Author: Ohart

Harvey Weinstein was facing a new rape allegation on Friday, including claims that a woman captured video of Weinstein assaulting her, as part of a lawsuit alleging that he had help covering up his misconduct with women.

The lawsuit was filed in New York by three women, including one who says Weinstein raped her at a Manhattan hotel in 2011. It comes a week after Weinstein was arrested on New York state rape and criminal sex act charges. 

According to the lawsuit, Melissa Thompson met with Weinstein at his Manhattan office, where she turned on her computer’s video recording capability to help demonstrate internet technology she wanted his company to buy. The lawsuit alleged that the recorded images captured some of Weinstein’s advances.

As she showed him the technology, Weinstein asked “So am I allowed to flirt with you?” the lawsuit said. It said Thompson, feeling cornered but wanting to finish the demonstration, responded: “Ummmmm. We’ll see. A little bit.”

Weinstein became curt and when she continued with her business presentation, he ran his hands over her back, caressed her leg and moved his hand under her dress, according to the lawsuit.

At the end of the meeting, Weinstein promised to make a deal for the technology but asked her to meet for a drink later in the day at a Manhattan hotel bar, the lawsuit said.

When she met him at the bar, according to the lawsuit, Weinstein almost immediately led her to a room at the hotel and then cornered and “out-muscled” her as she tried to fight off his advances. She alleges he then held her down and raped her.

She did not report it to law enforcement authorities because she feared for her safety and career, the lawsuit said. “She knew that Weinstein could and would destroy her if she complained about his sexual misconduct.”

Besides Thompson, two other women made new claims in the lawsuit, which seeks class-action status to represent hundreds of other women it says were victimized by Weinstein and what it described as his enablers. 

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages as well as retribution for class members’ loss of work opportunities and “devastating damage” to their careers. It alleges racketeering, witness tampering, mail and wire fraud, assault, civil battery, negligent supervision and retention and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The lawsuit alleges that Weinstein was supported in his sexual pursuits by film companies and dozens of workers for those companies who knew he was abusing women.

Phyllis Kupferstein, a lawyer for Weinstein, likened the lawsuit to an earlier one filed by the same lawyers on behalf of a different group of women and said the case “suffers from the same lack of merit.” Weinstein has denied sexually assaulting anyone. 

Following his arrest last week, Weinstein was released on $1 million bail and is required to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet.

“Harvey Weinstein may have been put in handcuffs for his assault on two women, but we are working to see a day of justice for the hundreds of women who were exploited for Weinstein’s sexual gratification and silenced by this ring of conspirators,” said Elizabeth Fegan, an attorney who worked on Friday’s lawsuit.

In a release, Thompson said she was referred to Ben Brafman’s law firm after allegations from dozens of women made headlines last fall. Brafman, who represents Weinstein in his criminal case, said in a statement Friday that his firm has never represented Thompson and he has never met her or the other women identified in the new lawsuit.

Caitlin Dulany, a second plaintiff, was sexually assaulted, battered, threatened and falsely imprisoned in Weinstein’s hotel suite during the Cannes Film Festival in 1996, the lawsuit said.

Larissa Gomes, the third plaintiff, went to discuss work opportunities in film but ended up imprisoned in Weinstein’s hotel room, threatened, battered and assaulted, the lawsuit said.

Through her law firm, Thompson said she was comfortable with being named publicly. Dulany and Gomes have previously spoken publicly. The Associated Press does not identify alleged victims of sexual assaults unless they come forward publicly. 
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We’re on the job with the five most popular songs in the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles chart, for the week ending June 2, 2018.

The Top Five takes a breather this week, with no entries changing positions.

Number 5: Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line “Meant to Be”

Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line hold in fifth place with “Meant To Be.”

Over on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, it posts a 25th week at number one…and that puts it in the record books. It’s now the longest-running champion song by a duo or group in the Hot Country Songs chart’s 59-year history. It’s the second longest overall, trailing only Sam Hunt’s 34-week champ, “Body Like A Back Road.” And…Florida Georgia Line occupies two of the three top slots, the third being their 2012 chart-topper “Cruise” – which spent 24 weeks at number one.

Number 4: Post Malone & Ty Dolla $ign “Psycho”

Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign tread water in fourth place with “Psycho.” Post spends a third week atop the Billboard Pop Albums list with “Beerbongs & Bentleys” – but it has sold fewer than 200,000 copies. However, streaming is now the platform of choice for music listeners – and Post’s album is racking up big numbers in that category. Post has a younger, college-age audience who naturally gravitate toward streaming, rather than downloads or other platforms.

Number 3: Drake “God’s Plan ”

Drake stays put in third place with “God’s Plan.” His joint tour with Migos kicks off on July 26 in Salt Lake City, Utah and extends through November 17 after a series of additional dates were added. They’re calling it the “Aubrey And The Three Amigos” tour – Drake’s real name being Aubrey Drake Graham.

Number 2 “Drake “Nice For What”

We also find Drake in second place, holding steady with “Nice For What.” Late on May 26, Drake dropped a new song, “I’m Upset.” It arrived with little warning, but once fans realized it was out, they began streaming it in huge numbers.

Both its predecessors, “God’s Plan” and “Nice For What” opened at number one…and by the time the present tracking week ends on June 1, Drake may have a third straight champ.

Number 1: Childish Gambino ” This Is America”

For now, though, Childish Gambino is your Hot 100 leader for a second week with “This Is America.”

Not all people realize that Childish Gambino is actually the multi-talented actor Donald Glover. Among them was Cardi B, who last week tweeted how amazingly close she found the resemblance between Childish and Donald. Cardi deleted her tweet once she realized her mistake.

Make no mistake, we’ll return next week with an all-new lineup.
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From Italian to Chinese and Afghan to Ethiopian, there are many diverse ethnic restaurants in Washington. Yet, opening a new one with an unfamiliar cuisine can be risky. Seng Luangrath, a former refugee with a passion for cooking, dared to open the first Lao restaurant in the U.S. capital. As VOA’s June Soh reports, Thip Khao is thriving. Carol Pearson narrates her report.
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Cancer is not just an illness of the body, it also takes a toll on a patient’s emotional well-being. To fight feelings of isolation and depression, an organization called the Pablove Foundation created a program that teaches photography to children living with cancer. Through a camera lens, young cancer patients can focus on the beauty in life. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee reports from a gallery show in Los Angeles where some of these students’ pictures are on display.
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After strong criticism from students who survived the February shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and their parents, a video game called “Active Shooter” will not be released on June 6 on “Steam,” an online gaming platform. VOA’s Jose Pernalete got reaction to the game, and the decision not to release it. Cristina Caicedo Smit narrates his report.
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U.S. comedian Samantha Bee has apologized for comments directed at White House adviser Ivanka Trump that Bee now says were “inappropriate and inexcusable.”

Bee hosts a late-night talk show on the U.S. network TBS where she often comments at length on U.S. politics. On Wednesday, Bee took to task a U.S. immigration policy that separates children from their parents.

The language

On Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Wednesday night, Bee noted that Ivanka Trump — the daughter of the president who also acts as presidential adviser — had published on social media a picture of herself with her infant son, in a week when the public conversation had centered on separations between children and parents.

In exhorting the presidential daughter to speak to her father about the policy, Bee called Ivanka Trump “feckless” and then added a sexually explicit epithet that refers to the female anatomy.

“He listens to you!” Bee continued, noting that Ivanka Trump is seen as one of the presidential advisers with the most influence over her father. “Put on something tight and low-cut and tell your father to … stop it,” Bee said, using a second profanity.

The firestorm

Bee’s comments ignited a firestorm of criticism. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders called the segment “vile and vicious,” adding, “Her disgusting comments and show are not fit for broadcast, and executives at [parent companies] Time Warner and TBS must demonstrate that such explicit profanity about female members of this administration will not be condoned on its network.”

On Thursday Bee issued a statement saying “I would like to sincerely apologize to Ivanka Trump and to my viewers for using an expletive on my show to describe her last night. It was inappropriate and inexcusable. I crossed a line, and I deeply regret it.”

TBS also issued an apology for Bee’s comments, which were aired in a pre-taped segment, rather than blurted out live.

“Samantha Bee has taken the right action in apologizing for the vile and inappropriate language she used about Ivanka Trump last night,” the network said. Alluding to the fact that the words were used during a pre-taped segment rather than spontaneously uttered during a live monologue, the statement continued, “Those words should not have been aired. It was our mistake, too, and we regret it.”

The expletive Bee used is not allowed on traditional broadcast television and is rarely heard on cable networks like TBS.

​Roseanne show

Bee’s comments came in the same week that broadcast network ABC canceled a comedy show starring Roseanne Barr, after Barr tweeted a racist comment about a member of Barack Obama’s presidential administration.

Barr also has apologized, and Bob Iger, who heads ABC’s parent company, has reportedly called the Obama administration official to apologize.

In response, President Trump tweeted that ABC owes him an apology for anti-Trump statements the network’s guests have made on the air.

“Where was Bob Iger’s apology to the White House staff for Jamele Hill calling the President, and anyone associated with him, a white supremacist?” Trump tweeted. He and press secretary Sarah Sanders have said the lack of an apology to him amounts to a double standard.

The apologies by the two comedians, whose political leanings differ, have touched off public debates about the correct response to jokes that different segments of the public find offensive.
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Tom Cruise is back on the flight line for a sequel to the 1986 film “Top Gun.”

The actor on Thursday tweeted a photo of himself as Navy pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in a flight suit, looking at a fighter jet. The photo includes the phrase “feel the need.” In the original movie, Cruise’s character talks about how he feels the need for speed.

Cruise writes #Day 1 of production of “Top Gun: Maverick.”

The movie is scheduled for release in July 2019.

 
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In an attempt to bridge the gap of understanding between different Indian communities, a house in the Indian capital of New Delhi is trying to foster the message of tolerance and peaceful coexistence in a unique manner. The house gives people from different religions and communities the chance to live together as a family for up to six months as a way to promote understanding. VOA’s Ritul Joshi reports from New Delhi.
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This year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee drew the largest number of competitors in its history, 516. But the field is far smaller, as only 41 spellers advance to the finals Thursday. 

The finalists were announced Wednesday after two days of onstage spelling during which nearly 200 spellers were eliminated for getting words wrong. Scores on a written spelling and vocabulary test determined who advanced to the finals.

“There were no perfect scores on the test,” spelling bee Executive Director Paige Kimble says, “We thought it was an easy test. We were wrong.”

“They made it hard on purpose” said Jacob Williamson, a former competitor who is coaching five spellers this year. 

But that didn’t seem to shake the confidence of those who have traversed the road before.

“It was fine, actually. I didn’t expect it to be fine,” said Erin Howard, 13, of Huntsville, Alabama. “I think at worst I missed five.”

According to Scripps, 113 of the spellers this year had previous national finals experience and 45 have relatives who are former competitors, including Atman Balakrishnan, from Chicago, whose father Balu Natrajan was the winner in 1985, and the first Indian-American to take the title. 

The top scorers this year are Shruthika Padhy, Aisha Randhawa and Karthik Nemmani. 

Shruthika came into the bee as one of the favorites, having finished in seventh place last year.

The past 13 champions and 18 of the last 22 have been Indian-American.
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Film producer Harvey Weinstein was indicted Wednesday on first- and third-degree rape and criminal sex act charges, furthering the first criminal case to arise from a slate of sexual misconduct allegations against the former movie mogul.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said the indictment brought Weinstein “another step closer to accountability.”

The announcement came hours after Weinstein’s lawyers said he’d decline to testify before the grand jury because there wasn’t enough time to prepare him and “political pressure” made an indictment unavoidable.

A statement issued through a Weinstein spokesman said the 66-year-old film producer, who has denied the allegations, learned of the specific charges and the accusers’ identities only after turning himself in Friday. With a deadline set for Wednesday afternoon to testify or not, his request for more time was denied, the statement said.

“Finally, Mr. Weinstein’s attorneys noted that regardless of how compelling Mr. Weinstein’s personal testimony might be, an indictment was inevitable due to the unfair political pressure being placed on Cy Vance to secure a conviction of Mr. Weinstein,” the statement said, referring to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr.

Vance said in a statement that the Weinstein camp’s “recent assault on the integrity of the survivors and the legal process is predictable.”

“We are confident that when the jury hears the evidence, it will reject these attacks out of hand,” Vance said.

Weinstein was charged Friday with rape and criminal sex act charges involving two women in New York, as a grand jury continued hearing evidence in the case; the panel has been at work for weeks. Defendants have the right to testify in a grand jury’s secret proceedings but often don’t, for various reasons.

Dozens of accusers

Dozens more women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct ranging from harassment to assault in various locales. He has denied all allegations of nonconsensual sex, and his lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said Tuesday that Weinstein was “confident he’s going to clear his name” in the New York prosecution.

Brafman called the rape allegation “absurd,” saying that the accuser and Weinstein had a decade-long, consensual sexual relationship that continued after the alleged 2013 attack.

The woman, who hasn’t been identified publicly, told investigators Weinstein confined her in a hotel room and raped her.

The other accuser in the case, former actress Lucia Evans, has gone public with her account of Weinstein forcing her to perform oral sex at his office in 2004. The Associated Press does not identify alleged victims of sexual assaults unless they come forward publicly.

Vance, a Democrat, came under public pressure from women’s groups to prosecute Weinstein after declining to do so in 2015, when an Italian model went to police to say Weinstein had groped her during a meeting.

Police set up a sting in which the woman recorded herself confronting Weinstein and him apologizing for his conduct. But Vance decided there wasn’t enough evidence to bring charges.

Governor Andrew Cuomo, also a Democrat, ordered the state attorney general to investigate how Vance handled that matter.
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Reality TV star Kim Kardashian West is heading to the White House Wednesday to make a star-powered case for prison reform and advocate on behalf of a great-grandmother serving a life sentence.

Kardashian West has urged the president to pardon Alice Marie Johnson, 63, who is serving a life sentence without parole for a non-violent drug offense.

In an interview with Mic, Kardashian West said she’d been moved by Johnson’s story after seeing a video by the news outlet.

“I think that she really deserves a second chance at life,” Kardashian told Mic. “I’ll do whatever it takes to get her out.”

She said in the interview she’d been in touch with Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, over the case.

“I’ve been in communication with the White House and trying to bring her case to the president’s desk and figure out how we can get her out,” she said of Johnson, who has spent over two decades behind bars.

Kushner oversees the administration’s push to overhaul the nation’s prison system and help former inmates gain skills and more effectively make the transition back into society.

It’s unclear whether Kardashian West will meet with Trump during the visit, though the president often invites visitors to the White House complex into the Oval Office for informal meetings and photo-ops.

She told Mic if she had the chance to meet the president, she’d tell him: “I really do believe that she’s going to really thrive outside of prison, and I would just urge him to please pardon her.”

Trump last week granted a rare posthumous pardon to boxing’s first black heavyweight champion, clearing Jack Johnson’s name more than 100 years after what many saw as his racially-charged conviction.

The boxer’s pardon had been championed by actor Sylvester Stallone, who brought the story to Trump’s attention in a spring phone call.

Trump has issued just a handful of other pardons, including one for former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a staunch campaign supporter, one for Scooter Libby, who served as chief of staff to former Vice President Dick Cheney, and one for a U.S. Navy sailor convicted for taking photos of classified portions of a submarine.

Kardashian West supported Trump’s rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton, during the 2016 election. But her husband, rapper Kanye West, recently offered his support for Trump in a series of tweets, saying they both share “dragon energy.”

West also paid a visit to the then-president elect in New York before his inauguration. Trump said they’d talked about “life” as they posed for photos in the lobby of Trump Tower. West has said he didn’t vote for president, but if he had, he would have cast a ballot for Trump.

The White House declined to comment on the visit. Trump has talked about the need to get tougher on drug dealers, including suggesting some should receive the death penalty. Kardashian West appeared to preview the visit on her Twitter feed, writing: “Happy Birthday Alice Marie Johnson. Today is for you.”

Johnson was convicted in 1996 on eight criminal counts related to a multi-year Memphis-based cocaine trafficking operation involving more than a dozen people. The 1994 indictment describes dozens of deliveries and drug transactions, many involving Johnson.

She was sentenced to life in prison in 1997, and appellate judges and the U.S. Supreme Court have rejected her appeals. Court records show she has a motion pending for a reduction in sentence, but federal prosecutors are opposed to a sentence reduction, saying in a court filing that the sentence is in accord with federal guidelines, based on the large quantity of drugs involved. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Memphis did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday afternoon.

A criminal justice advocacy site, CAN-DO, and one of Johnson’s attorneys say a request for clemency was rejected by former President Barack Obama. The reasons are unclear.

Memphis attorney Michael Scholl, who filed the latest court documents in her request for a sentence reduction, said she was not a leader in the cocaine operation.

“What is the purpose of putting a lady with no prior criminal record, on a non-violent drug offense, in jail for her entire life?” he said in a telephone interview. “She’s a model inmate.”

Scholl added that Johnson has admitted her wrongdoing, which is borne out in letters she has written to U.S. District Judge Samuel H. Mays, who now oversees her case.

“Judge Mays I’m writing to you to express my deep remorse for the crime that I committed over 20 years ago. I made some bad choices which have not only affected my life, but have impacted my entire family,” she said in a February 2017 letter in the court record.

In a hand-scrawled letter last June she wrote: “I’m a broken woman. More time in prison cannot accomplish more justice.”
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A judge in Philadelphia has denied Meek Mill’s request for the removal of another judge from the rapper’s case.

 

President Judge Leon Tucker told Mill in a Wednesday hearing that he doesn’t have jurisdiction over the matter. He says only the state Supreme Court can decide that.

 

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered Mill’s release from prison last month where he was serving a two- to four-year sentence on a probation violation related to a decade-old gun and drug conviction.

 

Mill’s lawyers want Judge Genece Brinkley removed from his case. They allege she’s been waging a vendetta against the rapper, including sending him to prison for the probation violations.

 

She has strongly defended her impartiality.

 

Prosecutors say they believe Mill should get a new trial because of questions raised about the credibility of his arresting officer.

 

 

 

 
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Harvey Weinstein declined Wednesday to testify before the New York grand jury that is weighing whether to indict him on rape and other sex charges, with his lawyers saying there wasn’t enough time to prepare and “political pressure” made an indictment unavoidable.

A statement issued through a Weinstein spokesman said the former movie mogul learned the specific charges and the accusers’ identities only after turning himself in Friday, with a deadline set for Wednesday afternoon to testify or not. His request for more time was denied, the statement said.

“Finally, Mr. Weinstein’s attorneys noted that regardless of how compelling Mr. Weinstein’s personal testimony might be, an indictment was inevitable due to the unfair political pressure being placed on Cy Vance to secure a conviction of Mr. Weinstein,” the statement said, referring to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr.

His office declined to comment.

Weinstein was charged Friday with rape and criminal sex act charges involving two women in New York, as a grand jury continued hearing evidence in the case; the panel has been at work for weeks. Defendants have the right to testify in a grand jury’s secret proceedings but often don’t, for various reasons.

Weinstein faces rape and criminal sex act charges involving two women in New York. Dozens more women have accused him of sexual misconduct ranging from harassment to assault in various locales.

He has denied all allegations of nonconsensual sex, and his lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said Tuesday that Weinstein was “confident he’s going to clear his name” in the New York prosecution.

Brafman called the rape allegation “absurd,” saying that the accuser and Weinstein had a decade-long, consensual sexual relationship that continued after the alleged 2013 attack.

The woman, who hasn’t been identified publicly, told investigators Weinstein confined her in a hotel room and raped her.

The other accuser in the case, former actress Lucia Evans, has gone public with her account of Weinstein forcing her to perform oral sex at his office in 2004. The Associated Press does not identify alleged victims of sexual assaults unless they come forward publicly.

Vance, a Democrat, came under public pressure from women’s groups to prosecute Weinstein after declining to do so in 2015, when an Italian model went to police to say Weinstein had groped her during a meeting.

Police set up a sting in which the woman recorded herself confronting Weinstein and him apologizing for his conduct. But Vance decided there wasn’t enough evidence to bring charges.

Governor Andrew Cuomo, also a Democrat, ordered the state attorney general to investigate how Vance handled that matter.
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The lawyer defending movie mogul Harvey Weinstein against rape charges said Tuesday he was concerned that publicity surrounding the case and “inappropriate pressure” on prosecutors could be unfair to his client.

The lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, spoke to reporters after a closed-door proceeding before New York Supreme Court Justice James Burke in Manhattan, which he said he had requested to raise his concerns about the case. Brafman said he expected Weinstein would be exonerated of the charges, which he called “absurd.”

Weinstein, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than 70 women, in some instances dating back decades, has denied having nonconsensual sex with anyone.

Brafman said he could not discuss the substance of the proceeding in detail and did not say exactly what action, if any, he had asked the judge to take. Weinstein did not appear at the proceeding.

“One of my concerns is that by virtue of some of the publicity that has occurred over the weekend, that the ability for people to keep an open mind is of concern to me,” Brafman told reporters outside the courthouse. “I also think that the pressure that is being brought to bear on the [Manhattan] District Attorney’s office demanding that an indictment or prosecution of Mr. Weinstein proceed is inappropriate pressure.”

Brafman did not elaborate on the source of the “pressure.” “I’m not certain whether there is any remedy but I wanted to make it clear that I was not happy with those issues,” he said.

The District Attorney’s office declined to comment.

Weinstein has been charged with two counts of rape and one count of a criminal sexual act following a months-long investigation by the New York Police Department. Authorities did not identify the two women, but said the crimes took place in 2004 and 2013. If convicted on the most serious charges, Weinstein could face between five and 25 years in prison.

Brafman said Tuesday that Weinstein was accused of raping one woman, and that he had a 10-year consensual affair with her both before and after the alleged rape.
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The American Broadcasting Co. canceled Rosanne Barr’s new television show Tuesday after she posted racist remarks about Valerie Jarrett, an African-American who served as a White House adviser to President Barack Obama. 

Barr, who is white, tweeted earlier in the day that Jarrett was a product of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Planet of the Apes.

Barr later tweeted she was sorry “for making a bad joke” about Jarrett. 

Before it was deleted, Barr’s tweet read: “muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby = vj.”

Her offensive remarks triggered an intense backlash, resulting in ABC’s cancellation of her show, which had been renewed for a second season.

“Rosanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show,” said ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey.

Her TV show was a new version of her 1988-97 show Rosanne. It returned this year with Barr playing a character who is supportive of President Donald Trump.

Barr is an avid supporter of Trump, who hailed the new show two months ago for its strong ratings.

“Look at her ratings! Look at her ratings!” he said at a speech two months ago in Richfield, Ohio. “Over 18 million people, and it was about us. They haven’t figured it out yet; the fake news hasn’t quite figured it out yet. They have not figured it out. So that was great.”
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The Vegas Golden Knights, the newest team in the National Hockey League, started their season last October as Las Vegas was recovering from the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

As Western Conference winners, the Knights are now competing for the Stanley Cup, the top award in professional hockey. They squared off against the Eastern Conference winners, the Washington Capitals, Monday evening in Las Vegas, winning the opening game 6-4 to continue a season of unlikely success that has boosted their city’s spirits.

On October 1, a shooter opened fire from a Las Vegas hotel room, killing 58 concertgoers at an open-air venue, and injuring more than 700. Police have never identified a motive.

Team outreach

The Golden Knights reached out as the city struggled to recover, said Bill Bradley, assistant managing editor for sports for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

They “went to blood banks, went to food banks, went to meet with first responders … (and) people felt like they cared,” Bradley said.

The Knights were the first expansion team in the NHL since 2000, and as they shattered record after record for an expansion team, they brought healing to a shattered city, he added.

The team’s season got off to a blazing start as the Knights won eight of their first nine games. Some losses and injuries followed, but the team had connected with its fans, with “600, 700, 800 people showing up for practices every day,” Bradley said. 

WATCH: Knights win first game

​At a recent practice, fan John Laubhan said supporters began to think the unthinkable, that the team could win a first-season championship.

“Everybody started to believe that this could happen,” Laubhan said, adding, “as the season went on, they proved it could happen. And look where we are — Stanley Cup finals!” 

As the Knights accumulated wins, the city’s spirits lifted, said Laubhan’s son Brandon, who had also come to watch the Knights practice. “To have the team come at that time to lift the spirits of everybody, it was truly indescribable,” he said.

Energized the city

Las Vegas is energized, thanks to the team that beat the odds, Anthony Valdovinos said.

“People are happy, shaking hands, (saying) ‘Oh my God, you’re a Knights fan? I’m a Knights fan.’ It’s good for the city,” Valdovinos added.

Las Vegas is a city of transplants, said Camille Gabel, a former Chicago Red Wings fan who moved here from Michigan. 

“Everybody moves here,” Gabel explained with only slight exaggeration, “so the Knights have really given the community something to band around.”

As the Golden Knights earned wins against the LA Kings, San Jose Sharks and Winnipeg Jets, they nabbed the Western Conference trophy and won admirers like Jennifer Swenson, an immigrant from Ireland.

“They’ve just been amazing. The way they’ve just become a part of the community. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Swenson said of the team. Pointing to her family, she added, “So we’re diehard fans now.”

The Golden Knights are good, but can they win the Stanley Cup?

“Definitely,” Kevin Lewis said while attending a Knights practice with his wife, Ashley, and two young children. “We’ve got the momentum, baby. We’re going to win it.”

Heading into the finals, Las Vegas oddsmakers gave the team a slight edge, a dramatic shift from their 500-1 odds at the start of the season. Fans say whatever happens now, the Vegas Golden Knights are already champions in this city.
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A man in Poland turned medical equipment into a musical instrument. Wooden tongue depressors used by doctors to examine mouths and throats are popular for making artwork. But an amateur musician spent six months turning 1,300 pieces of wood into a working electric guitar. Arash Arabasadi reports.
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The newest team in the National Hockey League — the Golden Knights — is competing for the Stanley Cup, the top award in professional hockey. A best-of-seven series against the Washington Capitals opened Monday night in Las Vegas and the Knights took Game #1 by a score of 6-4. Las Vegas residents are hoping the Golden Knights, who won 51 games in their inaugural regular season, can pull off a miracle on ice and bring home the trophy. VOA’s Mike O’Sullivan has more on the team.
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One of Russia’s leading art galleries announced on Monday it would try to stop the sale of alcohol on its premises after a man attacked a masterpiece with a metal pole after drinking vodka there.

The incident at Moscow’s State Tretyakov Gallery on Friday caused serious damage to one of the country’s most famous paintings, which depicts Tsar Ivan the Terrible cradling his dying son in 1581, and raised awkward questions about how Russia protects its historical and cultural artefacts.

The damaged painting was completed by renowned Russian realist Ilya Repin in 1885 and was described by its curators on Monday as a masterpiece in the same league as the Mona Lisa.

In an interior ministry video, a 37-year-old man called Igor Podporin described how he had knocked back 100 grams of vodka in the gallery’s cafe, became “overwhelmed”, and then used a metal security pole to strike the canvas several times.

Zelfira Tregulova, director of the Tretyakov, said she wanted to stop the sale of alcohol on the gallery’s premises and would be holding talks with the lessees of an on-site cafe and restaurant.

“As we’ve now understood, there were small bottles of wine or cognac in the cafe. We’re going to talk to the cafe and ask them to remove them,” she told a news conference.

It would be harder to persuade a separate restaurant, accessible from both the gallery and the street, to stop selling alcohol, she said.

“The incident was awful and frightening and speaks to the aggression which reigns in society,” said Tregulova, complaining that people were increasingly unable to distinguish between works of art and the documentation of historical facts.

Historical grudge?

Vladimir Aristarkhov, the deputy culture minister, said that jail time for such attacks should be sharply increased from a current three-year maximum, disclosed Russia’s museums had a shortfall of around 1,000 security guards, and called for the attacker to be made an example of.

The Tretyakov’s curator, Tatyana Gorodkova, told reporters that Podporin had shouted something at the time of his attack to the effect that Ivan the Terrible did not kill his son. The painting depicts Ivan cradling his son after dealing him a mortal blow.

Some Russian historians and nationalists dispute the idea that Ivan murdered his son.

The painting, which will be protected by a bulletproof case after being restored, has never been valued because it has never been lent out, but another work by Repin was sold for over $7 million in 2011.

The painting was attacked in 1913, prompting the then gallery’s curator to commit suicide.

When asked if she took responsibility for the latest attack, Tregulova, the gallery’s director, quipped she would not be taking her own life and said the incident had been hard to stop.

“It was not possible to do anything. It was a question of seconds,” she said, saying the gallery nonetheless planned to review security.

 
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In 1973, William Friedkin made one of the most iconic horror movies of all time – The Exorcist. Forty-five years later, he brings us the story of real exorcisms. Azra Dolberry from VOA’s Bosian Service reports.
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New shops appear in New York City every day, but Phluid Project, which recently opened its doors on Broadway, is different. One of the first gender-fluid boutiques in the world, Phluid Project sells clothing for men, women and everyone in between. Both the clothes and the mannequins here are gender-neutral, and as an added selling point, its store owners say the prices are more than affordable. Elena Wolf visited the one-of-a-kind store, where no one feels out of place.
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Since its first edition in 1990, the Dak’Art Biennale in Senegal has become a key event in the world of African contemporary art. This year, the main international expo features the work of 75 artists from 33 countries. But the biennial also offers a chance for local Senegalese artists to showcase their work. Sofia Christensen reports from Dakar’s historic Medina neighborhood.
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Thousands of flags wave proudly this weekend at tombstones in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, just outside Washington. For more than 60 years, the army’s ceremonial unit, known as the Old Guard, has been placing the flags at graves in the huge military cemetery in preparation for Memorial Day. The national holiday, observed the last Monday in May, honors the men and women who died while serving in the military. VOA’s Deborah Block takes us to the annual tradition known as “Flags in.”
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To many Americans the Star-Spangled Banner, also known as Old Glory, is almost a religious icon. That hasn’t always been the case. Back in the late 1700s, during the American Revolutionary War, regiments of George Washington’s Continental Army used various flags to declare their independence from Great Britain. VOA’s Nikoleta Ilic spoke with an expert on U.S. flags about the origins and the various iterations of the Star-Spangled Banner.
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It is commencement season in America, when high school and university students gather for graduation ceremonies featuring advice from prominent Americans. This year, at a time of heightened political divisions in the country and accusations of “fake news,” many speakers are featuring political themes and talking about integrity. VOA’s Mariama Diallo reports.
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Harvey Weinstein turned himself in to police Friday morning to face the first criminal charges to be filed against him after months of sexual abuse allegations from scores of women that destroyed his career and set off a national reckoning known as the #MeToo movement.

Weinstein, 66, stepped from a black SUV and walked slowly into a Manhattan police station before a crowd of news cameras. He didn’t answer respond to shouts of his name.

 

The exact charges against Weinstein still had not been made public early Friday. Two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press the case will include allegations by Lucia Evans, an aspiring actress who has said the Hollywood mogul forced her to perform oral sex on him in his office. She was among the first women to speak out about the producer.

 

One official said it’s likely the case also will include at least one other victim who has not come forward publicly.

 

The officials spoke Thursday to the AP on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the investigation.

 

Weinstein was expected to be charged at least with criminal sexual act, a crime that carries up to 25 years in prison, the officials said.

 

Weinstein’s attorney, Benjamin Brafman, declined to comment when first contacted about the charges late Friday, but previously said in court paperwork that the allegations that Weinstein forced himself on women were “entirely without merit” and that he never knowingly broke the law.

 

Evans confirmed to The New Yorker that she was pressing charges.

 

“At a certain point, you have to think about the greater good of humanity, of womankind,” she told the magazine.

 

Evans told The New Yorker in a story published in October that Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex during a daytime meeting at his New York office in 2004, the summer before her senior year at Middlebury College.

 

“I said, over and over, ‘I don’t want to do this, stop, don’t,’ “she told the magazine. “I tried to get away, but maybe I didn’t try hard enough. I didn’t want to kick him or fight him.”

 

Evans, who is now a marketing consultant, didn’t report the encounter to police at the time, telling The New Yorker that she blamed herself for not fighting back.

 

“It was always my fault for not stopping him,” she said.

 

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance had been under enormous public pressure to bring a criminal case against Weinstein. Some women’s groups, including the Hollywood activist group Time’s Up, accused the Democrat of being too deferential to Weinstein and too dismissive of his accusers.

 

A grand jury has been hearing evidence in the case for weeks.

 

In March, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo took the extraordinary step of ordering the state’s attorney general to investigate whether Vance acted properly in 2015 when he decided not to prosecute Weinstein over a previous allegation of unwanted groping, made by an Italian model. That investigation is in its preliminary stages.

 

More than 75 women have accused Weinstein of wrongdoing around the globe. Several actresses and models accused him of criminal sexual assaults, but many of the encounters happened too long ago for any prosecution. Film actress Rose McGowan said Weinstein raped her in 1997 in Utah, “Sopranos” actress Annabella Sciorra said he raped her in her New York apartment in 1992 and Norwegian actress Natassia Malthe said he attacked her in a London hotel room in 2008.

 

McGowan told the AP on Thursday that she is gratified but “still in shock” that Weinstein was expected to surrender.

 

“The justice system has been something very elusive,” McGowan said. “I hope in this case it works. Because it’s all true. None of this was consensual.”

 

The statute of limitations for rape and certain other sex crimes in New York was eliminated in 2006, but not for attacks that happened prior to 2001.

 

New York City police detectives said in early November that they were investigating allegations by another accuser, “Boardwalk Empire” actress Paz de la Huerta, who told police in October that Weinstein raped her twice in 2010. She is not one of the victims in the case on Friday; hers was still pending, officials said.

 

Authorities in California and London also are investigating assault allegations. Britain has no statute of limits on rape cases; some of the allegations under investigation there date to the 1980s.

 

Harvey and his brother Bob Weinstein started his now-bankrupt company after leaving Miramax, the company they founded in 1979 and which became a powerhouse in ’90s indie film with hits like “Pulp Fiction” and “Shakespeare in Love.” The Weinstein Co. found success with Oscar winners “The Artist” and “The King’s Speech.”

 

 
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