Latest news with #June2022
New York Times
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
‘O.K.!' Review: When the Abortion Clinic Cancels
In a shared dressing room of a theater somewhere in Oklahoma, an actress named Melinda is the first to arrive. It's 90 minutes before the curtain rises, and to the keen-eyed stage manager, Alex, she seems not quite herself. 'You look like you've been throwing up,' Alex says, getting it right in one guess, not that Melinda is about to admit that she is pregnant. She has an abortion scheduled, and no one needs to know. But in Christin Eve Cato's new backstage dramedy, 'O.K.!,' Melinda's timing is on a collision course with the rollback of reproductive rights. The date is June 24, 2022, and the U.S. Supreme Court has just overturned Roe v. Wade. Soon the clinic calls to cancel Melinda's appointment permanently, and the clear vision she had of her future clouds over with panic. 'O.K.!' is about how Melinda (Danaya Esperanza) moves through that fear as the clock ticks down to showtime, with the help of her fellow actors Jolie (Yadira Correa) and Elena (Claudia Ramos Jordán) and their collective reverence for tarot-card wisdom. Also instrumental: the calming competency of Alex (a very funny Cristina Pitter), who herds unruly cast members like cats. The barely glimpsed show within a show is a nonunion tour of a musical called 'Okla-Hola,' a parody of Rodgers and Hammerstein's cowboy-Americana classic 'Oklahoma!,' told from a Latino point of view. Melinda stars as Lori (a version of Laurey, of course, the farmhouse beauty pursued by two suitors), with the jaded, politically engaged Jolie as Titi Elder (a variation on Laurey's Aunt Eller) and the high-spirited, Spanglish-speaking Elena as Ada Ana (the inveterate flirt Ado Annie). In a corner of their dressing room stands a scaled-down, rustic farm windmill, which will transform into the tarot deck's glowing, 3D Wheel of Fortune. (The set is by Rodrigo Escalante.) Directed by Melissa Crespo for Intar Theater and Radio Drama Network, 'O.K.!' blends a loving critique of the theater with a historically minded explication of threats to women's health and autonomy, leavens it all with comedy and sprinkles it with the surreal. Tonally, that is quite a mix to pull off, particularly with the script's didacticism working against its drama. On Intar's intimate Manhattan stage in Hell's Kitchen, this uneven production of an ambitious play has its mind on the disappearance of rights in the American present and its past. When Roe v. Wade was overturned, Oklahoma reverted to a law from 1910 — around the time 'Oklahoma!' is set — that prohibits most abortions. What's interesting about 'O.K.!,' as an addition to the growing niche of shows examining abortion, is how firmly it plants itself at the philosophical crossroads between proceeding with a pregnancy and ending it. Melinda, who, at 36, is a New Yorker with a law-student boyfriend and anemic personal finances, had not meant to get pregnant. Barely past the theater industry's Covid-19 shutdown, unsure of her relationship, she does not believe she is ready for a child. Jolie, Melinda's longtime friend, encourages her to question that assumption — which, in this fraught context, could be read as searching for a silver lining in a loss of liberty. Reassuring her, Jolie says: 'It's your choice if you want to have a baby, and it's your choice if you don't. I'm just wondering if life would be over for you in case you're unable to get this abortion — and I think not.' Melinda receives similar counsel from the bizarre and wonderful Two of Swords (Pitter), a tarot card come to life, whose red-lit, fog-shrouded dance is the show's campiest moment. (Choreography is by Pitter, lighting by María-Cristina Fusté, costumes by Lux Haac.) The Two of Swords suggests to Melinda that she make a list of pros and cons. So, on the advice of a talking tarot card, that's what she does. Her considerations include dystopian possibilities if she seeks an abortion ('What if I get caught by the government of Oklahoma for trying to leave?' she says) and inescapable realities if she decides against one — like the need for day care. 'How much would that cost in New York City?' Melinda erupts. At the performance I saw, a woman in the audience answered her with an emphatic 'Mm-hm!' By play's end, though, Melinda has yet to leave that crossroads, mulling paths that looked very different just a day before.
Times
20-05-2025
- Times
Police Tasered 92-year-old one-legged care home resident, court told
A 92-year-old wheelchair-bound care home resident was sprayed in the face with pepper spray before being Tasered and hit with a baton by police officers, a jury has been told. PC Stephen Smith emptied almost a full can of pepper spray into Donald Burgess's face when he refused to stop holding a small, serrated cutlery knife, Southwark crown court heard. Burgess, who had one leg, was then Tasered by PC Rachel Comotto, police body-worn camera footage showed. He was taken to hospital after the incident and later contracted Covid and died 22 days later. Smith, 51, denies two counts of assault by using Pava spray and a baton, and Comotto denies one charge of assault by discharging her Taser. They are not being held responsible for Burgess's death. Burgess was a resident at a care home in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, when staff called police in June 2022 after they failed to persuade him to hand over a knife, which had a specially adapted handle. Paul Jarvis KC, for the prosecution, told the jury that the officers made no attempt to talk to staff, and instead approached Burgess and attempted to interact with him. Instead of trying to calm the situation down, they inflamed it, and the use of force was not justified and was unlawful, Jarvis said. The jury was told there was nobody within arm's reach of Burgess at the time and that it was clear he was not easily able to move. 'It ought to have been obvious by the fact he had one leg; that this was a man who wasn't going to be mobile,' Jarvis said. 'This was an elderly, vulnerable man who may not have understood what was going on. 'Rather than being met with understanding and sympathy, he was confronted by irritation and annoyance on the part of the defendants.' The resident was asked repeatedly to put down the knife. He was suffering from a urinary tract infection on the day of the incident, a condition that can make people confused. The jury was told that the resident was asked to give back the knife after he had been flicking his food and poked a member of staff in the stomach with it. Managers at the home had spent half an hour asking him to put it down. Burgess, who suffered from multiple health conditions including diabetes and carotid artery disease, had been a resident at the home since 2018. He had not been diagnosed with dementia, although the care home specialised in helping people with the illness. The court was told less than 90 seconds had elapsed between the time the officers arrived and Burgess being Tasered. Footage shows the officers asking him to put down the knife. When he did not move, Smith sprayed him with Pava, before using his baton and 12 seconds later, Burgess could be seen crying out in pain when Comotto fired the Taser. The knife was then removed from his hand. Jarvis told the jury: 'I want to make it clear — these defendants are not responsible for his death. He was an elderly gentleman who was unwell. The force used was unnecessary and excessive in the circumstances. The defendants assaulted Mr Burgess, causing actual bodily harm.' The trial was adjourned until Tuesday.
CTV News
09-05-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
‘Sunny and pleasant' forecast expected for Mother's Day weekend
A family take pictures in the shade on a hot day in Toronto on Thursday, June 23, 2022. Moms across the city will be getting a gift from Mother Nature this weekend with a stretch of 'dry, bright, and comfortable' weather, CP24's Meteorologist Bill Coulter says. 'One of the best Mother's Day gifts this year may be the weather,' Coulter said. Environment Canada is calling for a mix of sun and cloud and a high of 16 C on Friday. More sunshine is in the forecast on Saturday, along with a high of 22 C, about four degrees warmer than the average for this time of year. Sunday will be slightly cooler, with the national weather agency calling for a high of 16 C. The 'sunny and pleasant weather' will still make outdoor activities enjoyable on Mother's Day, Coulter added. 'Monday promises another stellar day with a light warm wind and a high of 24 C,' Coulter said. While showers are possible mid-week, daytime highs are expected to remain above 20 C next week.
