Director, marking new exhibition in LA, tells of chaotic filming – and says he’s ‘never seen so much vomit in my life’
Before Jaws became a cinematic classic, and the very first American “summer blockbuster”, director Steven Spielberg thought the 1975 film would be the last one he would be allowed to make.
Spielberg, who was just 26, had decided to shoot his second film, a thriller about a killer shark, on location on the east coast island of Martha’s Vineyard.
Continue reading...FBI reward of $100,000 and direct appeals for public support appear to signal law enforcement’s continued struggles to identify the killer of Trump ally
US officials have issued an urgent appeal for help from the public as they continue to search for the shooter of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, releasing new videos and photos from the scene of the attack in Utah.
More than 24 hours after Kirk was shot while speaking in front of thousands of people at a Utah university, the state’s governor, appearing alongside FBI director Kash Patel and other officials, said “we need as much help as we can possibly get.”
Continue reading...Interior minister says ‘murder has been committed’ while US Congress demands justification for attack
None of the 11 people killed in a US military strike on a boat in the Caribbean last week were members of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, Venezuela’s interior minister has said, while US media reported the attack came after the vessel had turned around and was heading back to shore.
The administration of Donald Trump has said the boat was transporting illegal narcotics, but has provided little further information about the incident, even amid demands from members of the US Congress for a justification for the action.
Continue reading...Justice department in lawsuit accuses company drivers of routinely refusing to serve people with disabilities
The US government sued Uber on Thursday, accusing the ride-sharing company of violating federal law by discriminating against passengers with disabilities.
In a complaint filed in San Francisco federal court, the US Department of Justice said Uber drivers routinely refuse to serve riders with disabilities, including people who travel with service animals or stowable wheelchairs.
Continue reading...After Russian drones entered Polish airspace, two authors of the UK strategic defence review said Europe would need to build up its defences
Britain should work with Nato allies in developing an integrated air and missile defence system after the incursion of nearly 20 Russian drones into Poland, according to two authors of the UK strategic defence review.
Fiona Hill, a former White House adviser, said that Russia was “testing the limits” of Europe’s defences at a time when the military commitment of the US to Nato was uncertain.
Continue reading...In Oval Office address, president decried the demonization of political opponents, ignoring his own past rhetoric
In his Oval Office address on Wednesday, Donald Trump sought to blame the “radical left” for Charlie Kirk’s killing while the shooter’s identity and motivations remained unclear. Trump promised an unspecified crackdown that could also target “organizations” that he claimed contributed to political violence.
Trump’s speech underscored an aggressive effort to pin the attack on the left while ignoring his own role in fomenting politically motivated violence.
Continue reading...During a 9/11 memorial address, the president honored the far-right activist who was fatally shot on Wednesday
Speaking at the Pentagon on Thursday morning for memorial services marking the 24th anniversary of the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks, Donald Trump said he would be awarding rightwing activist and close ally Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot on Wednesday, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Kirk was a “giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people”, Trump said. “Our prayers are with his wonderful wife, Erika and his beautiful children, fantastic people they are. We miss him greatly, yet I have no doubt that Charlie’s voice and the courage he put into the hearts of countless people, especially young people, will live on.”
Continue reading...Furious reaction from media figures and Donald Trump blames left for shooting of conservative activist
Full report: FBI says it found weapon as hunt for suspect continues
Trump blamed ‘radical left’ for Charlie Kirk’s death – even as shooter’s identity remains unknown
The killing of Charlie Kirk prompted a furious reaction from rightwing media on Wednesday, with prominent figures claiming “we’re in a war” and vowing “retribution” for Kirk’s death.
It was a reaction that will heighten fears about political violence in the US, coming hours after Kirk, the rightwing activist and provocateur, was shot and killed during an event at Utah university.
Continue reading...Viktor Orbán claims death of Turning Point USA’s founder was ‘result of international hate campaign’ as prominent figures pay tribute
European far-right leaders have lauded Charlie Kirk, the influential 31-year-old conservative US activist who was fatally shot on Wednesday, with several also claiming his death was a consequence of violent leftwing rhetoric.
The European parliament briefly descended into chaos as far-right MEPs demanded a minute’s silence to honour Kirk, a rising star of Trump’s Maga movement, who was hit in the neck by a single bullet as he addressed students at Utah Valley University.
Continue reading...Rights group also finds rise in openly gay, bisexual and transgender people running for office in 36 countries
Politicians in at least 51 countries used homophobic or transphobic rhetoric during elections last year, from depicting LGBTQ+ identity as a foreign threat to condemning “gender ideology”, according to a new study of 60 countries and the EU.
However, there were also gains for LGBTQ+ representation in some countries. Openly gay, bisexual and transgender people ran for office in at least 36 countries, including for the first time in Botswana, Namibia and Romania – albeit unsuccessfully – according to the report by Outright International. The number of LGBTQ+ elected officials doubled to at least 233 in Brazil.
Continue reading...Puerto Rican rapper says he and his team were ‘very concerned’ that Ice agents might target his performances
Bad Bunny says he excluded the US from his forthcoming world tour due to fears that, as a prominent Latino musician, his fans would be subjected to immigration raids.
In an interview with i-D magazine on Wednesday, the three-time Grammy-winning musician was asked whether he was skipping the US “out of concern about the [mass deportations of] Latinos”.
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Continue reading...US lawmakers, in bipartisan rebuke, say violence has no place in America as Trump orders flags lowered
The killing of the rightwing activist Charlie Kirk at a Utah college on Wednesday afternoon prompted outrage from Democrats and Republicans over the latest act of political violence in the United States, with Donald Trump lamenting the loss of a key ally.
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie,” the US president posted on his Truth Social platform.
Continue reading...The International IDEA’s survey of democratic markers finds US is offering ‘encouragement’ to populist leaders
Press freedom around the world has suffered its sharpest fall in 50 years as global democracy weakens dramatically, a landmark report has found.
According to the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), democracy has declined in 94 countries over the last five years and only a third have made progress.
Continue reading...More than 10 Infidels MC members deployed to sites run by US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation
Senior members of an anti-Islamic biker gang have been hired by US contractors and deployed to Gaza to oversee security at food distribution sites backed by the US and Israeli governments, according to a BBC investigation.
The investigation found that more than 10 members of Infidels MC, a US biker gang that uses the Crusader cross as its symbol and whose members have anti-Islamic tattoos, have been hired by UG Solutions and deployed to food aid sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. According to the BBC, seven members of the gang are in “senior positions overseeing [GHF] sites”.
Continue reading...Protesters shouted ‘Trump is the Hitler of our time!’ as he had a meal near the White House to promote his deployment of the National Guard
Donald Trump faced protesters shouting “Free DC! Free Palestine! Trump is the Hitler of our time!” as he dined at a Washington restaurant, videos posted online showed.
The US president approached the shouting protesters in the restaurant, pausing a few feet away from them for a few moments, nodding and smiling without offering a response.
Continue reading...Kent Broussard joined Louisiana State University’s famed Golden Band from Tigerland after retiring as an accountant
Some dreams live on in time forever, says the summer Olympics anthem considered by many to be the greatest – and living proof of that is a retired accountant who recently enrolled as a freshman at Louisiana State University in his mid-60s to fulfill his lifelong ambition of playing for the school’s famed marching band.
Kent Broussard drew nationwide media attention after being shown on ESPN’s broadcast of the LSU football team’s victory at home against in-state rival Louisiana Tech on 6 September.
Continue reading...PM says operation followed ‘repeated violations of Polish airspace’. Plus, New Mexico to be first state to offer free universal childcare
Good morning.
Polish and Nato air defenses shot down several drones that entered its airspace on Wednesday morning, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine spread to Nato territory in the most significant way since the war began.
Is this a first? A stray Ukrainian missile struck a southern Polish village in 2022, killing two people, but there have previously been no reports of Polish or other Nato defence forces destroying drones.
Could it be an accident? The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, does not think so owing to the number of drones that entered Polish airspace. In his view “Moscow is always testing the limits of the possible, and if it does not meet a strong reaction, moves to a new level of escalation”.
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How significant is this? A Georgia-based immigration attorney based said it was “outrageous” and emphasised that it was illegal to detain a valid visa-holder in this way.
Are there others? Attorneys working on the case had already claimed that immigrants with a valid working status were swept up alongside the people allegedly working unlawfully, and placed in removal proceedings. That view was backed up by an agency official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive government matters.
Continue reading...In effort to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, US president proposes tariffs targeting Putin allies and trade partners
Donald Trump has asked the EU to impose tariffs of up to 100% on India and China as part of an effort to force the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to end the war in Ukraine.
The US president made the demand during a meeting between US and EU officials discussing options to increase economic pressure on Russia on Tuesday, according to a White House official.
Continue reading...Typically full of brio and swagger, the White House is scrambling because Trump is behaving so out of character
It took Trump chronicler Maggie Haberman to cut to the chase: if Trump didn’t sign the birthday card or other documents released by Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, the reporter asked in a quiet yet insistent tone, what’s the working theory as to why he’s in there?
“The president has one of the most famous signatures in the world,” Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, replied on Tuesday. “The president did not write that letter. He did not sign those documents.”
Continue reading...Report omits limiting pesticides and ultra-processed foods even as RFK Jr pledges to fight against childhood obesity
The Trump administration released its second Make America Healthy Again (Maha) report, this time on chronic illnesses in children, confirming a leaked report from last month that the administration would stop short of proposing direct restrictions on pesticides and ultra-processed foods.
On Tuesday, the Make America Healthy Again commission published a 20-page report that attempts a balance for the priorities of health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s supporters with the interests of influential farming corporations. It also urges an overhaul of the nation’s vaccine injury system and tighter oversight of certain prescriptions.
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