political order. A 2021 visit by Pope Francis provided a glimmer of hope that quickly faded. Meanwhile, the Christian population has plummeted. The number of Christians in Iraq today is estimated at 150,000, compared to 1.5 million in 2003. Iraq’s total population is more than 40 million. The political tension rose last month when Cardinal Louis Sako withdrew from his headquarters in Baghdad to northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region after Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid revoked a decree recognizing his position as patriarch of the Chaldeans, Iraq’s largest Christian denomination and one of the Catholic Church’s eastern rites. Sako said he will not return to Baghdad until his recognition is reinstated. His departure added to the feeling of helplessness among many Christians. “Of course, this affects us psychologically,” said Sura Salem, a Christian social activist in Baghdad. “You feel like a family without a father.” Christians staged a small protest in Baghdad over Sako’s departure, but Salem said “listening to the voice of the Christians is the last concern” of Iraqi leaders. Sako blames a campaign against him by Rayan al-Kildani, a fellow Chaldean Christian who formed a militia called the Babylon Brigades that fought against IS and still patrols much of the Nineveh plains. The group is affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces, a collection of primarily Shiite, Iran-backed militias. Its associated political party, the Babylon Movement, won four of five Christian-designated seats in Iraq’s 2021 parliamentary elections. Sako believes al-Kildani is angling to take over Christian endowments and properties. Al-Kildani has made similar allegations about Sako. “I have stood up to this militia and others who wanted to take over what rightfully belongs to the Christians,” Sako told The Associated Press, days after arriving in Irbil to a warm welcome from Kurdish officials. “Of course, no one defends Christians other than the church.” In Baghdad's upscale Mansour neighborhood, al-Kildani was busy building political alliances. On a recent afternoon, several couches in the palatial lobby of his party headquarters were occupied by well-dressed women wearing hijabs, beneath a painting of the Last Supper and a portrait of al-Kildani. One by one, the women entered the inner office, each one emerging with a gift bag. One of the visitors explained that they were political candidates interested in running on al-Kildani’s list in Mosul in December’s provincial elections. After the visitors departed, a smiling and courtly al-Kildani made his entrance. He insisted that he had no role in the withdrawal of the patriarch's decree and dismissed allegations that he was seeking to seize church lands. “I am the son of this church, and it is my duty to respect it, but it is unfortunate when a clergyman accuses someone without proof,” he said. Al-Kildani has accused Sako of selling off church properties, allegations the patriarch denies, and he has filed a lawsuit against Sako alleging slander. But al-Kildani said he is ready to meet with Sako to reconcile. Sako rejected the suggestion. Al-Kildani ”has a militia, and his loyalty is not to the church,” the patriarch said. “He is not a respectable person." The Iraqi president has downplayed his revocation of Sako's recognition as bureaucratic housekeeping, claiming it did not diminish the patriarch’s legal or religious status. The Vatican has remained largely silent. Its embassy in Baghdad said in a statement that the Iraqi Constitution guarantees that the heads of churches can administer church properties. A senior Vatican official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment to the media, said the decree was unnecessary given the constitutional guarantees. He said the Holy See did not want to get involved in the dispute but had invited Sako to tamp down tensions with the Iraqi authorities for the sake of Iraqi Christians. The United States sided with Sako. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said last month that the U.S. is concerned that Sako’s position "is under attack” by a militia leader who in 2019 was slapped with U.S. sanctions for his alleged involvement in human rights abuses, including cutting off a captive’s ear. Al-Kildani denied the allegations and accused the international community of being ungrateful after his group’s role in the fight against IS. He accused the Kurdish Democratic Party — the ruling party in the Kurdish region and a rival of the Iraqi president's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Party — and the United States of engineering Sako’s withdrawal from Baghdad for political reasons. For some Christians, the drama is overshadowed by more pressing problems. As Baghdad resident Anan al-Dawi left a sparsely attended Mass on Sunday, her main concern was a recent power outage in the scorching summer heat. She struck a diplomatic tone regarding the feud between Sako and al-Kildani. Although physically absent, she said, Sako “lives in all of our hearts.” As for al-Kildani's group, she said: “I serve the country in my way. You serve it in yours, and they are also serving their country." Back in the Nineveh plains, in the town of Batnaya, patrolled by members of Kildani's militia, Lawrence Sabah owns a small factory where he makes mop handles out of wood imported from Russia. Sabah did not share his opinion on Sako or al-Kildani, but he had other complaints. “There are no services, even the water sometimes doesn’t come, and 70 or 80 percent of the houses were destroyed,” he said. He is hoping to join his parents and siblings, who have resettled in California. Some 8 kilometers (5 miles) to the north, in Kurdish-controlled territory, Raad Ekram owns an electrical supply store in the sparsely populated town of Telskof. When his family was displaced from the village to the city of Dohuk, Ekram believes he got short shrift from both the Iraqi government and the church. “We never saw the patriarch,” he said. “Of course, I don’t accept what happened to him ... and I don’t accept for him to be harmed.” But the patriarch "didn’t do everything he should have done for us.” He is encouraging his children to seek their fortunes abroad. “There’s nothing left in Iraq," he said, "especially for the Christians.” ___ Associated Press writers Nicole Winfield in Rome and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. 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2023-08-04 13:50
Why does Pokimane think OnlyFans-style platforms are better for content creators amid Twitch policy change?
Pokimane thinks content creation is becoming 'saturated,' with a plethora of streaming possibilities and far too many options
2023-06-08 18:48
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