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Asia Argento reportedly dropped from 'X Factor Italy' over Bennett sex assault scandal


RT
Mon, 27 Aug 2018 13:41 UTC
Asia Argento
© Regis Duvignau / Reuters
Italian actress Asia Argento has reportedly been dropped by 'X Factor Italy' after accusations that she sexually assaulted a teenager who appeared in a movie with her came to light.

The dramatic exit follows the recent bombshell that Argento paid former child actor and musician Jimmy Bennett a $380,000 settlement after he alleged that they had sex in a California hotel room in 2013. Bennett was 17 at the time, one year shy of the state's legal age of consent, and Argento was 37.

Argento has been reportedly pulled from the live version of the talent show, which is scheduled to start airing on September 6. However, she will still appear in the first seven pre-recorded episodes that show Argento and her fellow judges select the show's contestants through auditions, because otherwise they would've had to audition thousands of people all over again.

Comment: Previously:

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Dollars

Chicago's 'predatory' funeral homes are cashing in on the crime wave


RT
Mon, 27 Aug 2018 13:48 UTC
police tape
© Joshua Lott / Reuters
Funeral homes in Chicago have been accused of cashing in on the city's crime wave. Advocates claim they are taking advantage of a taxpayer-funded scheme that pays $7,500 in funeral expenses to homicide victims' families.

Some funeral directors have been reportedly inflating prices or charging families for services they never received.

"Every funeral home in the state knows that victims get $7,500 for a funeral and it's their goal to charge the entire amount because it's easy money," Susan Johnson, executive director of Chicago Survivors, told Fox News.

Victims of violent crime receive up to $27,000 in financial assistance for out-of-pocket expenses from the state and the federal government. The families of murder victims get $7,500 for funeral costs.

According to the National Funeral Directors Association, the average cost of a funeral for an adult is between $7,000 and $8,300. The Federal Trade Commission puts the figure slightly higher at around $10,000.
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Pistol

Police say Jacksonville Landing mass shooting left 'multiple fatalities,' suspect dead - UPDATE

Katherine Lam, Travis Fedschun
Fox News
Sun, 26 Aug 2018 20:04 UTC
Jacksonville Landing
© Jacksonville Landing / Facebook
Jacksonville Landing
Police have stressed that people need to stay 'many blocks away.'

A suspect is dead and there were multiple other fatalities after a "mass shooting" on Sunday in downtown Jacksonville, Fla., at a popular area filled with bars and restaurants, police said.

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said there were "multiple fatalities" from the mass shooting at Jacksonville Landing and many people were transported to the hospital.

"One suspect is dead at the scene, unknown at this time if we have a second suspect. Searches are being conducted," Jacksonville Sheriff's Office tweeted.

Comment: More information from the Los Angeles Times:
Sources told News4Jax, a Jacksonville broadcast station, that at least four people had been fatally shot, and 11 total.

The shooter was a gamer who was competing in the tournament and lost, according to Steven "Steveyj" Javaruski, one of the competitors.

The shooter "targeted a few people" and shot at least five victims before killing himself, Javaruski told The Times in a direct message on Twitter. The gunman killed two or three people "that I saw," Javaruski said.
From First Coast News:
Information from hospitals:

Three victims of the mass shooting are being treated at Memorial Hospital and are labeled in stable condition, according to Memorial's spokesperson, Peter Moberg.

UF Health has six victims in their hospital. One victim is in serious condition and the other five are in good condition.
UPDATE August 27: Witnesses have come forward corroborating the sheriff's statement that the shooter was a gamer. One witness said the suspect 'just went crazy shooting up the room' after losing. Another said 'there was just so many gunshots - at least 20 of them at most'. Most are still in shock; one contestant who was on his way to the tournament said that "it could have been me, it could have been any one of us."

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Car Black

'Stay home & make babies': Texas man arrested for the second time for shooting female drivers


RT
Mon, 27 Aug 2018 13:43 UTC
driving
© Zohra Bensemra / Reuters
A man in Texas has been arrested a second time for shooting female drivers because he doesn't believe women should be allowed to get behind the wheel. Authorities say the man has a "dim" view of the opposite sex.

Nicholas D'Agostino was initially arrested for shooting a mother as she drove to a car wash in Katy, Texas, on July 10. The bullet went straight through her arm, lodging just millimeters from her heart.

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Magnify

96 percent of Google search results for 'Trump' are from liberal media outlets

Paula Bolyard
PJ Media
Sat, 25 Aug 2018 10:17 UTC
google with laptops
© Dado Ruvic / Reuters
Is Google manipulating its algorithm to prioritize left-leaning news outlets in their coverage of President Trump? It sure looks that way based on recent search results for news on the president.

Conservatives and Trump supporters have for the last several years questioned whether Google was deprioritizing conservative news sites, hiding them from users who utilize their search engine. Google has maintained that all outlets are treated fairly, but nevertheless, conservative sites have reported reduced search traffic and, in the case of Google-owned YouTube, content creators have been banned and demonetized. Google's high-profile firing of conservative James Damore, purportedly over his conservative political views, only reinforces the idea that Google is picking winners and losers.

To test the premise, I performed a Google search for "Trump" using the search engine's "News" tab and analyzed the results using Sharyl Attkisson's media bias chart.

media bias chart 1

Comment: Perhaps one day we'll get to see Eric Schmidt questioned by the House committee... or not. See also:

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Hearts

Russian lawmaker advocates dedicated agency for animal welfare


RT
Fri, 24 Aug 2018 12:00 UTC
Dogs in a kennel
© Ruslan Krivobok / Sputnik
Dogs in a kennel at the Alma animal shelter on Prud-Klyuchi street in Moscow, where a fire in the facility killed several animals
An MP from Russia's nationalist-populist opposition party LDPR has asked the deputy PM in charge of agriculture to create an agency to prepare laws for the "maximum protection of animal rights."

"At current moment, there are more and more cases of cruel treatment of animals registered in the Russian Federation. State Duma members receive hundreds of letters from voters demanding to toughen the control on observation of animal rights," MP Vasily Vlasov wrote in a letter to Deputy PM Aleksey Gordeyev, as quoted by RIA Novosti.

"I personally see it as necessary to create a separate agency within the Federal Service for Veterinarian and Sanitary Control that would develop laws for maximum possible protection of animal rights," the MP added.

Comment: It was only back in the 1990's that - thanks to Western meddling - Russian people had few protections, so it's not so surprising that this legislation is only really coming into effect now:

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Airplane

UK planes might be grounded if no deal with EU reached according to think tank


Sputnik
Mon, 27 Aug 2018 11:24 UTC
Jumbo jet airplane
© REUTERS / Toby Melville
Back in October 2017, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond admitted that it was "theoretically possible" that the failure by London and Brussels to clinch a Brexit deal would stop air traffic between Britain and the EU.

The London-based Institute for Economic Affairs (IEA) think tank has warned Prime Minister Theresa May that the entire fleet of UK planes may be grounded if the country leaves the EU without signing a specific aviation deal.

"If there are no alternative arrangements in place, it would be as bad as the worst fears suggest: planes would not be allowed to fly," Julian Jessop, the IEA's chief economist, said.

The IEA said in a report that the UK airlines' operating licenses for the 27 countries will be revoked if they fail to clinch a replacement arrangement with the EU's Single Aviation Market (SAM), which currently covers Britain's rights to the so-called "freedoms of the air."

Comment: See also:

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Cloud Lightning

Ryanair pilot faints mid-air as thunderstorm causes plane to be diverted on way to Italy

Phoebe Southworth
Daily Mail
Sun, 26 Aug 2018 17:43 UTC
ryanair
A Ryanair pilot fainted as his plane was being diverted during a thunderstorm.

The flight from London Stansted to Palermo in Italy was forced to land 67 miles away in Trapani because of the treacherous weather on Thursday evening.

As the plane approached the runway, the co-pilot passed out and the captain was forced to land the plane himself.

Comment: See also:

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People 2

Men who don't work full-time have a higher rate of divorce

Faith Moore
PJ Media
Thu, 23 Aug 2018 00:01 UTC
man kisses wife
© Getty Images
In a study called "Money, Work, and Marital Stability," Harvard sociology professor Alexandra Killewald made an interesting discovery: "husbands' lack of full-time employment is associated with higher risk of divorce." Killewald - who studies how gender shapes "the mutual relationships between family circumstances and work outcomes in the United States" - glumly concludes from her research that "the husband breadwinner norm persists."

When asked recently by Steve Calechman of fatherly.com to speculate as to why husbands not working might contribute to higher divorce rates, Killewald talked about the harmful effects of this gender expectation. "If the expectation [to work] is from him, he could become depressed, drink more, and do other unhelpful behaviors for the marriage," Killewald said. "It's also possible that wives expect husbands to work full-time and when they don't, they think that's a signal about not being a good husband," she continued. Her final speculation (none of these scenarios were backed by any research) was that "other people around the couple could have opinions about him being out of work and that could affect the stability [of the marriage]."

Comment: The infection of feminist ideology into the modern home have had a number of pernicious effects on families. Instead of decrying traditional gender roles as "toxic", perhaps it would be more beneficial to examine why they are what they are and find ways of working with them to the benefit of all.

See also:

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Gear

From WWII relics to modern US drones: Spoils of Syrian war displayed in Russia (VIDEO, PHOTOS)


RT
Mon, 27 Aug 2018 09:05 UTC
So-called 'hell cannons' on display during Army-2018 forum
© Ruptly
So-called 'hell cannons' on display during Army-2018 forum
Weaponry captured from militants during the anti-terrorism campaign in Syria has been put on display in Russia. RT highlights the most peculiar trophies, which range from WWII relics to modern drones, used by US special ops.

The weapons have been put on display at the Army-2018 forum, which is being held outside Moscow near the city of Kubinka. Small pieces are displayed in a pavilion while larger objects, such as tanks and cars, are out in the open.


Some of the weapons are more suited to a collector's closet or a museum rather than to an actual war zone. The WWII relics include StG 44s, made in Nazi Germany. The war castoffs made it into Syria from Eastern Germany in the 1960s, when the latter country transitioned to Soviet weaponry.
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