Lifestyle
Alec Baldwin's 'Rust' trial to go ahead after judge denies motion to dismiss charge
![Alec Baldwin's 'Rust' trial to go ahead after judge denies motion to dismiss charge](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3500x1969+0+0/resize/1400/quality/100/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F4d%2F54%2F326defc64d9c84fb0766470b5d9d%2Fap21350858842307.jpg)
Alec Baldwin in 2021.
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
hide caption
toggle caption
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
A New Mexico judge has ruled that actor Alec Baldwin’s indictment will stand in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of his film Rust. In an order on Friday, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer turned down a motion by Baldwin’s attorneys to dismiss the indictment.
Baldwin therefore remains scheduled to go on trial in July for involuntary manslaughter. Nearly three years ago, during a rehearsal for a scene in the Western movie on a ranch outside Santa Fe, Baldwin was holding the prop gun that had been loaded with live ammunition. The Colt .45 revolver went off, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
Baldwin, who was also a producer for the film, pleaded not guilty, and has maintained he was not responsible for Hutchins’ death. Shortly after the shooting, he told ABC News he had “no idea” how a live bullet got onto the set of his film, but that he “didn’t pull the trigger.”
In March, a jury found the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, guilty of involuntary manslaughter and negligent use of a firearm. She’s now serving an 18-month prison sentence.
The New Mexico Environment Department’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau issued a citation against Rust Movie Productions and fined them for failures that led to Hutchins’ “avoidable death.”
!['Rust' film armorer found guilty in death of cinematographer](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2024/03/06/hgr_sq-e499757bbdd785dcd94c12c71f4cbc15fa94f86a.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg)
The criminal case against Alec Baldwin
The high-profile criminal case against Alec Baldwin has had many twists and turns. Baldwin was first charged in 2023, but New Mexico’s case against him faced a number of setbacks: Baldwin’s attorneys fought to remove special prosecutor Andrea Reeb, a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives. She stepped down from the case. So did the district attorney who brought the case, after downgrading the charges against the actor. (Baldwin initially faced charges for a minimum of five years in prison under a “firearm enhancement” statute, but his legal team noted that such a law didn’t take effect in New Mexico until after the fatal Rust shooting.)
In April of 2023, the charges against Baldwin were dropped as two new special prosecutors were assigned. In October, they presented their case to a grand jury to determine whether he should be criminally charged. By January, the jury agreed to indict him.
But last week, Baldwin’s attorneys Alex Spiro and Luke Nikas asked Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer to dismiss his charges. They argued that during the grand jury hearing, the state’s special prosecutor unfairly stacked the deck against Baldwin, leaving out key testimony and interrupting witnesses multiple times.
“She doesn’t cut off anybody saying ‘I don’t like Alec Baldwin,’ that’s for sure. It’s always in one direction,” said Spiro.
Spiro argued that the “overzealous” special prosecutor engaged in “bad faith” by failing to make defense witnesses available to testify, and for presenting contradictory testimony.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey, meanwhile, was on the defensive with Judge Sommer. She denied that she had done anything nefarious before the grand jury.
“Everything he’s saying to you right now is a complete misrepresentation,” Morrissey said of Spiro. “I didn’t hide any information from the grand jury.”
She said she had planned to present several defense witnesses if the grand jurors asked for their testimony, and she denied that the testimony was contradictory.
“I want the court to understand that all I was trying to do was get the most accurate information before the grand jury,” Morrissey explained. She defended the testimony of witnesses, including that of veteran movie armorer Bryan Carpenter, who spoke about industry weapons practices during the grand jury trial: “Everything that Mr. Carpenter said is absolutely accurate about the way that safety protocols on movie sets are supposed to work.” She said Carpenter testified in the Gutierrez-Reed trial that the armorer is in charge of gun safety, and he testified before the grand jury “that the actor has a responsibility for the firearm once it is in his hand.”
Morrissey said according to safety protocols on movie sets, “The person who’s holding the gun isn’t supposed to point at anyone. The person who’s holding the gun is supposed to keep their finger off the trigger. The person who’s pointing, who’s holding the gun, is supposed to know what their intended target is. All of those are things that Mr. Baldwin failed to do. And that information was appropriately presented to the grand jury in this case.”
On Friday, Judge Sommer allowed the grand jury’s decision to stand.
![Grand jury indictment against Alec Baldwin opens two paths for prosecutors](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2024/01/20/ap23319822451334_sq-303823b1d1b264254c4a3e5db8e16a5aa3cbea9f.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg)
A web of lawsuits
Since the fatal shooting in October 2021, a complex web of lawsuits has grown.
The Rust crew has filed a number of suits against each other. Serge Svetnoy, the film’s gaffer, or lighting lead, sued Baldwin, Guttierez-Reed, and a number of others involved in production. Then script supervisor Mamie Mitchell sued Baldwin and other producers and crew members, too. In 2022, Baldwin filed a lawsuit against the film’s first assistant director, the armorer, prop master and ammunition supplier, alleging negligence.
Halyna Hutchins’ family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against him and his co-producers, alleging their cost-cutting and reckless behavior on set led to her death. As part of the settlement, Hutchins’ widower Matthew was named as executive producer of the film, which resumed and finished filming last year. There is still no release date.
From their home in Ukraine, Hutchins’s sister and parents also filed a civil suit against Baldwin, his co-producers and some crew members.
![](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/np-logo.png)
Lifestyle
'We Are Lady Parts' rocks with bracing honesty and nuance : Pop Culture Happy Hour
!['We Are Lady Parts' rocks with bracing honesty and nuance : Pop Culture Happy Hour](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2024/05/28/nup_202595_00095_wide-1976d1b587875e26ce93a8f5daede5125f687e99.jpg?s=1400&c=100&f=jpeg)
Lifestyle
Kourtney Kardashian, Travis Barker Spend Father's Day at Disney World
![Kourtney Kardashian, Travis Barker Spend Father's Day at Disney World](https://imagez.tmz.com/image/96/16by9/2024/06/16/9642eb46b6b44354bc5736fa3a1fc995_xl.jpg)
Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker spent their first Father’s Day since welcoming baby Rocky to the world at The Most Magical Place on Earth — Disney World!
Check out the pics obtained by TMZ of the couple at Magic Kingdom Park in Florida Sunday decked out in goth chic … Kourtney in an all-black sports jersey while Travis looked cool as ever in a t-shirt, a hat and a towel covering his head.
Of course, the Barker-Kardashians didn’t leave their little dude out of all the fun … ’cause Kourt’s seemingly pushing him in a stroller covered by a white towel to keep the harsh sun off him.
No Father’s Day would be complete without more of TB’s kids … like son Landon who’s walking with his dad in one pic, typing away on his phone
And, according to his daughter Alabama‘s Instagram story, it looks like she made the trek out to Florida too — though she wasn’t captured in these pics.
It’s another huge milestone for Kourt and Travis — who got married just over a year ago … the first Father’s Day with their new son, an especially meaningful one given how difficult a time the two had conceiving.
Remember … Kardashian revealed last month she actually underwent five rounds of IVF before giving it up and eventually conceived naturally — so, for a while it looked like the two wouldn’t have a baby at all.
Of course, Kourtney gave birth in November of last year — after emergency fetal surgery — and Rocky’s been happy and healthy by all accounts … so, tons to celebrate this year.
Anyhoo … Happy Blended Family Father’s Day, Travis!!!
Lifestyle
A Swiss museum will remove 5 paintings potentially looted by Nazis
![A Swiss museum will remove 5 paintings potentially looted by Nazis](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5000x2813+0+260/resize/1400/quality/100/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fa7%2Fdf%2Ff203d08346fdb1e4ca47402eceb3%2Fgettyimages-1248222542.jpg)
A man walks past the entrance of the Kunsthaus Zurich on March 14, 2023. The museum is investigating the provenance of paintings over a possible connection to Nazi looting.
Arnd Wiegmann/AFP via Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Arnd Wiegmann/AFP via Getty Images
A Swiss museum said five artworks will be removed from public view on June 20 as it collaborates with the owner of the artworks to investigate whether the works were looted by Nazis during World War II.
On longterm loan to the Kunsthaus Zurich museum from collection owner the Foundation E. G. Bührle (or Bührle Foundation) the paintings in question are Jardin de Monet à Giverny by Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh’s The Old Tower, La route montante by Paul Gauguin, Gustave Courbet’s Portrait of the Sculptor Louis-Joseph and Georges-Henri Manuel by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
In a statement issued on Friday on its website, the museum said the Bührle Foundation requested the removal of the artworks as it assesses their provenance. The renewed scrutiny comes as a result of the U.S. State Department’s latest best practices for handling Nazi-looted art, published in March. These expand the Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art set forth in 1998.
“The Kunsthaus welcomes this stance, but very much regrets that, with respect to our visitors, five of the pictures are being removed from the Kunsthaus’ rooms by the current owner, the Bührle Foundation,” the museum said. “The Bührle Foundation is acting comprehensibly and correctly in accordance with the agreement with the city of Zurich and in accordance with the provisions of the permanent loan agreement.”
“The Foundation strives to find a fair and equitable solution with the legal successors of the former owners for these works, following best practices,” said a statement in German from the Bührle Foundation.
The foundation said it is also conducting a separate investigation of a sixth work currently on display at Kunsthaus Zurich, Edouard Manet’s La Sultane.
“The work does not fall within the scope of [the U.S. State Department’s] “best practices” due to the sales processes, but is classified as a case that must be taken into account separately,” the foundation said in its statement. “Due to the overall historical circumstances, the foundation is prepared to provide symbolic compensation.”
Focused on French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artworks, the Emil Bührle Collection, managed by the Bührle Foundation, is a core part of Kunsthaus Zurich’s offerings.
According to the museum website, the foundation’s loan of around 200 artworks “is permanent and can only be terminated with many years’ notice, for the first time at the end of 2034.”
Twenty-five countries, including Switzerland, have so far endorsed the expanded U.S. State Department guidelines for dealing with Nazi-confiscated art. The new agreement follows the 1998 Washington Conference Principles, which focused on providing restitution to the families of the original owners for treasures that were either stolen or forcibly sold by Nazis.
“Restitution should be to all lawful beneficiaries and heirs in accordance with a country’s usual inheritance law,” the March 2024 guidelines state. “All pre-War owners who are identified through provenance research or their heirs should be proactively sought by the current possessors for the purpose of restitution.”
![Met museum is returning looted ancient art to Cambodia and Thailand](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2023/12/15/buddha_sq-dd43e5f1c06e31f11b8e3628384e8ecbc960bed9.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg)
Hundreds of thousands of paintings and millions of books as well as cultural and religious artifacts were stolen from Jewish owners by Nazis in the Holocaust. Many have still not been returned to their rightful owners.
According to a recent report by the World Jewish Restitution Organization and the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, countries such as Russia, Romania, Spain, Denmark and Turkey have made scant progress in trying to restore looted artworks to the original owners or heirs over the past quarter of a century.
Although Switzerland remained neutral during World War II, it maintained strong economic ties to Nazi Germany and its allies.
“Confiscated artworks were often saved for private Nazi and German collections, while some pieces were sold to buyers through neutral countries like Switzerland to raise capital for purchasing additional art pieces and to purchase materials for the Nazi war machine,” states an article about Nazi looted art from the National Archives’ Holocaust Records Preservation Project. “Additionally, Switzerland offered a large market to sell off ‘degenerate art.’ “
-
News1 week ago
Israel used a U.S.-made bomb in a deadly U.N. school strike in Gaza
-
World1 week ago
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 833
-
Politics1 week ago
George Clooney called White House to complain about Biden’s criticism of ICC and defend wife’s work: report
-
Politics1 week ago
Newson, Dem leaders try to negotiate Prop 47 reform off California ballots, as GOP wants to let voters decide
-
World1 week ago
‘Bloody policies’: Bodies of 11 refugees and migrants recovered off Libya
-
Politics1 week ago
Embattled Biden border order loaded with loopholes 'to drive a truck through': critics
-
World1 week ago
Dozens killed near Sudan’s capital as UN warns of soaring displacement
-
World1 week ago
Video: U.S. Official Responds to Israeli Strike on a U.N. School in Gaza