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Accuser describes Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey as ‘slippery, snaky difficult person’

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:32:28 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A man who described Kevin Spacey as a “slippery, snaky, difficult person” said Monday that the actor’s escalating sexual assaults caused him shame, anxiety and depression.The man, who worked with the American actor when he came to the Old Vic Theatre in London in the early 2000s, said that two decades later he cannot bring himself to view the Oscar-winner’s films or TV shows. “I can’t stand watching the man. It makes me feel sick,” the man, who cannot be identified under British law, said in a video of his police interview played for jurors in the Oscar-winner’s sexual assault trial. “It does make me feel a bit sick talking about it.”He said Spacey made him uncomfortable querying him about his sexuality, then became “touchy feely” and moved on to aggressive groping when they were alone together.“He was right from the get-go grooming me,” the man said in his police interview last year.Spacey, 63, has pleaded not guilty to a dozen charges involving four men for events th...

What’s ‘Bidenomics’? The president hopes a dubious nation embraces his ideas condensed into the term

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:32:28 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has long struggled to neatly summarize his sprawling economic vision. It’s been hard for voters to digest the mix of roads-and-bridges spending, tax hikes on big companies, tax credits for parents, tax breaks for renewable energy, grants to build computer chip factories, insulin price caps and slogans like “Build Back Better.” And that barely covers the full breadth of what the administration is doing and trying to do.Last week, the president gave a speech on “Bidenomics” in hopes that the term will lodge in voters’ minds ahead of the 2024 elections. But what is Bidenomics? Let’s just say the White House definition is different from the Republican one — evidence that catchphrases can be double-edged.Biden says his economic philosophy is the opposite of a Republican approach that favors broad tax cuts to spur growth. He sees the government as using the tax code in a more targeted fashion and fashioning other programs to foster investment in new t...

Police officer and man are killed as Indiana hospital confrontation leads to gunfire

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:32:28 GMT

TELL CITY, Ind. (AP) — Police confronted a man at a hospital in southern Indiana early Monday, leading to gunfire that killed an officer and the man, authorities said.The shooting at Perry County Memorial Hospital in Tell City, across the Ohio River from Kentucky, killed Tell City Sgt. Heather Glenn and local man Sean Hubert, 34, state police said.Officers were involved in an “altercation” with Hubert when shots were fired, Indiana State Police Sgt. John Davis said at a news conference. He offered few details and declined to take questions from reporters, citing the ongoing investigation. Glenn had spent nearly 20 years with the Tell City Police Department and the Perry County Sheriff’s Office. “Our police department suffered a tremendous loss,” Police Chief Derrick Lawalin said. “We lost a dear colleague, a dear friend. Sgt. Glenn — she’s a cornerstone of our department.”Lawalin also offered “thoughts and prayers” for Hubert’s family.Tell City, population 7,500, is 150 miles ...

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts as momentum slows from a huge rally to start the year

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:32:28 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are drifting Monday as momentum slows on Wall Street following its powerful rally to start the year.The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in midday trading, hanging close to its highest level since April 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 9 points, or less than 0.1%, at 34,416, as of 11:10 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was basically flat.Tesla was one of the stronger stocks in the market, rising 7.4%. The company said over the weekend that the number of vehicles it delivered during the spring surged by 83% from a year earlier. That was more than analysts expected, though cuts to prices may have driven some of the gains. Investors will see how much the discounts hit profits when Tesla reports its earnings on July 19.Rivian, another electric-vehicle company, jumped 14.3% after it also said its deliveries for the spring topped analysts’ expectations. On the losing end of Wall Street was Apple, which slipped 1% after becoming the...

Police confirm additional Wichita club shooting victim, bringing total to 10 hurt

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:32:28 GMT

An eighth gunshot victim from a weekend shooting at a Kansas nightclub has been confirmed, police confirmed Monday, bringing the total number of people hurt to 10. Wichita police had originally reported seven people with gunshot wounds and another two people who were trampled in the rush to escape the club being hospitalized following the early Sunday morning shooting. An eighth shooting victim walked into a Wichita hospital later Sunday with a gunshot wound from the club shooting, Wichita Officer Juan Rebolledo confirmed. The man’s injury is not believed to be life-threatening. Rebolledo did not give the man’s name or age.Police investigators believe several shooters opened fire inside the City Nightz club just before 1 a.m. Sunday. One suspect, believed to be one of the shooters, was arrested Sunday morning, police said. That person’s name had not been released and no other arrests had been reported by Monday morning.Shots were fired from at least four guns insid...

Airlines seeing relief after weather, 4th of July travel causes weekend delays at MIA, FLL

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:32:28 GMT

As the 4th of July holiday approaches, so does relief at Miami International Airport (MIA) and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport (FLL) in South Florida after travel troubles due to weather conditions caused nationwide delays. According to FlightAware, a prominent flight tracking website, more than 5,000 flights experienced delays nationwide on Sunday, with an additional 600 flights canceled.On Monday, despite the long queues that were observed at MIA as early as 5 a.m. as travelers made their way back home, the situation appeared to improve. As the day progressed, MIA reported over 69 flight delays and two cancellations, while FLL experienced 57 delays but no cancellations.Amidst the holiday travel rush, airports are anticipating the arrival and departure of thousands of passengers. Travelers are advised to stay updated on their flight status and to arrive at the airports well in advance, allowing ample time for security checks and potential delays caused by ongoing weather conditio...

Parents of son killed in 2018 Parkland shooting plan nationwide trip to combat gun violence

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:32:28 GMT

The parents of Joaquin Oliver, a student who was killed in the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, are hitting the road as they continue their call for change when it comes to gun violence. On Monday, Manuel and Patricia Oliver left Parkland in what they called the “Guac’s School bus,” which was a nickname for their son. The Oliver’s are headed straight to Orlando to the site of the Pulse nightclub shooting that took place in 2016. Once they arrive, the Oliver’s will meet with survivors, family members of the victims and state leaders. The plan on visiting 24 cities that have been affected by gun violence. The words “Never forget” is what the community of Parkland said after the high school massacre. It is also something the Oliver’s continue to say. “We’re in the same spot,” Manuel Oliver said. “‘Never Forget.'”In order to remind everyone, they are taking a tour of the country to pla...

A flying car prototype just got an airworthiness certificate from the FAA

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:32:28 GMT

New York (CNN) — The Federal Aviation Administration has certified for testing a vehicle that a California startup describes as a flying car — the first fully electric vehicle that can both fly and travel on roads to receive US government approval.Alef Automotive said that its vehicle/aircraft dubbed the “Model A,” is the first flying vehicle that is drivable on public roads and able to park like a normal car. It also has vertical takeoff and landing capabilities. It apparently will be able to carry one or two occupants and will have a road range of 200 miles and a flying range of 110 miles.The company expects to sell the vehicle for $300,000 each with the first delivery projected for the end of 2025.The FAA confirmed that it has issued the company a special airworthiness certificate, allowing for limited purposes that include exhibition, research and development.Numerous companies are working on all-electric VTOLs, which stand for vehicle takeoff and landing aircraft. The FAA said ...

Former South Florida police officer pleads guilty to COVID-19 relief fraud

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:32:28 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — A former South Florida police officer pleaded guilty Monday to stealing about $285,000 in COVID-19 relief funds.Former Miami-Dade police officer Samuel Harris, 43, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in Miami federal court, according to court documents. He faces up to 20 years in prison at a sentencing hearing scheduled for Sept. 25.According to court documents, Harris falsely claimed in a June 2020 Paycheck Protection Program loan application that his business, Oregen Digital Inc., had 10 employees and a monthly payroll of more than $50,000. Prosecutors said Harris was able to obtain a forgivable loan of $125,579.Harris also falsely claimed in a Economic Injury Disaster Loan application submitted to the Small Business Administration that Oregen had annual gross revenues of more than $859,000 and 10 employees. Prosecutors said Harris received a $10,000 advance that did not need to be repaid and $149,900 in loan proceeds.The Paycheck Protection Program involves billions of doll...

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin resurfaces with new message

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:32:28 GMT

Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin gave his first sign of life in a week on Monday as he issued a voice message expressing thanks to supporters of his recent failed uprising.“I want you to understand that our ‘March of Justice’ was aimed at fighting traitors and mobilizing our society,” Prigozhin, chief of the Wagner mercenary army, said in a 41-second voice message posted on Telegram. “In the near future, I am sure that you will see our next victories at the front. Thanks guys!”Prigozhin, 62, went from folk hero to public enemy number one in Russia after leading a 36-hour armed insurrection last month, capturing the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and sending his men to within 200 km of the capital Moscow. He bottled out after President Vladimir Putin condemned the mutiny as a “stab in the back,” winning a judicial reprieve in a deal brokered by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko under which Prigozhin and his men would go into e...