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HARVEY WEINSTEIN JURY SELECTION COMPLETE
NEW YORK (AP) — After a two-week process, jury selection in Harvey Weinstein's rape trial is now complete. The judge and attorneys for both sides ended the process after 12 jurors and 3 alternates were chosen. Eight are men and seven are women. The seating of a panel paves the way for testimony to begin, perhaps as early as next week.
Weinstein is charged with raping a woman in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and sexually assaulting another woman in 2006. If convicted, he could get life in prison.
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HARVEY WEINSTEIN SEEKS VENUE SHIFT
NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors in New York say residents of the nation’s biggest city aren’t likely to be blown away by a few street demonstrators. The DA’s office is challenging a request by Harvey Weinstein’s legal team to have the trial moved out of New York, the defendant’s home town and business base. One reason cited for the request was the protests by #MeToo supporters outside the court building. In their response, prosecutors say New Yorkers see so many protests as they move about the city, they won’t be fazed by them.
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GIGI HADID BOUNCED FROM JURY PANEL
NEW YORK (AP) — It was interesting while it lasted. But in the end, the judge and both sides of the Harvey Weinstein case decided having a supermodel on the jury wouldn’t work. Gigi Hadid has been stricken from the list of possible jury members. Her going from being a would-be juror to a won’t- be juror leaves all parties free to focus on seating the panel without the distraction of having another celebrity in court. In a filing yesterday before Hadid was bounced, Weinstein’s lawyers said the mere thought of having her seated as a panel was enough of a reason to consider having the trial moved out of New York City.
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103505-c-183:84-(Oscar Wells Gabriel, AP entertainment correspondent)-"too much commotion"-Weinstein's lawyers seek change in venue (17 Jan 2020)
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EMINEM DROPS NEW ALBUM
UNDATED (AP) — Surprise! Eminem is out with a new album. He dropped it at midnight without any fanfare — just as he did his last release. The new one is titled “Music to Be Murdered By.” And it’s likely to get lots attention for the video for the track “Darkness.” It depicts a shooting at a concert — and the lyrics link to what happened in Las Vegas in 2017. That’s when a mass shooting at a concert left 58 people dead, the deadliest gun rampage in U.S. history. The video closes with a call for people to register to vote — and support tougher anti-gun measures in America.
GRAMMY CHIEF PUT ON LEAVE
NEW YORK (AP) — With less than a month to go before the Grammy awards, there’s some serious discord among those at the top of the Recording Academy flow chart. The academy says newly installed CEO Deborah Dugan has been put on administrative leave. The academy says it stems from an accusation of misconduct from another top Grammy official. Dugan isn’t taking the leave lying down. She says through her attorney that “What has been reported is not nearly the story that needs to be told.” The attorney promises Dugan will speak up on her behalf when she is no longer under a 28-page contract — and bound by legal threats.
SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS ARE SUNDAY
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Scarlett Johansson, Sterling K. Brown and Taika Waititi hope to be on both the giving and receiving end of things at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. All three have been named as presenters — and all three are up for awards at the Sunday event. Also on the list of presenters are Roman Griffin Davis, Jason Bateman, Lili Reinhart and Kaitlyn Dever. During the event, Robert De Niro will receive the SAG Life Achievement Award; Leonardo DiCaprio will present it.
RACHEL MADDOW RATINGS RISE WITH IMPEACHMENT INTEREST
NEW YORK (AP) — As the impeachment saga ramps up, so do the ratings for Rachel Maddow’s show. Her MSNBC program has scored the largest audience ever during its 11-year run. It happened Wednesday, when Maddow interviewed Lev Parnas. Parnas is an associate of Rudy Giuliani, President Trump's personal lawyer. In the interview with Maddow, Parnas implied that nearly everyone in the Trump administration knew about plans to get Ukraine to dig up dirt on Trump rival, Joe Biden and his son — in exchange for the release of key funding for that nation’s defense.
CICELY TYSON ON AGING
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Cicely Tyson has been a national treasure for eight decades now. But the actress says she doesn’t take her staying power for granted. Speaking to a TV critics meeting yesterday Tyson said, “You know how old I am? Who in the world lives this long?” Tyson is 95. Her latest project is “Cherish the Day,” an anthology series created and produced by Ava DuVernay.
MERYL STREEP TO BE ANIMATED
NEW YORK (AP) — Meryl Streep is getting animated: She will lend her voice to a short film celebrating the Earth. Apple TV Plus says the Oscar-winner will join Chris O’Dowd, Jacob Tremblay and Ruth Negga for an adaption of Oliver Jeffers' picture book “Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth." The 36-minute film will premiere on the streaming service April 17.
by Oscar Wells Gabriel II
Follow Oscar Wells Gabriel II on Twitter at https://twitter.com/OWGabriel2
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