It’s unclear whether the theft was planned ahead of time or a spur-of-the-moment decision, though either way the heist was well executed. “It looks to me like they were watching when someone was distracted,” Fenwick Elliot said. “They had lookouts on the stairs, and then they were watching the candy bar. When they knew that [the staff] they were busy serving, they grabbed it and made a run for it.”
CCTV footage seen by cinema employees points to four young women, presumably Edward Cullen fans, as the perpetrators.
News of the theft was posted on the cinema’s Instagram, prompting an unexpected wave of messages, responses, theories and commiserations.
“Whoever stole this is on my list because I wanted to take a pic with him, and he was gone by then,” said one commenter.
“As if they left at 1:31am and didn’t finish all five films. Fake fans,” said another.
While the theft of a piece of cardboard is unlikely to be the biggest concern for Cinema Nova, as it adjusts to a post-lockdown world where audiences are starting to return to the movies, it has left staff feeling deflated.
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“It was so lovely to see the balance of the ironic enjoyment of twilight, and a really genuine joy, and I think that’s really come across with how people have reacted [to the theft],” said Fenwick Elliott. “I’ve gotten so many messages being like, ‘We’re so sorry, do you need information?’ People really care.”
So, what options are there if the thieves have a change of heart, are overcome with guilt, or simply pull from Cullen’s company? There are a few ways they can return the cut-out. Fenwick Elliott says the morning is a good time to drop it off unseen as there are few people around at that time.
“Or they could go to the back delivery door, press the buzzer and just run like hell.”
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Samoan champion weightlifter Vaipava Nevo Ioane had a heavy heart when he boarded his flight to Birmingham.
The 34-year-old was carrying a sporting secret he wasn’t sure when or where to reveal.
But even then, something much bigger was on his mind.
On top of the secret he would later reveal to his coach and teammates, his wife was pregnant and would give birth any day.
Nevo with his wife and three children before heading to Birmingham for the Commonwealth Games.(Supplied)
She had no support back home in Apia.
Nevo had spent his last days on Samoan ground finding a babysitter to look after their three young children for when the newborn would arrive.
The thought of his wife needing him while he was on the other side of the world was nearly too much to bear.
“All I could do was pray,” Nevo said.
On top of the pressure of the secret he was keeping, and the concern for his family, Nevo also knew he had to deliver for his country and his coach, Tuaopepe Jerry Wallwork.
He had to bring home a gold medal.
Coach Jerry believes the Samoan government robbed his weightlifting team by blocking travel to the Tokyo Olympics because of COVID.
He still bristles at the mention of the whole saga.
“We were denied the opportunity to go to the Tokyo Olympics. Our government shut down our borders. We had a realistic chance to win a medal,” he said.
“A missed opportunity like that doesn’t come around many times. So we’re going to Birmingham to make a statement.”
The Samoan weightlifting team for the Commonwealth Games, with coach Jerry Wallwork second from right.(Supplied)
The statement nobody saw coming
With competition in full swing, Nevo easily progressed to the top two for his 67kg weight category.
For gold, he would have to beat 19-year-old Indian lifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga.
“We knew it was going to be tough, especially from the Indian,” coach Jerry said.
“He had a stronger snatch, but we had a stronger jerk.”
Nevo performs a snatch in Birmingham, eventually claiming silver behind his Indian opponent.
Nevo’s second attempt at the snatch was a personal best at 127kg.
His second go at the clean and jerk was a Commonwealth Games record, at 166kg.
Things were looking good, but tight. He would have to go to 174kg to win the gold, and to lift an 8kg increase would be considered akin to a miracle.
“We started with 163kg to secure bronze, then got 166kg to secure silver but we had the job of jumping to 174kg to win gold,” Jerry said.
“It was close but it didn’t pull off.
“But I got to hand it to Nevo, he fought it all the way. From the snatch to the last jerk … it was one of the best performances of his career.”
When Nevo’s 174kg failed jerk crashed to the floor, he missed out on the gold but would take home a silver medal for Samoa.
And then it was time to make a different statement.
While still on the stage, he took off his shoes and placed them neatly together on the lifting platform.
At that moment, his humble white lifting shoes were a totem for a youth spent pushing his body to extremes, of countless injuries, discipline, glory, friends, family, pride — and his great respect for the sport.
Nevo’s secret had been revealed.
I have retired.
He turned to the roaring crowd, bowed and walked off in his socks with tears streaming down his face.
“Nobody knew I was going to do it. But in my mind, I knew this is my last competition. They were all shocked,” Nevo said.
“But it’s been tough for me to continue this career. I must put my family first now.”
Coach Jerry has no idea that his star pupil was calling time on his long career.
“The retirement was a surprise, we didn’t know anything about that,” Jerry said.
“But he’s served his country for quite a few years. He’s married now with four kids, I don’t blame him at all.”
And Nevo had another moving piece of symbolism up his sleeve.
When he came back out for the medal ceremony, he embraced the Indian gold medal winner.
Vaipava Nevo Ioane drapes the ula fala around Jeremy Lalrinnunga’s neck, as bronze medalist Edidiong Joseph Umoafia from Nigeria looks on.(Getty Images: Eddie Keogh)
Nevo draped the Samoan “ula fala” he was wearing around Lalrinnunga’s neck.
“It (the ula fala) is special in my culture. It’s about high chiefs, respect for your elders,” Nevo said.
“People who give it see a lot of potential in you. That’s why I gave it to the Indian, to show him my respect. It’s your time now. I’m going to retire, it’s your time to shine.”
Birmingham leaves an indelible mark
Two days before Nevo won the silver medal his wife gave birth to a healthy baby boy.
They named him Birmingham Jerry Ioane.
Mum and baby are doing well and Nevo will be flying home soon.
Weightlifting is deep-rooted in the Samoan champion.
His father, who passed away last year, introduced him to the sport when Nevo was 10 years old.
Nevo finds it hard to imagine a future without weightlifting, and thinks he’ll continue in coaching and development for Samoa.
Jerry’s Samoan squad has more medal hopefuls in it.
The last of the weightlifting will be wrapped up by Friday of week two of the games.
“It’s been a long journey for me. I’m going to miss the sport, my friends, my friends from other countries in every comp I go to,” he said.
Taxpayers have forked out $3.8 million to remove a flood-damaged restaurant from Brisbane’s Bicentennial Bikeway and river after it was damaged in this year’s floods.
Key points:
The 200-tonne structure was pushed up onto the Bicentennial Bikeway during flooding earlier this year
The state government in March instructed the Queensland Reconstruction Authority to use its powers to remove it
The lessee said he had not been contacted by the state government regarding the $3.8m removal
The structure of the former floating restaurant known as Drift was swept onto the Bicentennial Bikeway during the late February floods.
The state government then enacted special powers to remove the 200-tonne pontoon in late March, under the Queensland Reconstruction Authority Act, which had only been exercised once before following the 2011 floods.
The state government in late March said an independent engineering report had found serious safety issues with the structure, warning “in its current state, the pontoon is considered to be at risk of immediate and sudden collapse.”
Workers in April began cutting the structure into several sections in order to remove it from the bikeway.
While the structure blocked the bikeway, Brisbane City Council converted one lane of Coronation Drive into a two-way bikeway and introduced a 40 kilometer per hour speed limit in the area.
The bikeway fully reopened on June 10.
The lessee, Brisbane businessman Ken Allsop, told ABC Radio Brisbane in March that he had wanted to reopen the venue.
Speaking today Mr Allsop said he had not been contacted by the state government regarding the cost of the removal, and would not be paying for it.
“I haven’t been asked to pay it. They decided to do it, and I wanted to put it back together,” he said.
DAYTON – The Elmo Fire exploded Monday afternoon as strong winds blew the fire east forcing evacuations.
A couple from Dayton had been building their dream home for the last 18 months, they felt helpless as they watched their home go up in flames.
“We don’t know where to go…that was our life savings…we have no idea, it’s less than 24 hours so we’re trying to figure it out, we have two dogs in the car, and these are the only shoes I have so we just have to start over,” said fire victim Lisa Holett.
Lisa and Steve Holett lost their dream home in Dayton when it was destroyed by the Elmo Fire, just weeks before moving in.
“You can’t have home insurance until the home is finished, so we had construction insurance which is like that (small hand gesture) and my husband did it himself, so there’s no reimbursement for that either,” said Holett.
Lisa was set to join her husband in retirement at the end of the year. Now she’s searching for answers thinking about what could have been…and what comes next.
“And we’re too old to do it again so, that was it, we’re not doing it again.”
Brigitte Cooley who has lived in Dayton since 1993 says she can’t believe what she witnessed Monday afternoon as the Elmo Fire blew out of control.
“It moved, it moved! The smoke and the flames and the flames everywhere, here were little ones, there were little ones and pretty soon it’s almost like it was sped up, you just can’t believe it,” said Brigitte.
Brigitte is amazed by the pilots operating aircraft through the heavy smoke.
“To guide those plans through the smoke, I’ll tell you they deserve a raise, a bonus and recognition, this is like serving in the military sometimes you know, this is war, we have a war against this fire.”
Lisa hopes nobody else suffers through the pain her family has endured, as the Elmo fire rages on.
“We just watched it go up in flames, we stood here, and it was our retirement home, our dream home that we’ve been building for 18 months, and it’s gone, all of its gone,” said Holett.
Those who would like to help Lisa and Steve Holett can do so here.
Telstra has announced a shake-up of its mobile plans that target families with multiple services.
The new bundle plans are available to customers with at least one service on an eligible ‘upfront’ mobile plan, with individual SIM cards that allow for additional devices.
Customers are able to add up to five of these new bundle plans to their existing accounts to connect kids’ smartphones, tablets or mobile broadband hotspots.
Watch the latest News on Channel 7 or stream for free on 7plus >>
The new $47 mobile bundle plans come with 15GB of data, and unlimited standard national calls and texts.
A $10 data bundle plan gives you 10GB of data and is suitable for tablets and hotspots.
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Telstra inks five-year deal with Microsoft
Telstra and Microsoft have signed a five-year agreement they say will help accelerate Australia’s digital transformation.
The deal is also one of the largest partnerships Microsoft has established with a telecommunications provider globally.
“Our strategic partnership with Microsoft is on a scale not seen before in Australia,” Telstra CEO Andrew Penn said in a statement on Tuesday.
As pressure grows on existing networks from remote working, high-definition streaming, online education and gaming, more bandwidth is coming.
Telstra will become Microsoft’s largest supplier of its network capacity requirements on terrestrial fiber in Australia, while Microsoft will become an anchor tenant on Telstra’s new ultra-fast intercity fiber network.
Microsoft technology will be used by Telstra to pitch new solutions for the manufacturing, retail, agriculture, utilities and finance sectors.
Telstra and Microsoft have also pledged to support hybrid ways of working and to reduce the environmental footprint as the Australian economy goes digital.
The deal accelerates Telstra’s migration of its internal information technology workloads to the public cloud, with Microsoft Azure as a preferred partner of the telecom giant’s ‘multi-cloud’ approach.
Microsoft will also explore increasing its capacity on Telstra’s Asia-Pacific subsea cable network.
Through these investments, Microsoft says it will be able to achieve unparalleled connectivity across key telecommunications routes in Australia and across the Asia-Pacific region.
Microsoft and Telstra will work together over the coming months to finalize the expanded partnership.
Twitter supports various media file formats that can be added to a tweet to make one’s views more expressive. It has limited users to one media file format per tweet so far but that appears set to change in the near future. As reported by TechCrunchTwitter has begun a new test where select users are able to share images, videos, and GIFs within a single tweet.
We first heard about the feature earlier this year when Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a), a well-known app researcher, tweeted a few screenshots showing it in action. Twitter has now officially acknowledged the existence of the feature and said that it is currently under testing with a few randomly selected users.
“We’re testing a new feature with select accounts for a limited time that will allow people to mix up to four media assets into a single tweet, regardless of format. We’re seeing people have more visual conversations on Twitter and are using images , GIFS and videos to make these conversations more exciting. With this test we’re hoping to learn how people combine these different media formats to express themselves more creatively on Twitter beyond 280 characters.”
Paluzzi showed that users will be able to add images, videos, and GIFs to a single tweet the same way as they are able to add multiple files of a single media format. It means these will appear as a carousel and users will be able to tag people in photos and videos. They will also be able to rearrange the order in which the files are displayed in the tweet.
As for followers and other users on the platform, they will see these different media file formats in the form of a carousel. They can swipe through the carousel to see other medial files uploaded by the user. Here is a tweet that shows what the new functionality would look like but as of now, you can see all the different media files only on a smartphone app. We can expect the support to arrive on the web soon enough.
The family of US actress Edie McClurg has claimed that she’s a victim of elder abuse.
In court documents seen by The New York Postthe family of the Ferris Bueller’s Day Off star – who lives in Los Angeles and suffers from dementia – alleged that she was abused by a man claiming to be a “long time” friend who reportedly attempted to take her out of California to marry her.
The documents – filed in the Superior Court of California – name the alleged abuser as Michael L. Ramos, who reportedly has been living at the 76-year-old’s LA home since 2017.
According to the documents, Ramos is unemployed and does not pay rent or any expenses and was able to “finagle” his way into McClurg’s life, reportedly attempting to move her out of California in order to marry her despite her dementia diagnosis.
The documents also claim Ramos allegedly “sexually assaulted” McClurg’s current caregiver, with a report filed with the LA Police Department.
In addition, the caregiver was “worried” that Ramos “has or may be assaulting the Conservatee and that she may not even know that it is happening to her,” according to the court filings.
McClurg and Ramos “have never been involved. [in] a romantic relationship,” with the caretaker now concerned he had been sexually abusing the actress.
They reported that he wanted to marry her out of state despite knowing she “lacked capacity” and was living in her home for “companionship,” which the judge of the conservatorship had allowed.
McClurg is under conservatorship and got protection from a judge – as per the documents – who ordered Ramos that he “may not enter into a valid marriage” with McClurg.
The lawyer for the conservatorship – which has been in place since 2019 – is now reportedly asking for an order to remove Ramos from the legal arrangement altogether.
McClurg’s family reportedly went to court in 2019 to ask for the legal arrangement, with claims she had been living with a male companion who was verbally abusive and tried to influence the handling of her estate by reportedly getting her to sign documents.
A 2019 neuropsychological evaluation report obtained by the post said that McClurg “suffers from a progressive, unreversible neurodegenerative disorder”.
The report outlined prior instances in which McClurg was allegedly taken advantage of, including by a married contractor who did work on her home and later reportedly “proceeded to live” in her home, claiming to be “her boyfriend”.
The contractor’s wife allegedly “began calling the patient and even stalking the patient” before McClurg’s cousin, Angelique Cabral, intervened.
The evaluation also noted that McClurg allegedly was “befriended” by Ramos in 2012 or 2013.
Cabral was appointed her guardian and filed the emergency petition on July 14 to remove Ramos from McClurg’s home.
Ramos filed an objection to the emergency motion with his declaration, denying assaulting or sexually abusing either McClurg or her caretaker.
McClurg has more than 200 acting credits and has appeared in iconic films such as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Plans, Trains and Automobiles and has done voiceover work in The Little Mermaid, A Bug’s Life, Cars and The Rugrats Movie.
This article originally appeared on New York Post and was reproduced with permission
Adelaide is plotting a move for Gold Coast’s Izak Rankine, according to reports.
Channel 7 Adelaide is reporting that the Crows “would move heaven and earth” to get Rankine in a deal that “would center around Adelaide’s first-round pick”, which is currently pick 4.
It was also suggested that Port Adelaide would show considerable interest.
Rankine, who is out of contact this year, is yet to sign on with the Suns and has been constantly linked with a move back to South Australia.
Essendon was keen on the 22-year-old forward, but he reportedly turned down a significant offer from the Bombers recently.
The Suns are confident that Rankine will still sign a long-term deal, but until he actually does there will be speculation.
Kane Cornes says if he were the Crows, he would be giving up the club’s first pick in the 2022 draft in order to bring Rankine to West Lakes.
“Yes, I’m giving up the first pick, and more,” he said on SEN SA Breakfast.
“He was pick 3 (in 2018) so you’re going to give pick 4 for a known product versus someone in the draft that probably has a 50 to 60 per cent success rate at that stage of the draft. There’s a bit of unknown about it.
“Are you going to trust (recruiting manager) Hamish Ogilvie to go again with the number 4 pick after the errors they have made in the first round over recent years?
“Absolutely if Izak Rankine is there, there’s pick 4 and I’ll give you something else, let’s go and get him.”
Rankine has kicked a career-high 27 goals from 16 matches in 2022 and has taken his game to another level in his third AFL season.
An outback musician and dedicated Northern Territory music school teacher has not only had her 1999 Toyota troop carrier stolen from a popular restaurant overnight, but also her beloved 1935 Roth violin.
Key points:
Gleny Rae’s car and beloved violin were stolen outside Simply Korean on Gap Road between about 6:45 and 7:30pm last night
She is devastated that the violin which she has had for 35 years is missing
Rae now questions the reasons for staying in a town where people don’t feel safe to go out
Gleny Rae has lived in Alice Springs for two years and is a regular on the music scene in Alice Springs and across Australia, recently appearing in the documentary I’m Wanita.
“I’ve just stopped into Simply Korean on Gap Road for a quick bite to eat with a friend between about 6:45 and 7:30pm,” she said.
“When we came out there were three cars with their windows smashed. I was cleaning my friend’s car and I was looking at that going ‘oh no!'”
It was at that moment that Rae realized that her car had been stolen.
“That’s the moment when your heart just about leaps out of your mouth and I can see the smashed glass where it was parked,” she said.
violin gone
Rae’s prized possessions of a 1935 Roth violin and two bows were also in the car.
She is desperate for the instrument to be returned.
Gleny Rae and her beloved violin stolen this week in Alice Springs.(Supplied: Gleny Rae)
“I very rarely go anywhere without my violin and I left it in the car, in the back, out of sight,” she said.
It is the sentimental worth that has Rae desperate to find the 87-year-old instrument.
“It’s just a part of my body. It’s an extension of me,” she said.
“It was a violin that my mum bought for me when I was still at the [Sydney] Conservatory High School.”
Rae was 16 years old and was told that she needed a better violin.
“So off we went to the violin shop. And we chose that one,” she said.
Rae is deeply upset that the violin might get damaged.
“I hear that when vehicles are stolen stuff gets thrown out of them,” she said.
“It breaks my heart to think that it could be smashed or damaged for no reason.”
Crime taking its toll
Gleny Rae’s troopy was stolen at a local restaurant on Tuesday evening along with her violin.(Supplied: Gleny Rae)
Rae’s car window was also smashed several weeks ago outside a popular bar where she had been performing.
“You can’t even go to dinner without feeling safe, or that your vehicle is safe,” she said.
“And that’s really sad.”
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She said that it is having a direct effect on lifestyles in the outback town and she has now questioned why she remains in Alice Springs.
“It’s sad for all the businesses, it’s sad for the residents,” she said.
“It’s sad for entertainers, because I know a lot of times people won’t go out to gigs because they don’t want to leave their car.”
The violin case is blue canvas and the registration number for the vehicle is C35UL.
A teenage boy was fatally shot at a light-rail station in downtown Minneapolis, and police had a “person of interest” in custody within an hour of the shooting.
Officers were called to the light rail platform along 5th Street west of Nicollet Mall at about 5:30 pm Tuesday on a report of shots fired, Minneapolis police spokesman Howie Padilla said. First responders tried to save the boy’s life, but he died at the scene along the platform.
A single shell casing was found at the scene and police believe the shooter and the victim knew each other. The victim’s body lay covered on the platform as police investigated the area.
“This was a conflict of some sort between two individuals who seemed to have known each other,” Padilla said. Metro Transit police helped find images of the person of interest to identify him, and a bus operator spotted the person.
This is the 55th homicide in Minneapolis, according to the Star Tribune database.
The entire block where the transit station sits was cordoned off by police, where numerous squad cars and offices were securing the scene.
The incident also disrupted rail service downtown.
By 7:45 pm trains resumed through Nicollet Station all the way to Target Field, according to a Metro Transit alert.
A woman getting off the bus on 5th Street moments before described hearing a “pop” as she walked to a nearby store.
“I was like, ‘Is that a gunshot?’ Yes it was, “said Mary Sue, who declined to give her full name to her. “Scary.”
Several dozen bystanders lingered around the yellow crime tape waiting for answers as hundreds of pedestrians bound for the Minnesota Twins game streamed past the scene.
