Harvey Weinstein extradited to California to face more sexual assault charges

Published

2 years ago

July 20, 2021

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Harvey Weinstein has been extradited to California to face more sex assault charges, New York prison officials said.

The former Hollywood producer was convicted and sentenced to 23 years in a New York prison last year for rape and sexual assault.

He is wanted for trial in Los Angeles, California, on charges of allegedly attacking five women between 2004 and 2013.

Prosecutors in Los Angeles had asked for the disgraced producer to be moved in July 2020 but it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Weinstein’s legal team attempted to block the extradition on health grounds and appealed the decision.

The 69-year-old had suffered from cardiac, dental and back problems but on 15 June Erie County Court Judge Kenneth Case dismissed his appeal, paving the way for Weinstein to be moved west.

“This morning at approximately 9.25 custody of Mr Harvey Weinstein was handed over to the appropriate officials for transport to the state of California per a court order,” the New York Department of Corrections said in a statement.

The Los Angeles charges include forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual battery by restraint, and sexual penetration by use of force.

If convicted, Weinstein could spend the rest of his life in prison.

His spokesman, Juda Engelmayer, said: “We will be fighting so that Harvey can receive his needed medical care and of course, so that he can be treated fairly.

“Due process, presumption of innocence and a fair trial are all still his right.”

Weinstein is also appealing his New York conviction and sentence and has denied having non-consensual sex with anyone.

Weinstein was one of the most powerful movie and TV producers in Hollywood before allegations by more than 80 women of sexual misconduct in 2017 led to criminal charges and fuelled the wider #MeToo movement.

He co-founded the Miramax film studio, whose hit movies included “Shakespeare in Love” and “Pulp Fiction.”

US

Kevin McCarthy: US House Speaker removed from office for first time in history

Published

22 hours ago

October 3, 2023

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Kevin McCarthy: US House Speaker removed from office for first time in history

US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has been removed from office after a historic challenge to his leadership from his own party.

The Republican faced a motion to vacate, which was triggered by Donald Trump ally Matt Gaetz on Monday, just months after securing the position in 15 rounds of voting.

It is the first time in the country’s history that House representatives have voted the Speaker out.

Behind closed doors early on Tuesday, Mr McCarthy told fellow Republicans: “If I counted how many times someone wanted to knock me out, I would have been gone a long time ago.”

Several Republicans, however, had said they were sticking with Mr McCarthy as they emerged from the meeting, during which they said he received standing ovations.

It follows a decision made by Mr McCarthy over the weekend to cooperate with the Democrats to keep the government running rather than risk a shutdown.

It is a move that angered Mr Gaetz and other far-right Republicans, as Mr McCarthy relied on Democratic votes to pass a temporary funding extension on Saturday that avoided a partial government shutdown.

A band of about 20 Republicans had forced Mr McCarthy’s hand by repeatedly blocking other legislation.

Mr Gaetz and his allies said they were frustrated by the slow pace of spending legislation on Mr McCarthy’s watch.

Republican Representative Tim Burchett, who said he would vote to oust Mr McCarthy, said: “We took a whole month of August off. I think that that’s pretty telling.”

Another day of history in US politics

It’s political pantomime, without the laughs.

To look at the House of Representatives is to see the turbulence of America’s political ecosystem.

The ousting of Kevin McCarthy leaves the lower chamber of Congress in a state of paralysis.

There will be an interim Speaker but his or her role will effectively amount to finding a permanent replacement.

It is a dysfunction at the heart of power, an extension of the fault lines that fracture the modern-day Republican Party.

Never before has a House Speaker been ejected in this way, another day of history in US politics

The history-makers at the wheel have travelled a distance from the party fringes to positions of influence.

Matt Gaetz is the high-profile House representative who tabled the motion to oust McCarthy.

He’s prominent amongst a hard-line conservative core of House Republicans, Trump-aligned, and bent on reshaping party traditions and reorientating its trajectory to the right.

It is a tail that can wag the dog and this episode is clear evidence of it.

The rules dictate that just one representative – Mr Gaetz in this case – can trigger a vote to oust the Speaker.

That arrangement was a deal Mr McCarthy struck in January to appease his party’s right wing and enable his accession to the position of Speaker.

It didn’t look like clever politics by Mr McCarthy at the time and it looks even less so today.

Today, politics are harder in a party whose politics have changed.

Not all are convinced by Mr Gaetz’s intentions, with some Republicans believing he is angling for a change at a higher office.

“It seems very personal with Matt. It doesn’t look like he’s looking out for the country or the institution,” Mr McCarthy said.

Mr Gaetz has denied he is spurred on by a dislike of Mr McCarthy.

US

Hunter Biden pleads not guilty to three firearm charges

Published

1 day ago

October 3, 2023

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Hunter Biden pleads not guilty to three firearm charges

Hunter Biden, the son US President Joe Biden, has pleaded not guilty to three federal firearm charges filed against him after a plea deal collapsed.

He is accused of lying about his drug use in October 2018 on a form to buy a gun, which he kept for around 11 days.

Abbe Lowell, his lawyer, told the court in Wilmington, Delaware, on Tuesday he plans to file a motion to dismiss the case, challenging their constitutionality.

While the president’s son has admitted to struggles with a crack cocaine addiction over the period in question, his lawyers insist he didn’t break the law.

These kind of gun charges are rare, and an appeals court has found banning drug users from guns violates the Second Amendment.

The case remains on track for a possible trial just as the 2024 election looms.

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US

Woman sues Disney theme park over claims water slide gave her ‘painful wedgie’

Published

1 day ago

October 3, 2023

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Woman sues Disney theme park over claims water slide gave her 'painful wedgie'

A woman is suing Disney over claims a water slide at one of its theme parks left her with serious injuries.

In a lawsuit filed in Orange County, Florida, last week, the woman claims the Humunga Kowabunga slide at Walt Disney World gave her “severe vaginal lacerations”.

Warning: The article below contains details some people may find distressing

After going on the ride at Typhoon Lagoon as part of her 30th birthday celebrations in 2019, she was taken by ambulance to a local hospital before being moved to another that specialised in gynaecological injuries, court documents say.

There medics found she had a “full thickness laceration” of the vagina, which “caused the plaintiff’s bowel to protrude through her abdominal wall and damage her internal organs”.

She is seeking $50,000 (£41,400) in damages from Disney, Sky News’ US partner network NBC News reports. The lawsuit said the Humunga Kowabunga slide puts riders at risk of a “painful wedgie”.

According to court documents, she went on the ride wearing a one-piece swimming costume with her mother and daughter after being instructed to cross her legs.

“The slide caused [her] clothing to be painfully forced between her legs and for water to be violently forced inside her,” the documents read.

“She experienced immediate and severe pain internally and, as she stood up, blood began rushing from between her legs.”

It adds that “risk of injury as a consequence of water being forced inside a woman’s body” is “far greater than it is for a man”.

Disney has not responded to NBC News’s requests for comment.

Humunga Kowabunga is Typhoon Lagoon’s fastest and steepest waterslide. It sends people down a five-storey descent at speeds of up to 40mph, according to Disney’s website.

The theme park was built in 1989.