Trial

Attorneys for actor Amber Heard spent much of last week trying to portray her ex-husband, Johnny Depp, as a jealous and drunken abuser who can only blame himself for his nose-diving Hollywood career. Since Heard concluded her testimony in a Virginia courtroom Tuesday, her lawyers have presented witness testimony from people who were once close to Depp but shunted from his orbit. They've included Depp's former longtime agent, the actor Ellen Barkin and Heard's sister. The attorneys' goal: Undermine Depp's libel suit against Heard. The suit claims she falsely portrayed him as a domestic abuser and cost him his lucrative film career, including the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie franchise. Depp points to a 2018 Washington Post op-ed in which Heard described herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” Depp's lawyers say he was defamed by the article even though it never mentioned his name. The trial will enter its sixth week when it resumes Monday. Below are … [Read more...] about Heard’s lawyers try to poke holes in Depp’s libel lawsuit

Sign up to get this weekly column as a newsletter. We're looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. (CNN) Shortly after Donald Trump was elected President of the United States, Nobel laureate Toni Morrison wrote in The New Yorker: "Unlike any nation in Europe, the United States holds whiteness as the unifying force. Here, for many people, the definition of 'Americanness' is color." Reflecting on efforts -- largely by White men -- to define themselves by sustaining that poisonous definition, Morrison argues that those "who are prepared to abandon their humanity out of fear of black men and women, suggest the true horror of lost status." In Morrison's formulation, fear-driven devotion to racial status is more powerful to many White Americans than even self-interest, shame or any belief in humanity. And it is this reality, that White Americans' anxieties in the face of a changing country have been and continue to be … [Read more...] about Opinion: What a Nobel laureate’s take on Donald Trump reveals about today

0 Crime & Safety A jury in April convicted Jeremy Shaw of killing Steven Morphis, a retired Boeing worker, in an attempt to seize ownership of his property. Lucas Combos , Patch Staff Posted | Updated Reply RENTON, WA — A King County judge on Friday handed down a maximum sentence to Jeremy Shaw, 43, of Tacoma, who was convicted in April of first-degree murder and second-degree arson stemming from a 2018 killing in unincorporated Renton. Steven Morphis, 67, a long-time Boeing worker and recent retiree, died in September 2018 after he was beaten and stabbed at his rural home on the 16700 block of 196th Avenue Southeast, according to court filings. King County detectives said a contractor discovered his body in a shed and called 911 after visiting the home to retrieve some equipment and noticing Morphis's car was gone, which was unusual. The contractor also found a recently-dug hole in the yard, which appeared to be … [Read more...] about 45-Year Sentence For Man Convicted Of 2018 Murder Outside Renton

By ELENA BECATOROS, OLEKSANDR STASHEVSKYI and RICARDO MAZALAN KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia pressed its offensive in eastern Ukraine on Sunday as Poland’s president traveled to Kyiv to support the country’s European Union aspirations, becoming the first foreign leader to address the Ukrainian parliament since the start of the war. Lawmakers gave a standing ovation to President Andrzej Duda, who thanked them for the honor of speaking where “the heart of a free, independent and democratic Ukraine beats.” Duda received more applause when he said that to end the conflict, Ukraine did not need to submit to conditions given by Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Unfortunately, in Europe there have also been disturbing voices in recent times demanding that Ukraine yield to Putin’s demands,” he said. “I want to say clearly: Only Ukraine has the right to decide about its future. Only Ukraine has the right to decide for itself.” Duda’s visit, his second to Kyiv since April, came as … [Read more...] about Russia presses Donbas attacks as Polish leader praises Kyiv

0 Schools The majority opinon states there was enough evidence of "deliberate indifference" by the Nashville School District to support the suits. Tennessee Lookout , News Partner Posted Reply By Jamie Satterfield, Tennessee Lookout May 19, 2022 A divided federal appellate court on Thursday resurrected a lawsuit filed against Metro Nashville Public Schools by the parents of two students who were sexually assaulted and videos of their attacks posted online in two different incidents at two different high schools. A two-judge panel of the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals struck down a lower court ruling dismissing the two cases against Metro Nashville and ordered U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger to judge anew "whether the students have presented sufficient evidence" to force a trial. The majority opinion ruled there was enough evidence of "deliberate indifference" by Metro Nashville Public Schools in cases of sexual … [Read more...] about Court Revives Girls’ Videoed Sexual Abuse Lawsuits Against MNPS

The legal teams for Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have only one more week to prove their respective clients’ former spouses defamed them in what has been an alternately disturbing and surreal civil trial in Virginia . Over the last five weeks, Fairfax County jurors have heard damning allegations of domestic violence and damaged acting careers. Depp, in his $50 million lawsuit, alleged Heard “devastated” his career when she penned a 2018 Washington Post op-ed. In the piece, which did not mention Depp by name but came two years after she sought a restraining order against him, Heard identified herself as a domestic violence survivor. In her own $100 million counter lawsuit, Heard alleges that Depp and his legal team defamed her by launching a “smear” campaign against her, which included calling her allegations an “abuse hoax.” Throughout the trial, both actors have insisted that they were victims of domestic abuse during a relationship that officially dissolved in 2017—and … [Read more...] about The Bombshell Testimony Looming Over Johnny Depp’s Case