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Class action law firm investigates Hino over 860k vehicles sold with tampered data

Class action law firm investigates Hino over 860k vehicles sold with tampered data

An Australian class action law firm is taking on a subsidiary of Toyota over concerns that the carmaker faked data so that it could receive tax breaks from the government.

Bannister Law announced on Monday that it is investigating Hino Motor Sales Australia, which manufactures trucks and buses sold around the globe and is an affiliate of Toyota.

Hino has sold an estimated 860,000 vehicles with the promise of having low exhaust emissions and good fuel economy when the data had actually been faked.

Bannister Law said it was trying to see if Hino had breached the Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018 and the Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989 and is considering launching a class action.

It comes just a few days after revelations from earlier this month that Hino Motors had falsified emissions data on some engines going back almost 20 years.

The truck-maker said an engine data falsification scandal had started as far back as 2004 and not in 2016 as previously admitted.

Globally, it’s understood there are 26 different engine types impacted by the tampered data, and 860,000 vehicles have been caught up in the scandal altogether. At least 39,000 Hino vehicles have been sold in Australia from 2012 to 2021, but it is unclear if all or just some of them were falsely represented to customers.

Hino had to recall 47,000 vehicles made between April 2017 and March this year over the data scandal. An additional 20,900 will be recalled in the near future.

Bannister Law is calling for all Australians who owned or leased a Hino vehicle at any point between 2004 and 2021 to register in an online form.

It is so far unclear which truck models were impacted by the scandal.

Just three days ago, to US law firm, Lieff Cabraser, started a class action against Hino over the same concerns.

“Lieff Cabraser is investigating reports that Hino Motors and majority Hino owner Toyota Motor Corporation (the Japanese parent of Toyota North America) have publicly admitted to intentionally cheating on their bus and truck vehicles’ emissions,” the legal company stated.

The case has been brought to the Southern District of Florida and the firm confirmed it was seeking more than $5 million in damages.

In March this year, Hino announced it had discovered widespread tampering evidence dating back to September 2016 and engaged an independent committee to investigate.

But in early August, that committee came back with a damning report that found the malpractice stretched back as far as 2004.

Investigators stated in their findings: “Hino cannot escape the determination that it made a false report.”

It was also discovered that a tax reprieve was a key motivator behind the malpractice.

Hino “aimed to achieve the fuel consumption standards in order to be eligible for tax preferential treatment but failed to achieve its goal, and thus, it engaged in misconduct by intentionally adjusting the calibration values ​​of the fuel flowmeter in order to meet the specification values ​​required. for application,” the report also stated.

Data was also falsified by measuring “the idling fuel flow quantity before the fuel flow quantity was stabilized and engaged in misconduct by intentionally selecting advantageous fuel consumption data”.

The findings, led by committee chairman Kazuo Sakakibara, claimed employees were not offered “psychological safety” and were “unable to change” due to the company’s past successes.

Representatives at Hino said the scandal was brought on by an “environment where engineers did not feel able to challenge superiors”.

Hino’s president Satoshi Ogiso apologized to reporters after the report’s bombshell findings, claiming the company’s management took its responsibilities and public image seriously.

Mr Ogiso said he received a message from Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who reeled at the scandal, accusing Hino of betraying the trust of company stakeholders.

In a statement, Hino said it “deeply apologizes for any inconvenience caused to its customers, shareholders, investors and other stakeholders”.

“Hino is currently investigating the impact of these matters on its earnings and will disclose any updates as appropriate in a timely manner,” it added.

News.com.au has contacted Hino for comment.

Bannister Law won the recent class action against Toyota for DPF issues and also won cases against Volkswagen and Audi. It is currently conducting a class action against Mitsubishi.

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Sports

Tennis news 2022: Nick Kyrgios comes crashing back to earth vs Hubert Hurkacz

Tennis news 2022: Nick Kyrgios comes crashing back to earth vs Hubert Hurkacz

Nick Kyrgios confessed that he had little more to give physically as his nine-match win streak came to an end in the quarter-finals of the ATP Montreal Masters on Friday.

The Wimbledon runner-up lost 7-6, 6-7, 6-1 to Polish powerhouse Hubert Hurkacz after coming to the court with 15 victories from his past 16 matches.

But the Australian had little left to give as his body began to complain.

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“My body hasn’t been feeling great the last week,” he said.

“I was feeling the abdominal (muscle) a little bit before the match. My knees hurt.”

Kyrgios kept the pace of the match brisk as he held his own in the first two sets before finally losing momentum in the third as Hurkacz took control.

The Aussie was annoyed as his opponent left the court for a change of clothes and bathroom break, a delay that ate into his fragile fitness.

During the broadcast, Kyrgios was overheard saying: “We’re not f***ing machines, bro. We can’t just go and stop, go and stop, go and stop.”

He later told reporters: “Obviously when you’re playing and you stop for like five to 10 minutes, it doesn’t help your body.

“My body was so stiff after that, I couldn’t move properly.

“I mean, it’s within the rules. I’m not going to complain. I completely stiffened up.”

World No. 37 Kyrgios, whose performance this week will send him into a seeded US Open spot, added: “I’m not a machine. I’m a human.”

Kyrgios won his first ATP title in three years last week at Washington and shared the doubles crown with Jack Sock, the first man in the event’s 53-year history to take both crowns in the same year.

“My knees were sore, my back was sore… I was trying to stay moving, but I just stiffened up,” Kyrgios said.

“My body hasn’t been feeling great the last week.”

Kyrgios said he needs a pause before returning to the fray next week at Cincinnati in the last major tuneup for the US Open, which begins August 29.

“I feel good, but the US Open is still two and a half weeks away. I have Cincinnati next week. That’s all I’m focusing on,” he said.

“I’m focusing on today, tonight, recovery, food, then just resting, then Cincinnati. That’s where my mind is at.”

Hurkacz overcame 53 winners from Kyrgios to halt the Australian’s nine-match winning streak. The No. 8 seed managed 43 winners of his own in a rapid-fire triumph that put him into his fourth semi-final at the Masters level.

Hurkacz will next face Norway’s fourth-seeded Casper Ruud, who crushed home-nation player Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-1, 6-2, in 74 minutes.

– AFP

Read related topics:Nick Kyrgios

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Sports

Manchester United loss to Brentford, Gary Neville reaction, Joel Glazer, David de Gea interview, Erik ten Hag press conference

Manchester United loss to Brentford, Gary Neville reaction, Joel Glazer, David de Gea interview, Erik ten Hag press conference

Manchester United legend Gary Neville says his former team hit “a new low” during its embarrassing loss to Brentford before unleashing on the club’s owners for a hands-off approach that has created a “toxic” environment.

Erik ten Hag’s bad start as Manchester United manager descended into an embarrassment on Sunday morning (AEST) as a 4-0 thrashing by Brentford left the Red Devils bottom of the Premier League for the first time in 30 years.

United have now conceded four goals or more seven times in the Premier League since the start of last season.

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Brentford, who only ended a 74-year absence from English football’s top flight with promotion to the Premier League in August 2021, punished a series of errors to score four times in the first 35 minutes to spark joyous scenes at their west London ground.

United fell behind in woeful fashion when goalkeeper David de Gea somehow let a Josh Dasilva shot slip through his grasp before Mathias Jensen struck as the visitors failed to play out from the back. Ben Mee then exposed United’s frailty from set-pieces for his first Brentford goal and Bryan Mbuemo rounded off a stunning counter-attack 10 minutes before half-time.

David De Gea of ​​Manchester United acknowledges fans following the defeat in the Premier League. Picture: Catherine Iville
David De Gea of ​​Manchester United acknowledges fans following the defeat in the Premier League. Picture: Catherine IvilleSource: Getty Images

De Gea took the extraordinary step of voluntarily fronting the media post-game to take responsibility for the loss, telling Sky Sports: “I think I cost three points to my team today to be honest. It was a poor performance from myself… It was a horrible day.”

But ten Hag said he was the “main responsibility” for a humiliating loss.

The jubilant home support taunted Ten Hag with chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning”. But the Dutch coach has inherited a rabble rather than being the root cause as United lost a seventh consecutive away league match for the first time since 1936.

“We all have seen the game. I think Brentford were more hungry and we conceded goals to individual mistakes,” said Ten Hag.

“You can have a good plan but that puts the plan in the bin.”

Liverpool legend Jamie Redknapp pointed to stats from the game that showed Brentford covered 109.4km during the match compared to Manchester United’s 95.6km

“That for me is just not good enough by any stretch of the imagination,” Redknapp told Sky Sports.

Manchester United’s striker Cristiano Ronaldo reacts as Brentford players celebrate. Picture: Ian KingtonSource: AFP

“You’re not always good, you can’t always play great – but you can always run around. That is so damning for that Manchester United team – I don’t care who the manager is, I don’t care who the owners are, that has got nothing to do with it. That is running for the shirt.

“That is a disgrace from their point of view. If you’re the manager and you go into the dressing room and you show them that, I would be so embarrassed a footballer

“From the players that started and finished that game, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more abject performance from a club that I would regard as one of the biggest in the world to play like that.

“I just don’t think they showed they cared.”

Neville said Manchester United players had now come under three different managers “they don’t work as hard as the teams they’re playing against”.

“How long have we been saying in football ‘hard work will beat talent when talent doesn’t work hard’? That Manchester United team don’t run hard enough, they don’t run fast enough,” Neville told Sky Sports.

Manchester United’s manager Erik ten Hag. Picture: Ian KingtonSource: AFP

“They are absolutely drained of all confidence, they’re struggling badly – ​​and they have been now for 12 months.

“Today was a new low. It seems that continually Manchester United can surpass their previous lows – and when is the lowest low going to come? Because the reality of it is this is really, really bad.”

United were last crowned champions of England in the 2012/13 season in manager Alex Ferguson’s final campaign before retirement.

The arrival of £57 million ($69 million) centre-back Lisandro Martinez from Ajax has done little to shore up United’s leaky defense and questions will be asked of why Ten Hag has left Raphael Varane on the bench in favor of the Argentine and the out -of-sorts Harry Maguire.

While Ten Hag was keen to bolster his squad, he was adamant the team he sat out at Brentford was far better than this result indicated.

“It is clear we need players but I don’t want to think about that at this moment,” he said.

“The good players we had should have been better. I hoped for a better start, but still I have to believe because I have seen good things but the two games from now are disappointing.”

Former England full-back Neville – a longstanding critic of the Glazer family, the club’s US-based owners – slammed the hierarchy at Old Trafford for failing to give Ten Hag adequate support.

United fans are fuming. Picture: Catherine IvilleSource: Getty Images

“Manchester United have known for eight to 10 months they needed to rebuild the squad for the summer,” said Neville, now to Sky pundit.

“To not get the players in early, the quality of the players, the number of players that Erik ten Hag needed to be able to start the season, is baffling and difficult to forgive.”

Neville said the only money spent by Manchester United on players was from cash generated or borrowed “through its incredible fan base and a great commercial operation”.

“There’s a family over there in America who are just literally letting their employees take all the hits for them – and that is unforgivable,” Neville said.

“Joel Glazer has got to get on a plane… get over to Manchester and he’s got to start to divert the issues away from the club and tell everybody what the hell this plan is with the football club. What is he doing?

“You can look at the players all you like, but there are that many big things that need to be put right first, they’ve got to show up and basically face the music. Now’s the time. You can’t keep hanging over in Tampa and thinking that nothing’s going to come back to you.

Manchester United’s defender Harry Maguire. Picture: Ian KingtonSource: AFP

“These owners since Sir Alex Ferguson have proven in 10 years they cannot manage a forward-thinking football club. It’s been overtaken in every single department and it’s painful and it’s woeful.

“At this moment in time, there has been a toxic culture and atmosphere created at the club over a 10-year period without its leader, Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill, who were propping the club up whilst the family sat there in America glorifying the fact that they were part of it. We’re now seeing what has happened without Sir Alex Ferguson, without David Gill, without leadership. We’re now seeing what’s happening and it’s a mess.

“It cannot continue to go on.”

United host Liverpool, who beat their historic rivals 5-0 and 4-0 last season, in their next game on August 22.

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US

Onlyfans star Courtney Clenney fought boyfriend in elevator before stabbing

Onlyfans star Courtney Clenney fought boyfriend in elevator before stabbing

Miami prosecutors unveiled video footage on Thursday that showed an OnlyFans star fighting with her boyfriend in an elevator just two months before fatally stabbing him in the chest.

Courtney Clenney, who boasts 2 million followers on Instagram, will be extradited to South Florida after her arrest in Hawaii this week on second-degree murder charges.

Miami-Dade County State Attorney Kathie Fernandez-Rundle said at a press conference announcing the charges Thursday that Clenney stabbed Christian Obumseli at close range during a fight at their luxury apartment on April 3.

Fernandez-Rundle said the pair had a “tempestuous” relationship that became so disruptive to residents in the apartment building that managers were pursuing their eviction.

To demonstrate Clenney’s capacity for violence, Fernandez-Rundle played a video from February showing the pair scuffling in an elevator that opened directly into their apartment.

“It certainly appears that the defendant was aggressively attacking Christian,” Fernandez-Rundle said.

The pair was known to have a highly tumultuous relationship.
Courtney Clenney is accused of fatally stabbing her boyfriend.
Miami Office of the State Attorney

Clenney’s attorney, Frank Prieto, maintains that she stabbed Obumseli in self-defense after he shoved her to the ground.

Fernandez-Rundle said the couple’s constant warring had led to a brief separation in March while Clenney’s mother came to stay with her in the apartment.

But just two days before the fatal confrontation, the pair reconciled and Obumseli moved back in.

“The arguments began almost immediately,” she said, adding that cops responded to the apartment and found Clenney intoxicated.

Clenney boasts 2 million followers on Instagram.
Clenney will be extradited to South Florida after her arrest in Hawaii on second-degree murder charges.
Miami Office of the State Attorney

Two days later, Fernadez-Rundle said the couple had a relatively quiet morning and recorded a video playing with their dog. Obumseli later left to get them sandwiches.

Clenney then went live on Instagram as Obumseli returned home at 4:33 pm that Sunday before they began arguing once again.

Clenney later claimed to investigators that she grabbed a knife after Obumseli threw her down to the floor and chucked it at him from a distance of 10 feet.

But Fernandez-Rundle said the evidence did not support that claim — and that she had stabbed him in the chest at close range. Obumseli was never armed.

The fight took place during a fight at their luxury apartment on April 3
Clenney’s attorney argues that she stabbed Obumseli in self-defense after he shoved her to the ground.
Miami Office of the State Attorney

Records show that the model called her mother twice before calling 911 at 4:57 pm, the prosecutor said. Obumseli could be heard on the 911 call “repeatedly saying that he was dying,” Fernandez-Rundle said.

She added that Obumseli was a victim of “domestic violence” — and that men are often unwilling to come forward to report their abuse.

Clenney had been getting therapy for PTSD stemming from the case in Hawaii before her arrest.

The video shows a struggle between both partners.
Lawyers for both parties have claimed that their clients were defending themselves.
Miami Office of the State Attorney

“We are completely shocked at Courtney’s arrest based upon the clear evidence of self-defense in this matter,” Prieto said Thursday. “Obumseli attacked her and choked her that evening; Courtney had no choice but to meet force with force.”

Larry Handfield, a lawyer for the Obumseli family, had initially argued that investigators prematurely deemed the stabbing a case of self-defense and pushed for a more thorough probe.

Joined at Thursday’s press conference by Obumseli’s brother and cousin, Handfield lauded the arrest.

“We always believed that with a thorough and fair investigation that this day would come into reality,” he said. “This is such a relief for the family. But it gives restored hope that even though delayed, justice will still come.”

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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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Business

Entire Starbucks team walks out during shift after manager fires union leader

Entire Starbucks team walks out during shift after manager fires union leader

An entire store of Starbucks workers have walked out of their cafe mid-shift, in support of a colleague they claim was “unjustly” terminated.

In a TikTok video which has been viewed more than 18.6 million times, a team of nine workers can be seen leaving the store in Buffalo, New York.

The protest occurred after barista Sam Amato – who is also a union leader – was reportedly fired on the week of his 13th anniversary with the company.

After the employees leave, a woman who appears to be the store manager can be seen talking on the phone. The on-screen caption in the video reads: “* manager realizes she she’s messed up *”.

In a previous video Mr Amato claimed he was pulled aside by two store managers and was told he was being let go because he “modified operations and closed the lobby” without getting his “store manager’s permission”.

“It is a BS reason. It’s because I’m a union leader,” claimed Sam.

“They failed to provide any details or give me any information. They wrote things that were not true.

“After 13 years they refused to give me any details why I was fired.”

In the comments, the majority of TikTok users supported the worker’s efforts.

“Starbucks really is hell bent on ruining their reputation aren’t they,” read one comment.

“Good on you guys. Stand together. Keep this energy going,” read another.

“Starbucks, I’m a loyal customer but trust me when I tell you. That can change real quick friend!” shared another.

Under United States labor laws, workers in all 50 states bar Montana are subject to at-will employment. This means employees can be fired without prior warning and without the need for the employer to establish a cause. However, employers can still be challenged on the grounds of wrongful termination – like discrimination.

While some states have exceptions – for example, workers in the public sector, or those under union agreements – the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Nebraska, New York, and Rhode Island have no exceptions in regards as to why an employee may be terminated.

Since late 2021, Starbucks employees across the US’ 9000+ corporate-owned stores have attempted to unionize with Workers United. As of June 14, 143 stores have unionized, while 120 other outposts were petitioning for union elections, Guardian reports.

Workers United stated that the coffee giant has been systematically cutting employee hours in an effort to convince longtime employees to retire, before replacing them with workers who won’t unionise, the New York Times reports.

“Starbucks is also using policies that have not previously been enforced, and policies that would not have resulted in termination, as a pretext for firing union leaders,” the union said in a statement.

With around 33,833 stories in 80 countries, Starbucks is the world’s largest coffeehouse chain and is estimated to be worth A$140 billion.

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Entertainment

Armie Hammer: Alleged victims come forward in House of Hammer trailer

Armie Hammer: Alleged victims come forward in House of Hammer trailer

Armie Hammer’s alleged victims have come forward in the first trailer for a new documentary series.

Following a series of scandals, the film star is reportedly “totally broke” and selling timeshare properties from an office cubicle in the Cayman Islands.

The first trailer of House of Hammer, released on Wednesday by the US network Discovery, includes footage of two of Hammer’s exes, Courtney Vucekovich and Julia Morrison, coming forward to detail their claimed harrowing experiences and include screenshots of messages and voice notes the Social network star allegedly sent them, reported the new york post.

“I have a fantasy about having someone prove their love and devotion and tying them up in a public place at night and making their body free use,” one alleged message from Hammer says.

Another voice memo, purportedly sent by Hammer, employs more violent imagery.

“My bet was going to involve showing up at your place and completely tying you up and incapacitating you and being able to do whatever I wanted to every single hole in your body until I was done with you,” the memo says.

The three-part series also features Hammer’s aunt Casey Hammer, who is the granddaughter of Armand Hammer, the businessman who made the family fortune in the oil business.

“I’m about to reveal the dark, twisted secrets of the Hammer family,” Casey says in the trailer.

the Call Me By Your Name star, 35, has called all of the allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse “bulls – t,” while his lawyer, Andrew Brettler, has denied any wrongdoing.

“From day one, Mr Hammer has maintained that all of his interactions with” every sexual partner “have been completely consensual, discussed and agreed upon in advance, and mutually participatory,” Brettler told the new york post‘s Page Six in a statement.

Armie, who has been living in the Cayman Islands near estranged wife Elizabeth Chambers and their two children, spent six months in a Florida rehab center, which was paid for by Robert Downey Jr.

House of Hammer premieres in September in the US. It’s not clear when it will be available in Australia.

This story appeared in the New York Post and is reproduced with permission.

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US

‘Daily Show’s’ Trevor Noah Brands Fox News’ Laura Ingraham ‘Super Karen’ for ‘Freak Out’ Over FBI’s Trump Raid

'Daily Show's' Trevor Noah Brands Fox News' Laura Ingraham 'Super Karen' for 'Freak Out' Over FBI's Trump Raid

Reacting to the FBI raid on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate Tuesday night, Trevor Noah declared that “no one in America is above the law…except corporations and rich people and police and celebrities sometimes—but aside from them, nobody is above the law!”

But that being said, TheDailyShow host added, “Even the perception that the Justice Department is being used to go after your political opponents could erode people’s trust in government.” So, he said, “The only thing we can do is wait and see how the investigation unfolds. Or, if you’re Fox News, you can just freak out right now.”

With that, Noah cut to an epic montage of the most unhinged commentary on Fox and other conservative media outlets over the past 24 hours, from Laura Ingraham claiming that “the real target of this investigation” is her viewers to Dan Bongino calling the raid “ Third World bullshit.”

“First of all, as someone from the Third World, maybe leave us out of your shit for once,” the South African comedian shot back. “My man, at what point do you realize it’s happening here? It’s you!”

As for “Super-Karen” Ingraham, Noah replied, “If the FBI is going to go after Trump for stealing classified documents from the White House, then what’s to stop them from going after you when you steal classified documents from the White House? Is that the country we want to live in, when anyone can be investigated just for the crime of doing crimes?! No lo creo!”

In the end, the host said he was amazed at “how quickly MAGA world turns on law enforcement—and America as a whole—whenever it suits them,” including Marjorie Taylor Greene posting an upside-down American flag on Twitter. “What happened to, ‘If you don’t like what’s happening in America, why don’t you just leave?’”

For more, listen and subscribe to The Last Laugh podcast.

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US

FBI’s search for Trump’s Florida estate: Why now?

FBI's search for Trump's Florida estate: Why now?

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI’s unprecedented search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida residence ricocheted around government, politics and a polarized country Tuesday along with questions as to why the Justice Department — notably cautious under Attorney General Merrick Garland — decided to take such a drastic step.

Answers weren’t quickly forthcoming.

Agents on Monday searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, which is also a private club, as part of a federal investigation into whether the former president took classified records from the White House to his Florida residence, people familiar with the matter said. It marked a dramatic escalation of law enforcement scrutiny of Trump, who faces an array of inquiries tied to his conduct in the waning days of his administration.

From echoes of Watergate to the more immediate House probe of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, Washington, a city used to sleepy Augusts, reeled from one speculative or accusatory headline to the next. Was the Justice Department politicized? What prompted it to seek authorization to search the estate for classified documents now, months after it was revealed that Trump had taken boxes of materials with him when he left the White House after losing the 2020 election?

Garland has not tipped his hand despite an outcry from some Democrats impatient over whether the department was even pursuing evidence that has surfaced in the Jan. 6 probe and other investigations—and from Republicans who were swift to echo Trump’s claims that he was the victim of political prosecution.

All Garland has said publicly that “no one is above the law.”

A federal judge had to sign off on the warrant after establishing that FBI agents had shown probable cause before they could descend on Trump’s shuttered-for-the-season home — he was in New York, a thousand or so miles away, at the time of the search.

Monday’s search intensified the months-long probe into how classified documents ended up in boxes of White House records located at Mar-a-Lago earlier this year. A separate grand jury is investigating efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, and it all adds to potential legal peril for Trump as he lays the groundwork for a potential repeat run for the White House.

Trump and his allies quickly sought to cast the search as a weaponization of the criminal justice system and a Democratic-driven effort to keep him from winning another term in 2024 — though the Biden White House said it had no prior knowledge and current FBI Director Christopher Wray was appointed by Trump five years ago.

Trump, disclosing the search in a lengthy statement late Monday, asserted that agents had opened a safe at his home, and he described their work as an “unannounced raid” that he likened to “prosecutorial misconduct.”

Justice Department spokesperson Dena Iverson declined to comment on the search, including whether Garland had personally authorized it. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the West Wing first learned of the search from public media reports and the White House had not been briefed in the run-up or aftermath.

“The Justice Department conducts investigations independently and we leave any law enforcement matters to them,” she said. “We are not involved.”

About two dozen Trump supporters stood in protest at midmorning Tuesday in the Florida summer heat and sporadic light rain on a bridge near the former president’s residence. One held a sign reading “Democrats are Fascists” while others carried flags saying “2020 Was Rigged,” “Trump 2024” and Biden’s name with an obscenity. Some cars honked in support as they passed.

Trump’s Vice President Mike Pence, a potential 2024 rival, tweeted Tuesday, “Yesterday’s action undermines public confidence in our system of justice and Attorney General Garland must give a full accounting to the American people as to why this action was taken and he must do so immediately.”

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell echoed Pence, saying, “Attorney General Garland and the Department of Justice should already have provided answers to the American people and must do so immediately.”

“The FBI director was appointed by Donald Trump,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., when asked about GOP allegations that the raid showed the politicization of the Justice Department. She added, “Facts and truth, facts and law, that’s what it’s about.”

Trump was meeting late Tuesday at his Bedminster, New Jersey, club with members of the Republican Study Committee, a group headed by Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana that says he is committed to putting forth his priorities in Congress.

The FBI reached out to the Secret Service shortly before serving a warrant, a third person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. Secret Service agents contacted the Justice Department and were able to validate the warrant before facilitating access to the estate, the person said.

The Justice Department has been investigating the potential mishandling of classified information since the National Archives and Records Administration said it had received from Mar-a-Lago 15 boxes of White House records, including documents containing classified information, earlier this year. The National Archives said Trump should have turned over that material upon leaving office, and it asked the Justice Department to investigate.

Christina Bobb, a lawyer for Trump, said in an interview that aired on Real America’s Voice on Tuesday that investigators said they were “looking for classified information that they think should not have been removed from the White House, as well as presidential records.”

There are multiple federal laws governing the handling of classified records and sensitive government documents, including statutes that make it a crime to remove such material and retain it at an unauthorized location. Though a search warrant does not necessarily mean criminal charges are near or even expected, federal officials looking to obtain one must first demonstrate to judge that they have probable cause that a crime occurred.

Two people familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said the search Monday was related to the records probe. Agents were also looking to see if Trump had additional presidential records or any classified documents at the estate.

Trump has previously maintained that presidential records were turned over “in an ordinary and routine process.” His son Eric said on Fox News on Monday night that he had spent the day with his father and that the search happened because “the National Archives wanted to corroborate whether or not Donald Trump had any documents in his possession of him. ”

Trump himself, in a social media post Monday night, called the search for a “weaponization of the Justice System, and an attack by Radical Left Democrats who desperately don’t want me to run for President in 2024.”

Trump took a different stance during the 2016 presidential campaign, frequently pointing to an FBI investigation into his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, over whether she mishandled classified information via a private email server she used as secretary of state. Then-FBI Director James Comey concluded that Clinton had sent and received classified information, but the FBI did not recommend criminal charges.

Trump lambasted that decision and then stepped up his criticism of the FBI as agents investigating whether his campaign had colluded with Russia to tip the 2016 election. He fired Comey during that probe, and though he appointed Wray months later, he repeatedly criticized him, too, as president.

The probe is hardly the only legal headache confronting Trump. A separate investigation related to his efforts by him and his allies to under the results of the 2020 presidential election — which led to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol — has also been intensifying in Washington. Several former White House officials have received grand jury subpoenas.

And a district attorney in Fulton County, Georgia, is investigating whether Trump and his close associates sought to interfere in that state’s election, which was won by Democrat Joe Biden.

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Associated Press writers Terry Spencer, Meg Kinnard, Michelle L. Price, Lisa Mascaro, Alan Fram, Darlene Superville and Will Weissert contributed to this report.

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Categories
US

Freak beach accident leaves Florida man Sean Nagel dead

Freak beach accident leaves Florida man Sean Nagel dead

A Florida man died after getting buried alive by a sand dune that collapsed while he was enjoying the sunrise, authorities said.

The freak accident happened early Sunday morning at Rock Beach on Hutchinson Island — where a passerby spotted a pair of human legs sticking out from the sand and called for help, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office said.

The grim discovery was made just south of the House of Refuge Museum at around 9 am

Sean Nagel, 37, has died in a suspected accident when a beach dune under which he was recording a sunrise on a Florida beach collapsed on top of him on Sunday.
Sean Nagel, 37, has died in a suspected accident when a beach dune under which he was recording a sunrise on a Florida beach collapsed on top of him on Sunday.
Facebook/Will Nagel

Officials have determined that the man in the sand, who has been identified as 37-year-old Sean Nagel, from Stuart, “died hours earlier from asphyxia as a result of being trapped in the sand.”

Sheriff William Snyder confirmed to WPTV that when first responders dug up Nagel, sand was discovered in his lungs.

The release from the sheriff’s office stated that detectives believe Nagel was laying underneath a sand dune with his feet up while recording video of a sunrise between 5 and 6 am when the dune collapsed, trapping him. They do not suspect foul play.

The incident happened along Rock Beach on Hutchinson Island, Florida, early Sunday.
The incident happened along Rock Beach on Hutchinson Island, Florida, early Sunday.
TNS via Getty Images
A beachgoer found Sean Nagel's legs sticking out of the sand and called for help, but the man had been dead for a couple hours.
A beachgoer found Nagel’s legs sticking out of the sand and called for help, but the man had been dead for a couple hours.
Facebook/Will Nagel

A GoPro camera and a plastic bag were found next to Nagel’s body in the sand, reported TCPalm.com.

The sheriff’s office added that investigators were awaiting the results of toxicology tests, as per standard procedure, but it noted the results were “not likely to change the outcome of this incident being a tragic accident.”

Nagel’s older brother confirmed his death resuming from an accidental dune collapse in a Facebook post on Monday.

“I am grief-stricken and still in disbelief to tell you all that my younger brother Sean Alexander Nagel is no longer with us on this earth,” Will Nagel wrote. “Please remember to enjoy your life and don’t take a single second for granted.”

Sean Nagel’s old Facebook posts suggest that he is survived by a young son.

In May, an 18-year-old was killed when a sand hole he was digging at a New Jersey beach suddenly collapsed.

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