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Samuel L Jackson opens up on near-death experience

Samuel L Jackson opens up on near-death experience

Independent13 hours ago

Samuel L Jackson has recounted a 1988 incident where he was dragged by a New York City subway train after his foot got caught in the door, revealing 'things slow down when you're looking at death'.
Speaking on Paloma Faith 's Mad Sad Bad podcast, Jackson said he feared for his life as the train accelerated, but it slowed and stopped before entering a tunnel.
In a 2021 Vanity Fair interview, Jackson revealed the incident tore his ACL and meniscus, leading to 10 months on crutches and a year of rehab.
Jackson sued the New York Transit Authority and received a $540,000 settlement.
During the court proceedings, Jackson learned that a man had pulled the emergency cord, stopping the train and potentially saving his life.

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Five Great Reads: Jacinda Ardern, how they made The Goonies, and a year of celibacy
Five Great Reads: Jacinda Ardern, how they made The Goonies, and a year of celibacy

The Guardian

time27 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

Five Great Reads: Jacinda Ardern, how they made The Goonies, and a year of celibacy

Top of the weekend to you all. This week's learning: sometimes you have to endure the tedium to experience the joy. Happy reading. Apparently there is more to YouTube than cat videos and countdowns of the 17 post-grunge songs that should have been massive (but weren't). Just ask the 400 million people who subscribe to MrBeast, creator of such viral smashes as I Spent 100 Hours Inside the Pyramids! and I Survived the 5 Deadliest Places on Earth. Jimmy Donaldson, the 27-year-old behind the moniker, is a big deal. Mark O'Connell goes deep on an entertainer who he describes as 'monomaniacally committed to a lethally pure conception of algorithmically determined entertainment'. Star-maker performance: Donaldson's breakout video was 2017's I Counted to 100,000!, which, over the course of about 40 hours, did exactly what it said on the tin. How long will it take to read: Twelve minutes. A key to the appeal of The Goonies is perhaps the casting: enduring stars Josh Brolin, Sean Astin, Ke Huy Quan and Martha Plimpton among them, all before they were famous. Astin and some of his fellow child actors, alongside crew members and Joe Pantoliano – one of the film's adult villains – share the inside story of what it was like on the set 40 years ago. Steven Spielberg plays a prominent, uncredited role. Friends for life: The cast members stay in touch via an email chain and still catch up. 'We just know one another, and we kind of pick up exactly were we left off,' says Kerri Green, who played Andy. 'It's pretty special.' How long will it take to read: Five minutes. Further reading: Speaking of classic children's films of 1985, Marty McFly's guitar from Back to the Future is missing. Jacinda Ardern likes drum'n'bass, has been seen in Portishead T-shirts, and was elected prime minister of New Zealand aged 37. Just six years later, as Jacinda-mania began to sour with some constituents, she dramatically resigned. In her first major interview since calling it quits, Ardern takes the Guardian's editor-in-chief Katharine Viner through her Mormon upbringing, her entry to politics, and learning she was pregnant days before becoming PM. 'I've always felt like I had a general sense of where New Zealand is at on something. I relied on it a lot while I was in office. You feel an energy.' – Ardern on what guided her response to the Christchurch mosque massacre. How long will it take to read: Ten minutes. Further reading: Ardern asked Queen Elizabeth II for advice on parenting in the public eye – the monarch's response was succinct and pragmatic. Sign up to Five Great Reads Each week our editors select five of the most interesting, entertaining and thoughtful reads published by Guardian Australia and our international colleagues. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Saturday morning after newsletter promotion Daniel Janzen has been monitoring insects in Costa Rica's Guanacaste conservation area since 1978. The first 'light trap' he set up helped scientists identify an astonishing 3,000 species – these days, far fewer moths flutter towards the glow. The declining numbers are part of what some call a 'new era' of ecological collapse, where rapid extinctions occur in regions that have little direct contact with people. The loss of insect life can set other dominoes falling, and a clear culprit has emerged: global heating. How long will it take to read: Five minutes. Further reading: Blatten, the tiny Swiss village engulfed by a mountain – another entry from our age of extinction series. The US professor and author Melissa Febos reckons humans have a 'collective derangement' around love and sex, hooked on the early stages of infatuation. So after a 'ravaging vortex' of a relationship and five other 'brief entanglements' she went cold turkey for a year. The Dry Season, her new memoir, details how her life subsequently flourished. Happy ending: Having redefined love as 'contingent upon a very conscious choice to support the flourishing of another person', Febos met her now wife. How long will it take to read: Five minutes. Enjoying the Five Great Reads email? Then you'll love our weekly culture and lifestyle newsletter, Saved for Later. Sign up here to catch up on the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture, trends and tips for the weekend. And check out the full list of our local and international newsletters.

Diddy watched me throw up after sex with two male escorts, says alleged victim - trial as it happened
Diddy watched me throw up after sex with two male escorts, says alleged victim - trial as it happened

Sky News

time28 minutes ago

  • Sky News

Diddy watched me throw up after sex with two male escorts, says alleged victim - trial as it happened

22:31:00 What you need to know after day 18 of Diddy's trial - scroll down to catch up An anonymous former girlfriend and alleged victim of Sean "Diddy" Combs continued her evidence against the rapper on the 18th day of his sex-trafficking trial. If you're just checking in, here's a round-up of all the key updates: Jane began her evidence by telling jurors that Combs would become "incensed" if she asked for the "entertainer" to wear a condom, adding the rapper said he "didn't want to see a rubber while he was watching"; As she began to recall "hotel nights" she became emotional in court, saying she was given "multiple doses" of ecstasy to keep her awake with the longest session lasting around three days; She explained that she felt she had to take the drugs "because when I wouldn't it would just feel too real"; Recalling a sobriety party in Beverly Hills, she said she went to the bathroom after having sex with two men and threw up, but Combs told her "let's go, third guy is here"; Jane said Diddy would call an assistant or security when he ran out of drugs, and told the court she also picked up a "white envelope" of drugs and "put it in my luggage" for Combs; Explaining how "entertainers" were chosen, Jane said Combs chose who took part in the hotel nights at first, before she then started to pick them from late 2021 because she "didn't like to be surprised by a stranger"; But she recalled one occasion when she was "repulsed" by an entertainer who she described as being "really sweaty" and "smelled"; Jane said Combs filmed hotel nights "several times" and even directed what he wanted her to do - from putting baby oil on the man to touching herself; The rapper also asked her to get nipple piercings because "that's what he wanted from his girl" and paid for her veneers as "he didn't like my teeth"; In a voice note played out to jurors, Combs told Jane "I can do whatever the f*** I want" after she said she needed a "breather and a break" from him; Jane will return to the stand to continue her evidence on Monday. 21:59:59 Court finishes for the day It's just reaching 5pm in New York, and that's all we're going to hear from Jane today. She will return on Monday to continue giving evidence. We'll be back with a recap of today's hearing soon - in the meantime scroll through our posts to catch up on what was said in court. 21:57:58 'At any moment he could cut me off', Jane says after Diddy voice note left her 'cold' Jurors are played an audio message from Sean "Diddy" Combs to Jane after an argument between the pair in August 2023. "I'm not going to be playing these games with you at all, nah, you are going to have a rude awakening, you will have silence," he said. "You can be mad and have a spat, that's all it is, you got me on my job, it will never work like that over here, you need to get on your job... I am trying to be clear, I am going to disappear on you." When asked about what she thought Diddy meant by saying he was going to disappear on her, Jane says she was "pretty alarmed by that message". "I was just really cold and its true that at any moment he could just do that if he wanted to... cut me off." Prosecutor Maurene Comey asks Jane what Diddy meant by telling her "you need to get on your job". "Expectations of me," she replied. "Taking care of him, being good to him, making sure he's happy. That included these nights." 21:34:20 Jane tells jurors Combs 'didn't like my teeth' and wanted her to get veneers Jane tells jurors that she got veneers after the Turks and Caicos trip because Combs "didn't like my teeth". "After the Turks trip he paid for my teeth," she says. "I got veneers because Combs didn't like my teeth... he wanted me to get new veneers. He gave me the appointment." She says Combs was also paying for her rent, and still is. In March 2023, she said that she and Combs made an agreement that he would pay her a monthly allowance. "I said 15,000 and he said 10,000," Jane says. "I started looking for new places and moved into a new home and used that budget... I had been giving him all my love and this was him giving me something." But she says the allowance was not enough to furnish her new home after moving in April 2023. "I opened three credit cards and went into debt," she adds. 21:23:19 Jane says Diddy made her apologise to entertainer after storming out of hotel on 'birthday make-up trip' After Jane fought with Combs following her birthday in 2023 that ended in a hotel night, the rapper continued to call and text her. Jane tells jurors she scheduled a trip to Paris for Fashion Week, and it was the first time she had gone on a solo trip in over two years. But a few hours before her flight, Jane says Combs repeatedly texted her and called her phone "like 30 times in a row". After she got back from Paris, she began talking to Combs again, adding "he was adamant we should see each other, and I missed him as well". Jane says Combs told her to visit Miami so they could arrange a "birthday make-up trip" and testifies that they planned the trip to Turks and Caicos. But on the second day of that trip, Paul, an entertainer, arrived at the hotel. "I remember it was really painful and me and Paul tried to have sex but I really couldn't... I was very sore at this point," she tells jurors. She says Combs got "very upset" so she threw a bracelet he had given her against the wall and stormed out of the villa. Jane adds that Combs told her to apologise to Paul. 21:07:30 In pictures: Diddy's alleged victim weeps in court - as mogul looks on during her testimony Courtroom sketches from today's proceedings show Jane, an alleged victim of Combs, weeping on the stand - and of the producer-turned rapper watching her give testimony. 20:52:49 Jane wrote 'you're a pathological liar' about Combs in note Jurors are shown a note Jane wrote to herself on 12 February in 2023. She explains the note contains what she wanted to tell Combs. "If you don't want me, that's fine I just accept the fact that you are a pathological liar," she wrote in the note. Jane adds that she wrote the note so she could "think out what I was feeling", adding that notes were copied into texts. In a text to Combs, she told him "anything outside of the hotel I am a joke to you... romance is spending time with love and happiness, not someone you call on Friday to get high". 20:38:35 Jane returns to stand Jane is coming back to the stand and jurors are returning to the courtroom. Things will be getting back under way following the afternoon break shortly. 20:10:58 Afternoon break There's another pause in proceedings for the afternoon break. We expect jurors to return to the courtroom in around 15 minutes. 19:50:54 'I can do whatever the f*** I want', Combs told Jane in voice note after she told him 'this doesn't make me feel good at all' Jurors are shown a text from Jane, who told Diddy she "needed a breather and a break" from him. She said "this doesn't make me feel good at all, your true intentions in front of me are in plain sight... don't say s*** to me, you don't deserve me". In a voice note, Combs responded by saying "this is the last time you're going to be cursing and disrespecting me". "Be sad, go crazy, do whatever the f*** you want to do... I can do whatever the f*** I want," he said. In a note written to herself in 2022, Jane said "you hurt my feelings every time, you dismiss me, belittle me, you always ask of me, and when I ask of you I am made to feel weird about it".

8 now arrested in North Carolina house party shootings and more attempted-murder charges are filed
8 now arrested in North Carolina house party shootings and more attempted-murder charges are filed

The Independent

time33 minutes ago

  • The Independent

8 now arrested in North Carolina house party shootings and more attempted-murder charges are filed

Eight people have now been arrested and charged in connection with last weekend's shootings at a western North Carolina house party where a barrage of gunfire ended with one person dead and 11 others injured, authorities said. Five defendants whose arrests were announced Thursday or early Friday by the Catawba County Sheriff's Office made court appearances Friday. Four of the five were facing one count each of attempted first-degree murder. A judge ordered two of those four to remain in jail without bond, according to the Catawba County Clerk of Court's office. But late Friday, the sheriff's office announced that 10 additional counts of attempted first-degree murder had been filed against each of the four who already faced one similar count. All four were jailed pending scheduled court appearances early next week, according to an office press release. A prosecutor handling the defendants' appearances Friday said in court that the shootings were gang-related, and the sheriff's office agreed, news outlets reported. 'Gang motives were a part of this tragedy,' sheriff's Maj. Aaron Turk told WSOC-TV. 'We are still unraveling that as part of our larger investigation.' Investigators have said both adults and young people were among the scores of attendees at the house party in a residential neighborhood roughly 55 miles (88.5 kilometers) northwest of Charlotte. Another defendant arrested earlier in the week also is charged with one count of attempted first-degree murder. The two others were charged with helping underage youth possess alcoholic beverages — the sheriff's office identified them as planning and promoting the house party. Authorities have said over 80 shots were fired shortly after midnight June 1 in a crime scene that spanned several properties. The shootings began with gunfire coming from an elevated area in a yard neighboring the house, the Catawba sheriff's office has said, with shots later around the home, the home's front yard and by a road. Shawn Patrick Hood, 58, of Lenoir, was killed. He was the oldest of the victims, who ranged in age from as young as 16, the sheriff's office said. Most of the people injured were shot, Turk has said. As of Friday, no one had been specifically charged for Hood's death. Turk told reporters this week that investigators needed to account for every shot that had been fired at partygoers 'before we can discern who might be responsible for the homicide.' FBI agents had been at the crime scene this week examining bullet trajectories.

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