Rapper Young Thug pleads guilty to gang, drug and gun charges almost a year after opening statements in trial

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November 01, 2024 at 07:11AM

Washington Post report: Subscriber loss after non-endorsement reaches a quarter million

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The Washington Post has lost at least 250,000 subscribers since announcing last Friday that it would not endorse a candidate for president — roughly 10 percent of its digital following, the newspaper reported Wednesday.

The Post would not officially confirm that figure, saying it was a private company, but it was reported in a story in the newspaper that cited documents and two unnamed sources who were familiar with the figures. Another non-endorsement last week has caused thousands of Los Angeles Times readers to cancel subscriptions, although not nearly at the Post's level.

One journalism historian, Jon Marshall at Northwestern University, said he had a hard time recalling a comparable response, although a boycott of the Arkansas Gazette when it supported the integration of Little Rock schools in 1957 cost that newspaper more than $20 million in today's dollars.

The Post's owner, Jeff Bezos, said presidential endorsements create a perception of bias at the newspaper while having little real influence on how readers vote. His said his only regret was making the decision known when passions are heated so close to Election Day; the paper's editorial staff had reportedly prepared an endorsement of Democrat Kamala Harris.

“A lot of people would have forgotten about the Harris endorsement slated to run in the newspaper,” the Post's media critic, Erik Wemple, wrote. “Few will forget about the decision not to publish it.”

The Post's executive editor, Matt Murray, told employees in a staff meeting that there were “several positive days” of new subscribers signing up, although he didn't mention any numbers, the newspaper reported.

Some of the Post's angry digital readers have also already paid for a year's access, and will retain that until their subscriptions expire.

“After another month or so, the election will have ended, and there may be people who say that ‘I need the Post more than they need me’ and come back," said Rick Edmonds, media business analyst at the Poynter Institute.

The Post also saw a big increase in subscribers during Donald Trump's presidency from people attracted to the newspaper's aggressive coverage, raising the possibility of a repeat if the man that the newspaper wasn't prepared to endorse is returned to office.

In the meantime, Edmonds said, “it's very bad.” After losing readers during the Biden administration, the Post had reportedly seen positive signs of growth — until this week.

___

David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder.

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October 31, 2024 at 05:48PM

Movie Review: Steve McQueen's WWII drama 'Blitz' is more unconventional than it appears

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“Blitz,” set in London during World War II, might technically be Steve McQueen ’s first war movie. But struggle and survival has long marked the filmmaker’s tough and tortured work.

No matter the circumstance — slavery in “12 Years a Slave,” the 1960s-1980s London of West Indian immigrants in “Small Axe,” the Irish hunger strike of “Shame” — McQueen has been drawn to moments of history less for their dramatic extremes than for how they test the morality of those in and around the fight. Did they turn a blind eye? Did they risk themselves? Do we remember?

McQueen’s films tend to ask questions — often uncomfortable ones. That’s been true in his nonfiction work, too. His 2023 short film “Grenfell” captured the aftermath of the tragic Grenfell Tower blaze. Last year’s “Occupied City” compared present-day street addresses in Amsterdam to what happened in those precise locations during the Nazi occupation of WWII.

In that film, McQueen juxtaposed past and present, death and life, and some of the same collisions are found in the 1940-set “Blitz,” which opens Friday in theaters and streams Nov. 22 on Apple TV+. It’s told largely from the perspective of a 9-year-old boy, George (Elliott Heffernan), whose single mother, Rita (a steely Saoirse Ronan ), has made the anguished decision to send him to the countryside with thousands of other schoolchildren fleeing the Blitz.

A year into the war, the bombing is already intense, and so is the questionable nature of how some are responding to the omnipresent danger and the loosening of order. The film opens in a fiery blaze as firefighters wrestle with an out-of-control hose, and a mass of people rush toward the underground to take cover from the bombers overhead. Outside the station, the gates are locked, and the nearby police refuse to open them. It’s an early hint that McQueen’s treatment of the war will be more complicated and unsparing than the average WWII drama.

“Blitz” properly gets underway once Rita leaves George at the train station. The parting is bitter (“I hate you,” George says on the platform) only because their bond is so evidently strong. It’s not long once aboard the train that George sees a chance to flee and hops off. “Blitz” proceeds as George’s odyssey in trying to get home.

It’s an awkwardly condensed tale — the film takes place over one day but feels like a lifetime — that clunkily cuts between George and Rita. “Blitz” feels stuck between a conventional war drama and something more adventurous and probing. It doesn’t coalesce the way McQueen’s best work does, but the frictions that drive “Blitz” make it a singular and sporadically moving experience.

A representative sequence happens early in the film. George, who’s Black and surely feels some growing anxiety leaving London, climbs into a passing train only to find three young brothers are also stowaways there. After a tense moment, they find camaraderie together. Riding atop the train, they seem almost carefree. But moments later, when they’re fleeing authorities at the trainyard, one of the boys is killed in an instant by a moving train.

Throughout, “Blitz” toggles between moments of tenderness and violence, a back and forth that McQueen suggests isn’t just part of wartime. Following the trainyard moment, the film slides into a flashback of Rita and George’s otherwise unseen Grenadian immigrant father, Marcus (CJ Beckford). On their way home from a joyous night dancing at a jazz club, a man intentionally bumps into Marcus. In the ensuing tussle Marcus is arrested, and later, swiftly deported. In an instant, cruelty and racism can wreck a life just as surely as a Nazi bomb from above.

The film stays close to George as he makes his way closer to home in Stepney Green in the East End. “Blitz” is far less concerned with the aerial bombardment above than the festering prejudices and injustices on the ground. In the movie’s most Dickens-esque sequence, George is taken in, and held prisoner, by a Fagin-like criminal (Stephen Graham) whose band of thieves steal from the dead and plunder freshly bombed-out flats. There are chillingly ghostly sequences, most of all one set in the Café de Paris. One moment it’s a teaming, multiracial jazz club, the next — as captured in one sweeping, grotesque shot by Yorick Le Saux — it’s a bloody ruin.

There are moments of uplift, or at least temporary relief. One comes when Rita, who works in a munitions factory with a Rosie the Riveter headscarf, sings for a BBC radio program from the factory floor. Once Rita learns that George is lost, there’s an ill-fitting side plot of her feuding with an unsympathetic boss, arguing with those in charge of the evacuation and her attempting to find George with the help of a police officer (Harris Dickinson, in a role too vague to resonate).

Again and again we see, though, that going against a tide of indifference takes the conviction and courage of individuals. That includes the activist Mikey Davies (Leigh Gill), who makes a stirring speech in a shelter. And, most of all, it includes a Nigerian ARP warden Ife (Benjamin Clémentine), who George meets outside a store advertising coffee and sugar from Africa with caricatures of Black faces. Clémentine, the talented singer-songwriter, has a radiant presence that warms a fiercely unsentimental film. Ife imbues George with a pride and confidence with himself as a young Black man. For his part, the young Heffernan shows no strain in carrying the movie, his first.

Ultimately, that there is a war on in “Blitz” may not be its defining feature. The London under siege in McQueen's film is as much at risk from injustice as it is German planes. For George, Rita and the others pushing back, resistance isn't just wartime survival. It's a way of life.

“Blitz,” an Apple Studios release is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association for thematic elements including some racism, violence, some strong language, brief sexuality and smoking. Running time: 120 minutes. Three stars out of four.

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October 31, 2024 at 05:11AM

World Series Game 3 averages 13.64 million, beats 'Monday Night Football'

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LOS ANGELES -- The World Series beat “Monday Night Football” in the battle for television viewers.

The Los Angeles Dodgers' 4-2 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the Fall Classic averaged 13.64 million viewers on Fox, Fox Deportes and streaming according to early numbers by Nielsen. That beat the 13.4 million that tuned in for the Pittsburgh Steelers' 26-18 win over the New York Giants on ABC, ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN2 and streaming.

The audience for Yankees-Dodgers peaked at 14.25 million from 9-9:15 p.m. EDT. It was the most-watched Game 3 since 2018, when the Dodgers' 18-inning victory over the Red Sox average 13.3 million.

It is Fox's most-viewed prime time telecast on a Monday since Game 5 of the 2013 Series between Boston and St. Louis (14.45 million).

It was the ninth time since 1986 that a World Series game was played on a Monday night, but only the fourth that it went head-to-head against “Monday Night Football” on network television.

Last year marked the first time the NFL beat the Fall Classic on Monday night. The Texas Rangers' 3-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 3 last year is the least-viewed World Series game on record, averaging 8.13 million viewers. That same night, Detroit's 26-14 victory over Las Vegas averaged 15.2 million on ESPN, ABC and ESPN Deportes.

Through three games, the World Series is averaging 14.42 million, its highest number in seven years.

The game had a 20.0 rating and 52 share in Los Angeles and 11.6 rating and 29 share in New York.

The rating is the percentage of television households tuned in. The share refers to a percentage of the audience viewing it at the time.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

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October 30, 2024 at 04:11PM

Andrea Mitchell says she's ending her daytime MSNBC show after 16 years

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FILE - Andrea Mitchell, Chief Washington and Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, NBC News; Host, "Andrea Mitchell Reports", MSNBC, speaks during a panel discussion on the importance of free and safe global reporting during WSJ's Future of Everything Festival, Wednesday, May 3, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

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October 30, 2024 at 03:47AM

Vinyl thrives at United Record Pressing as the nation's oldest record maker plays a familiar tune

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- During the six decades since United Record Pressing stamped out the Beatles’ first U.S. single, the country’s oldest vinyl record maker has survived 8-tracks, cassettes, CDs, Napster, iPods and streaming services. Now, the Nashville-based company has rebounded so dramatically that some of its equipment and technology has been retrofitted to keep pace with an ever-growing demand for old-school vinyl.

The 75-year-old company has adjusted its business from filling jukeboxes to helping DJs spin and stocking shelves despite a pandemic. On shelves in its warehouse are master versions by Johnny Cash, Kanye West and The Black Crowes.

When Mark Michaels bought the company in 2007, vinyl was fading — its 38 employees mostly made singles for rap artists, often promos for clubs. Michaels wanted a hands-on chance to build a business and thought he could keep this one steady, but not grow it substantially. It also came with a rich history as the first record pressing plant in the South, including an apartment atop the factory that housed Black artists and music executives during segregation.

“You walked into this building and you just felt 50, 60 years of history and just the importance of what it stood for," said Michaels, the company's CEO and chair. “And yeah, you you get choked up, you get gooseflesh just experiencing that.”

Today, United Record Pressing runs a newer factory six times bigger than what Michaels bought, with about 125 employees who make up to 80,000 records a day.

A variety of factors have boosted vinyl in recent years, from independent artists insisting on vinyl albums to big box retailers getting on board again.

In 2023, U.S. revenues from vinyl records grew 10% to $1.4 billion, the 17th-straight year of growth, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Records accounted for 71% of revenues from non-digital music formats, and for the second time since 1987, vinyl outpaced CDs in total sold.

United Record Pressing underwent its own evolution. The initial pressing plant was formed in 1949 by Nashville label Bullet Records. In the 1950s, it changed to Southern Plastics Inc. and focused on 7-inch singles preferred by jukebox makers.

In the early 1960s, the company was pressing more than 1 million records per month. It signed a deal to produce singles for Motown Records and moved to a bigger facility that included the apartment that hosted The Supremes, Smokey Robinson and others — and which became known as the “Motown Suite.” In 1963, it pressed the Beatles' first U.S. single, “Please Please Me.” Then in the 1970s, a restructuring turned the company into United Record Pressing.

During the 1980s, records dwindled to a niche market. DJs still needed records for their turntables. Rap and hip-hop artists used them for “scratching.” But CDs had overtaken them.

By the late 2000s, indie artists were insisting on releasing vinyl records. By 2015, records were broadly embraced again, but there were few manufacturers, and they were relying on presses from the 1960s and 1970s and a limited number of specialists who could operate them, Michaels said. Demand increased again during the coronavirus pandemic.

“It's art,” Michaels said of vinyl records. “Artists and fans, they want something tactile to hold on to and engage with. It’s easy to stream music, and streaming music is a wonderful way to discover new music. But you know, at the end of the day, it’s kind of sonic wallpaper.”

Today, the factory mixes old and new.

There's plenty of wood paneling on the throwback audio equipment used to test master versions of records before they are used to press copies. And the factory floor has its share of retrofitted pressing equipment that looks and sounds like it's been around since the last time vinyl ruled the market.

Technology is improving the process, too. Beyond the older presses are sleek, newly made machines that plop out records more quietly and efficiently. And there are huge sacks of colorful pebbles from discarded material that can be pressed again into new records.

The machines that stamp master copies use technology that had been in place to produce CDs and DVDs, now retooled for vinyl.

In a room farther back in the factory, the whizzing of machinery gives way to music.

That's where Tyler Bryant might listen to 10 records in a shift as the company's quality control lead. Talking over the rhythms of harmonica from a Cash album, Bryant said he discovers many artists and records that wouldn't be on his list, ranging from Harry Styles to Beyoncé's “Cowboy Carter” to indie artists.

“A lot of variety, that's what I appreciate,” Bryant said. “I don't like being stuck to just one genre, you know?”

A few miles away, architects and a construction crew are at work to preserve the old 1962 plant and pave the way for its future. As for what that will look like, Michaels says stay tuned.

“My vision is not completely crystallized yet, but the mandate is, it’s some of the most important space in all of music,” Michaels said. “It needs to be celebrated. It needs to be something that people can engage with.”

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October 29, 2024 at 03:11PM

World Series averaging 15.15 million viewers in Japan, including 15.9 for Game 2

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LOS ANGELES -- The World Series is averaging 15.15 million viewers in Japan through two games. According to Major League Baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers' 4-2 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 2 averaged 15.9 million, making it the most-watched MLB postseason game in the nation's history.

Besides the allure of superstar and presumptive NL MVP Shohei Ohtani, the game had Yoshinobu Yamamoto as the Dodgers' starting pitcher.

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ dramatic 6-3 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 1 — which ended on Freddie Freeman’s walk off grand slam in the 10th inning — averaged 14.4 million.

Tokyo is 16 hours ahead of Los Angeles, meaning the games started around 9 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday morning in Japan. The games are being carried through Fuji TV, NHK BS and J Sports.

Combined with the United States ratings, the first two games have a combined 29.7 million average in the two countries.

The World Series is averaging 14.55 million viewers in the U.S. on Fox, Fox Deportes and streaming, putting it on track for its best performance since 2017.

It is also the first time since the final two games of the 2021 series between the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros that the World Series has drawn back-to-back games of at least 13.4 million viewers.

According to Nielsen, the matchup between the Yankees and Dodgers has also meant a 93% increase in viewership within the 18-34-year-old demographic. According to MLB, social engagement is up 225% and views on social channels have increased 229%.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

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October 29, 2024 at 02:26AM

Translators association honors English-language editions of Italian prose and French poetry

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NEW YORK -- The English-language translators of an Italian collection of short stories and a French book of poetry have won awards from the American Literary Translators Association.

Jamie Richards' translation from the Italian of Marosia Castaldi's “The Hunger of Women” was given the National Translation Award for prose, and Cole Swensen's translation from the French of Pierre Alferi's “And the Street” won the poetry award.

Each winner receives $4,000. Richards is a full-time translator, while Swensen is also a prize-winning poet, her books including “Goest” and “Gravesend.”

“We are proud to administer the National Translation Awards, which turn the spotlight on a number of accomplished translators, writers, and the publishers who make it possible for these marvelous books to appear in English," translation association president Chenxin Jiang said in a statement Monday.

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October 29, 2024 at 02:11AM

Actor Gérard Depardieu will appear in court in Paris on sexual assault charges

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PARIS -- French actor Gérard Depardieu is expected to appear before a criminal court in Paris on Monday over the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021.

Depardieu, who previously has denied any wrongdoing, is accused of using “violence, coercion, surprise or threat” in the alleged assault, which prosecutors said took place on the set of “Les Volets verts” (”The Green Shutters.")

Prosecutors say that in both cases, victims reported that the 75-year-old actor trapped them between his legs and groped their buttocks, genitals, chest and breasts over their clothes.

The trial comes as France continues to reckon with sexual violence in the wake of the #MeToo movement that struggled to find traction especially in the cinema industry.

One of the victims has been identified as a 53-year-old production designer. The Associated Press doesn't generally identify victims of sexual assault without their consent. Her lawyer did not respond to an AP's email on that matter.

According to Paris prosecutors, the woman told investigators that she'd first heard sexual remarks from Depardieu and then one day, as she walked past him, he had "grabbed her, attracted her towards him, blocked her with his legs, and groped her waist, hips and chest, accompanying her gestures with obscene remarks."

Three people witnessed it, prosecutors said, confirming that the woman made an attempt to break off Depardieu's grip and that she seemed “shocked.” A psychiatrist examination granted her a seven-day leave.

After the incident, it was arranged for Depardieu to apologize. But in a TV interview aired Saturday, she said the actor was furious and blamed her for causing trouble. Prosecutors said witnesses confirmed that what Depardieu had said did not constitute an apology.

In the interview with French online news site Mediapart, the production designer — who spoke on camera but only gave her first name — said the alleged assault had taken a toll on her personal and professional life for at least 1 1/2 years. She said she could not sleep well, suffered anxiety attacks and lost weight.

The woman, according to prosecutors, said it had taken her awhile to file a complaint but decided to do so after hearing on television that there had never been an incident during the shoot.

The month before the alleged assault, another woman also working on the film's set had complained about Depardieu, Paris prosecutors said.

A director’s assistant told investigators Depardieu had touched her buttocks on several occasions. She had expressed her disapproval and in return, Depardieu, she said, had been insulting toward her. She was also given a six-day leave by a psychiatrist.

Jérémie Assous, a lawyer for Depardieu, told the AP in an email Saturday that “the witnesses and evidence (Depardieu) will produce will demonstrate that he is the target of false accusations.”

It's not clear when the court will rule.

Despite the allegations against Depardieu, many have come out in his support, including French President Emmanuel Macron.

Late last year, 56 French performers, writers and producers published an essay defending the film star, saying that when “Gérard Depardieu is targeted this way, it is the art (of cinema) that is being attacked.”

Their call came just weeks after national broadcaster France 2 put out a documentary outlining accusations of sexual misconduct by 16 women against Depardieu, and showed the actor making obscene remarks and gestures during a 2018 trip to North Korea.

In the footage, Depardieu can be seen making groaning sounds and sexual comments in front of women, including a girl about 10 years old who is horse riding. He can also be seen posing for a photo, saying he was “touching the bottom” of a North Korean interpreter by his side.

He was charged in 2021 with rape and sexual assault after authorities revived a 2018 investigation that was initially dropped, following allegations from actor Charlotte Arnould.

In an open letter published in the conservative-leaning newspaper Le Figaro, Depardieu said last year: “I have never, ever abused a woman.”

The actor was long seen as a national icon in France. He has been a global ambassador for French film and enjoyed international fame with several roles in Hollywood.

Earlier this year, actor Judith Godrèche called on France’s film industry to “face the truth” on sexual violence and physical abuse during the Cesar Awards ceremony, France’s version of the Oscars.

Godrèche had previously alleged two prominent filmmakers sexually abused her when she was a teen, sending new shockwaves through the industry.

More recently, the ongoing trial of 50 men accused of raping a woman who had been previously drugged and rendered unconscious by her husband shook the country. Protests spread nationwide last weekend in support of the victim, a mother and grandmother in her early 70s, who has become a hero to many victims of sexual violence for insisting that her trial be open to the public.

Feminist groups have called for a protest outside the courthouse ahead of Monday’s hearings.

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October 28, 2024 at 02:17PM

Latin superstar Bad Bunny backs Harris for president after comedian's racist jokes at Trump event

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Bad Bunny threw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday by sharing a video of the Democratic presidential nominee shortly after a comedian at Donald Trump's Madison Square Garden rally made crude jokes about Latinos and called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage," angering artists and some Hispanic Republicans.

Bad Bunny, whose official name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, is one of the most famous artists of the moment. His backing could be a boost for the Harris campaign as it tries to bolster its support with Latino voters, among whom Trump has been working to gain ground.

The video Bad Bunny shared with his 45 million Instagram followers shows Harris saying “there’s so much at stake in this election for Puerto Rican voters and for Puerto Rico.” A representative of the artist confirmed that Bad Bunny is supporting Harris.

Bad Bunny signaled his support moments after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made the remarks on Puerto Rico. Later, Hinchcliffe said “these Latinos, they love making babies” and said they don't use the pull-out birth control method.

The comments on Puerto Rico were immediately criticized by Harris’ campaign, but were also called out by Angel Cintron, the head of the GOP on the island, and Republican U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, who represents parts of Miami and has participated in recent Trump events.

Salazar wrote: “Disgusted by “@TonyHinchcliffe’s racist comment calling Puerto Rico a ‘floating island of garbage.’ This rhetoric does not reflect GOP values. Puerto Rico sent 48,000+ soldiers to Vietnam, with over 345 Purple Hearts awarded. This bravery deserves respect. Educate yourself!”

Trump campaign spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez in a statement said "this joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.”

Luis Fonsi, a Puerto Rican artist who sings the hit “Despacito,” went on Instagram and wrote “going down this racist path ain’t it.”

“We are not OK with this constant hate,” he wrote in a message shared on Instagram. “It’s been abundantly clear that these people have no respect for us.”

Ricky Martin, who had previously endorsed Harris, was also offended by the comment and said "that’s what they think of us,” on Instagram.

In showing support, Bad Bunny shared several times another part of the clip Harris made on Puerto Rico, saying “I will never forget what Donald Trump did and what he did not do when Puerto Rico needed a caring and a competent leader."

The 30-year-old Puerto Rican reggaeton artist, who has popular songs such as “Dakiti” and “Titi Me Preguntó,” has won three Grammy Awards. He was the most streamed artist on Spotify in 2020, 2021 and 2022, and was only surpassed by Taylor Swift in 2023. He was named Artist of the Year by Apple Music in 2022.

The Puerto Rican vote is sizable in Pennsylvania, which is arguably the hardest fought of the swing states in the 2024 election. Other Puerto Rican singers such as Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony had already expressed support for Harris. Trump has also attracted support from other popular stars from the island such as Anuel AA and Nicky Jam.

Bad Bunny has been vocal about criticizing Puerto Rico’s electric system, which was razed by Hurricane Maria. In a 2022 music video for his song “El Apagon,” the artist called out the company Luma Energy, which handles transmission and distribution, for the constant power outages that plague the island.

One of his most recent songs, “Una Velita,” is also a protest against the government response following Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017.

A year after the storm, public health experts estimated that nearly 3,000 perished because of the effects of Hurricane Maria. But Trump, whose efforts to help the island territory recover have been persistently criticized, repeatedly questioned that number saying it rose “like magic.”

His visit to the island after the hurricane elicited controversy such as when he tossed paper towels. His administration released $13 billion in assistance years later, just weeks before the 2020 presidential election. And a federal government watchdog found that officials hampered an investigation into delays in aid delivery.

Bad Bunny also shared a part of the clip showing Harris saying that Trump “abandoned the island, tried to block aid after back-to-back devastating hurricanes and offered nothing more than paper towels and insults.”

Harris visited a Puerto Rican restaurant in North Philadelphia earlier on Sunday and released her policy related to the island saying she wants to create a task force to attract investment to fix the electrical grid. And Trump is headed on Tuesday to Allentown, Pennsylvania, where more than half of its population is Hispanic and a majority of them from Puerto Rico.

In 2020, Bad Bunny allowed the Biden campaign to use one of his hits “Pero Ya No” in a TV ad.

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October 28, 2024 at 02:02PM

Timothée Chalamet crashes his own look-alike contest

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NEW YORK -- Actor Timothée Chalamet made a surprise appearance at his own look-alike contest in Lower Manhattan on Sunday, an event that drew hundreds of onlookers, a dispersal order from police and at least one arrest.

Flanked by bodyguards, Chalamet briefly posed for photos with his high-cheeked, curly haired doppelgängers, some of whom had dressed as the actor’s characters in “Wonka” and the “Dune” movies.

But just as the wannabe-Chalamats began strutting along a red carpet in Washington Square Park, police ordered the large group to disperse, slapping organizers with a $500 fine for an “unpermitted costume contest.”

At least one contestant was taken away in handcuffs, though police did not immediately say why. A spokesperson for the NYPD said charges were pending.

“It started off as a silly joke and now it’s turned pandemonium,” said Paige Nguyen, a producer for the YouTube personality Anthony Po, who staged the event.

The organizers had posted flyers for the contest — which promised a $50 prize to the winner — around New York in recent days, spurring social media speculation and thousands of RSVPs to an online invite.

After leaving the park, the group soon found a backup location in a nearby playground, where more than a dozen contestants competed for audience approval from a makeshift stage.

What makes a good Chalamet?

“It’s all in the nose,” said Lauren Klas, a 27-year-old graphic designer who clung to a fence post to get a better view of the stage. “All of his bone structure, really.”

After winnowing down the group down to four, the remaining contestants were asked about their French proficiency, their plans to make the world a better place and their romantic intentions with Kylie Jenner. Chalamet and Jenner are said to be a couple.

Eventually, a winner was chosen: Miles Mitchell, a 21-year-old Staten Island resident, who dressed in a purple Willy Wonka outfit and tossed candy to the crowd from a brief case.

As he stood next to a novelty-size check written out to “Best Tim," a group of admirers lined up for the chance to take a photo — or exchange social media profiles — with the winner.

“I’m excited and I’m also overwhelmed,” Mitchell said. “There were so many good look-alikes. It was really a toss-up.”

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October 28, 2024 at 01:47PM

'Venom: The Last Dance' misses projections as superhero films' grip loosens

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NEW YORK -- NEW YORK (AP) — “Venom: The Last Dance” showed less bite than expected at the box office, collecting $51 million in its opening weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, significantly down from the alien symbiote franchise’s previous entries.

Projections for the third “Venom” film from Sony Pictures had been closer to $65 million. More concerning, though, was the drop off from the first two “Venom” films. The 2018 original debuted with $80.2 million, while the 2021 follow-up, “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” opened with $90 million even as theaters were still in recovery mode during the pandemic.

“The Last Dance,” starring Tom Hardy as a journalist who shares his body with an alien entity also voiced by Hardy, could still turn a profit for Sony. Its production budget, not accounting for promotion and marketing, was about $120 million — significantly less than most comic-book films.

But “The Last Dance” is also performing better overseas. Internationally, “Venom: The Last Dance” collected $124 million over the weekend, including $46 million over five days of release in China. That’s good enough for one of the best international weekends of the year for a Hollywood release.

Still, neither reviews (36% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) nor audience scores (a franchise-low “B-” CinemaScore) have been good for the film scripted by Kelly Marcel and Hardy, and directed by Marcel.

The low weekend for “Venom: The Last Dance” also likely insures that superhero films will see their lowest-grossing year in a dozen years, not counting the pandemic year of 2020, according to David A. Gross, a film consultant who publishes a newsletter for Franchise Entertainment.

Following on the heels of the “Joker: Folie à Deux” flop, Gross estimates that 2024 superhero films will gross about $2.25 billion worldwide. The only upcoming entry is Marvel’s “Kraven the Hunter,” due out Dec. 13. Even with the $1.3 billion of “Deadpool & Wolverine,” the genre hasn’t, overall, been dominating the way it once did. In 2018, for example, superhero films accounted for more than $7 billion in global ticket sales.

Last week’s top film, the Paramount Pictures horror sequel “Smile 2,” dropped to second place with $9.4 million. That brings its two-week total to $83.7 million worldwide.

The weekend’s biggest success story might have been “Conclave,” the papal thriller starring Ralph Fiennes and directed by Edward Berger (“All Quiet on the Western Front”). The Focus Features release, a major Oscar contender, launched with $6.5 million in 1,753 theaters.

That put “Conclave” into third place, making it the rare adult-oriented drama to make a mark theatrically. Some 77% of ticket buyers were over the age of 35, Focus said. With a strong opening and stellar reviews, “Conclave” could continue to gather momentum both with moviegoers and Oscar voters.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. "Venom: The Last Dance,” $51 million.

2. “Smile 2," $9.4 million.

3. “Conclave,” $6.5 million.

4. “The Wild Robot,” $6.5 million.

5. “We Live in Time,” $4.8 million.

6. “Terrifier 3,” $4.3 million.

7, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” $3.2 million.

8. “Anora,” $867,142.

9. “Piece by Piece,” $720,000.

10. “Transformers One,” $720,000.

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October 28, 2024 at 01:41AM

Frankie Muniz's 1st NASCAR race since going full-time spoiled by mechanical problems

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HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Frankie Muniz finished 33rd on Saturday in his first Truck Series race since the “Malcolm in the Middle” star announced he will become a full-time NASCAR racer next season.

Muniz, who is 38, recently made the jump from part-time racer to a full slate in the No. 33 Ford for Reaume Brothers Racing. He made two starts for Reaume Brothers this season in the Truck Series.

Muniz has said he is confident his team could be successful in this series, but Saturday's race was marred by mechanical issues for his Toyota. He qualified 31st out of 34 cars.

He competed twice this season in NASCAR’s second-tier Xfinity Series, including the opener at Daytona International Speedway, and has also participated in the ARCA Series, one of the lower rungs on the NASCAR feeder system.

Muniz said Friday that his ultimate goal as a full-time driver is to win races.

“I want to be the best," he said, "but realistically, the series is tough. There are a lot of good drivers and a lot of good teams, but I think if we could consistently be in the top 20 that would be a huge achievement for us.”

The former actor has been a race enthusiast for decades. Muniz drove the pace car for the 2001 Daytona 500 — a race in which seven-time Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt was killed on the final lap.

Grant Enfinger of CR7 Motorsports won the race — his second straight win.

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

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October 27, 2024 at 01:17PM

Trump refers to CNN's Anderson Cooper by a woman's first name

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NOVI, Mich. -- Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly referred to CNN anchor Anderson Cooper with a woman's first name in recent days as the Republican presidential nominee focuses his closing message on a hypermasculine appeal to men.

On a Friday morning post on Trump’s social media site Truth Social, the former president referred to one of the most prominent openly gay journalists in the U.S. as "Allison Cooper.”

Trump made the subtext even more explicit later Friday during a rally in Traverse City, Michigan, where he criticized a town hall Cooper hosted with Vice President Kamala Harris.

“If you watched her being interviewed by Allison Cooper the other night, he’s a nice person. You know Allison Cooper? CNN fake news,” Trump said, before pausing and saying in a mocking voice: “Oh, she said no, his name is Anderson. Oh, no."

On Saturday, Trump repeated the name during another Michigan rally, then followed it up during a nighttime reference in Pennsylvania. “They had a town hall,” Trump said in Michigan. “Even Allison Cooper was embarrassed by it. He was embarrassed by it.”

In referring to Cooper with a woman’s name, Trump appeared to turn to a stereotype heterosexual people have long deployed against gay men. Such rhetoric evokes the trope of gay men as effeminate and comes as Trump aims to drive up his appeal among men in the final stages of his bid to return to the White House.

The former president on Friday recorded a three-hour interview with Joe Rogan, a former mixed martial arts commentator whose podcast is wildly popular among young men. On Oct. 19, Trump kicked off a Pennsylvania rally discussing legendary golfer Arnold Palmer’s genitalia.

The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment. A representative for Cooper declined to comment.

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October 27, 2024 at 01:02PM

Judge blocks further sweeps of homeless camp in New Orleans ahead of Taylor Swift concerts

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A judge in Louisiana has temporarily blocked further efforts by state officials to clear homeless encampments in New Orleans — stalling a push that came ahead of three Taylor Swift concerts in the city this weekend.

The effort to relocate about 75 people living in tents beneath an overpass near the Superdome began in the days leading up to pop star's shows, which could draw 150,000 visitors to the stadium.

Judge Lori Jupiter granted a temporary restraining order on Friday, directing state law enforcement officials to not “destroy or dispose of the property of unhoused people without judicial process” and to notify people in the “state sanctioned camp” that they are “free to leave.”

The order is in effect until Nov. 4.

The judge's ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by homeless people who were subject to the sweep. In legal filings, they argued that state troopers violated their constitutional rights by illegally searching, seizing and destroying their property, disposing of their prized possessions and “forcibly herding” them away.

According to the lawsuit, a legal observer overheard state troopers saying “the governor wants you to move because of the Taylor Swift concert.”

State officials have said the residents were being moved to a new location about two blocks away, where unhoused people living in the tourist-heavy French Quarter neighborhood would also be moved.

A spokesperson for Gov. Jeff Landry has said that the effort was meant to address homelessness and safety issues, linking the push to the concerts and February’s Super Bowl, which will take place in the city.

“As we prepare for the city to host Taylor Swift and Super Bowl LIX, we are committed to ensuring New Orleans puts its best foot forward when on the world stage,” Landry’s communications director, Kate Kelly, said in a statement issued to local media.

Advocates argue the effort disrupted the work of local officials to connect homeless people with social services and help them find more permanent housing solutions.

Martha Kegel, executive director of Unity of Greater New Orleans, a nonprofit that seeks permanent housing for unsheltered people, said the sweep was a needless and harmful endeavor and that many of those in the camp have mental illnesses and are distrustful of authorities and those trying to help them.

“Some people were frightened and left, and that’s not good,” she said. “Because then all the work that we did to assess them and document their disabilities and, you know, work with them on their housing plan has now been wasted.”

Among those who made the move Wednesday was Terrence Cobbins. Taking a break from gathering his belongings, he said he was told to move because of the concerts.

“They ain’t never did it before for other people,” he said. “Why Taylor Swift?”

___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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October 27, 2024 at 12:47PM

Beyoncé endorses Kamala Harris in joyful speech at Houston rally: 'I'm here as a mother'

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“I’m not here as a celebrity, I’m not here as a politician. I’m here as a mother,” Beyoncé said at a Houston rally for Kamala Harris' presidential campaign Friday night. “A mother who cares deeply about the world my children and all of our children live in, a world where we have the freedom to control our bodies, a world where we’re not divided.”

“Imagine our daughters growing up seeing what’s possible with no ceilings, no limitations," she continued. “We must vote, and we need you.”

At the end, Beyoncé — who was joined onstage by her Destiny’s Child bandmate Kelly Rowland — introduced Harris with, “Ladies and gentlemen, please give a big, loud, Texas welcome to the next president of the United States, Vice President Kamala Harris.”

She did not perform — unlike in 2016, when she performed at a presidential campaign rally for Hilary Clinton in Cleveland.

Houston is Beyoncé's hometown, and Harris’ presidential campaign has taken on Beyonce’s 2016 track “Freedom,” a cut from her landmark 2016 album “Lemonade," as its anthem.

Harris first used the song in July during her first official public appearance as a presidential candidate at her campaign headquarters in Delaware. That same month, Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles, publicly endorsed Harris for president.

Beyoncé gave permission to Harris to use the song, a campaign official who was granted anonymity to discuss private campaign operations confirmed to The Associated Press.

Arriving in the back-half of “Lemonade,” “Freedom” samples two John and Alan Lomax field recordings, which document Jim Crow-era folk spirituals of Southern Black churches and the work songs of Black prisoners from 1959 and 1948, respectively. It also features Pulitzer Prize winner Kendrick Lamar.

Kinitra D. Brooks, an academic and author of “The Lemonade Reader,” says the song “‘Freedom" is so important because it shows that freedom isn’t free. The freedom to be yourself, the political freedom ... it’s the idea that you must fight for freedom, and that it is winnable."

The Harris rally in Houston highlighted the perilous medical fallout from the state’s strict abortion ban and putting the blame squarely on Donald Trump.

Since abortion was restricted in Texas, the state’s infant death rate has increased, more babies have died of birth defects and maternal mortality has risen.

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October 26, 2024 at 11:47AM

New Mexico judge upholds dismissal of involuntary manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin in a fatal movie set shooting

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October 25, 2024 at 11:11PM

US-Best-Sellers-Books-PW

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HARDCOVER FICTION

1. “The Waiting" bt Michael Connelly (Little, Brown)

2. “Counting Miracles” by Nicholas Sparks (Random House)

3. “The Book of Bill” by Alex Hirsch (Hyperion Avenue)

4. “The Women” by Kristin Hannah (St. Martin’s)

5. “Iron Flame” by Rebecca Yarros (Red Tower)

6. “Intermezzo” by Sally Rooney (FSG)

7. “A Christmas Duet" by Debbie Macomber (Ballantine)

8. “The Stars Are Dying (special ed.)” by Chloe C. Peñaranda (Bramble)

9. “Into the Uncut Grass" by Noah/Hahn (One World)

10. “Bull Moon Rising" by Ruby Dixon (Ace)

11. “Identity Unknown” by Patricia Cornwell (Grand Central)

12. “Lies He Told Me” by Patterson/Ellis (Little, Brown)

13. “Never Keep" by Peckham/Valenti (Dark Ink)

14. “Here One Moment” by Liane Moriarty (Crown)

15. “The God of the Woods" by Liz Moore (Riverhead)

____

HARDCOVER NON-FICTION

1. “War" by Bob Woodward (Simon & Schuster)

2. “From Here to the Great Unknown" by Presley/Keough (Random House)

3. “Melania” by Melania Trump (Skyhorse)

4. “Framed" by Grisham/McCloskey (Doubleday)

5. “The Message” by Ta-Nehisi Coates (One World)

6. “Be Ready When the Luck Happens” by Ina Garten (Crown)

7. “Good Energy” by Casey Means (Avery)

8. “Revenge of the Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown)

9. “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt (Penguin Press)

10. “What I Ate in One Year" by Stanley Tucci (Gallery)

11. “Toxic Empathy" by Allie Beth Stuckey (Sentinel)

12. “Sonny Boy" by Al Pacino (Penguin Press)

13. “Confronting the Presidents” by O’Reilly/Dugard (St. Martin’s)

14. “Life on Svalbard" by Cecilia Blomdahl (DK)

15. “Good Lookin’ Cookin’” by Parton/George (Ten Speed)

____

TRADE PAPERBACK BESTSELLERS

1. “The Boyfriend" by Freida McFadden (Poisoned Pen)

2. “Fourth Wing” by Rebecca Yarros (Red Tower)

3. “How My Neighbor Stole Christmas" by Meghan Quinn (Bloom)

4. “The Housemaid Is Watching” by Freida McFadden (Poisoned Pen)

5. “Haunting Adeline” by H.D. Carlton (Zando)

6. “Never Lie” by Freida McFadden (Poisoned Pen)

7. “The Cinnamon Bun Book Store” by Laurie Gilmore (One More Chapter)

8. “The Inmate” by Freida McFadden (Poisoned Pen)

9. “Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver (Harper Perennial)

10. “The Bridge Kingdom" by Danielle L. Jensen (Del Rey)

11. “Hunting Adeline" by H.D. Carlton (Zando)

12. “Lights Out” by Navessa Allen (Slowburn)

13. “Holly" by Stephen King (Scribner)

14. “The Perfect Son” by Freida McFadden (Poisoned Pen)

15. “Her Soul to Take" by Harley Laroux (Kensington)

_____

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October 25, 2024 at 10:11AM

Ron Ely, TV's 'Tarzan' in the 1960s, dies at 86

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LOS ANGELES -- LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ron Ely, the tall, musclebound actor who played the title character in the 1960s NBC series “Tarzan,” has died at age 86.

Ely's daughter, Kirsten Casale Ely, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that her father died Sept. 29 at his home in Los Alamos, California, an unincorporated community in Santa Barbara County.

While Ron Ely was not quite as well-known as Johnny Weismuller, the Olympic swimmer who played Tarzan in movies in the 1930s and 1940s, Ely helped form the image of the shirtless, loincloth-wearing character further immortalized by Disney.

“He was an actor, writer, coach, mentor, family man and leader,” Kirsten Ely said in an Instagram post. “He created a powerful wave of positive influence wherever he went. The impact he had on others is something that I have never witnessed in any other person - there was something truly magical about him.”

In 2019, he tragically returned to the news when his 62-year-old wife, Valerie Lundeen Ely, was stabbed to death at their Santa Barbara, California, home by their 30-year-old son, Cameron Ely, who was subsequently shot and killed by police. Ron Ely, who was home during the stabbing, challenged the prosecutor's report that his son's shooting was justified.

“If he didn’t have a gun or he didn’t have a weapon, what was the basis of shooting him?” Ely's attorney John Burris said in 2020. “They may have very well thought he was involved in some other activity involving the mom. But that’s not a basis to shoot and kill him. You have to have a lawful basis to do that.”

In the early 1980s, Ely was host of the Miss America pageant and met Valerie, a Miss Florida, there. They married in 1984. The couple had three children, and Ely retired from acting to focus on his family in 2001.

“Late in life I had a young family. I decided to stop acting and work at home, as an author, that way I could be with the kids all through school and be able to attend their sports games and things,” he told London's Daily Express in 2013, expressing interest in the time at reentering acting. He would return briefly in the 2014 TV movie “Expecting Amish.”

Ely’s Tarzan didn’t speak in the monosyllabic grunts often associated with the character, originally created by novelist Edgar Rice Burroughs. He was instead an educated bachelor who had grown sick of civilization and had returned to African jungle where he was raised.

Ely said in interviews that he did his own stunts on the show, working directly and precariously with the tigers, chimpanzees and other wild animals that were Tarzan’s friends and servants.

“They first tried to cast a former American football player called Mike Henry but he didn’t like chimpanzees and from the moment he got on set, things went south in a hurry,” Ely told London’s Daily Express in 2013.

A chimp attacked Henry and injured his jaw when the show’s pilot was being filmed, and Ely was cast in his place at the last moment.

“I met with them on a Monday and when they offered me the role I thought: ‘No way do I want to step into that bear trap. You do Tarzan and you are stamped for life’,” Ely told the Daily Express. “Was I ever right! But my agent convinced me it was a quality show and was going to work. So on the Friday I was on a plane to Brazil to shoot the first episode.”

Ely also played the title character in the 1975 action film “Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze,” but otherwise had mostly small roles in TV and films, including the 1958 movie musical “South Pacific.”

He also wrote a pair of mystery novels featuring a detective named Jake Sands, 1994’s “Night Shadows” and 1995’s “East Beach.”

Born in Hereford, Texas, and raised in Amarillo, he married his high school sweetheart in 1959, but divorced two years later.

Along with Kirsten Casale Ely, he is survived by daughter Kaitland Ely Sweet.

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October 24, 2024 at 09:11AM

'Malcolm in the Middle' star Frankie Muniz lands full-time NASCAR ride in 2025

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LANDIS, N.C. -- Former “Malcolm in the Middle” star Frankie Muniz is set to continue his NASCAR career with a full-time ride in the Truck Series for 2025.

Muniz will make the jump from part-time racer to a full slate in the No. 33 Ford for Reaume Brothers Racing. He made two starts for Reaume Brothers this season in the Truck Series.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Frankie to our team full-time and to expand our relationship with Ford Performance,” team owner Josh Reaume said in a statement. “Their support has been invaluable, and we believe that with Frankie’s passion and our collective momentum from this year, we can make significant strides in the upcoming season.”

Muniz is scheduled to compete in the Truck Series race Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

He competed twice this season in NASCAR's second-tier Xfinity Series, including the opener at Daytona International Speedway.

The 38-year-old Muniz said he was confident the team could “achieve great things together. I can't wait to get started.”

The actor-turned-race car driver also has competed in the ARCA Series, one of the lower rungs on the NASCAR feeder system.

Muniz entered 14 races in 2006 in the Formula BMW USA series, and the following year, he moved up to the Champ Car Atlantic Series. He continued racing until 2009, when a crash left him with injuries that led to him stepping away.

A longtime racing enthusiast, Muniz drove the pace car for the 2001 Daytona 500 — a race in which seven-time Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt was killed on the final lap.

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

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October 24, 2024 at 01:48AM

Rapper Eminem and Obama rally voters for Kamala Harris in Detroit

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DETROIT -- Detroit rapper Eminem stepped into the political arena Tuesday in his hometown, where he spoke briefly at a rally for Vice President Kamala Harris ' presidential campaign before welcoming former President Barack Obama to the stage.

“As most of you know, the city of Detroit and the whole state of Michigan mean a lot to me. And going into this election, the spotlight is on us more than ever,” Eminem, a longtime critic of former President Donald Trump, told the crowd. “And I think it’s important to use your voice. So I’m encouraging everybody to get out and vote.”

He said people shouldn't be afraid of retribution or of making their opinion known, adding that Harris "supports a future for this country where these freedoms and many others will be protected and upheld.”

The Detroit rapper then introduced Obama, who took the stage to the beat of Eminem’s “Lose Yourself." The former president joked that he “noticed my palms are sweaty,” a reference to the hit song, before rapping several lines from it.

The appearance by Obama and Eminem comes just days before early voting kicks off across Michigan. Democrats hope the star-studded event, which also featured former Lions wide receiver and NFL Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson, will boost enthusiasm among voters.

Voter turnout in Detroit, a longtime Democratic stronghold, will be crucial in determining who wins the state in November, when Michigan is among a handful of swing states expected to determine who wins the presidency as well as control of the U.S. Senate. Democrat Elissa Slotkin, who faces Republican Mike Rogers for an open Senate seat, appeared alongside Obama at the rally.

Obama attacked Trump as unfit, citing recent incidents such as the town hall where Trump opted to hold an impromtu concert of sorts, swaying back and forth to various songs for about 40 minutes rather than taking questions from voters.

“If your grandpa was acting like this, you’d be worried,” Obama said. “This is somebody who wants unchecked power. We do not need to see what an older, loonier Donald Trump looks like with no guardrails. America’s ready to turn the page.”

Trump has made his own bid for Detroit, appearing with hometown rapper Trick Trick at a rally in the city last week. Trick Trick previously collaborated with Eminem on the track “Welcome 2 Detroit."

Obama and other speakers Tuesday, which included many top Democratic leaders in the state, capitalized on comments Trump made in Detroit earlier this month, when he said it was a “developing” city.

“The whole country will be like — you want to know the truth? It’ll be like Detroit,” Trump said as he addressed the Detroit Economic Club. “Our whole country will end up being like Detroit if she’s your president.”

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who spoke in the leadup to Eminem and Obama, snapped back Tuesday.

“I know you all saw what he said about this beautiful city. He called Detroit a failure and a mess, proving he ain’t firing on all cylinders," Whitmer said. "He doesn’t have a clue what the hell he was talking about. And you know what I think? He ought to keep Detroit out of his mouth.”

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October 23, 2024 at 01:47PM

Georgia Supreme Court reverses contempt ruling against rapper Young Thug's lawyer

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ATLANTA -- Georgia's highest court on Tuesday reversed a judge's contempt ruling against a lawyer for rapper Young Thug who refused to tell the judge how he found out about a meeting between the judge, prosecutors and a prosecution witness.

Defense attorney Brian Steel represents the rapper, who is currently on trial in Atlanta on numerous charges including violation of Georgia’s anti-racketeering and gang laws. Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville in June found Steel in contempt and ordered him to spend the next 10 weekends in jail, an order that was put on hold pending Steel's appeal.

Steel argued that his information was subject to attorney-client privilege, that he didn't interfere with the court's proceedings and that Glanville was required under due process to recuse himself from the contempt proceeding since Steel was accusing the judge of wrongdoing.

The Supreme Court justices agreed with Steel that due process required Glanville to remove himself from the handling of the contempt issue.

“Because the court delayed punishment, the alleged disobedience was directed toward the court, and the court was involved in the controversy that formed the basis of the contempt, due process required the judge to recuse from the contempt proceeding. We therefore reverse the contempt imposed by the trial court,” Presiding Justice Nels Peterson wrote in the unanimous opinion.

Young Thug, a Grammy winner whose given name is Jeffery Williams, was charged two years ago in a sprawling indictment accusing him and more than two dozen other people of conspiring to violate Georgia’s anti-racketeering law. He also is charged with gang, drug and gun crimes and is standing trial with five of the others indicted with him.

Jury selection in the case began in January 2023 and took nearly 10 months. Opening statements were in November and the prosecution has been presenting its case since then, calling dozens of witnesses.

In open court on June 10, Steel told Glanville that he had learned of a meeting in the judge's chambers that morning and proceeded to move for a mistrial. In an order finding Steel in contempt and ordering him jailed, Glanville wrote that he had “serious concern with how this information was improperly disclosed” to Steel.

While the judge asserted that Steel had information he shouldn't have had, Steel had argued that the information hadn't been declared confidential by any court order.

Glanville was removed from the long-running case in July over that meeting that he held with prosecutors and a state witness. Another judge granted motions from two defendants seeking Glanville's recusal, saying she did not fault Glanville for holding the meeting but that “the ‘necessity of preserving the public’s confidence in the judicial system’ weighs in favor of excusing Judge Glanville” from the case.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Paige Reese Whitaker has taken over the case, which is expected to extend into next year.

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October 23, 2024 at 01:26AM