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ANOTHER LOCAL NEWS REPORTER ANNOUNCES LIVE ON AIR THAT SHE’LL BE EXPOSING HER EMPLOYERS TO PROJECT VERITAS
Exactly one week after Fox26Houston reporter Ivory Hecker announced live on air that she was handing over secret recordings of her supervisors and co-workers to the right-wing media watchdog group Project Veritas, the weekend weather anchor for CBS 62 Detroit made an on-air announcement that she will be handing over information to the group as well. April Moss made the announcement while giving the weather forecast this Sunday. “…and speaking of a brand new week, I will be sitting down this week with Project Veritas to discuss the discrimination that CBS is enforcing upon its employees. Tune in to Project Veritas for my full story,” she said before returning to her forecast. While it’s not known what information Moss plans to hand over to the group, Hecker’s subsequent interview with Project Veritas featured her complaining that her employer told her to stop posting on social media about the controversial drug hydroxychloroquine. She also said CBS refused to cover bitcoin because the “poor African-American audience” would not be interested in the subject.
[SOURCE: rawstory.com / ENGAGEMENT: 18.54%]
EX-CUBS STAR BEN ZOBRIST ALLEGES FORMER PASTOR HAD AFFAIR WITH HIS WIFE, DEFRAUDED CHARITY IN LAWSUIT
Former Chicago Cubs star Ben Zobrist filed a lawsuit last month alleging that his former minister had a sexual relationship with his wife and defrauded his charity foundation, according to the Chicago Tribune. Zobrist is seeking $6 million in damages in the lawsuit against Byron Yawn, his former pastor and current CEO of a Nashville-area counseling firm. It was filed last month in Nashville Circuit Court. Zobrist and his wife, Julianna, started attending the Community Bible Church in 2005. Yawn, the senior pastor at that church, started serving as the couple’s pre-marital counselor that year, per the report. Yawn is no longer associated with the church. Zobrist repeatedly sought counseling from Yawn in the years that followed, including when he was experiencing anxiety and depression in 2016, the lawsuit said. Yawn also officiated the public dedication of their three infant children. In 2018, per the report, Yawn started having daily conversations with Julianna and “began secretly pursuing an intimate relationship” with her a month later. By the following spring, Zobrist alleges, Yawn regularly started “meeting her for sex”. Zobrist said that while Yawn was still serving as their counselor, he kept having his relationship with Julianna and the two started using “burner phones” to keep it secret. Ben and Julianna filed for divorce in 2019. He missed significant time with the Cubs that season, and lost about $8 million in income while trying to fix his marriage, per the report. Julianna admitted to the relationship with Yawn last summer, according to the lawsuit. While he was allegedly sleeping with Julianna, Yawn was also working for Zobrist’s charity and making $36,000 annually for doing so. Zobrist was also paying $10,000 a month to Yawn’s church and once paid between $10,000-$15,000 to fund a “pastoral trip” for Yawn’s family. Yawn was terminated from his position as the charity’s executive director in March 2019, but allegedly cashed salary checks through May that year. Yawn “usurped the ministerial-counselor role, violated and betrayed the confidence entrusted to him by the plaintiff, breached his fiduciary duty owed to the plaintiff and deceitfully used his access as counselor to engage in an inappropriate sexual relationship with the plaintiff’s wife,” the lawsuit read, via the Tribune.
[SOURCE: sports.yahoo.com / ENGAGEMENT: 10.53%]
‘WEST SIDE STORY’ STAR RACHEL ZEGLER TO LEAD DISNEY’S ‘SNOW WHITE’ REMAKE
Rachel Zegler has been cast as Snow White in Disney’s upcoming remake of the classic fairytale. Zegler, who beat out many for the role, is poised for a major breakout. She is making her feature film debut as Maria in Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story,” which bows later in 2021, and will also appear in the superhero sequel to “Shazam.” Shortly after the casting was announced, Zegler enthusiastically tweeted “I HAVE MANIFESTED MY ENTIRE LIFE I THINK I THINK.” She also shared a video on Twitter meeting the Disney princess with the caption “homegirl we have LOTS to catch up on.” Marc Webb, whose credits include “500 Days of Summer” and “The Amazing Spider-Man” films with Andrew Garfield, is directing the movie. Production on the still-untitled film is expected to begin sometime in 2022. “Rachel’s extraordinary vocal abilities are just the beginning of her gifts. Her strength, intelligence and optimism will become an integral part of rediscovering the joy in this classic Disney fairytale,” Webb said in a statement. Disney has been in development on its live-action “Snow White” since 2016. As previously announced, Marc Platt is serving as a producer, with Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the songwriting duo behind tunes from “La La Land,” “The Greatest Showman” and “Dear Evan Hansen,” set to write new music for the film. Enduring songs from the original cartoon include “Heigh-Ho,” “Someday My Prince Will Come” and “Whistle While You Work.” “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves,” based on the Brothers Grimm fairytale, was released in 1937 and marked Disney’s first animated feature film. Since then, the story of a princess whose wicked stepmother attempts to poison her with a tempting apple, has been adapted several times including 2012’s “Mirror Mirror” with Julia Roberts and Lily Collins, as well as Universal’s darker take “Snow White and the Huntsman” starring Charlize Theron and Kristen Stewart.
[SOURCE: variety.com / ENGAGEMENT: 8.99%]
MICHIGAN CONFIRMS 25 CASES OF COVID-19’S HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS DELTA VARIANT
The news is good when it comes to coronavirus in Michigan and most of the U.S. — as case rates continue to fall, the percentage of positive tests drops to the lowest point since the start of the pandemic and hospitalizations and deaths from the virus dwindle. The country is headed for a “bright summer. Prayerfully, a summer of joy,” President Joe Biden said at a Friday news conference. But he said he is still concerned about people who haven’t been vaccinated and their risk as a more contagious — and potentially more deadly — variant gains a bigger foothold in the U.S. Called the delta variant, this strain originated in India and swept through that nation in April and May, causing a massive surge in cases and thousands of deaths. Since then, it has spread to more than 80 countries, including the U.S., and pushed the United Kingdom to extend coronavirus restrictions as case rates climbed. “It’s kind of been the story of the pandemic that there’s always a surprise around the corner,” said Joshua Petrie, an assistant research professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health. Beaumont Health Care chief nursing officer Susan Grant shows a needle with a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine before administering to a “high priority group” of health care workers to receive the first doses of the vaccine at the Beaumont Service Center in Southfield on Tuesday, December 15, 2020. Beaumont Health is not mandating the vaccine for workers but strongly encouraging them to get vaccinated.
[SOURCE: freep.com / ENGAGEMENT: 6.60%]
CHRIS BROWN ACCUSED OF HITTING WOMAN IN LOS ANGELES
Grammy-winning singer Chris Brown was accused of hitting a woman during an argument in a Los Angeles home on Friday, authorities said. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department told NBC News Tuesday that officers responded to a report of an argument at a residence in the 19600 block of Citrus Ridge Drive in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles. The incident is being investigated as a battery and will be referred to the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, according to the spokesperson. Few details have been released, but TMZ reported that the woman alleged that Brown smacked her in the head hard enough for her hair weave to fall out. No injuries were reported, and it was unclear if Brown would face any charges. Brown’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Brown, 32, has faced a slew of legal trouble stretching back to 2009, when he was arrested for physically assaulting singer Rihanna, his girlfriend at the time. He pleaded guilty to felony assault and completed probation in 2015. Another ex-girlfriend of Brown’s, model and actress Karrueche Tran, was granted a five-year restraining order against him in 2017. In 2018, he was accused of presiding over a drug-fueled orgy at his Los Angeles mansion where a woman was sexually assaulted by two of his associates. And in 2019, Brown was released after being detained in Paris on aggravated rape and drug offenses.
[SOURCE: nbcnews.com / ENGAGEMEN: 6.04%]
RAIDERS LINEMAN CARL NASSIB BECOMES NFL’S FIRST OPENLY GAY ACTIVE PLAYER
Raiders defensive lineman Carl Nassib made NFL history on Monday, becoming the first active player to announce he is gay. Nassib made his announcement on Instagram, noting he “finally feel[s] comfortable getting it off my chest.” “What’s up people, I’m at my house in West Chester, Pennsylvania. I just wanted to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay,” Nassib said. “I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now but finally feel comfortable getting it off my chest. I really have the best life, the best family, friends and job a guy can ask for. I’m a pretty private person so I hope you guys know that I’m not doing this for attention. I just think that representation and visibility are so important.” Nassib added he will be donating $100,000 to The Trevor Project, an organization working to prevent suicide among LGBTQ+ youth. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell applauded Nassib on Monday evening for “courageously sharing his truth.” “The NFL family is proud of Carl courageously sharing his truth today,” Goodell said in a statement. “Representation matters. We share his hope that someday soon statements like his will no longer be newsworthy as we march toward full equality for the LGBTQ+ community. We wish Carl the best of luck this coming season.” Several NFL players have previously announced they are gay after their conclusion of their playing careers. Former Missouri defensive lineman Michael Sam became the first openly gay player selected in the NFL draft in 2014, but he didn’t make the team’s regular-season roster. Nassib, 28, has played five NFL seasons, recording 20.5 sacks after being selected in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft. He added Monday he hopes announcements like his won’t be necessary in future years due to greater tolerance across sports.
[SOURCE: si.com / ENGAGEMENT: 5.76%]
CONNECTICUT STATE SEN. ALEX KASSER RESIGNS, BLAMES BITTER DIVORCE BATTLE WAGED BY MORGAN STANLEY EXECUTIVE HUSBAND
Connecticut state Sen. Alex Kasser announced Tuesday she is resigning, saying her ability to do her job has been harmed by a bitter divorce battle being waged by her husband, Seth Bergstein, a top Morgan Stanley executive. In her resignation statement posted on Medium, the Democrat from Greenwich wrote: “Seth uses his powerful position at Morgan Stanley to enable his conduct, so I must work even harder to fight for my freedom.” The stunning move comes two years after Kasser went public with her romantic relationship with a woman who had previously run her first Senate campaign and then briefly worked in her legislative office. Kasser told her husband more than a decade ago told she is a lesbian, according to an op-ed she wrote in The Stamford Advocate newspaper last fall. Kasser, 54, charged on Tuesday that Bergstein “has tried to destroy” that same-sex partner, Nichola Samponaro, “with lies about our relationship and harassing court motions that mention her 56 times for no relevant reason — she had nothing to do with ending my marriage. I will not stay silent as a homophobic, entitled man attacks my partner,” Kasser said. Bergstein, 55, is a senior managing director and head of global services at Morgan Stanley. Kasser, who told CNBC she no longer has contact with her three children with Bergstein, also wrote, “In addition, I can no longer live or work in Greenwich as it is loaded with memories of the 20 years I spent raising my children here.” “It is too painful to be in Greenwich now that I’ve been erased from their lives, just as their father promised would happen if I ever left him,” Kasser wrote. Kasser’s surprise resignation came a month after CNBC revealed that she added to her litigation team New York attorney Robert Cohen, who represents Melinda Gates in her megabillion-dollar split from Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Cohen also previously represented Ivana Trump and Marla Maples, the first and second wives of ex-President Donald Trump. The senator’s announcement also comes as she prepares for her divorce trial, set to begin in September in Stamford Superior Court, where Cohen and her other lawyers have sought to depose three Morgan Stanley employees over what they have suggested were improper efforts by the investment bank to obtain personal financial information from her.
[SOURCE: msn.com / ENGAGEMENT: 4.49%]
NAOMI OSAKA IS FREE TO SKIP PRESS CONFERENCES AT THE TOKYO OLYMPICS
Tennis star Naomi Osaka will not be required to attend press conferences at this summer’s Tokyo Olympics, the Japanese Olympic Committee confirmed to the press on Friday. The committee’s media relations team clarified while Olympic medalists usually attend press conferences after events, they will not penalize those who refuse to participate, Kyodo News reported. “The IOC has never obliged athletes to hold a press conference,” the committee was quoted as saying. Complying with the International Tennis Federation means Olympic tennis players would be required to pass through a media-accessible mixed zone, but they don’t have to answer questions. Unlike Olympic tournaments, Grand Slam tournaments can issue fines of up to $20,000 for players refusing to attend press conferences. Repeat violations can even result in suspension or possible expulsion from a tournament. Osaka expressed excitement to represent Japan at the Tokyo Olympics after skipping major tournaments, including the Wimbledon championships, to spend time with loved ones, NextShark previously reported. Osaka withdrew from the French Open earlier this year after she was fined for refusing to attend press conferences. She cited her struggles with depression as her reason for backing out. The Olympics will begin on July 23 and run until Aug. 8. The oldest living person in the world, Kane Tanaka, will be the torchbearer at the games this year.
[SOURCE: sports.yahoo.com / ENGAGEMENT: 3.65%]
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