New Woody Allen Movie to Open in France in September

Woody Allen’s latest film, which has been put on ice in the U.S. over decades-old sex abuse allegations against the director, will be released in France this year, a distributor said Tuesday.

“A Rainy Day in New York” starring Timothee Chalamet, Elle Fanning, Selena Gomez and Jude Law will hit French cinemas Sept. 18, Mars Films said ahead of the opening of the Cannes film festival.

“The 50th feature film by Woody Allen … is a romantic comedy set in present-day New York City,” the company’s CEO Stephane Celerier said on Twitter.

In February, Allen filed a $68 million (60 million euros) lawsuit against Amazon for breach of contract, accusing the streaming giant of canceling the film because of a “baseless” accusation that he sexually abused his daughter.

Allen has said Amazon sought to terminate the deal in June 2018, and has since refused to pay him $9 million in financing for “A Rainy Day in New York.”

The film has been completed but not released.

Earlier this month, Variety magazine reported it would be released in Italy in October.

The movie was one of several to be produced with the Oscar-winning director under a series of agreements reached after Allen made the “Crisis in Six Scenes” program for Amazon.

Allen has been accused of molesting Dylan Farrow, his adopted daughter, when she was seven years old in the early 1990s. 

He was cleared of the charges, first leveled by his then-partner Mia Farrow, after two separate months-long investigations, and has steadfastly denied the abuse. But Dylan, now an adult, maintains she was molested.

Her brother Ronan Farrow revived the allegations on the day the Cannes film festival opened in 2016 with Allen’s “Cafe Society,” lashing out at the media for failing to ask hard questions about the director.

Amazon’s relationship with Allen began with “Cafe Society” (2016), to which the studio had purchased the rights, before producing and distributing “Wonder Wheel” (2017), then committing to four additional films.

From: MeNeedIt

Gorsuch Replaces Biden as Chair of Civic Education Group

Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch is taking on a new role as the honorary chairman of a nonpartisan group devoted to education about the Constitution, replacing former Vice President Joe Biden.

 

The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia said Tuesday that Gorsuch, named to the high court by President Donald Trump, will serve as a spokesman for civics education and civility in politics.

 

The 51-year-old Gorsuch is the first justice to be the center’s chairman. Biden stepped down when he launched his campaign for the presidency in April.

 

Gorsuch said he’s concerned by polls that show most Americans would flunk a citizenship test and many say incivility keeps them away from public affairs.

 

“For a government of and by the people to work, everyone must have some idea how our Constitution works and we must be able to talk to each other about important ideas in an atmosphere of mutual respect,” Gorsuch said in a comment provided by the Supreme Court.

 

Jeffrey Rosen, the center’s president and CEO, said the center was attracted by Gorsuch’s commitment to civics and civility. “We’re genuinely excited about this partnership because Justice Gorsuch is so passionate about the need for nonpartisan civics education,” Rosen said.

 

Gorsuch was put on the court by a president whose combative approach to politics is not often confused with civility. But Rosen said, “The attitudes of the president who appointed him did not factor in.”

 

Past chairmen have included former Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. The honorary chairman has alternated between Democrats and Republicans, Rosen said.

 

The center’s home in Philadelphia is near the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, where the Constitution was drafted.

 

 

From: MeNeedIt

US Supreme Court Approves Antitrust Lawsuit Against Apple

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that an antitrust lawsuit against Apple can proceed.

Consumers are suing the company, alleging Apple overcharges when downloading iPhone applications at the company’s App Store.

Conservative Judge Brett Kavanaugh joined with the four liberal judges in the 5-4 decision, agreeing with the plaintiffs that the 30% commissions Apple charges violate federal antitrust laws. Consumers allege Apple has monopolized the market by requiring apps be sold only through their stores. 

Apple argued it is just a conduit between app developers and customers and that it is the developers who set the prices.

“We’re confident we will prevail when the facts are presented and that the App Store is not a monopoly by any metric,” a company statement said. 

Apple is also under scrutiny by Dutch antitrust authorities over complaints about commissions in European markets.

From: MeNeedIt

US Supreme Court Approves Antitrust Lawsuit Against Apple

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that an antitrust lawsuit against Apple can proceed.

Consumers are suing the company, alleging Apple overcharges when downloading iPhone applications at the company’s App Store.

Conservative Judge Brett Kavanaugh joined with the four liberal judges in the 5-4 decision, agreeing with the plaintiffs that the 30% commissions Apple charges violate federal antitrust laws. Consumers allege Apple has monopolized the market by requiring apps be sold only through their stores. 

Apple argued it is just a conduit between app developers and customers and that it is the developers who set the prices.

“We’re confident we will prevail when the facts are presented and that the App Store is not a monopoly by any metric,” a company statement said. 

Apple is also under scrutiny by Dutch antitrust authorities over complaints about commissions in European markets.

From: MeNeedIt

Trash Found Littering Ocean Floor in Deepest-Ever Sub Dive

On the deepest dive ever made by a human inside a submarine, a Texas investor and explorer found something he could have found in the gutter of nearly any street in the world: trash.

Victor Vescovo, a retired naval officer, said he made the unsettling discovery as he descended nearly 6.8 miles (35,853 feet/10,928 meters) to a point in the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench that is the deepest place on Earth. His dive went 52 feet (16 meters) lower than the previous deepest descent in the trench in 1960.

Vescovo found undiscovered species as he visited places no human had gone before. On one occasion he spent four hours on the floor of the trench, viewing sea life ranging from shrimp-like anthropods with long legs and antennae to translucent “sea pigs” similar to a sea cucumber.

He also saw angular metal or plastic objects, one with writing on it.

“It was very disappointing to see obvious human contamination of the deepest point in the ocean,” Vescovo said in an interview.

Plastic waste has reached epidemic proportions in the world’s oceans with an estimated 100 million tons dumped there to date, according to the United Nations. Scientists have found large amounts of micro plastic in the guts of deep-dwelling ocean mammals like whales.

Raise awareness

Vescovo hoped his discovery of trash in the Mariana Trench would raise awareness about dumping in the oceans and pressure governments to better enforce existing regulations, or put new ones in place.

“It’s not a big garbage collection pool, even though it’s treated as such,” Vescovo said of the worlds’ oceans. In the last three weeks, the expedition has made four dives in the Mariana Trench in his submarine, DSV Limiting Factor, collecting biological and rock samples.

It was the third time humans have dived to the deepest point in the ocean, known as Challenger Deep. Canadian movie maker James Cameron was the last to visit in 2012 in his submarine, reaching a depth of 35,787 feet (10,908 meters).

Prior to Cameron’s dive, the first-ever expedition to Challenger Deep was made by the U.S. Navy in 1960, reaching a depth of 10,912 meters.

From: MeNeedIt

Trash Found Littering Ocean Floor in Deepest-Ever Sub Dive

On the deepest dive ever made by a human inside a submarine, a Texas investor and explorer found something he could have found in the gutter of nearly any street in the world: trash.

Victor Vescovo, a retired naval officer, said he made the unsettling discovery as he descended nearly 6.8 miles (35,853 feet/10,928 meters) to a point in the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench that is the deepest place on Earth. His dive went 52 feet (16 meters) lower than the previous deepest descent in the trench in 1960.

Vescovo found undiscovered species as he visited places no human had gone before. On one occasion he spent four hours on the floor of the trench, viewing sea life ranging from shrimp-like anthropods with long legs and antennae to translucent “sea pigs” similar to a sea cucumber.

He also saw angular metal or plastic objects, one with writing on it.

“It was very disappointing to see obvious human contamination of the deepest point in the ocean,” Vescovo said in an interview.

Plastic waste has reached epidemic proportions in the world’s oceans with an estimated 100 million tons dumped there to date, according to the United Nations. Scientists have found large amounts of micro plastic in the guts of deep-dwelling ocean mammals like whales.

Raise awareness

Vescovo hoped his discovery of trash in the Mariana Trench would raise awareness about dumping in the oceans and pressure governments to better enforce existing regulations, or put new ones in place.

“It’s not a big garbage collection pool, even though it’s treated as such,” Vescovo said of the worlds’ oceans. In the last three weeks, the expedition has made four dives in the Mariana Trench in his submarine, DSV Limiting Factor, collecting biological and rock samples.

It was the third time humans have dived to the deepest point in the ocean, known as Challenger Deep. Canadian movie maker James Cameron was the last to visit in 2012 in his submarine, reaching a depth of 35,787 feet (10,908 meters).

Prior to Cameron’s dive, the first-ever expedition to Challenger Deep was made by the U.S. Navy in 1960, reaching a depth of 10,912 meters.

From: MeNeedIt

Without Heart Disease, Daily Aspirin May Be Too Risky

For people without heart disease, taking a daily aspirin to prevent heart attacks and strokes may increase the risk of severe brain bleeding to the point where it outweighs any potential benefit, a research review suggests.

U.S. doctors have long advised adults who haven’t had a heart attack or stroke but are at high risk for these events to take a daily aspirin pill, an approach known as primary prevention. Even though there’s clear evidence aspirin works for this purpose, many physicians and patients have been reluctant to follow the recommendations because of the risk of rare but potentially lethal internal bleeding.

For the current study, researchers examined data from 13  clinical trials testing the effects of aspirin against a placebo or no treatment in more than 134,000 adults.

The risk of intracranial hemorrhage, or brain bleeds, was rare: taking aspirin was associated with two additional cases of this type of internal bleeding for every 1,000 people, the study found.

But the bleeding risk was still 37 percent higher for people taking aspirin than for people who didn’t take this drug.

“Intracranial hemorrhage is a special concern because it is strongly associated with a high risk of death and poorer health over a lifetime,” said study co-author Dr. Meng Lee of Chang Gung University College of Medicine in Taiwan.

“These findings suggest caution regarding using low-dose aspirin in individuals without symptomatic cardiovascular disease,” Lee said by email.

Post-cardiac event use

For people who have already had a heart attack or stroke, the benefit of low-dose aspirin to prevent another major cardiac event is well established, researchers note in JAMA Neurology. But the value of aspirin is less clear for healthier people, for whom bleeding risks may outweigh any benefit, the study team writes.

Already, guidelines on aspirin for primary prevention of heart disease in the U.S., Europe and Australia have incorporated a need to balance the potential benefits against the risk of bleeding. For elderly people, who have a greater risk of bleeding than younger adults, the risks may be too great to recommend aspirin.

For adults ages 50 to 59 considering aspirin to prevent heart attacks and strokes, for example, the U.S Preventive   Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends the pill only for people who have at least a 10 percent risk of having a heart attack or stroke over the next decade and who don’t have a higher-than-average risk of bleeding. (The American College of Cardiology provides an online risk calculator.

One limitation

One limitation of the analysis is that the smaller clinical trials examined a variety of aspirin doses up to 100 milligrams daily. The analysis also only focused on brain bleeds, and not on other types of internal bleeding associated with aspirin.

“We have long known that aspirin can precipitate bleeding,  most commonly in the gastrointestinal tract, but most devastatingly in the brain,” said Dr. Samuel Wann, a cardiologist at Ascension Healthcare in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who wasn’t involved in the study.

Despite the benefits for preventing heart attacks, the consensus on aspirin has changed over time, particularly for people without heart disease or hardening and narrowing of thearteries (atherosclerosis).

“We have previously recommended aspirin to prevent platelets from sticking to the inside of an individual’s arteries, but the benefit, while real, turns out to be small compared to the rare but devastating incidence of brain hemorrhage,” Wann said by email. “We no longer recommend routine use of aspirin in individuals who have no demonstrable cardiovascular disease or atherosclerosis.”

 

From: MeNeedIt

Wife of Popular Ghanaian Actor Chris Attoh Shot Dead Near Washington

Police in a Washington suburb are searching for the killer of Bettie Jenifer, wife of popular Ghanaian actor Chris Attoh.

Police say Jenifer was shot and killed Friday afternoon in Greenbelt, Maryland, as she left the office building where she worked.

Witnesses say Jenifer saw a man with a gun standing in the parking lot. As she tried to run away, the gunman chased her, shooting her twice.

Police say they believe she was the victim of a targeted killing and that the gunman is at large. 

Attoh was in Los Angeles working on a film and immediately flew to Maryland.

Reports say investigators are studying Attoh’s social media posts after he deleted all photographs of him and Jenifer together on his websites — leading to speculation in Ghana that the couple was splitting up.

Attoh and Jenifer were married for just seven months.

From: MeNeedIt

Wife of Popular Ghanaian Actor Chris Attoh Shot Dead Near Washington

Police in a Washington suburb are searching for the killer of Bettie Jenifer, wife of popular Ghanaian actor Chris Attoh.

Police say Jenifer was shot and killed Friday afternoon in Greenbelt, Maryland, as she left the office building where she worked.

Witnesses say Jenifer saw a man with a gun standing in the parking lot. As she tried to run away, the gunman chased her, shooting her twice.

Police say they believe she was the victim of a targeted killing and that the gunman is at large. 

Attoh was in Los Angeles working on a film and immediately flew to Maryland.

Reports say investigators are studying Attoh’s social media posts after he deleted all photographs of him and Jenifer together on his websites — leading to speculation in Ghana that the couple was splitting up.

Attoh and Jenifer were married for just seven months.

From: MeNeedIt

Technology Creates Virtual Wall Around Wildlife Preserve

South Africa, which has the largest population of rhinos in the world, has been the country hit hardest by poaching. Between 2007 and 2015, there was a 9,000% increase in poaching there, reaching a high of 1,215 animals in 2014. While numbers have been declining since then, poaching remains a problem. But as Faith Lapidus reports, technology is helping turn one game reserve into a high-tech fortress.

From: MeNeedIt