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US

Woman killed on South Carolina beach by umbrella caught up in gust of wind

Woman killed on South Carolina beach by umbrella caught up in gust of wind

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A woman was killed on Wednesday in Garden City, South Carolina, after a loose beach umbrella impaled her in the chest, according to authorities.

The umbrella was blown by the wind from its anchoring in the sand at around 12:40 pm, hitting Tammy Perreault, 63, in the chest, Horry County Chief Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard told news outlets.

Perrault was taken to the Tidelands Waccamaw Community Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries, local news station WMBF reported.

SEVERE WEATHER IN DELAWARE SENDS BEACH UMBRELLAS FLYING INTO OCEAN: ‘DOWNRIGHT APOCALYPTIC LOOKING’

Scotty’s Beach Bar in Surfside Beach posted on social media about Perreault and the loss, according to Fox 8.

“Today with heavy hearts we mourn the loss of a dear friend and kind-hearted local, Tammy Perreault,” according to the post.

“Some things we will never begin to understand but what we do know is no one has a bad thing to say about this woman. To be as sweet as her day in and day out should be a goal for all.”

Beach umbrellas can pose a hazard when they come loose from their anchoring in the sand and are caught up in gusts of wind.

Beach umbrellas can pose a hazard when they come loose from their anchoring in the sand and are caught up in gusts of wind.
(GettyImages)

About 3,000 people are injured by beach umbrellas every year, according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.

A beach umbrella’s wide canopy allows it to get caught up in a strong wind if it is not anchored properly, while the spiked end poses a danger, the group noted further.

In 2016, Lottie Michelle Belk of Chester, Virginia, was killed by a flying beach umbrella on Virginia Beach in a similar manner.

LIGHTNING STRIKE SAFETY — WHAT TO DO, HOW TO KEEP YOURSELF SAFE

In that instance, a beach umbrella anchored in the sand was picked up by a strong gust of wind, blowing it into Belk’s body.

Police said the umbrella stabbed Belk, 55, in the chest — and her cause of death was penetrating blunt force trauma, according to local station WTKR.

Safety tips for beach umbrellas include tilting the umbrella into the wind — and anchoring the base of the pole with some weight to stabilize it.

Safety tips for beach umbrellas include tilting the umbrella into the wind — and anchoring the base of the pole with some weight to stabilize it.
(REUTERS/Eric Gaillard)

Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, Democrats in Virginia, asked the Consumer Product Safety Commission to review beach umbrellas and start a safety campaign in 2016, after Belk’s death.

In 2019, the senators wrote to the agency again, reported the Virginian-Pilot, suggesting they consider an effort similar to July 4th safety campaigns or the successful “Safe Sleep Campaign,” which educated parents about making baby nurseries safer.

A beach umbrella’s wide canopy allows it to get caught up in a strong wind if it is not anchored properly, while the spiked end poses a danger.

The commission recently reported on its website that Andrew Newens, directorate for Engineering Sciences, was scheduled to participate in a teleconference with a Beach Umbrellas Task Group on July 27, 2022.

“This conference call was requested by ASTM [American Society for Testing and Materials] to discuss the creation of a new standard test method for the strength and durability of consumer beach umbrellas,” the website noted.

ONLINE DANGERS ARE RAMPANT FOR KIDS TODAY – WHY PARENTS MUST KEEP THEM CYBER SAFE

Fox News Digital reached out to Newens for comment

Fox News Digital also reached out to the Consumer Product Safety Commission for comment.

The US Consumer Products and Safety Commission was asked by two senators in 2016 to evaluate beach umbrellas for safety.

The US Consumer Products and Safety Commission was asked by two senators in 2016 to evaluate beach umbrellas for safety.
(iStock)

The commission offers the following five tips for beach umbrella safety on its website:

1. Spike your beach pole umbrella into the sand.

2. Firmly rock it back and forth until it’s buried at least 2 feet deep.

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3. Tilt it into the wind to keep it from blowing away and hurting someone.

4. Anchor the base of the pole with some form of anchor or weight.

5. Ensure that the sand is well-packed around the base.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

Deirdre Reilly is a senior editor, lifestyle, with Fox News Digital.

Categories
Business

McDonald’s sued for allegedly denying paid breaks

McDonald's sued for allegedly denying paid breaks

McDonald’s is facing a fresh legal battle launched by the fast food workers union for allegedly refusing to grant entitled rest breaks to 250,000 employees across Australia.

Workers across nearly 1000 current and former McDonald’s locations were allegedly not informed of their rest break entitlements. Some workers were allegedly offered free soft drinks or short toilet breaks instead of their entitled 10-minute break.

The legal claim seeks $250 million in compensation plus penalties against 400 McDonald's operators.

The legal claim seeks $250 million in compensation plus penalties against 400 McDonald’s operators.Credit:Luis Enrique Ascuí

Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) secretary Gerard Dwyer said the union had tried to address the issue with the fast-food franchise, but that it had refused to admit any wrongdoing.

“It’s simply not believable that these breaks weren’t denied on purpose,” Dwyer said. “McDonald’s shouldn’t have to be dragged through the Federal Court for workers to receive their most basic entitlements.”

The legal claim seeks $250 million in compensation plus penalties against 400 McDonald’s operators. It is the 16th in a string of other existing Federal Court claims the union has against McDonald’s and 14 franchisees.

Workers covered under the Fast Food Award are entitled to an uninterrupted 10-minute paid break when working four or more hours.

In a statement, McDonald’s said it highly valued its employees and their contribution to the success of the company, and it intended to fully defend the claim.

“McDonald’s believes its restaurants complied with applicable instruments, provided rest breaks to employees and were consistent with historic working arrangements,” the company said in a statement.

“Those arrangements have been known to the SDA for many years. The manner of taking breaks has not been challenged or raised by the SDA as a matter of concern throughout successive enterprise bargaining processes for new industrial agreements.

Categories
Technology

Samsung Unpacked Event Recap: Every Announcement You May Have Missed

Samsung Unpacked Event: Galaxy Z Fold 4, Z Flip 4, Galaxy Watch 5 and Everything Else Announced

what’s happening

Samsung’s annual August Unpacked, where the company detailed its updated line of foldable phones.

why it matters

In addition to showing if foldables are “there” yet for you in their fourth generation, both the Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4 features may foreshadow features that we’ll see in potential competing models from companies like Motorola and Google.

Samsung hosted its semiannual Unpacked event on Wednesday, and as we’ve come to expect from the company, its August 2022 announcements delivered news about its latest phones, watches and earbuds: the Galaxy ZFold 4 and Z-Flip 4, Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro and Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. The Galaxy Z Flip 3 will get one of our favorite last-gen perks, at $100 price cut.

Among its new product announcements, Samsung brought us up to speed on its sustainability initiatives, including incorporating recycled fishing nets in its latest foldables. Plus we got to see a new promo featuring Korea’s other major global star: BTS.

All the products are expected to ship on Aug. 26.

Want a play-by-play, detailed summary? Check out our archived live blog of the event.


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Galaxy Z Flip 4: Samsung’s Flip Phone Gets New Software,…


4:23

Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

Like the Z Fold 4, the Flip 4 gets the bottom-screen trackpad feature in its Flex Mode and the nighttime photography improvements that were launched with the S22, including night portrait-mode photos. You’ll also be able to send quick replies to texts, make calls and shoot portrait-mode photos from the cover screen.

You’ll also be able to get a Bespoke Edition like the Flip 3.

Refreshed components include:

  • A brighter wide lens and larger pixels in the 12-megapixel cameras
  • Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor
  • Battery boost to 3,700mAh

Readmore:


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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 First Take: Bigger Cover Screen,…


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Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

The Galaxy Z Fold 4 has a wider cover screen that makes apps look more like they’re intended and that’s designed to make it look like a typical phone when it’s closed. A new Flex Mode feature, also coming to the Flip 4 lets you use the bottom half of the screen as a trackpad.

Samsung claims it’s more durable than its predecessor, notably the internal tablet-sized display. We were treated to a discourse on the upgraded hinge, the new screen-layer architecture and shock-absorbing sponge. The company also Samsung also says the inner screen is brighter, and will have a less noticeable under-screen camera. It inherits the nighttime photography improvements launched with the S22 line, including night portrait-mode photos.

Samsung says this is the first device with Android 12L, the version of Android optimized for tablets. 12L brings a new task bar for streamlining app switching.

Refreshed components include:

  • 50-megapixel main camera and a telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom in addition to the existing 12-megapixel wide-angle lens
  • Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor

Readmore:

Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

In addition to the existing Watch sizes, there’s a new, larger and heavier Pro model with a more durable titanium build. Samsung says both Watches have longer battery life over earlier models thanks to higher-capacity batteries (590 mAh in the Pro), an infrared skin temperature sensor and a more durable sapphire crystal for the watch face instead of Gorilla Glass. Plus, there will be new faces available.

There’s a larger surface area for sensor contact on your wrist, which Samsung says will provide more accurate results, and a smaller combined sensor size.

Samsung’s offering some trade-in discounts on preorders: $75 off the Watch 5, or $125 off the Pro if an “eligible” watch is traded in, along with a $50 credit for accessories.

Readmore: Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5 Now Includes a Pro Model and Better Battery Life

Richard Peterson/CNET

The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro have beefed up surround and hi-fi audio — as long as they’re connected to a Galaxy phone running Samsung’s One UI 4.0 or later. Samsung’s also eked out another two hours from its battery.

Later in the year, Samsung will be updating the Buds 2 Pro with better 360 LE audio.

Readmore:

Categories
Entertainment

Steph Claire Smith reveals she is doing 30-day intimacy challenge

Steph Claire Smith reveals she is doing 30-day intimacy challenge

Podcast host and fitness entrepreneur Steph Claire Smith has revealed she is taking part in a 30-day challenge unlike any other.

On her KICPOD podcast, which she hosts with her co-founder of Keep It Cleaner Laura Henshaw, the fitness entrepreneur revealed she and husband Josh Miller were taking part in a 30-day intimacy challenge.

“AKA 30 days of sex,” she said during the podcast.

“We are on Day 13, and I wanted to bring it up but I am sure I will have more to talk about at the end.”

Laura was shocked, jokingly asking Steph if she was tired before asking to define intimacy for the challenge.

Steph, mother to one-year-old son Harvey, said she and Josh have defined it by “further than kissing but doesn’t necessarily have to be sex”.

“We’re tired and there are dry spells but whenever we are intimate, it makes everything else better,” Steph said.

“As much as I hate to admit that, as there are times I just don’t want to do it, I know when I really think about it, when we are close in that way we are nicer to each other and more cuddly. ”

She said the pair were doing the challenge as a bit of a reset and initially had no idea how it was going to go.

Both Josh and Steph had seen it online but Josh was the one who suggested the couple take part.

The 28-year-old said the challenge wasn’t easy and the hardest part was finding the time.

“There are nights where it is a full-on task,” she said, adding that the couple would have to be smarter about scheduling time during the day before it gets too late at night.

“There have been days where we have had an argument and then we have to have sex,” she said.

“But in the back of our minds, we really want to do this for each other so we work through it.”

Laura joked that now her partner will want to take part and she doesn’t want to.

“Maybe you’ll inspire some – but I’m not,” Laura said.

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Categories
Sports

All Blacks team named for second Test against South Africa in 2022 Rugby Championship

All Blacks team named for second Test against South Africa in 2022 Rugby Championship



All Blacks head coach Ian Foster has named Richie Mo’unga to start at No.10 and made a change at flanker with Shannon Frizell replacing Akira Ioane at No.6 for the second Test against South Africa

Uncapped tighthead prop Fletcher Newell has been named on the bench as front row cover, while props Ethan de Groot and Tyrel Lomax have been named in the run-on side.

The All Blacks props have 20 Test caps between them.

They are joined by hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho, while 69-Test veteran Codie Taylor returns to the match-day 23.

Blindside flanker Frizell will move from the bench to the starting team alongside No.8 Ardie Savea and captain Sam Cane who will surpass Jerome Kaino (81) as the third-most capped All Black loose forward in Tests.

The only change made to the backline is at No.10 with Mo’unga getting his first start of the season and Beauden Barrett on the bench despite his heavy fall in the first up loss.

“Belief and confidence remain high in our group, which is working incredibly hard this week,” said Foster. “Playing at Ellis Park is always a special occasion for any All Black team, and this weekend will be no different.”

This could well be Foster’s last selection as head coach if the team lose, though even victory may not be enough to keep him in the post after the side lost five of their previous six Tests and the tide of public opinion is very much against Foster back home.

Fullback Jordie Barrett and wing Will Jordan had been doubts for the game but have been passed fit and will make up a back three with Caleb Clarke.

David Havili and Rieko Ioane continue their partnership in the centres, with Aaron Smith at scrumhalf alongside Mo’unga.

All Blacks squad (Test caps in brackets):

1.Ethan de Groot (5)

2.Samisoni Taukei’aho (12)

3.Tyrel Lomax (15)

4.Sam Whitelock (135)

5. Scott Barrett (51)

6. Shannon Frizell (18)

7.Sam Cane (81)

8.Ardie Savea (63)

9.Aaron Smith (106)

10.Richie Mo’unga (36)

11.Caleb Clarke (6)

12.David Havili (17)

13.Rieko Ioane (51)

14.Will Jordan (16)

15.Jordie Barrett (40)

16.Codie Taylor (69)

17.George Bower (15)

18.Fletcher Newell * New Cap

19. Tupou Vaa’i (13)

20. Akira Ioane (15)

21. Finlay Christie (7)

22.Beauden Barrett (105)

23. Quinn Tupaea (10)

Categories
Australia

Will teal independents strike Liberals another blow in Victorian and NSW elections?

Will teal independents strike Liberals another blow in Victorian and NSW elections?

Last weekend former Indian independent Cathy McGowan ran an online post-federal election convention to promote community independents. It attracted 467 participants from more than 100 federal electorates, and the discussion groups included one on each of the two state elections.

Stuart Ayres resigned from his role as minister, and as the deputy leader of the Liberal Party.

Stuart Ayres resigned from his role as minister, and as the deputy leader of the Liberal Party.Credit:Rhett Wyman

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Simon Holmes à Court’s Climate 200, which provided crucial funding for the teals, will likely be a player in the state contests. In July it polled key Victorian seats. It found potential support for teal-type independents in the Liberal seats of Sandringham, Brighton, Caulfield and Kew, and the Labor seat of Hawthorn. Climate and integrity resonated. For example, “integrity in politics” was nominated as the most important issue by the second or third-largest number of voters in Caulfield, Brighton and Sandringham.

Local groups have been searching for candidates. An August 7 advertisement in The Sunday Age declared “Bayside deserves independent voices” and encouraged potential candidates to come forward.

“Our communities made history in May when we elected an independent Zoe Daniel to represent us in the federal seat of Goldstein,” the advertisement said. “Polling shows that an independent can also win the Victorian seats of Brighton, Sandringham and Caulfield.”

We see from this how the push for state independence is leveraging off the federal success. But it’s notable the Voices of Goldstein group that supported Daniel will not back a state candidate. Federal teals have a political interest in reinforcing the message of their personal “independence”.

Member for Goldstein Zoe Daniel.

Member for Goldstein Zoe Daniel.Credit:alex ellinghausen

Regardless, in state areas where teal-type candidates will run, there’ll likely be ready-made volunteer cohorts to support them. Many citizens, energized by the federal successes, seem anxious to take part in what they see as a new brand of politics.

In NSW, the group North Sydney Independent (NSI), which chose successful federal teal candidate for North Sydney Kylea Tink (but is now at arm’s length from her), is looking at the three Liberal seats in the area – Lane Cove, Willoughby and North Shore. NSI co-founder Denise Shrivell says the group could back community candidates in one or even all three seats. The group will have a launch on August 28.

Shrivell says the group is finding a “mismatch” between the views of the MPs – two of whom are conservatives and one a moderate – and “the views and interests of the local community”.

“People are dissatisfied,” she says. Unsurprisingly, “issues around integrity are very top of mind. People are looking at what is happening in NSW and are fed up”, although health, education, over-development and privatization are also concerning these voters. More generally, “people in North Sydney have caught the democracy bug,” she says.

One major problem for the community candidates in NSW is the state’s optional preferential voting system: this means they could not rely to the extent the federal teals did on preferences bumping them over the line.

As in the federal election, Climate 200 will wait until candidates emerge. It will then assess their individual suitability, the viability of their campaign structure, and their prospects of victory, before deciding whether to provide support. Holmes à Court says it “could support three to six candidates in Victoria and possibly more in NSW”.

It needs to choose carefully. One reason for the teal successes at federal level was that the candidates were so impressive – mediagenic professional women. It could be more difficult to find equivalent talent for state contests, which are less attractive to high-flyers.

Climate 200 has its own credibility to preserve. It doesn’t want a triumph at the federal election to be followed by state pushes that flop spectacularly.

Climate 200 founder Simon Holmes at Court.

Climate 200 founder Simon Holmes at Court.Credit:alex ellinghausen

Stricter funding rules at state level impose greater constraints on the assistance Climate 200 can give. Beyond modest donations, the organization will have to encourage donors to directly support particular candidates.

If community candidates do well at these elections, there might be potential down the track in Western Australia, where one would expect to swing in 2025 against Labor’s massive majority. The WA Liberal Party has been almost wiped out at a state level, and there is a teal federal MP, Kate Chaney, in Curtin.

Although she personally wouldn’t be involved, Chaney says some of her supporters have expressed an interest in a state effort. “By 2025 the community independent movement may have developed in a way that makes it an attractive option for communities who want to see a different type of representation,” Chaney says.

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Independents have long had significant presences, and often been in the balance of power, in various state parliaments. In Victoria and NSW, both sides are said to be concerned about independents generally at the coming elections.

What’s special about the teals and other “community candidates”, arising from “voices” and similar groups, is they are part of a loose web, linked by some common funding, networking and the issues on which they campaign. This doesn’t make them a “party”, as their opponents claim, but it does make them a “democracy movement” of sorts. Success in the Victorian and NSW elections would create fresh momentum for this movement, including at the federal level for the next election.

Federally, the community-candidate movement has eaten away at the Liberal Party’s progressive wing, cutting a swathe through the moderates in the parliamentary party.

The federal Liberals now face the existential question of how to juggle appeals to outer suburbia, where Peter Dutton feels most comfortable, and to the urban areas, currently lost, that used to be the party’s “blue ribbons” (including for fund-raising) , and which are vital to winning government.

We should introduce a caution. Just as many people underestimated the chances of the federal government, there is a risk of over-estimating their state prospects. But if the independent movement does erode the Liberal base in core areas at state level, it will be all the harder for the party to re-group nationally.

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Although part of the federal teal success was due to “strategic” voting by some Labor supporters, victories for state community candidates in Victoria and NSW would reinforce the message that Liberal supporters are migrating to a new political force.

For the Liberal Party, the implications would be alarming for the long term.

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Categories
US

Instagram model Courtney Clenney charged with murdering boyfriend Christian Toby Obumseli in Florida apartment

Instagram model Courtney Clenney charged with murdering boyfriend Christian Toby Obumseli in Florida apartment

Social media model Courtney Clenney has been charged with second-degree murder over the April death of her boyfriend, Christian Toby Obumseli, Miami State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said Thursday. Clenney, 26, was arrested in Hawaii on Wednesday on a charge of second-degree murder with a deadly weapon.

At a press Tuesday, Rundle described an “extremely tempestuous and combative conference relationship” between the couple that began in November 2020. According to Clenney’s arrest warrant, there had been “multiple incidents of domestic violence from both sides” during the relationship.

She said that security staff at the building documented “many instances” of loud arguments between the pair after they moved into the apartment in January 2022, adding that tenants as far as two floors above the apartment had complained to the building about the noise.

Rundle also showed a video from a building elevator in February 2022 that appeared to show Clenney shoving and hitting Obumseli. According to the arrest warrant, she had also been charged with domestic battery against Obumseli in a hotel in Las Vegas in July 2021.

Rundle said that the couple briefly separated when Clenney kicked Obumseli out of her apartment in late March, but he returned on April 1. Police were called to the apartment later that day, and Clenney appeared “intoxicated” at the time, Rundle said.

Hawaii-Model-Arrested
This photo provided by the Hawaii Police Department shows Courtney Clenney.

/AP


On the day of Obumseli’s death, he left the apartment at 1:15 pm and returned at 4:33 pm with sandwiches for the pair, Rundle said. Clenney called her mother de ella at 4:43 and spoke for six minutes, and called her again at 4:49 and spoke for seven minutes, Rundle said. At 4:57, she called 911 to report that Obumseli had been stabbed. During that time, neighbors called the building about a disturbance and security also called 911, Rundle said.

Rundle said Obumseli can be heard saying that he was dying and losing feeling in his arm on her 911 call, and that Clenney was heard saying “I’m so sorry.” When police arrived, Clenney was cradling Obumseli’s body, according to her arrest warrant. He later died of his injuries at the hospital.

Clenney later told police she had stabbed Obumseli after he grabbed her by the throat and shoved her against the wall, Rundle said. She allegedly said she ran to the kitchen, grabbed a knife, and threw it at him from about 10 feet away.

But Rundle said police did not find any evidence that Clenney had been harmed and said the medical examiner disputed her account of the incident, noting that Obumseli’s injury was much more consistent with a “downward strike” with the knife than with a throw from such a far distance.

Rundle said the chief medical examiner for Miami-Dade County determined that Obumseli was killed by a three-inch deep stab wound to the chest.

“The violent and toxic two-year relationship of Christian Obumseli and Courtney Clenney did not have to end in tragedy with Christian’s murder as a victim of domestic violence,” Rundle said.

In a recorded telephone statement to police documented in the arrest warrant, Clenney’s mother allegedly told authorities that she heard Clenney telling Obumseli to leave and Clenney saying that Obumseli was “lying.” Her mother did not say anything about her daughter being, the warrant said, and while she allegedly told investigators that she had not discussed Obumseli’s death with her daughter, the warrant cited a 5:25 pm text message from “mom” on the defendant’s phone that mentioned “self-defense” and told her not to speak with investigators without an attorney.

An attorney for Obumseli’s family said at the press conference the family “always believed that with a thorough and fair investigation, this day would come to reality.”

When why it took so long to press charges on the April incident, Miami police chief Manuel Morales said it was critical to ensure the charge would stand up in court.

“You only get one shot,” he told reporters. “You want to get it right.”

Hawaii County police said in a prior statement they assisted the US Marshals Service as they arrested Clenney in Laupahoehoe, which is on the Big Island. Officers used an arrest warrant issued by Miami-Dade County, Florida.

Clenney waived extradition during her initial court appearance Thursday in Hilo District Court, paving the way for her to return to Florida. She is being held at the East Hawaii Detention Center while she awaits that extradition, police said.

slate-copy.jpg
Christian Toby Obumseli

Facebook/Christian Toby Obumseli


Clenney uses the name Courtney Tailor on Instagram and OnlyFans, where she has more than 2 million followers.

Her Miami defense lawyer, Frank Prieto, told CBS Miami that she was in Hawaii while in rehabilitation for substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“I’m completely shocked, especially since we were cooperating with the investigation and offered to voluntarily surrender her if she were charged,” Prieto said before the Thursday press conference. “We look forward to clearing her name in court.”

Prieto said the two were together for about two years and their relationship was complicated.

“It was clearly a toxic relationship, (they) had their ups and downs and, unfortunately, it culminated with his death,” he said.

Prieto said Clenney was actively seeking professional help to process the trauma experienced on the night of the stabbing.

Obumseli’s family said that he was a soft-spoken man and the idea that this was warranted is unthinkable, CBS Miami reported.

“We have no cause to believe that this was a case of self-defense. Toby was raised with a, by a very strong family with strong morals, strong values, he does not come from that,” said Karen Egbuna, a cousin of Obumseli who also appeared at the press conference.

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Categories
Business

Drivers warn Australians about the MG3: ‘Deserves to be in hell’

Straight-talking Aussies have unleashed on a car currently taking the country by storm as one driver describes the vehicle as a 'truly hateful car' (pictured, the MG3 Excite in white)

Straight-talking Aussies have unleashed on the MG3, a Chinese-made car that’s soaring up the sales chart across the country.

Normm Jean wrote a scathing review of the MG3, which can be purchased for $18,990 drive-away, making it the cheapest new car in the country.

MG made its debut as one of Australia’s highest-selling marques in March 2022 and has kept its place in the top 10 thanks to big sales of all three of its models – including the MG3, the best-selling vehicle in its segment.

The vehicle comes in three specifications, the Core priced at $18,990, the Core with navigation at $19,400 and the Excite, which has a price tag of $20,490.

He said he had been ‘unfortunate’ enough to take the Excite model for a spin and that he soon found he and the car were incompatible.

Straight-talking Aussies have unleashed on a car currently taking the country by storm as one driver describes the vehicle as a 'truly hateful car' (pictured, the MG3 Excite in white)

Straight-talking Aussies have unleashed on a car currently taking the country by storm as one driver describes the vehicle as a ‘truly hateful car’ (pictured, the MG3 Excite in white)

One MG3 owner described it as a 'truly hateful car' and said people were better off buying a second-hand car. Pictured is a stock image of a man driving a car

One MG3 owner described it as a ‘truly hateful car’ and said people were better off buying a second-hand car. Pictured is a stock image of a man driving a car

‘The salesperson told me she didn’t think I would like it when she gave me the keys to the demo Excite model, so we were starting off good,’ he said.

Mr Jean explained he was around 177cm tall and ‘not a giant’, but struggled to find a comfortable position in the hatchback.

‘Not to mention the rattles that a car with 50 km shouldn’t have,’ he said.

The car enthusiast complained there was only one cup holder, no digital speedometer, and the sun-visors were too small.

‘The plastic on the A-Pillar is so poorly fitting that it doesn’t like up with the windscreen properly,’ he said.

He said that in 2019 the MG3 Excite was selling for $17,490 drive away.

‘The exact car is now $20,490. It hasn’t been updated, or refreshed. It’s just had its price hiked up. I told my friend it was a sh*t heap and went back to the dealer.

For most of its history, MG was associated with British open-top roadsters but that changed with the collapse of Rover in 2005, which saw the Chinese state-owned SAIC group take over (pictured is Scottish actor Ewan McGregor with a classic MGA from 1962 )

For most of its history, MG was associated with British open-top roadsters but that changed with the collapse of Rover in 2005, which saw the Chinese state-owned SAIC group take over (pictured is Scottish actor Ewan McGregor with a classic MGA from 1962 )

‘In conclusion, if the MG3 was $12,990 drive away, I would absolutely buy one. Because it’s so cheap, who cares?

‘Drive the wheels off it, and send it to the wreckers when it’s stuffed. But there is no way on earth that I would spend $21,000 on this car.’

Mr Jean told Daily Mail Australia the car’s popularity was down to the reputation MG earned in the 1960s as the makers of a classic English sports car.

For most of its history, MG – also known as Morris Garages – was associated with British open-top roadsters, but that changed with the collapse of Rover in 2005, which saw the Chinese state-owned SAIC group take over.

Since then, MG has become synonymous with budget SUVs and hatches made in China – a far cry from its 1924 origins as a sports car badge.

‘It’s based on the badge,’ he said.

‘If you take the MG badge off them, they are just a cheap Chinese-made car that’s similar to a 2004 Hyundai Getz.’

‘The 1.5 engine and 4-speed car deserves to be in hell. It’s slow, and I mean slow. I can only compare it to a 1.2 Kia Picanto, but even that felt better.

‘But by far the worst thing for me, I couldn’t get the seat to lower, nor could I get the steering wheel to go high enough for me to get even remotely comfortable.’

Normm Jean has issued a scathing review of the MG3 Excite (seen here in blue), which can be purchased for $20,490 drive-away to Facebook page 'S*** Cars of Australia'

Normm Jean has issued a scathing review of the MG3 Excite (seen here in blue), which can be purchased for $20,490 drive-away to Facebook page ‘S*** Cars of Australia’

Another motorist who asked to remain anonymous, described the MG3 Excite as a ‘truly hateful car’ and said people were better off buying a second-hand car.

‘There is a place for these types of cars, for people who want to get from A to B and don’t really care for a car or a brand,’ he said.

‘However, to charge $21,000 for a car of this quality, you would be better off buying a second-hand Corolla, Yaris or Mazda 2.

‘They are what I feel a very expensive disposable car that has been disguised as something cheap and cheerful.’

MG has previously said buyers also didn't care that it was Chinese owned and Chinese built - and that sales are soaring accrross the country because the vehicle has a seven year unlimited kilometre warranty

MG has previously said buyers also didn’t care that it was Chinese owned and Chinese built – and that sales are soaring accrross the country because the vehicle has a seven year unlimited kilometre warranty

An MG spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that in becoming the number-one seller in the segment, it has beaten its new vehicle rivals.

‘The continued popularity of the MG3 is testament to how many Australians have found this model to suit their needs both in style and performance,’ they said.

‘Additionally, for peace of mind, the MG comes with a comprehensive seven-year unlimited kilometer warranty and access to more than 100 dealers around Australia and New Zealand.’

Danny Lenartic, MG's general manager of electric vehicles in Australia and New Zealand expects the marque to become a big part of Australia's automotive future

Danny Lenartic, MG’s general manager of electric vehicles in Australia and New Zealand expects the marque to become a big part of Australia’s automotive future

Earlier in the year, Danny Lenartic, MG Motor’s general manager of electric vehicles in Australia and New Zealand, told Daily Mail Australia he expects the mark to be a big part of Australia’s automotive future.

Mr Lenartic said buyers also didn’t care that it was Chinese-owned and Chinese-built despite Communist President Xi Jinping’s trade sanctions against Australia.

‘Country of origin to me today isn’t as important as the core values ​​that the people behind the brand stand for,’ he said.

‘The MG history has always been a value brand, so it’s always been the affordable sports car, that’s how it gained its popularity.

‘Realistically, the core values ​​of MG haven’t changed – for me, we’ve held on to that identity.’

KEY FEATURES OF THE MG3

The MG3 Auto offers value, personality and most importantly, style.

It comes in three specifications:

MG MG3 AUTO CORE – FROM $18,990 DRIVEAWAY

• 15″ Alloy wheels

• Rear parking sensor

• Rear view camera

• LED ‘London Eye’ daytime running lights

• 4 Speaker audio system w/ Yamaha 3D Sound Field

• Leather trimmed steering wheel with contrast stitching

• Tartan fabric trim seating

• 1.5l engine

• 8” color infotainment screen with Apple CarPlay™

MG MG3 AUTO CORE WITH NAV – FROM $19,490 DRIVEAWAY

KEY FEATURES IN ADDITION TO MG MG3 AUTO CORE:

• Satellite Navigation

MG MG3 AUTO EXCITE – FROM $20,490 DRIVEAWAY

KEY FEATURES IN ADDITION TO MG MG3 AUTO CORE WITH NAV:

• 16” Two-tone machined alloy wheels

• Body color door mirrors with integrated turn signal

• 6 Speaker audio system w/ Yamaha 3D Sound Field

• Rear spoiler

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Categories
Technology

The top 10 worst movie tie-in video games ever

The top 10 worst movie tie-in video games ever

While definitely not as common as they used to be, movie tie-in video games are generally viewed as the absolute bottom of the barrel in terms of video game entertainment.

These are video games created often in short time frames, with limited development cycles, budgets, and anything else that you need in order to make a decent video game.

But, as with anything, some are worse than others.

So here, we have compiled the top 10 (in no particular order) worst of the worst, the rock bottom, the absolute dredge of them all for you to enjoy.

10. E. T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982, Atari)

While older than most people reading this, this game is often credited as having caused the video game market of 1983 to crash. The game itself was boring and bland, featuring awful graphics (even for its time) and repetitive tasks.

Rumor has it that Atari only gave developers five weeks to develop the game for the Christmas season, which would explain the lack of… well, gameplay in the video game. A huge number of these games were returned, Atari fell into bankruptcy, and, as the legend goes, the remainder of the stock was buried in a New Mexico landfill somewhere.

9. Tomorrow Never Dies (1999)

Remember golden eye 64? Remember how much fun it was to stay up late into the night with three of your best friends, getting mad at each other over picking Oddjob, or someone who grabbed the Golden Gun first? Those were good times. What if the next game released in the 007 franchise was worse in every conceivable way?

Tomorrow Never Dies did away with the first-person view, instead choosing a third-person view. The game only featured a story mode, lacking any multiplayer whatsoever. If they had named this game anything else, it probably would have been fine, but coming hot off the heels of the success that golden eye 64 was, it led many to see this as a downgrade in every way.

8. Marvel’s Avengers (2020)

Crystal Dynamics has done some good work in gaming, don’t get me wrong, but avengers fails in a lot of ways that don’t make sense. The launch of avengers had some serious game-breaking bugs tethered to it, and while most of them have been ironed out over its lifespan, one of the game’s core problems hasn’t been – how content dry and unrewarding it is to play.

The game has a decent story mode, but once you complete it, the only way to progress is to complete multiplayer missions, which are the same boring, repetitive missions that every other games-as-a-service game has. The multiplayer is not fun, and that’s the biggest advertising point of the game. Please just make another Legacy of Kain game, Crystal Dynamics.

7. Saw 2: Flesh and Blood (2010)

“Hey, what if we took a movie that was relatively unique in the horror genre for its interesting puzzles and turned it into a boring action video game?” said the developers of Saw 2: Flesh and Blood. I may be paraphrasing.

The puzzles are boring, the dialogue is boring, you’re having to repeat puzzles often because they do not explain how the puzzles work, and the majority of downtime in between puzzles are filled with quick-timed events. Low amounts of checkpoints means that you’re often having to redo several rooms multiple times.

6. Cat Woman (2004)

Not unlike the movie of the same name, cat woman did extremely poorly with critics and players alike.

Genuinely awful voice acting combined with seemingly malfunctioning camera controls and a mash-one-button-until-you-win combat style made this game an easy one to pass up.

5. Street Fighter: The Movie: The Game (1995)

In the games industry, there’s an unfortunate expectation that a video game made to tie in with a movie is gonna suck. So what happens when a movie is made based on a video game – that is then turned into a video game itself? It’s like an inception of bad video games.

This soulless shell of a game lacks even the most basic things that Street Fighter II had, namely its charm. Seeing Dhalsim stretch-punch or Ryu throw Hadoukens is timeless, but seeing digitized versions of the actors playing these characters doing the same is just painful.

4. James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game (2009)

Picture this: you’ve just seen Avatar in theaters, and it was a wondrous journey through what cinematic effects can look like in 2009. You can’t get over how cool the fight scenes were, how beautiful the landscapes were, or how intricate the sex-hair thing was. So you rush to your local store and immediately spy a copy of Avatar: The Game. Surely it must look just as good, right?

While the game does tackle events prior to the movie, expanding the lore of the world a bit, the graphics looked awful – I can think of a few late-gen PS2 games that looked nicer – the gameplay was bland and repetitive, made worse by the linear paths you have to walk in the game.

3. Evil Dead: Hail to the King

I cannot imagine watching Evil Dead 2having a wonderful time, and then picking this game up and trying to play through it. Hail to the King lacks pretty much everything that made Evil Dead 2 or Army of Darkness work, instead attempting to emulate some action-horror games that had come out before it.

Fixed camera angles are fine in some games, but the game has to be built around them for it to work. This game has problems with enemies swarming you, and you are unable to deal with them due to the camera perspectives.

2. Every Shrek Game That Isn’t Shrek SuperSlam

I don’t really have the energy to go into why all but one of the Shrek games are bad. In short, they’re poorly paced, have game-breaking bugs, are boring and feature repetitive gameplay. Instead, I want to focus on why SuperSlam is a great game.

SuperSlam is technically a bad game, in terms of gameplay and execution. It’s a broken platform/arena fighter, with several characters able to commit to ‘infinite’ combos that generally just make it unfun – in theory.

What makes it fun is that an entire competitive esports community has formed around the broken game, figuring out how the game works within how broken it is. To this day, tournaments are held online, with new players joining in to try to win.

1. Aliens: Colonial Marines (2013)

This one is a pain for me, personally. Alien is such a cool series, with a lot of lore and a lot of good horror sequences – Alien: Isolation is arguably my favorite movie tie-in game because of how oppressive and well-done the horror in that game is. Enter Colonial Marines: a game with broken AI, to the point where Aliens will crab-walk right past you while they try to figure out their pathing, or get caught in level geometry because the developers couldn’t figure out hitbox collision. The graphics were extremely bland for their time, especially when you compare it to the alpha footage that leaked before release, which looked incredible.

What’s worse, however, is the vast number of promises that the developers gave prerelease that were simply not true. It was a giant mess from beginning to end, and Alien fans the world over were truly disappointed.

Written by Junior Miyai on behalf of GLHF.

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Categories
Entertainment

Grease was a problematic film ahead of its time

Grease was a problematic film ahead of its time

The message for wannabe Sandy’s was simple. To be the ultimate fantasy and object of male desire you should be thin and blonde, kind and intelligent, come from a good home, wear ankle-length twin sets, respect your body and say no to boys trying to sexually pressure you while also being jaw-droppingly sexy and willing to drive men wild by wearing skin-tight outfits and red lipstick.

For those who looked to Rizzo, things were a little murkier. She was motivated by having fun instead of getting straight-A grades, disliked good girls, brought booze to sleepovers and snuck out windows when they got boring. She could be mean and cruel, but also cuttingly funny and self-aware as she proved in the wistful tune Worse Things I Could Do.

Newton-John's sweet character Sandy had to learn to become sexy in Grease – a character arc the actor said she didn't take too seriously.

Newton-John’s sweet character Sandy had to learn to become sexy in Grease – a character arc the actor said she didn’t take too seriously.Credit:

As a kind of cautionary tale to girls who saw themselves in Rizzo, she was forced to endure being called “sloppy seconds” by Danny and faced her classmates gossiping about her potential teen pregnancy after she made the seemingly reckless decision to have unprotected sex with her boyfriend.

By the end of the film, though, Rizzo and Sandy are friends and as a reward for making peace with the good girl, Rizzo gets her man and her period.

Before her death, Newton-John discussed how the film had aged and Sandy’s role within that, telling ITV, “I know there were some criticisms about me wanting to change to be like him. It’s a movie and it’s a fun story and I have never taken that too seriously.”

Stockard Channing, who played Rizzo, called Sandy’s evolution of good girl gone bad “a moment of empowerment” for young women of the time and said her own character was “someone who enjoyed sex”, noting the inclusion of such a character onscreen in the 1970s was still relatively rare and positive for women.

So would a film that puts blonde beauty and virginity on a pedestal rake in $160 million at the box office today? Probably not. But would a storyline in which young women make their own decisions about their sexual desire and visual identities in spite of male attention still resonate? Absolutely.

For every nonsensical scene, like a middle-aged man appearing as an angel and telling a teenage girl to go back to high school to continue her studies in the doo-wop Beauty School Dropoutthere are thoroughly modern moments in characters like Mrs Murdoch, the school’s mechanic teacher, a woman who shows the boys everything they know about cars or Frenchy feeling lost about her future and not knowing what career path to take.

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Grease is a film that has somehow managed to last the distance not in spite of its dichotomies, but because of them. Just when you think its dated and reductive and gone too far, a character says or does something so forward-thinking it leaves you feeling shell-shocked. And before you have time to think about it, everybody has burst into song and dance. As a viewer, you find yourself oscillating between cringing one minute and joining the chorus the next. It doesn’t make
sense, but maybe it doesn’t have to.

For all its flaws, it’s hard to imagine a world in which people won’t always be at least a little bit hopelessly devoted to greaseeven when its car inexplicably ascends into the clouds never to be seen again.

Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.