Lawsuits from two Michael Jackson accusers can move to trial, court rules

Wade Robson and James Safechuck detailed allegations that singer sexually abused them as children in HBO documentary

Lawsuits from two men who accused Michael Jackson of sexually abusing them when they were children can move forward to a jury trial, a California appeals court ruled on Friday.

The two men, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, were featured in the 2019 HBO documentary series Leaving Neverland that detailed their allegations against Jackson, who died in 2009.

Continue reading...

The Nun's Bonnie Aarons is Taking Warner Bros. to Court

Warner Bros.’ Conjuring franchise has a handful of recurring villains, and one of them is Valak the Demon Nun. Played by Bonnie Aarons, Valak first appeared in 2016's The Conjuring 2, then got boosted to primary star status with her own sub-series, whose second installment is set to hit theaters in a few weeks.

Read more...

Government’s ‘small boats week’ backfires as Labour lead on immigration rises

Tory attempt to capitalise on Channel crossings draws attention to immigration and strengthens opposition lead on issue

Government attempts to make capital out of the issue of Channel crossings in a special “small boats week” appear to have backfired with the public, according to the latest Opinium poll for the Observer.

“Small boats week”, earlier this month, was dogged by a series of disasters, including figures showing record numbers of crossings; the evacuation, due to a health scare, of the Bibby Stockholm barge used to house migrants, and the deaths of at least six people when a small boat capsized and sank in the Channel.

Continue reading...

Lucy Letby: Police urged to investigate hospital bosses for corporate manslaughter

Key prosecution witness in the trial of the serial killer nurse calls for inquiry into ‘grossly negligent’ executives

Hospital bosses who failed to act on concerns about the killer nurse Lucy Letby should be investigated by police for corporate manslaughter, says the prosecution’s key medical expert.

Speaking to the Observer, Dr Dewi Evans, whose evidence was central to the case against Letby, said executives were “grossly negligent” for not acting on fears about the nurse as she murdered seven babies and attempted to kill another six.

Continue reading...

Big news in the UK: Truck drives down narrow village road [Awkward]

	[link] [0 comments]

Striking writers have been in consistent talks with studios for over a week

Image: The Writers Guild of America

The Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) wrote in an update yesterday that bargaining talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers are ongoing after the two resumed negotiations just over a week ago (via Deadline). The WGA also says the talks will continue next week.

The guild and movie studios re-started negotiations after meeting earlier this month for the first time since the strike began over three months ago (and less than a month after the Screen Actors Guild also began striking). The strike hasn’t been without its toll. Earlier this week, Amazon reportedly blamed a questionable choice to re-cancel its A League of Their Own TV series on the strike, and a remake of Fritz Lang's silent film classic Metropolis was...

Continue reading…

Prince William wishes Lionesses good luck in the final – but will not be there

Prince of Wales posts supportive message to England’s women’s football team and apologises for not flying to Australia for World Cup

The Prince of Wales has wished the Lionesses good luck in their World Cup final and apologised for not being in Australia to watch them in person.

In a video message posted on social media, William, who was sitting next to his daughter Charlotte, said he was proud of what the team had achieved.

Continue reading...

Judge Rules Wholly AI-Created Art Can't Get Copyright Protections

For those in the entertainment industry (and creative fields more generally), AI has been an extremely divisive topic. As various websites like ArtStation have decided to basically let art created by the controversial technology persist on their platforms—either freely or with specific guidelines—Hollywood writers and …

Read more...

How William Gladstone defended his father’s role in slavery

The great Victorian statesman’s glittering career was financed by huge profits made in the 1820s and 30s on Guyanese estates

William Gladstone’s father, John, was an absentee landlord who never visited his estates in the Caribbean but became fabulously rich from the proceeds of slavery.

His pursuit of profit at the expense of free – and then cheap – labour in Guyana transformed the South American country for ever.

Continue reading...

‘I felt absolutely sick’: John Gladstone’s heir on his family’s role in slavery

Charlie Gladstone on why the only way he can live with his family’s dark past is to turn it into something positive

For Charlie Gladstone, the question is not what sort of ancestor he had, but what sort of ancestor he wants to be.

When he learned about John Gladstone’s involvement in slavery he was moved to tears. “I felt absolutely terrible. I really, really hated it. It was a shock and I felt absolutely sick.”

Continue reading...

William Gladstone: family of former British PM to apologise for links to slavery

Descendants of PM, whose father’s wealth came from sugar plantations, travel to Guyana for 200th anniversary of rebellion by enslaved Africans

The family of one of Britain’s most famous prime ministers will travel to the Caribbean this week to apologise for its historical role in slavery.

Six of William Gladstone’s descendants will arrive in Guyana on Thursday as the country commemorates the 200th anniversary of a rebellion by enslaved people that historians say paved the way for abolition.

Continue reading...

‘A huge human drama’: how the revolt that began on the Gladstone plantation led to emancipation

The Demerara Rebellion failed, but it was a step towards ending slavery in the British empire

The Demerara Rebellion of August 1823 was a pivotal event in the abolition of slavery in the British Empire.

While the transatlantic slave trade, the largest forced migration in human history, was outlawed by Britain in 1807, slavery continued across the colonies. Conditions were brutal in Demerara, one of three provinces that made up British Guiana, where sugar plantations were among the most profitable in the world.

Continue reading...

Johnny Cab gets stuck in wet cement. This ought to be a metaphor for something [Strange]

	[link] [1 comments]

Pakistani opposition leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi detained

Reason for arrest of former foreign minister and leader of PTI is not immediately clear, party says

Pakistani opposition leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi was detained on Saturday, his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said, just hours after he said it would challenge any delay to the country’s election in the courts.

Party spokesperson Zulfi Bukhari told Reuters the specific reason for the detention of Qureshi, twice Pakistan’s foreign minister, was not immediately clear. The caretaker information minister did not respond to a request for comment.

Continue reading...

Warning of ‘catastrophic flooding’ as Hurricane Hilary nears Mexico and California

Storm expected to hit Baja California on Saturday evening before reaching southern California as rare tropical storm on Sunday

Hurricane Hilary is expected to enter the Baja California region on Saturday evening as a powerful hurricane before reaching southern California as a rare tropical storm on Sunday amid warnings of deadly flooding.

The National Hurricane Center warned of “catastrophic and life-threatening flooding” from the storm through Monday, in its most recent forecast on Saturday morning, and told residents to expect heavy rain ahead of the center of the storm.

Continue reading...

Three convicted after Met police sting operation recovers £2m Ming vase

Detective from force’s specialist crime unit says cross-border operation was the result of four years’ work

Three men have been convicted after a £2m vase stolen from a museum was recovered in a police sting operation.

The Chinese Ming dynasty vase was stolen from the Museum of Far Eastern Art in Geneva, in Switzerland in June 2019. Three men plotted to sell it on for hundreds of thousands of pounds, but were caught in a Scotland Yard operation.

Continue reading...

Two Israelis killed in suspected Palestinian shooting at West Bank car wash

Incident forms part of the worst escalation of violence in the occupied territory for nearly two decades

Two Israelis were killed in a suspected Palestinian shooting attack on a car wash in a volatile stretch of the occupied West Bank on Saturday, the latest outburst of violence in the region.

The Israeli military said it was searching for suspects and setting up roadblocks near the town of Hawara, a flashpoint area in the northern West Bank, which has has been the scene of repeated shooting attacks and a rampage by Jewish settlers who set light to Palestinian property.

Continue reading...

George Soros’s retreat from Europe could ‘turn off the lights’ for human rights

Activists fear the billionaire’s legacy will be lost as his Open Society Foundations curbs its activities across the EU

He survived the Nazi occupation of his native Hungary, made a fortune on Wall Street and became one of the most steadfast backers of democracy and human rights in the eastern bloc.

But human rights activists and independent media fear the legacy of billionaire philanthropist George Soros, 93, could be about to be undone in his homelands, as his donor network announced it will curb its activities across the EU from 2024.

Continue reading...

Lucy Letby inquiry witnesses must be compelled to testify, families say

Relatives of two of nurse’s newborn victims say inquiry ordered by health secretary is inadequate

Lawyers representing the families of two of Lucy Letby’s victims have branded the government-ordered inquiry “inadequate” and called for it to be given power to compel witnesses to testify under oath.

The health secretary, Steve Barclay, has ordered an inquiry into how the neonatal nurse was able to murder seven babies and attempt to kill six others before she was reported to police.

Continue reading...

Today is the last day to save on the PS5 and its colorful DualSense controllers

Multiple retailers are discounting the PS5 right now, too, meaning you don’t necessarily need to buy it from Sony. | Image: Sony

Deals on the PlayStation 5 come once in a blue moon. That’s why we’re here to remind you that Sony’s excellent PS5 promo — which has been running since August 6th as part of Sony’s larger summer sale — is set to end tonight at 11:59PM PT. Until then, you can buy the disc-based PS5 at Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and Sony for $449, its lowest price yet.

Sony’s ongoing promo is specifically for the standard model (not the Digital Edition), which allows you to play both digital and physical games thanks to a built-in Blu-ray drive. It’s an excellent console overall, with a trove of exclusives to take advantage of, a terrific controller, and a solid subscription service in the form of PlayStation Plus. Obviously, it would be better if it was...

Continue reading…

Florida man dies in most Floridian way possible [Florida]

	[link] [6 comments]

The Peripheral Canceled After Prime Video Undoes Season 2 Renewal

Earlier in the year, Prime Video announced that its sci-fi series The Peripheralwould return for a second season. With a first season that was said to be fairly enjoyable and starring the likes of Chloe Grace-Moretz and Jack Reynor, it sucks that the biggest bit of news about season two is also its very last, as…

Read more...

Labour opens huge lead over Tories among women voters

Financial insecurity is driving a 28-point gap in the polls, after decades in which the Conservatives were more trusted with the UK economy

Labour has opened up a huge lead over the Tories among women voters, many of whom are turning to Keir Starmer’s party because they feel financially insecure after 13 years of Conservative rule, a new report says today.

The analysis by Labour Together, a thinktank whose report is based on extensive polling and academic analysis, finds that the financial worries of huge numbers of women voters – particularly those aged under 50 – are persuading many to back Labour and reject the Conservatives.

Continue reading...

Mark Kermode: Observer chief film critic leaves role after 10-year stint

Wendy Ide, a regular contributor to the newspaper since 2017, says she is ‘beyond honoured’ to take over the role

All cinemas seats are not the same. Comfy or lumpy, there are some views of the screen that are more coveted than others. This weekend, Mark Kermode, the Observer’s chief film critic for 10 years, announces that he will vacate one of the best seats in the house and usher in Wendy Ide, who is to take up his place on the newspaper.

It is a post that was held for more than 35 years by the late Philip French, during whose tenure the film review pages became an esteemed place to set in context both popular and independent cinema; to praise its triumphs and to laugh at its cliches.

Continue reading...

If you’re seeing glitchy audio in Madden 24, you’re not alone

Madden 24 has some audio issues right now. | Image: Electronic Arts

PlayStation 5 and PC Madden 24 players are dealing with annoying popping audio and disappearing sound channels in the game right now. A post on the Madden subreddit says that, during games, the audio is cutting out on half their soundbar, then returning with some static, seemingly happening whenever a play ends and a cutscene shows.

Our own Nilay Patel says he’s having the same issue on his PS5 through a Dolby Atmos rig, even when he switches the output to just stereo. Throughout the Reddit post, other users say they hear loud popping sounds every few seconds or when they pause the game. The sound is apparently bad enough that one user is worried it’s going to damage their sound system by playing the game. Another says the audio is...

Continue reading…