film

'Jurassic Park' star Sam Neill says cancer-free after gene therapy

  • Neill, 78, said in a weekend interview he had lived with the blood cancer for about five years but his chemotherapy treatment eventually stopped working.
  • Actor Sam Neill says he is cancer-free after five years of living with lymphoma, thanks to a genetic therapy that modified his immune system.
  • Neill, 78, said in a weekend interview he had lived with the blood cancer for about five years but his chemotherapy treatment eventually stopped working.
Actor Sam Neill says he is cancer-free after five years of living with lymphoma, thanks to a genetic therapy that modified his immune system.
The New Zealander, who starred as Dr Alan Grant in the 1993 blockbuster "Jurassic Park", revealed in a 2023 memoir he was "possibly dying" with stage-three non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Neill, 78, said in a weekend interview he had lived with the blood cancer for about five years but his chemotherapy treatment eventually stopped working.
"I was at a loss and it looked like I was on the way out, which wasn't ideal, obviously," he told Australia's Channel Seven News.
The actor was treated with CAR T-cell therapy, which uses a disabled virus to genetically reprogram human infection-fighting T-cells, enabling them to target specific cancers.
"I've just had a scan just now, and there is no cancer in my body -- that's an extraordinary thing," Neil said.
He is calling on Australian federal and state governments to fund CAR T-cell therapy for blood cancer patients across the country.
Neill's acting career began in the 1970s and has spanned dozens of roles in TV and film, including "Peaky Blinders", "The Hunt for Red October", and "The Piano". 
djw/oho/mtp

television

'The White Lotus' drafts Laura Dern after Bonham Carter split

  • "It had become apparent that the character which Mike White created for Helena Bonham Carter did not align once on set," a statement said.
  • US actress Laura Dern has joined the cast of "The White Lotus," HBO announced Tuesday, days after Helena Bonham Carter left the show.
  • "It had become apparent that the character which Mike White created for Helena Bonham Carter did not align once on set," a statement said.
US actress Laura Dern has joined the cast of "The White Lotus," HBO announced Tuesday, days after Helena Bonham Carter left the show.
The British star's departure, which came shortly after the new season started filming on the French Riviera, sparked a frenzy of internet speculation over a glitzy series that has become as well known for its behind-the-scenes dramas as for its award-winning on-camera action.
Bosses at HBO said writer Mike White was having a rethink, with the role being rewritten and recast.
"It had become apparent that the character which Mike White created for Helena Bonham Carter did not align once on set," a statement said.
There were no immediate details on what kind of character Dern, 59, will play in the show, which typically involves murders, class tensions and sumptuous holiday spots.
The Emmy-winning series is currently filming primarily in Cannes and St. Tropez, as well as Monaco. It will also include some scenes in Paris.
The fourth season takes place against the backdrop of the Cannes Film Festival.
Dern joins an all-star cast that includes British comedian Steve Coogan, as well as France's Vincent Cassel ("Black Swan," "Ocean's Twelve") and Heather Graham ("Boogie Nights" and "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.") 
Singer AJ Michalka, and comedian Kumail Nanjiani also feature.
Dern and White have previously worked together on HBO's "Enlightened" and the comedy-drama "Year of the Dog." 
Previous seasons of "The White Lotus" were filmed in Hawaii, Italy and Thailand, and featured stars such as Jennifer Coolidge, Sydney Sweeney, Aubrey Plaza, and Walton Goggins.
pr/hg/bgs

Trump

US regulator orders review of ABC license after Trump criticizes Kimmel

  • It comes after both Donald and Melania Trump demanded the network cancel Kimmel's late-night comedy show over a joke they described as a call to violence, days before an alleged attempt to assassinate the US president.
  • The agency that regulates the US airwaves on Tuesday ordered an early review of the license of broadcaster ABC after President Donald Trump and his wife demanded it fire comedian Jimmy Kimmel.
  • It comes after both Donald and Melania Trump demanded the network cancel Kimmel's late-night comedy show over a joke they described as a call to violence, days before an alleged attempt to assassinate the US president.
The agency that regulates the US airwaves on Tuesday ordered an early review of the license of broadcaster ABC after President Donald Trump and his wife demanded it fire comedian Jimmy Kimmel.
The order from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) affects Disney, which owns ABC, and its television subsidiaries.
It comes after both Donald and Melania Trump demanded the network cancel Kimmel's late-night comedy show over a joke they described as a call to violence, days before an alleged attempt to assassinate the US president.
Trump said Kimmel should be fired for likening the first lady to an "expectant widow."
In a show last week, Kimmel had portrayed himself as MC of the upcoming White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington on Saturday, addressing the first lady and saying "Mrs Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow." 
Trump turns 80 in June and is the oldest president to take office in the United States. His wife, a former model who was born in Slovenia, is 56.
The first lady also lashed out at Kimmel in a statement, calling on broadcaster ABC to "take a stand" against the late-night host.
Kimmel brushed off the criticism on his show Monday, saying the gag was "obviously... a joke about their age difference."
"It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he's almost 80 and she's younger than I am," Kimmel said. "It was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination, and they know that."
The White House went back on the attack Tuesday, with communications director Steven Cheung on X describing Kimmel as a "shit human" for "doubling down on that joke instead of doing the decent thing by apologizing."
The suspect accused of attacking Saturday's media gala was charged in court Monday with trying to assassinate the president.
As a prominent late-night comedy host, Kimmel has been at the heart of the debate over constitutionally protected speech.
He was briefly suspended from his show last September following government pressure after he said Trump's hard-right MAGA movement was trying to make political capital from the assassination of influencer Charlie Kirk.
bur-cms-bgs/ksb/mlm

US

Man pleads guilty to plotting attack on Taylor Swift concert

BY JULIA ZAPPEI

  • Last year, a Berlin court convicted a Syrian teenager of contributing to the plot to attack the Swift concert.
  • A 21-year-old man pleaded guilty on Tuesday in an Austrian court over a jihadist plot to attack a Taylor Swift concert, which led to the cancellation of the Vienna leg of the US megastar's "Eras" tour.
  • Last year, a Berlin court convicted a Syrian teenager of contributing to the plot to attack the Swift concert.
A 21-year-old man pleaded guilty on Tuesday in an Austrian court over a jihadist plot to attack a Taylor Swift concert, which led to the cancellation of the Vienna leg of the US megastar's "Eras" tour.
Three dates in Swift's record-breaking tour were cancelled in the summer of 2024 after authorities warned of the alleged Islamic State group plot.
The accused, named as Beran A., was led into the courtroom by masked police personnel at the start of his trial on terror offences and other charges in a court in Wiener Neustadt, outside Vienna.
"He pleads guilty to all except attempted murder," his lawyer Anna Mair told AFP.
Another 21-year-old, Arda K., is standing trial together with Beran A., according to Austrian news agency APA.
The duo, together with a third Austrian, Hasan E., imprisoned in Saudi Arabia, are accused of forming a "highly dangerous IS terror cell" planning to carry out several attacks in the name of IS, prosecutors say.
Beran A. was allegedly planning an attack at the packed Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna during Swift's concert.
He testified in court that he had not yet devised a clear plan for the attack before he was arrested in August 2024, two days before the show.
The Austrian has been in detention since his arrest.
Planning the attack on the concert, he allegedly tried to get weapons and worked on making a shrapnel bomb "specific to IS attacks", and received instructions from other IS members on handling explosives, according to prosecutors.
In his testimony, Beran A. said he had become convinced that he "had to wage jihad", but was "afraid to die", according to APA.
He said he failed to make a bomb, but communicated in several chat groups, including with a high-ranking IS member ahead of the concert.
"I was looking for encouragement. I liked getting attention," he said.

Attack plans abroad

Beran A. is accused of having been a member of a terror organisation from May 2023 "by planning and preparing a terrorist attack" on Swift's concert, prosecutors have said.
By sharing IS propaganda through various messaging services and other offences, he participated and "openly aligned himself" with IS, they added.
He is also alleged to have been involved in other attack plans abroad.
In court, he testified how he travelled to Dubai and bought two knifes to target security officials in March 2024.
But when he looked for a police officer or soldier to stab, he suffered a "panic attack" and finally "retreated", feeling a "sense of failure", he said.
Hasan E., the suspect jailed in Saudi Arabia, is accused of stabbing a security official in Mecca in 2024 and injuring four others before he was overpowered.
Austria's embassy is in contact with him and following ongoing judicial proceedings, according to the foreign ministry.
Beran A. and Arda K. are accused of encouraging Hasan E. ahead of the attack -- an accusation Beran A. denies, his lawyer said.
She said in court that Hasan E. "manipulated" Beran A. The two became friends during their studies in a Vienna business academy.

Thwarted plot

The trial of the two defendants has been scheduled across four court dates, until May 21.
Beran A., who was arrested two days before the first Swift concert was to take place, faces up to 20 years in prison on the charges.
The concert plot was thwarted with the help of US intelligence.
Swift later wrote on social media that "the reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many had planned on coming to those shows".
Last year, a Berlin court convicted a Syrian teenager of contributing to the plot to attack the Swift concert.
The 16-year-old was given an 18-month suspended sentence.
jza/jhb

music

Jazz legend John Coltrane's son hits the high notes

BY KATARZYNA SKIBA

  • "If you're doing a tribute to somebody... the assumption might be that we're going to be imitating their style," Coltrane -- named after Ravi Shankar, the Indian sitar player who inspired The Beatles and a host of other Western musicians -- told AFP in Wroclaw.
  • Ravi Coltrane has a tough task: honour his father John and fellow legend Miles Davis without imitating them, he tells AFP, beer in hand during an interview in Poland.
  • "If you're doing a tribute to somebody... the assumption might be that we're going to be imitating their style," Coltrane -- named after Ravi Shankar, the Indian sitar player who inspired The Beatles and a host of other Western musicians -- told AFP in Wroclaw.
Ravi Coltrane has a tough task: honour his father John and fellow legend Miles Davis without imitating them, he tells AFP, beer in hand during an interview in Poland.
The younger Coltrane has teamed up with multiple Grammy winner Terence Blanchard for a series of concerts across Europe marking the centennials of his father and Davis which will culminate at the revered Grand Rex in Paris -- a venue that meant a lot to both men.
"If you're doing a tribute to somebody... the assumption might be that we're going to be imitating their style," Coltrane -- named after Ravi Shankar, the Indian sitar player who inspired The Beatles and a host of other Western musicians -- told AFP in Wroclaw.
"To really truly honour them, it's not to copy them, but to peer in and try to find our own voices within the repertoire that they play," he said. 
His collaborator, five-time Grammy-winning trumpet player and composer Blanchard, said the younger Coltrane was a resounding success like his father.
"It's not about his last name," he said of Coltrane, who has performed with the likes of Carlos Santana, Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner and Chick Corea.
"It's about what he's doing as an artist." 
"The difficult thing to do is to find our own personal way with the music," he said, calling it "more rewarding" as a result. 
Together on stage, the pair strike contrasting notes -- Blanchard raising his horn to the ceiling while a demurer Coltrane undulates through his solos with depth and precision. 

'The hardest thing'

While not related to Miles Davis, Blanchard -- like many trumpet players -- is deeply influenced by the jazz great, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and branded "the most revered jazz trumpeter of all time" by Rolling Stone magazine. 
Like Coltrane, he does not emulate Davis.
"The easiest thing would be for me to go up there and try to play like Miles Davis... yet that would be the hardest thing," he said.
"You can't recreate that time from which those things were created," he added, referencing the social and political tumult of the 1960s.
"There was a lot of suffering going on in the world," he said, adding: "They (Davis and Coltrane) didn't turn a blind eye to that." 
Blanchard, who has written two operas and dozens of film and television scores, is passionate about mentoring and educating younger musicians.
"That's the thing I always tell my students," he said. "Be a person first ... and learn how to use all of the tools musically to express what it is you're feeling inside." 
Ravi Coltrane said it was Blanchard who came to him with the idea of doing a joint tribute, something he might have otherwise turned down. 
"He's probably the only one I would have agreed to do this with," he said, reminiscing on their first meetings in New York in the 1990s, where Coltrane went to begin his career.
It's a harkening back to the collaboration between Davis and the older Coltrane -- whose 1959 joint album "Kind of Blue" is lauded by many critics as the greatest jazz record ever made. 

Paris is a 'special place'

Ahead of the concert at the Grand Rex, Coltrane and Blanchard reflected on the French capital's influence on their mentors, themselves, and the genre. 
"Paris has always had a special place in my heart," Blanchard said, recalling his New Orleans origins and the French influences he grew up around. 
Miles Davis spent considerable time in Paris, playing concerts, recording the score to film noir classic "Elevator to the Gallows," and -- like many of his generation -- seeking refuge from the racial discrimination of the United States.
"Bringing this show there, given Miles's relationship with Paris, is very powerful and very meaningful for me," Blanchard adds. 
For Ravi Coltrane, the concert is one of many celebrations of the work of his father, his mother pianist Alice Coltrane, and the myriad other mentors and collaborators he has played with and learned from over the course of his career. 
"The reality is we pay tribute to these artists every day," he says, "every time we pick up our instruments, in some way we're paying homage and honor to the men and women who have gotten us this far". 
"It never goes away". 
ks/ach/st

court

Bullying claims 'nonsense', actress Rebel Wilson tells Sydney court

  • Wilson on Tuesday denied she mistreated women while making "The Deb", saying this was "nonsense".
  • Australian film star Rebel Wilson dismissed as "nonsense" claims she had bullied women on the set of her directorial debut film "The Deb", as she gave evidence in a Sydney court on Tuesday.
  • Wilson on Tuesday denied she mistreated women while making "The Deb", saying this was "nonsense".
Australian film star Rebel Wilson dismissed as "nonsense" claims she had bullied women on the set of her directorial debut film "The Deb", as she gave evidence in a Sydney court on Tuesday.
Wilson -- star of Hollywood hits including "Bridesmaids" and "Pitch Perfect" -- is accused of defamation by actress Charlotte MacInnes.
The claims centre around Instagram posts and comments by Wilson suggesting MacInnes changed an account of having been victim of sexual harassment in order to advance her career.
The federal court case focuses on an incident where MacInnes and Amanda Ghost, a producer of "The Deb", shared a bath in an apartment after swimming at Bondi Beach.
"It felt like she was making a sexual harassment complaint to me," Wilson told the court on Tuesday according to Australian national broadcaster ABC, referring to communication she had with MacInnes.
An affidavit from Ghost tendered in court on Tuesday described how she and MacInnes had swum at the beach in the early evening of September 2023, returning to her apartment feeling cold.
The pair got into a hot bath while wearing swimming costumes to warm up, it said.
"It was an oversized bath, with plenty of room for two people to sit without touching (and we didn't touch)," Ghost said in the statement tendered to court.
Two days later, Wilson phoned Ghost to say MacInnes had felt uncomfortable about the bath.
MacInnes has denied telling Wilson that and has told the court Wilson had shamed her to 11 million followers on Instagram.
Wilson on Tuesday denied she mistreated women while making "The Deb", saying this was "nonsense".
She told the court she had made truthful statements about MacInnes and Ghost.
kln/oho/jm

internet

Australia aims to tax tech giants unless they pay news outlets

  • Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said tech giants Meta, Google and TikTok would be given a chance to strike content deals with local news publishers.
  • Australia unveiled draft laws on Tuesday that would tax tech giants Meta, Google and TikTok unless they voluntarily strike deals to pay local outlets for news.
  • Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said tech giants Meta, Google and TikTok would be given a chance to strike content deals with local news publishers.
Australia unveiled draft laws on Tuesday that would tax tech giants Meta, Google and TikTok unless they voluntarily strike deals to pay local outlets for news.
Traditional media companies around the world are in a battle for survival as readers increasingly consume their news on social media.
Australia wants big tech companies to compensate local publishers for sharing articles that drive traffic on their platforms.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said tech giants Meta, Google and TikTok would be given a chance to strike content deals with local news publishers.
If they refused, they faced a compulsory levy that amounted to 2.25 percent of their Australian revenue, he said.
"Large digital platforms cannot avoid their obligations under the news media bargaining code," Albanese told reporters.
"At this point the three organisations are Meta, Google and TikTok."
The changes aim to close a loophole under a previous media law which allowed organisations to avoid a levy if they removed news from their platforms.
The three firms were singled out based on a combination of their Australian revenues and large numbers of domestic users.
"What we are encouraging is for them to sit down with news organisations and get these deals done," Albanese said.
Journalism needed to have a "monetary value attached to it", Albanese said.
"It shouldn't be able to be taken by a large multinational corporation and used to generate profits with no compensation."
The draft laws have been designed to stop the tech giants from simply stripping news from their platforms.
When Canberra mooted similar laws in 2024, Facebook parent Meta announced that Australian users would no longer be able to access the "news" tab.
Meta had previously announced it would not renew content deals with news publishers in the United States, Britain, France and Germany.

'Only fair'

Meta said the proposed laws were "nothing more than a digital services tax".
"News organisations voluntarily post content on our platforms because they receive value from doing so," a spokeswoman said in a statement to AFP.
"The idea that we take their news content is simply wrong."
Google said it already had commercial arrangements in place with more than 90 local news businesses, and was the only technology company in Australia to do so.
"While we are currently reviewing the draft legislation, we have been clear: we reject the need for this tax," a Google spokesman said in a statement to AFP.
The firm said other major platforms such as Microsoft, Snapchat and OpenAI had been arbitrarily excluded.
Supporters of such laws argue that social media companies attract users with news stories and hoover up online advertising revenue that would otherwise go to struggling newsrooms.
Australia's University of Canberra has found that more than half the country uses social media as a source of news.
"People are increasingly getting their news directly from Facebook, from TikTok and Google," Communications Minister Anika Wells said.
"We believe it's only fair that large digital platforms contribute to the hard work that enriches their feeds and that drives their revenue."
The draft laws were presented on Tuesday for public consultation, which will close in May.
They would then be introduced into parliament later this year.
sft/oho/ami

culture

Philippine museum brings deadly, lucrative galleon trade to life

BY CECIL MORELLA

  • Deadly rebellions were sparked in some areas where galleons were built, Navarro added, including on the Cavite coast along Manila Bay.
  • A full-size replica of a Spanish galleon stares out into Manila Bay, the centrepiece of a museum that will transport visitors back to the 17th century, when conscripted Philippine mariners hastened the era of globalisation.
  • Deadly rebellions were sparked in some areas where galleons were built, Navarro added, including on the Cavite coast along Manila Bay.
A full-size replica of a Spanish galleon stares out into Manila Bay, the centrepiece of a museum that will transport visitors back to the 17th century, when conscripted Philippine mariners hastened the era of globalisation.
The Museo del Galeon, which focuses on the hulking Espiritu Santo, aims to tell the story of Spain's 250-year-long Pacific galleon trade from the perspective of the Filipinos who built and crewed the towering vessels.
"This is a land with a great tradition of seafaring, but often under inhumane and degrading conditions," the museum's executive director Manuel Quezon told AFP, noting Filipinos still make up a quarter of the world's sailors.
"And it is one that we don't flinch from telling."
Built with forced labour in 1603, the Espiritu Santo was one of 181 treasure ships that made hundreds of trips between Manila and the Mexican port of Acapulco between 1565 and 1815 under harrowing conditions that historians say killed one in three crewmen.
"It was the first global trade, connecting three continents," said Francis Navarro, director of archives at the Ateneo de Manila University.
"It made the world smaller."

Ravaged forests, families

Sailing west across the Pacific for three months, the ships brought silver coins from Spain's American colonies to Manila, where they would be exchanged for luxury goods like silk, porcelain and jade from China.
The return voyage lasted as long as a year, with cargo then transported across Mexico by mule before heading to Spain, completing a trade loop between the old and new worlds.
The galleons brought more than silver to the Philippines. They brought ideas, disease, food, religion, fashion and more -- the things that "made us who we are", Quezon said.
The colonial trade also ravaged the archipelago's forests and wrecked communities, with able-bodied men required to offer 40 days of unpaid service to fell trees and build ships under Spanish foremen.
Others were forced into service as sailors for up to 10 years at a time.
Cramped inside vessels overladen with precious cargo, crewmembers subsisted on a miserable diet of hardtack, an unleavened bread, and salted meat and fish that routinely spoiled and left many gravely ill.
"You had an astounding mortality rate of about 30 percent per voyage," Quezon said.
Deadly rebellions were sparked in some areas where galleons were built, Navarro added, including on the Cavite coast along Manila Bay.
The multi-continent trade would only end with Mexico's fight for independence from Spain.

'Filling in the blanks'

Fourteen years after its conception, museumgoers will starting May 1 be able to walk the replica ship's decks, immersed in a giant, wrap-around LED display of star-studded night skies.
Artefacts from voyages line exhibits surrounding the vessel, including part of a Chinese tomb that once served as ballast in the hold of a galleon.
"We're filling the blanks in with this museum," Quezon told AFP on a tour ahead of its opening. 
"The child who comes through, we want them to realise that many of the things that they take for granted have absolutely amazing stories behind them."
Funding for the "billion-peso" ($16.5 million) project came from the Philippines' wealthiest families after bids to secure financing from the government and a Mexican billionaire faltered.
But while the Espiritu Santo is a physical marvel, it will never set sail.
Early in the process, Quezon, a historian and grandson of a former Philippine president, learned to his dismay that the local hardwood and water-resistant species used to build the galleons had long been wiped out.
A wooden galleon of Espiritu Santo's size would have required 800 trees that could now only be found in the forests of Myanmar, said Quezon.
While the museum representation is scrupulously faithful to what is known of the original vessel's design and dimensions, it was built largely with fibreglass and other man-made materials.
"In those days, you would have levelled entire forests just to be able to produce a single galleon," he said.
"That would have been irresponsible, particularly because it wasn't meant to float."
cgm/cwl/aks/abs

AI

Taylor Swift files to trademark her voice amid AI clone boom

  • McConaughey has in recent years pursued an application with the USPTO, framed as protection against the unauthorized use of his voice by AI models.
  • Taylor Swift has filed applications with the US intellectual property office to trademark her voice, a move similar to one made by actor Matthew McConaughey, as AI-generated content surges.
  • McConaughey has in recent years pursued an application with the USPTO, framed as protection against the unauthorized use of his voice by AI models.
Taylor Swift has filed applications with the US intellectual property office to trademark her voice, a move similar to one made by actor Matthew McConaughey, as AI-generated content surges.
The singer submitted two sound recordings to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Each begins with "Hey, it's Taylor" and announces the release of her latest album, "The Life of a Showgirl," which was released in early October.
Another document submitted to the USPTO on Friday was a photo of the artist on stage. The submissions were first spotted by intellectual property attorney Josh Gerben.
The filings give no further details about the submission.
Contacted by AFP, Taylor Swift's publicist did not immediately respond.
McConaughey has in recent years pursued an application with the USPTO, framed as protection against the unauthorized use of his voice by AI models.
They include audio of him saying "Alright, alright, alright!" -- his memorable line from the 1993 film "Dazed and Confused" -- along with audio of him saying "Just keep livin', right?" followed by additional short phrases.
Advances in AI models now make it possible to synthesize a voice in seconds from a short clip, whereas just a few years ago the process required lengthy recordings and several days.
Many artists are increasingly concerned about the unchecked use of their image and voice by AI platforms.
Several US states have passed laws prohibiting such use, though many apply primarily to malicious or commercial exploitation.
Only a few -- notably the ELVIS Act passed by Tennessee's state legislature in 2024 -- offer broader protections.
Few performers have turned to the courts to assert their rights. 
The most notable example is Scarlett Johansson, who sued the app Lisa AI in 2023 for creating, without her consent, an AI avatar in her likeness for use in an advertisement.
tu/arp/bgs

court

Weinstein rape accuser gives emotional testimony at US retrial

BY BEN TURNER

  • She recalled how he showered her with compliments after the pair met at a party in early 2013, when Mann was an aspiring 27-year-old actress and Weinstein a Hollywood powerbroker.
  • Former US actress Jessica Mann told Harvey Weinstein's retrial Monday how the disgraced movie mogul flooded her with praise in the weeks before allegedly raping her in 2013 in a New York hotel room. 
  • She recalled how he showered her with compliments after the pair met at a party in early 2013, when Mann was an aspiring 27-year-old actress and Weinstein a Hollywood powerbroker.
Former US actress Jessica Mann told Harvey Weinstein's retrial Monday how the disgraced movie mogul flooded her with praise in the weeks before allegedly raping her in 2013 in a New York hotel room. 
Weinstein, a central figure of abuse allegations that spurred the MeToo movement, is already in prison for other sex offenses, so he will remain behind bars regardless of the verdict. 
It is the third time that Mann has taken the stand against Weinstein after a 2020 guilty verdict was overturned due to mishandling of witnesses, and a 2025 case ended in mistrial after a jury-room feud. 
"I felt like he was a really nice person and he was offering to mentor me," Mann, wearing a beige jacket over a white top, told a New York courthouse. 
She recalled how he showered her with compliments after the pair met at a party in early 2013, when Mann was an aspiring 27-year-old actress and Weinstein a Hollywood powerbroker.
"He told me that I was prettier than Natalie Portman," she said.
She added that Weinstein's apparent interest in boosting her career, including buying her books on acting, initially seemed like a "miracle."
The 40-year-old's testimony -- much of which echoed the 2020 and 2025 cases -- was emotional and she took occasional pauses as her voice broke. 
Mann's testimony will continue Tuesday. 

Avalanche of allegations

Weinstein, wearing a suit and seated in a wheelchair he is bound to due to ill health, occasionally shook his head as Mann spoke.
Prosecutor Candace White told last week's opening hearing how Weinstein "preyed upon a fragile and sheltered young woman."
The defense is seeking to dismiss Mann's rape allegation by painting her relationship with Weinstein as consensual.
The Oscar-winning Weinstein, 74, is already serving a 16-year prison term in a California case for the rape of a European actress more than a decade ago. He is appealing that conviction.
He is also appealing a conviction last June of sexual assault against movie producer Miriam Haley.
Weinstein was known for his fiery temper, and the industry had long been rife with suggestions that he took advantage of his power to sexually exploit women.
In 2017, blockbuster investigations by the New Yorker and the New York Times laid bare a series of claims by young women that triggered an avalanche of allegations from more than 80 complainants and prompted the global MeToo movement.
bjt/md

homicide

Third suspect pleads guilty in US murder of Jam Master Jay

  • One of the early innovators of hip hop in the 1980s in the Queens borough of New York City, Run DMC had success with "My Adidas," "It's Like That," and the genre-bending rap-rock collaboration "Walk this Way" with Aerosmith.
  • A third suspect pleaded guilty Monday to his role in the New York City murder of DJ Jam Master Jay, a founding member of legendary hip-hop group Run DMC. Jay Bryant, 52, faces 15 to 20 years in prison for being an accomplice after he "opened a locked fire escape exit door" to a music studio, letting in two men convicted in the musician's "execution style" murder in 2002, federal prosecutors said in a statement.
  • One of the early innovators of hip hop in the 1980s in the Queens borough of New York City, Run DMC had success with "My Adidas," "It's Like That," and the genre-bending rap-rock collaboration "Walk this Way" with Aerosmith.
A third suspect pleaded guilty Monday to his role in the New York City murder of DJ Jam Master Jay, a founding member of legendary hip-hop group Run DMC.
Jay Bryant, 52, faces 15 to 20 years in prison for being an accomplice after he "opened a locked fire escape exit door" to a music studio, letting in two men convicted in the musician's "execution style" murder in 2002, federal prosecutors said in a statement.
Jam Master Jay, whose real name was Jason Mizell, was 37.
The crime remained unsolved for nearly two decades, until two people close to the "It's Tricky" star --  longtime friend Ronald Washington and his godson Karl Jordan Jr. -- were indicted in 2020.
Prosecutors said the two men sought revenge after being cut out of a cocaine deal and were convicted based on testimony of two witnesses who came forward after many years.
The two men deny the accusations and were convicted in 2024, but Jordan's conviction was overturned in 2025 after a federal judge ruled the prosecutor had failed to prove the drug-trafficking motive.
The US Attorney's office has appealed that decision.
Bryant, who was identified by DNA testing, did not name his accomplices, media present in the courtroom reported Monday.
One of the early innovators of hip hop in the 1980s in the Queens borough of New York City, Run DMC had success with "My Adidas," "It's Like That," and the genre-bending rap-rock collaboration "Walk this Way" with Aerosmith.
Jam Master Jay's death was a blow to the rap world, years after the murder of Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas in 1996 and The Notorious B.I.G. in Los Angeles in 1997.
pel/eml/sla/jgc

Trump

Trump, Melania slam Kimmel for 'widow' joke

BY DANNY KEMP

  • Trump turns 80 in June and is the oldest president ever to take office in the United States.
  • US President Donald Trump called Monday for comedian Jimmy Kimmel to be fired for likening First Lady Melania Trump to an "expectant widow," in a joke made days before a third alleged attempt to assassinate Trump.
  • Trump turns 80 in June and is the oldest president ever to take office in the United States.
US President Donald Trump called Monday for comedian Jimmy Kimmel to be fired for likening First Lady Melania Trump to an "expectant widow," in a joke made days before a third alleged attempt to assassinate Trump.
Melania Trump herself had earlier lashed out at Kimmel in a rare statement, calling on US broadcaster ABC to "take a stand" against the late-night host over his comments.
Kimmel made the remarks last Thursday, before the shooting incident at the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington on Saturday which Trump attended.
In a monologue, Kimmel portrayed himself as the MC of that upcoming banquet. It included a segment in which he addressed the first lady in the audience and said, "Mrs Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow."
Trump turns 80 in June and is the oldest president ever to take office in the United States. His wife, a former model who was born in Slovenia, is 56.
"I appreciate that so many people are incensed by Kimmel's despicable call to violence, and normally would not be responsive to anything that he said but, this is something far beyond the pale," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
"Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC," he said, referring to ABC's parent company Disney.
Hitting out at Kimmel Monday on X, the first lady said Kimmel's "monologue about my family isn't comedy -- his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America."

'Cult of hatred'

As a prominent late-night comedy host, Kimmel has been at the heart of the debate over constitutionally protected speech.
Kimmel was briefly suspended from his show on the ABC network last September following government pressure after he said Trump's hard-right MAGA movement was trying to make political capital from the assassination of influencer Charlie Kirk.
"A coward, Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him," the first lady added on Monday.
"Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC's leadership enable Kimmel's atrocious behavior at the expense of our community."
While Trump took a rare conciliatory tone towards the media in a press conference after the gala shooting, the White House has since hardened its stance.
"The left-wing cult of hatred against the president and all of those who support him and work for him has gotten multiple people hurt and killed, and it almost did so again this weekend," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told a briefing.
Trump himself has pushed the barriers of presidential precedent in terms of using language towards political opponents that critics say is polarizing and sometimes violent.
But Leavitt, who was on stage with Trump at the dinner when the incident happened, said there had been "systemic demonization" of the 79-year-old president.
"Nobody in recent years has faced more bullets and more violence than President Trump," said Leavitt, who returned from maternity leave to host the briefing at the White House.
"Those who constantly, falsely label and slander the president as a fascist, as a threat to democracy, and compare him to Hitler to score political points, are fueling this kind of violence," she added.
dk/md

music

From Adele to Raye, the UK school nurturing future stars

BY CAROLINE TAIX

  • "We would never take credit for any of their success ... we want to make the best place for those students who are going to be that successful," he told AFP. About 1,500 students, aged between 14 and 19, attend the BRIT School, where they study for and sit the regular UK curriculum exams, including GCSEs and A‑levels.
  • If there was a recipe for success in the entertainment industry, the BRIT School in London should maybe get a standing ovation for hitting all the right notes.
  • "We would never take credit for any of their success ... we want to make the best place for those students who are going to be that successful," he told AFP. About 1,500 students, aged between 14 and 19, attend the BRIT School, where they study for and sit the regular UK curriculum exams, including GCSEs and A‑levels.
If there was a recipe for success in the entertainment industry, the BRIT School in London should maybe get a standing ovation for hitting all the right notes.
Singers Amy Winehouse, Adele and Raye, as well as actor Tom Holland -- better known as Spiderman -- are among the alumni of the state‑funded school, which prides itself on being free.
2026 started strong, with former pupils Olivia Dean and Lola Young both honoured at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.
Dean was named best new artist of the year, while Young won Best Pop Solo Performance with her soaraway hit "Messy".
Both artists also triumphed at the Brit Awards, the UK's flagship music ceremony.
"It's incredibly humbling," said Chris McInnes, their former teacher and deputy head of music at the BRIT School, which specialises in performing and creative arts.
"We would never take credit for any of their success ... we want to make the best place for those students who are going to be that successful," he told AFP.
About 1,500 students, aged between 14 and 19, attend the BRIT School, where they study for and sit the regular UK curriculum exams, including GCSEs and A‑levels.
Teenagers arrive for their day smiling, greeting teachers and the headmaster as they make their way through the corridors. 
Some sing snatches of songs. Others work quietly in recording studios.
Behind one door, a group was rehearsing a number from the musical "Six".

Cultural diversity

Keyboardist Luke Crown, 18, and singer Naomi Simon, 19, were practising for a May concert.
"It's a very unique place. There's nowhere else that really you can study popular music to this intensity," said Crown.
Naomi Simon has already had "a really big opportunity" thanks to the school -- singing in the choir that backed chart-topper Raye on her latest album.
None of it would have been possible if the school charged fees, she said.
"My family doesn't come from a place which has lots of money ... so to come to a place where finances isn't an issue for me is amazing," she said.
The school is funded about 80 percent by the state. The rest comes from supporters, including companies, said headmaster Stuart Worden.
"The world needs diverse voices ... and so, every background should be able to talk about how they feel about the world using the arts," he added.
"Why should only people who can afford ballet lessons and ballet shoes be our dancers?"
Worden has worked at the school for 32 years, after it opened in the early 1990s in a low-income part of Croydon, a culturally diverse south London district.
In the reception, photos of former pupils are displayed: one is a stunt coordinator for movies, another a lighting technician at Eurovision.

'Be nice'

McInnes recently organised a reunion for former students who left the school a decade ago.
"Whether they were making huge amounts of money or whether they were household names ... 10 years after they left they were still working in the industry," he said.
Artists such as Adele, Raye and Dean regularly speak about the BRIT School. Raye still tests new songs with Worden.
"I had the time of my life there. It's not a stage-stage school, but of course there's kids doing pirouettes and going 'Aaaaaahhhhh!' in the hallways," Adele told BBC 4 radio in 2022.
"It was such a melting pot of every single type of teenager ... It was absolute heaven."
During lockdown in 2020, "Tom Holland was one of the first students online giving actor classes from his bedroom," Worden recalled.
One piece of advice McInnes gives his students is simple: "Be nice to each other."
"There's so many people with amazing talent, but if you're not an easy person to work with, if you're not reliable, if you're not kind and empathetic, no one is going to want to work with you."
The pupils are also encouraged to step outside their comfort zones. Even if it is their passion, they cannot spend two years just writing R&B songs or playing heavy metal.
Teachers still remember Adele performing on stage at the end‑of‑year show.
"I remember everybody came out of that show going, right, that was something else that we just saw there," said McInnes.
ctx/jkb/

music

Technician dies installing stage for Shakira concert in Rio

  • "Unfortunately, the technician passed away in hospital," concert organizer Bonus Track said in a statement.
  • A technician was killed on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro setting up a stage where pop superstar Shakira is set to perform a free concert this week, authorities and organizers said. 
  • "Unfortunately, the technician passed away in hospital," concert organizer Bonus Track said in a statement.
A technician was killed on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro setting up a stage where pop superstar Shakira is set to perform a free concert this week, authorities and organizers said. 
Crews have been working for weeks to assemble a stage on the sands of the Brazilian city's Copacabana beach, where crowds are expected from around the world to see the Colombian singer perform on May 2 as part of her record-breaking world tour.
The man suffered crushing injuries to his legs in a lifting system, the fire department said in a statement.
Workers managed to free the man and he was taken to hospital, but he did not survive, the state fire department (CBMERJ) said.
"Unfortunately, the technician passed away in hospital," concert organizer Bonus Track said in a statement.
"Out of nowhere, we saw people running, and when we looked, the structure was on the ground," Antonio Marcos Ferreira dos Santos, 51, who was on the beach at the time, told AFP.
"People were saying that a man had gotten trapped underneath. People rushed over to pull him out."
rsr/nn/ega/lpa/cms/mtp

US

Michael Jackson biopic debuts atop N. America box office

  • The film took in an additional $2.6 million, for a global box office haul of $80 million.
  • "Michael," the much-anticipated biopic about late superstar Michael Jackson, debuted atop the North American box office this weekend with a thriller-ing $97 million, industry estimates showed Sunday.
  • The film took in an additional $2.6 million, for a global box office haul of $80 million.
"Michael," the much-anticipated biopic about late superstar Michael Jackson, debuted atop the North American box office this weekend with a thriller-ing $97 million, industry estimates showed Sunday.
The film, directed by Antoine Fuqua and distributed by Lionsgate, chronicles the legendary artist's rise from a child star to one of the world's most famous pop icons.
In the starring role is Jaafar Jackson, the popstar's nephew.
"This is a record-shattering opening for a musical biography," said analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.
The film has strong audience approval, "playing as a feel good, nostalgic appreciation," he said, but "reviews are weak."
"Most critics feel the film is superficial and avoids the complicated parts of the performer's life, including allegations of sexual misbehavior," Gross said, while noting a Part 2 is in the works.
With the film already released in Europe, it has globally taken in nearly $220 million, according to Exhibitor Relations.
In second place at the US and Canadian box office was "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie," with another $21.2 million.
After spending the last three weeks in the top spot, the animated sequel from Universal and Illumination Studios has hauled in over $775 million at the global box office, Exhibitor Relations reported.
Third place went to Amazon MGM's hit sci-fi adventure comedy "Project Hail Mary," with $13.2 million.
The film, which stars Ryan Gosling as a teacher-turned-astronaut who must save Earth from a dimming sun, has earned nearly $600 million worldwide, in an extended theatrical run.
In fourth place with $5.6 million was "Lee Cronin's The Mummy," an original horror flick from Warner Bros about a young girl possessed by a demon in an ancient mummification ritual.
Fifth place went to "The Drama," A24's romantic comedy with a dark twist starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson about a couple unraveling just before their wedding.
The film took in an additional $2.6 million, for a global box office haul of $80 million.
Rounding out the top 10:
"Hoppers" ($1.9 million)
"You, Me & Tuscany" ($1.5 million)
"Over Your Dead Body" ($1.4 million)
"I Swear" ($640,000)
"Normal" ($625,000)
des/mjf/dw

television

Eurovision, venerable institution where art meets politics

BY BLAISE GAUQUELIN WITH CAMILLE BAS-WOHLERT IN COPENHAGEN

  • – 'Slow death' – Sanctioning Russia created a precedent and sparked "a debate", said Christina Oberg, the author of several studies on how Eurovision has become a stage for geopolitical tensions against its will.
  • The Eurovision Song Contest is famous for celebrating everything from cross-dressing ballad singers to heavy metal bands in monster masks, but geopolitics is threatening its 70th anniversary edition.
  • – 'Slow death' – Sanctioning Russia created a precedent and sparked "a debate", said Christina Oberg, the author of several studies on how Eurovision has become a stage for geopolitical tensions against its will.
The Eurovision Song Contest is famous for celebrating everything from cross-dressing ballad singers to heavy metal bands in monster masks, but geopolitics is threatening its 70th anniversary edition.
More than 1,000 artists this week urged a boycott, and several countries have already said they are staying away in protest over Israel's participation.
Just eight years ago in Lisbon, the competition managed by Europe's public broadcasters featured artists from 43 countries, but only 35 will be vying for the top prize on May 16 this year in Vienna, marking the smallest edition in recent years.
While Israel's presence poses a challenge this year, the world's largest live music event has long been interwoven with politics, experts say.
Hungary quit the contest in 2020, a decision widely seen as linked to its increasingly conservative political line.
Belarus was suspended in 2021 for suppressing media freedom, while Russia got kicked out after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, other countries including North Macedonia have pulled out in past years citing financial issues. 
– 'Slow death' –
Sanctioning Russia created a precedent and sparked "a debate", said Christina Oberg, the author of several studies on how Eurovision has become a stage for geopolitical tensions against its will.
Some are asking, she said, "why they haven't done the same with Israel in terms of saying that you're not allowed into the competition" because of the massive civilian death toll from Israel's two-year bombardment of Gaza.
Five broadcasters, including Spain, are expected to boycott the 2026 edition over Israel's participation. 
This is an unprecedented move by one of the "Big Five", as the Eurovision jargon calls the five largest financial contributors enjoying automatic qualification to the Grand Final. 
Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands and Slovenia have also decided to snub the upcoming edition for the same reason, complaining that its political neutrality is no longer guaranteed.
More than 1,000 musicians around the world have signed a petition under the banner of "no music for genocide" to exclude Israel's public broadcaster KAN "complicit" in "crimes" committed by Israel.
The signatories include star artists and bands such as Massive Attack, Peter Gabriel, Roger Waters and Sigur Ros.
Eurovision organiser, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), has defended KAN in the past, arguing that it meets all criteria for independence.
It has also announced changes and safeguards to the public voting system following accusations of manipulation in favour of the Israeli candidate last year.
If more broadcasters quit, it would be "sort of a slow death... because you need a certain amount of countries within it for it to still feel like this is for everyone," said Oberg, a professor at Linnaeus University in Sweden.

In the spotlight

Hosting this year's edition, Austria has labelled any cultural boycott as "stupid and pointless".
Though in fact it was Austria that led the way by snubbing the 1969 edition in Madrid "because of the dictatorship of Francisco Franco," according to Croatian-Australian Eurovision historian Dean Vuletic.
Eurovision remains a major tool for promoting inclusion and tolerance, and analysts agree it has always been more than a singing contest.
Artists parade under their countries' flags, and the event is broadcast live across Europe, providing an outstanding platform augmented by social media.
And with 166 million viewers claimed in 2025, the financial stakes are high for Eurovision, which has become a brand to protect.
"When the EBU started to attract sponsors in the late 1990s, produce merchandise, place the contest in larger halls and sell tickets to the public, it also started taking steps to avoid any damage to the contest's image," Vuletic told AFP.
Further tensions could arise this year as the spotlight will be on Denmark "in a way that never happened before", said Lisanne Wilken from Aarhus University in Denmark.
"The situation with Greenland and (US President Donald) Trump has put Denmark even more on the map," she said.
Trump's strident claims on the vast Arctic territory that belongs to Denmark have stirred a wave of concern and resistance within the European Union.
Experts predict that Danish entry Soren Torpegaard Lund could benefit from a wave of empathy.
bg-frj/jza/gv/lga

architecture

Trump orders new, blue surface for Washington's Reflecting Pool

  • The 2,000-foot (610-meter) pool between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial "was in terrible shape," said Trump, who was a long-time real estate developer before entering politics.
  • Workers on Saturday were resurfacing the bottom of Washington's famous Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool with "American flag blue"-colored material used in swimming pools, following an order by US President Donald Trump.
  • The 2,000-foot (610-meter) pool between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial "was in terrible shape," said Trump, who was a long-time real estate developer before entering politics.
Workers on Saturday were resurfacing the bottom of Washington's famous Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool with "American flag blue"-colored material used in swimming pools, following an order by US President Donald Trump.
The project -- part of the capital city's sprucing up ahead of the nation's 250th anniversary celebrations on July 4 -- will cost about $1.5 million and take roughly three weeks, Trump told reporters Thursday.
The 2,000-foot (610-meter) pool between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial "was in terrible shape," said Trump, who was a long-time real estate developer before entering politics.
"It was filthy, dirty and it leaked like a sieve for many years," he said in a White House video about the plan.
Built in 1922-1923, the pool has become a key landmark in the US capital. Civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech overlooking the reflecting pool in 1963.
Trump said he rejected a proposal to replace the stone in the bottom, a plan he said would cost $300 million and take three years.
Instead, he contacted contractors he had previously used, and they said using the swimming pool surface would cost much less and be completed in a fraction of the time.
"I've built more than 100 swimming pools in different buildings," Trump told reporters, referring to his project as "a business study."
The contractors have cleaned the bottom and begun pouring the "industrial-grade" substance and will be finished in a matter of days, he said.
"You're going to end up with a beautiful, beautiful reflecting pool, the way it's supposed to be. Much better than it ever was," he said.
Trump has embarked on several other major renovations in Washington, including demolishing the East Wing of the White House, where he aims to build a huge ballroom.
mjf/mlm

media

Awkward debut for Trump at correspondents' dinner

BY AURéLIA END

  • Though it will be his first time attending as president, Trump has been a guest at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in 2011.
  • Things could get awkward Saturday night when US President Donald Trump takes his seat at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, his first time attending the gala while in office.
  • Though it will be his first time attending as president, Trump has been a guest at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in 2011.
Things could get awkward Saturday night when US President Donald Trump takes his seat at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, his first time attending the gala while in office.
The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA), which organizes the annual meeting of the political press, opted not to go with a comedian host this year, as is tradition, but instead invited a mentalist and magician, Oz Pearlman.
Since his return to office last year, Trump's administration has taken a number of measures against the media, selectively restricting access for news outlets that have fallen afoul of his officials.
In a break with precedent, the White House now chooses which reporters are in the press "pool" that has rotating access to the president.
"The Press was extraordinarily bad to me," Trump said recently in a post on his Truth Social platform.
The WHCA inviting Trump this year, despite his repeated attacks on the media, has drawn backlash across newsrooms, and hundreds of journalists have signed an open letter asking attendees to call out Trump's press restrictions to his face at the event.

'Untouchable'

Unlike all other presidents from the past 100 years, Trump has never attended the White House Correspondents' Dinner while in office -- until now.
But as opposed to the tradition of a comedian host "roasting" the commander in chief, this year's edition might see a bit of role reversal with Trump's attendance.
"My guess is that there is going to be some significant expression of grievances" by Trump, according to Robert Rowland, a communications professor at the University of Kansas.
"The other thing is that he does feel untouchable," he told AFP.

'Awkward and embarrassing'

The "Nerd Prom" as attendees affectionately call it brings together hundreds of Washington journalists and media executives to raise funds for scholarships and awards.
And though the White House Correspondents' Dinner is presented as a celebration of America's press freedom, critics have lambasted the event as emblematic of US political journalism's insular, tight-knit nature.
"Even in the best of times, the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner is an awkward and ethically fraught affair," journalist Paul Farhi quipped in The Atlantic magazine, adding that this year's edition "figures to be even more awkward and embarrassing than usual."
Though it will be his first time attending as president, Trump has been a guest at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in 2011.
Then-president Barack Obama infamously teased him relentlessly at the event, making fun of the former real estate developer's proliferation of the birtherism conspiracy theory that America's first Black president wasn't born in the country.
"Say what you want about Mr Trump, he would certainly bring some change to the White House," Obama said at the event, showing an image of the White House transformed into a Trump-branded hotel and casino.
And although the joke has played out with some truth -- with Trump's second term marked by high-profile renovations of the White House and beyond -- Trump's rise to power and his return to the White House Correspondents' Dinner as president 15 years later may show who ended up getting the last laugh after all.
aue/jgc/md

celebrity

Son of director Rob Reiner pays tribute to slain parents

  • "Any loss of a parent is devastating, but nothing compares to losing both of them at the same time and, on top of that, having your brother be at the center of it," Jake wrote in a Substack post titled "Mom and Dad."
  • Slain Hollywood director Rob Reiner's son Jake paid an emotional tribute Friday to his parents, allegedly slain by his brother Nick, calling it "almost too impossible to process."
  • "Any loss of a parent is devastating, but nothing compares to losing both of them at the same time and, on top of that, having your brother be at the center of it," Jake wrote in a Substack post titled "Mom and Dad."
Slain Hollywood director Rob Reiner's son Jake paid an emotional tribute Friday to his parents, allegedly slain by his brother Nick, calling it "almost too impossible to process."
"We lost more than half of our family that night in the most violent way imaginable," Nick Reiner wrote in his first detailed public remarks about the gruesome killings. 
His brother Nick faces two counts of first-degree murder over the double killing that sent shockwaves through Hollywood days before Christmas.
"Any loss of a parent is devastating, but nothing compares to losing both of them at the same time and, on top of that, having your brother be at the center of it," Jake wrote in a Substack post titled "Mom and Dad."
Nick Reiner was arrested on December 14 after the bodies of his filmmaker father and his mother, photographer Michele Singer Reiner, were discovered at their home in the upmarket Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Prosecutors said 79-year-old Rob Reiner -- who helmed huge hits including "When Harry Met Sally" and "A Few Good Men" -- and his wife, 70, were stabbed to death.
Nick Reiner, who remains in jail and has not been granted bail, was ordered to return to court on April 29.
If convicted as charged, Nick Reiner could face life in prison without parole, or the death penalty, although California does not routinely carry out capital punishment. 
Nick Reiner, who lived in a guest house on his parents' property, had attended a party at the home of comedian Conan O'Brien on December 13 with his parents, where some attendees reportedly said he had behaved erratically.
Rob Reiner, the son of legendary comedian Carl Reiner, started his showbiz career in acting.
He won fame as the oafish son-in-law Michael "Meathead" Stivic on groundbreaking 1970s sitcom "All in the Family," before transitioning to directing. 
As a director, his output included classic films like 1984's rock music mockumentary "This is Spinal Tap," fantasy gem "The Princess Bride" from 1987, and seminal coming-of-age movie "Stand By Me."
gw/bgs

rights

'Hands off': Teddy bear tale teaches French preschoolers consent

BY ALICE HACKMAN

  • Langlais Vignon, a mother of two children aged four and seven, says she may have part of the solution.
  • Preschoolers watch attentively as French actor Lucie Langlais Vignon, 41, holds up stuffed toys to tell the story of the bear cub who scolds the duckling for reaching up her skirt.
  • Langlais Vignon, a mother of two children aged four and seven, says she may have part of the solution.
Preschoolers watch attentively as French actor Lucie Langlais Vignon, 41, holds up stuffed toys to tell the story of the bear cub who scolds the duckling for reaching up her skirt.
"Hands off kitty, they're my private parts," the teddy sings to the duck -- and to children aged three to five sitting on mats and benches at a Paris kindergarten during the Easter holidays.
"Hands off kitty, you need to respect them."
By the time the play finishes, several kids are chanting its catchy chorus to themselves as they put their coats back on.
Parents in the French capital have been especially concerned about how to protect their children, after dozens of school aides -- non-teaching staff who look after children during recess -- were suspended over the past year for allegedly sexually abusing pupils, some as young as three.
Langlais Vignon, a mother of two children aged four and seven, says she may have part of the solution.
"Knowledge is power," said the actor, who explained her mother's clear education on consent helped her avoid a molesting adult as a girl.
"A child who knows their rights is less vulnerable."
Her fluffy toy show titled "Pas touche minouche" ("Hands off kitty") is just one of several private initiatives in France to help educate young children about consent.
An estimated 160,000 children suffer rape or sexual assault each year in France, overwhelmingly from men, according to an independent commission called CIVIISE.
Three pupils in each classroom, on average, are estimated to be or have been victims.

'Superpower of saying no'

In eight out of ten cases, the abuser is a family member, according to a CIVIISE report from 2023.
But in around one out of ten cases, they are someone in an institutional setting, such as a member of the clergy or teaching staff.
In her performance, Langlais Vignon recounts three such scenarios in which her furry characters deploy what she calls their "superpower of saying no".
Afterwards, she asks her young audience to repeat the stories back to her.
Can the lion cub's uncle ask him to keep a secret that makes him feel sad?
"Forbidden," the children cry in unison.
Who is a kind adult you can ask for help?
"Mummy," chirps one child. "Daddy", "Grandma", "Aunty", reply others. One little boy suggests his dog.
Paris' new mayor Emmanuel Gregoire, a Socialist who says he suffered sexual abuse himself during an after-school swimming programme in primary, has pledged to stamp out such violence in schools.
The city has suspended 31 school supervisors suspected of sexual abuse in the first three months of this year alone, he has said.
He has vowed better vetting of people who apply to be monitors, and launched new training for recruits, including on how to signal suspected violence against a child.
Auxiliary staff have demanded better staffing to ensure an adult is never left alone with a child, more recognition, and higher pay.

Accept rejection

Rushing out of the play to another morning meeting, the mayor of Paris' 11th district David Belliard was impressed.
"There's always some giggling when you talk about a fanny, a bottom or private parts, but the messages get through," said the member of the Greens party, after several cases of alleged abuse in his arrondissement.
"I had parents in my office just yesterday telling me about the show, saying it was very positive."
French law has since 2001 required all schools to provide some form of education on consent at least three times a year, but there was no sex ed programme to teach it until February 2025.
An administrative court last year sentenced the state to pay one symbolic euro for taking so long.
The new guide recommends teaching children under the age of four about intimacy, but also to express consent or refusal in a relationship, as well as to respect someone's choice to reject them.
Langlais Vignon is hoping more public schools will award her contracts to perform during the school term, when all children are present.
But she has already notched up some wins.
A friend last year sent the actor a message after taking her three-year-old son to a new doctor.
Without asking permission, "the doctor looked inside his underwear so she could see if he had spots on his private parts," wrote Audrey Guerrouani, 46.
He immediately started singing, "Hey, hands off kitty".
"I was so proud of him," the mother said.
ah/ekf/gv