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Special prosecutor in ‘Rust’ case drops firearm enhancement charge against Alec Baldwin | CNN

Published

2 years ago

February 20, 2023

Special prosecutor in ‘Rust’ case drops firearm enhancement charge against Alec Baldwin | CNN

CNN
—

The manslaughter fees towards Alec Baldwin regarding the 2021 deadly taking pictures on the set of the film “Rust” have been downgraded by prosecutors in New Mexico, which can scale back the jail time the actor might face within the loss of life of the film’s cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins.

The transfer comes after attorneys for Baldwin filed a movement this previous month to have the firearm enhancement cost dropped, arguing prosecutors had been incorrect.

An announcement launched by Heather Brewer, a spokeswoman for the New Mexico First Judicial District Legal professional’s Workplace, mentioned the enhancement cost was being dropped “to keep away from additional litigious distractions by Mr. Baldwin and his attorneys,” including that “the prosecution’s precedence is securing justice, not securing billable hours for big-city attorneys.”

The choice to drop that cost reduces the jail time Baldwin might face by at the very least 5 years.

Baldwin was formally charged within the case again in February, together with set’s armorer, Hannah Guiterrez Reed. The fees included two counts of involuntary manslaughter, the DA’s workplace mentioned on the time.

Attorneys for each defendants beforehand insisted their respective shoppers are harmless.

Hutchins was struck and killed by a stay spherical of ammunition fired from a prop gun that was being held by Baldwin, who maintains he didn’t pull the gun’s set off.

The film’s director Joel Souza was additionally shot and injured.

Earlier this month, the dad and mom and sister of Hutchins sued Baldwin, in addition to the film’s manufacturing firm and others over her loss of life.

In January, a manufacturing lawyer advised CNN that Baldwin intends to finish the movie and proceed to star within the lead position.

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Mourners Defy Subfreezing Temperatures to Honor Jimmy Carter at the Capitol

Published

5 hours ago

January 8, 2025

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Mourners Defy Subfreezing Temperatures to Honor Jimmy Carter at the Capitol

They came amid the ice and snow, bundled in parkas and long johns, expecting an hourslong wait in the subfreezing temperatures and whipping winds.

Instead, the mourners who journeyed through the maze of barricades around the Capitol to pay their final respects to President Jimmy Carter were shocked to find such a short queue, waiting just 10 to 20 minutes at most to honor the 39th president, who died at 100 last month.

Parents pushed strollers. Children and adults alike lumbered into the Capitol dressed in insulated snow pants and clunky winter boots. No celebrities, sports stars or internet icons made appearances in the Rotunda, as they have for previous presidents.

But President-elect Donald J. Trump and his wife, Melania, were expected to pay their respects later Wednesday.

And the slow and steady stream of regular people — as well as several members of Congress, staff, military leaders and dignitaries — seemed a fitting tableau for the lying-in-state of the humble peanut farmer from Georgia, who prided himself on living more than 60 years in a four-bedroom home valued at just over $250,000.

First in line to bid farewell to Mr. Carter was Chris Forward, a Virginia educator who showed up on Tuesday afternoon, just before Vice President Kamala Harris and congressional leaders gathered to eulogize Mr. Carter in a closed-door ceremony in the Rotunda.

“I was sort of surprised,” said Ms. Forward, who became fast friends with three other women who joined the line shortly after she did. “I thought it’d be a long wait because he was such a great man.”

Peter and Uta Schreiner, a couple from Germany, were also near the front of the line. During a trip to the United States to celebrate Mr. Schreiner’s 50th birthday, they had been attending a Washington Commanders football game on Dec. 29 when they learned that Mr. Carter had died. Then winter weather delayed their flight back home until Thursday, and the couple decided to head to the Capitol to pay their respects.

“It’s a special moment. It’s hard to describe — it’s incredible to be a part of all this,” Mr. Schreiner said. “He was a special man, and it’s an honor to be here right now to give him the last honor.”

As well-wishers slowly processed around the coffin, some wiping tears and others somberly bowing their heads, a near silence gripped the cavernous and echoey hall under the Capitol dome, which is usually awash with noise from tourists and frenzied staffers. Only the shutters of cameras, yelps from agitated children and the occasional cough or stray cellphone alert broke the hush.

The solemn ritual in the Capitol was a prelude to Mr. Carter’s state funeral on Thursday morning at Washington National Cathedral, which the four living presidents will attend and where President Biden is scheduled to deliver a eulogy.

Throughout the day on Wednesday, several members of Congress passed through the Rotunda to pay tribute, including Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the former Republican leader, and Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, a Democrat and one of the Senate’s first female combat veterans, who offered a salute.

Becky Carter, the president’s daughter-in-law, arrived on Wednesday afternoon to shake hands with mourners and thank them for coming.

“God bless you,” one of them told her.

Carlos Del Toro, the secretary of the Navy, stood in silence as he honored Mr. Carter, a Naval Academy graduate and veteran submariner, before laying a hand on his flag-draped coffin. Thomas Donilon, who worked for Mr. Carter and served as President Barack Obama’s national security adviser, also stopped by to pay his respects.

Most who came to the Capitol to mourn Mr. Carter were not old enough to remember his presidency. But many lauded his legacy as a humanitarian and pointed to him as an example of decency and humility in a world racked with incivility.

Shermanda Williams of Maryland, who came with her two sons, said she had brought them to teach them about “having the heart for humanity,” as the former president did.

“That was very, very important to come and show our respect,” Ms. Williams said, “and to let them see that someone who is kind and gentle and concerned about others can be successful.”

Her younger son, 11-year-old Kellen, chose to come to the Capitol even though he could have enjoyed a free day at home since school was canceled because of the winter weather.

“Jimmy Carter was a great man,” he said. “With all his decisions, he was not going to make everybody happy, but he made as many people happy as he could. Because nobody — no country — is perfect, so he did all he could.”

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Constellation Energy in talks to buy Calpine in near-$30bn US power sector deal

Published

6 hours ago

January 8, 2025

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Constellation Energy in talks to buy Calpine in near-bn US power sector deal

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Constellation Energy is in advanced talks to acquire Calpine in a deal valued at up to $30bn, in what could be one of the largest takeovers in the power generation industry, according to people familiar with the matter.

The acquisition of Calpine would also generate a huge windfall for its private equity investors Energy Capital Partners, CPP Investments and Access Industries, who acquired it in 2017 for $17bn including debt.

One person with knowledge of the talks said a deal could be finalised within days and value Calpine at close to $30bn, including debt, making it one of the largest US power and utility deals.

The takeover talks come amid an unprecedented surge in power demand forecasts linked to the rollout of artificial intelligence data centres and reshoring of manufacturing activities, which has caused shares in Baltimore-based utility Constellation to more than double in value over the past year. Constellation shares fell as much as 10 per cent on news of the talks before recovering slightly to close 4.6 per cent lower.

The US electricity system is grappling with a historic rise in power demand after two decades of negligible growth. Consulting firm ICF expects the country’s power consumption to grow by nearly 20 per cent by 2033.

Expectations of surging power demand have been a boon for cheap natural gas-fired generation, which unlike solar and wind is available around the clock. GE Vernova, the largest gas turbine manufacturer, expects orders to have nearly doubled last year.

Calpine operates a fleet of 78 gas plants and other energy facilities across the US, which generate enough electricity to power about 27mn homes.

Constellation operates the largest fleet of conventional nuclear reactors in the US and last year announced it planned to reopen the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania.

The proposed deal indicates Constellation was seeking to complement its nuclear holdings with a large-scale gas fleet “to meet the increasing demand from the growing data centre industry”, said Andrew Gillick, a managing director at energy consultancy Enverus.

Another person with direct knowledge of the matter said a deal could be announced as early as this month.

Consulting firm PwC is forecasting an increase in fossil fuel generation deals under a Republican-controlled White House and Congress, which are expected to promote development of oil and gas projects.

Constellation Energy and Calpine did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Bloomberg first reported news of the talks.

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What’s in Trump’s request to block sentencing in Stormy Daniels hush money case in NY?

Published

7 hours ago

January 8, 2025

Press Room

What’s in Trump’s request to block sentencing in Stormy Daniels hush money case in NY?

Incoming president Donald Trump has asked for an emergency order from the Supreme Court asking to block his sentencing scheduled for Friday, Jan. 10 in his New York hush money criminal case. Trump was convicted of falsifying business records to hide payments to Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress, made ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

New York appellate court Associate Judge Ellen Gesmer previously rejected Trump’s request to postpone the sentencing Tuesday, Jan. 7.

What’s in Trump’s argument to block sentencing in NY hush money case?

According to court documents, Trump cited NY Supreme Court’s rulings on presidential immunity are causing “ongoing, irreparable” harm by depriving the president-elect “of his constitutional rights.”

That court “wrongly denied” Trump’s pending motion to dismiss the criminal case based on presidential immunity, according to the U.S. Supreme Court filing.

In July 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled “official” acts taken by a president are protected from criminal prosecution but not steps he took as a candidate.

Trump, the first president — former or current — to be criminally charged, argued he can’t be prosecuted for actions he took in his official capacity during his administration, an extension of the reasoning the Supreme Court used in 1982 when it barred civil suits against a president for official actions.

Otherwise, Trump’s attorneys argued, the threat of future prosecution and imprisonment would destroy the strength and authority of the presidency by subjecting them to politically motivated prosecutions, language used in the recent U.S. Supreme Court filing.

“President Trump promptly filed an interlocutory appeal and notified the trial court that it is subject to anautomatic stay, but the New York courts have erroneously refused to honor that stay,” the filing states, with Trump seeking ” … the dismissal of the District Attorney’s politically motivated prosecution that was flawed from the very beginning.”

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who handles emergency appeals from New York, directed prosecutors with the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to respond to Trump’s request by 10 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 9.

Contributing: USA Today.