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Anthony Rapp has lost a lawsuit accusing Kevin Spacey of sexual assault
Anthony Rapp has lost his civil lawsuit against Kevin Spacey, whom he accused of sexually assaulting him when Rapp was 14.
Throughout the trial, the defense accused Rapp of lying due to jealousy of Spacey’s career and a desire to raise his public profile. "We’re very grateful to the jury for seeing through these false allegations,” Spacey’s attorney Jennifer Keller told BuzzFeed News as she was leaving court on Thursday.
Rapp’s attorneys, meanwhile, said he had consistently told the truth about what happened from the time he was 14 until he came forward publicly in a BuzzFeed News story in 2017. At the time, he could not take legal action because of the statute of limitations, which changed when New York’s Child Victims Act took effect in 2019.
In the days after Rapp first came forward publicly, more than a dozen other people also accused Spacey of sexual misconduct. In May, British prosecutors charged Spacey with sexually assaulting three men, including one charge that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Spacey has pleaded not guilty to the UK charges, the trial for which is scheduled to begin in June 2023.
Iran “on the ground”
The White House says that Iran supplied military experts to Crimea to help Russians launch drone attacks, according to BBC. "Tehran is now directly engaged on the ground, and through the provision of weapons that are impacting civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine," National Security Council representative John Kirby said.
A Russian defense advisor accidentally revealed on air that the Kremlin is using Iranian drones to attack Ukraine, Business Insider reports. "We all know the drones are Iranian, but the government has not admitted to it," Ruslan Pukhov said on a hot mic.
SNAPSHOTS
A woman unleashed thousands of bees on sheriff's deputies who were trying to evict someone, officials said. The Hampden County Sheriff's Office accused Rorie Woods, 55, of "weaponizing honeybees to attack."
The man who allegedly shot and killed a 21-year-old woman who beat him at basketball game has been arrested. Cameron Hogg was taken into custody on Thursday morning and charged with the murder of Asia Womack, Dallas police said.
People with chronic conditions share how Selma Blair's exit from Dancing with the Stars made them feel. “Multiple sclerosis is an invisible illness, and the fact she has brought so much attention and understanding to an illness most people don’t know much about — we will never as a community be able to thank her enough.”
The She-Hulk season finale was disappointing because it betrayed the original premise of the show. She-Hulk was one of Marvel’s best and brightest origin stories until the studio’s character development problem reared its ugly CGI head.
Taylor Swift has spent 16 years subtly telling us super intimate details about other celebrities in her music. Here's everything that we've learned so far. Also, surprise! Taylor Swift just dropped seven extra tracks three hours after her Midnights album release like the chaotic queen she is.
Liz Truss resigned as the UK prime minister after 44 days in office
Liz Truss has resigned as the British prime minister, becoming the shortest-serving PM in UK history. Truss was elected in September to be the new leader of the party and the third woman to lead Britain.
Truss's resignation is just the latest in a turbulent year for British politics, with former UK PM Boris Johnson resigning in July after a mass exodus of support from 50 members of Parliament. Additionally, on Sept. 23, the government unveiled a “mini-budget” with a series of economic proposals that sent markets into a frenzy, raising mortgages for millions and proposing unfunded tax cuts. The pound fell to its lowest rate ever against the US dollar.
On Oct. 14, British tabloid paper the Daily Star started a YouTube livestream with the title, "Will Liz Truss still be Prime Minister within the 10-day shelf-life of a lettuce?" Truss did not outlast the head of lettuce. After her resignation speech Thursday, the Daily Star livestream put a crown on top of the lettuce and lowered the photo of Truss as the national anthem played and disco lights flashed.
IMAGE OF THE DAY
I'm bleaching my hair blonde and yes, I might be having a gay crisis
Bleaching my hair felt like an opportunity for fun and frivolity, David Mack writes. After a grim few years for the world, here was something I could do to signal a new era. Maybe I could create some distance from the lurking feelings of grief, depression, and concern about aging that I was navigating as a 34-year-old with something as simple yet radical as a hair change. I too could be hot and carefree. Like therapy, but cheaper!
Among the gay community in recent years, bleached blonde hair has become a signifier — or at least a meme — for poor mental health. To be clear, heterosexual men have also been known to seek happiness at the bottom of a bottle of hair dye, but it’s gays who have embraced it as a widely understood cultural marker for chaos.
Why was I about to do something that others before me had openly labeled a cry for help? What exactly did it mean to be a gay man in crisis? And if I was exhibiting all the symptoms, was I in one?
P.S. You read the whole article! As a thank-you, here's a cool lil’ newsletter alert: Suspicious Circumstances is an upcoming inside guide to the biggest unsolved cases, white-collar scandals, and grim mysteries of today. Don't miss out.