Actor Alec Baldwin sued by late Halyna Hutchins’ family for “reckless conduct”

By
Monica Pop
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New details surrounding the accident on the set of the movie Rust in which cinematographer Halyna Hutchins lost her life after actor Alec Baldwin shot her emerged. Following these new details, late Hutchins family filed a wrongful death suit which names Baldwin and others who “are responsible for the safety on the set” and “reckless behavior and cost-cutting.”

As reported by Fox News, the lawsuit read: “Halyna Hutchins deserved to live, and the Defendants had the power to prevent her [passing] if they had only held sacrosanct their duty to protect the safety of every individual on a set where firearms were present instead of cutting corners on safety procedures where human lives were at stake, rushing to stay on schedule and ignoring numerous complaints of safety violations.”

Further, it said: “This lawsuit seeks justice for the losses of her survivors and to hold responsible those who caused her tragic [passing].”

Shutterstock/Al Teich

From the start, Baldwin expressed his deepest condolences to Hutchins’ family but claimed he wasn’t the one to be blamed for her killing. “Someone put a live bullet in a gun, a bullet that wasn’t even supposed to be on the property,” Baldwin said at the time, as per ABC News. “Someone is ​responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me.”

Besides Baldwin, who operated the gun when the bullet which killed Hutchins and stuck director Joel Souza was fired, others are in the center of the investigation too, among them is assistant director Dave Halls who handed the gun to Baldwin claiming it was safe to use and armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed who loaded the weapon.

After the shooting, Hutchins was airlifted and transported to the University of New Mexico Hospital but was pronounced dead.

Mat Hayward/Getty Images for AMC Networks

Hutchins’ heartbroken husband and son aren’t the only ones who filed a suit against Bladwin and the rest of the crew involved in the incident. A month after the tragic shooting, script supervisor Mamie Mitchell filed a suit against the actor. However, no criminal charges were brought against Baldwin or anyone else at the time. Mitchell’s lawyer claimed the actor should have checked the gun before pulling the trigger. “There was nothing in the script about the gun being discharged by defendant Baldwin or by any other person,” the lawsuit read.

Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

“I don’t know what happened on that set. I don’t know how that bullet arrived in that gun, I don’t know,” Baldwin told ABC News in November, “But I’m all for doing anything that will take us to a place where this is less likely to happen again.

“This was a marking rehearsal,” Baldwin added. “And [Hutchins] says to me, ‘Hold the gun lower. Go to your right. Okay, right there. All right, do that. Now show it a little bit lower.’ And she’s getting me to position the gun. She’s guiding me through how she wants me to hold the gun for this angle. I’m holding the gun where she told me to hold it, which ended up being aimed right below her armpit.”

Sam Wasson/Getty Images

An animated video reenacting the fatal shooting emerged recently. According to it, Hutchins was shot from four feet away. Special effects coordinator Thomas Gandy, however, claimed she stood even closer than that.

“Halyna was telling Alec she wanted to see his thumb working the hammer back to do the shot,” Gandy said on The Deadly Take, as reported by Yahoo News. “She stood only approximately 18 inches away from the firearm.”

Lead attorney Brian Panish told reporters: “I think it’s clear what happened. Alec had the gun in his hand. He shot it.”

Instagram/AlecBaldwin

On the other hand, Baldwin’s attorney, Aaron Dyer, said that “any claim that Alec was reckless is entirely false.”

“This protocol has worked on thousands of films, with millions of discharges, and there has never before been an incident on a set where an actual bullet harmed anyone,” Dyer added. “Actors should be able to rely on armorers and prop department professionals, as well as assistant directors, rather than deciding on their own when a gun is safe to use.”

At the moment, the case is still being handled by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s department.

Céline Dion forced to cancel concerts due to “unforeseen medical symptoms”

By
Monica Pop
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With the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the humanity had the feeling that the entire world sort of shut down. The numerous measures imposed by the governments, which included social distancing among the rest, gave everyone a new perspective on life and taught us all that we should never take things for granted, such as having coffee with friends, or giving our family members a hug when we see them.

Many businesses were forced to close and a huge number of people lost their jobs. The entertainment industry wasn’t spared either. For almost two years, there were no concerts or live performances of any sort.

Today, although the virus is still here, things started to move slowly. Many performers announced their tours, among which one of the best female singers there are, Céline Dion.

Source: Shutterstock/Featureflash Photo Agency

Dion has a history with Las Vegas, the place she feels like home. Her story with the “Sin City” dates back to 2003, when she began a four-year Las Vegas residency which turned to be a huge success, grossing over $385 million.

Some years later, Dion returned to the Las Vegas stage for a residency at Ceasar’s Palace and broke the world record with her 1,141 performances, according to Billboard.

At the same time, the Canadian born singer holds the records for the two best-selling residencies of all time.

Source: Instagram/Celinedion

Speaking of the pandemic and her canceled tour, Dion told Today, “The tour was canceled, the whole world was shut off. It was definitely different, but for us, we were very fortunate.

“It was the old-fashioned family fun, simple pleasures of life, playing outside a lot, cooking. Honestly, making the best out of this.”

Source: Instagram/Celinedion

Dion made her fans overly-excited when she announced that her delayed tour will take place in November 2021. She was supposed to take to the Las Vegas stage for a brand-new show at Resorts World Las Vegas.

“Vegas had given us a family and an opportunity for me to be a mom, for them to be kids, for me to perform for my fans and to practice my passion,” she told Today. “And every night, come home… that is rare. I really feel that Vegas has given me motherhood and the best as an artist. The best of both worlds.

“[The new Las Vegas shows ] is going to be about energy, about starting again, about living again, about feeling that something will come out of this, hopefully.”

Source: Shutterstock/Liam Goodner

However, as everyone was in anticipation of hearing the diva perform live after so much time, she issued a statement saying that she was forced to postpone several concert dates due to “unforeseen medical symptoms.”

“Celine has been experiencing severe and persistent muscle spasms which are preventing her from performing,” the statement read, as reported by Entertainment Online. “Her medical team continues to evaluate and treat her. However, the symptoms she is experiencing are prohibiting her from participating in the ongoing rehearsals for the new show.”

Source: Shutterstock/Tom Rose

The star took to Instagram to tell her fans that she feels heartbroken.

“My team and I have been working on our new show for the past eight months, and to not be able to open this November saddens me beyond words. My partners at Resorts World Las Vegas and AEG have been working around the clock to get this brand-new state-of-the-art theatre ready, and it’s absolutely beautiful,” the 53-year-old singer wrote.

“I feel so bad that I’m letting them down, and I’m especially sorry for disappointing all the fans who’ve been making their plans to come to Las Vegas. Now, I have to focus on getting better… I want to get through this as soon as I can. – Celine.”

Dion won’t be able to perform from November 5 to November 20, or from January 19 to February 5.

Source: Getty Images Entertainment /Marc Piasecki

The star announced she’s also canceling her North America tour. “I was really hoping I’d be good to go by now, but I suppose I just have to be more patient and follow the regimen my doctors are prescribing,” Dion wrote in the statement she posted on her Instagram account. The tour included stops in San Francisco, LA, Denver, and other US and Canadian cities.

The “European leg” of her world tour is still planned to happen with her first concert taking place on May 25 in Birmingham, England.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Céline Dion (@celinedion)

Recently, she shared with her fans that a new documentary about her life is in the making.

We wish Céline Dion overcomes whatever issues she’s facing at the moment.

Woman takes in 3 teen foster boys to give them the home they never had

By
Monica Pop
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When people come up with the decision to adopt a child, most look for babies or toddlers. Unfortunately, teenagers are very often overlooked and are hardly ever given the chance to become part of a real family.

When these children age out and leave their foster homes, many are homeless, jobless, and insecure. They have a hard time moving forward and staring their new life. Unfortunately, the society’s perception of these teenagers doesn’t make things easier. They are likely perceived as troublesome and are rarely given any chances.

Sharon, the woman from the below video which has been seen and shared by millions of people, is a prof that adopting teenagers is sometimes the best decision one can make.

Source: YouTube/ Aaskarizona

She is an adoptive parent of three teenagers who experienced hardship early in life. Shantell, Chris, and Lex all had a troublesome childhood. As a result, they became distrustful and insecure. In fact, neither of them believed they would ever be adopted.

Source: YouTube/ Aaskarizona

At the start of the video, Chris explains that it was very hard for him to tell his social worker whenever a foster family wasn’t a good fit for him.

Shantell admitted that whenever he would get into trouble, his initial thought was to run away, but then his new mom would help him overcome any difficulty.

Source: YouTube/ Aaskarizona

When Lex became part of the family, he wasn’t happy. In fact, he hated Sharon and didn’t want to be adopted. Overtime, however, he learned that Sharon truly loved him and she truly cared, and he’s now happy and thriving, just like his two brothers.

Today, all three of these guys have a productive role in society.

Source: YouTube/ Aaskarizona

Sharon encourages others to follow her path and open the doors to their homes and hearts for older children.

Take a look at the touching video below.

Meet Ralph and Dorothy, America’s longest-living married couple

By
Monica Pop
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When we say I do, we hope it’s for a lifetime, but how long a lifetime is?

The longest-living married couple in the United States celebrated their 86th wedding anniversary recently. Well, that truly is a long time to spend with one person, but when the love is real, that’s more of a blessing, don’t you agree?

Ralph and Dorothy Kohler, who live in Indio, California, tied the knot when they were 18 and 17 respectively. That was back in 1935. When they went to the court, they were denied a marriage license because the court official believed they were both way too young to get married. However, that didn’t stop them from going elsewhere for a permission.

Today, Ralph is 103 and Dorothy is 102 years old.

Source: YouTube/ KESQ NewsChannel 3

So what’s the secret behind their long and happy marriage? They both agree that letting their spouse follow their passion is one of the things that kept them going strong for so long.

“Love for one thing, and we enjoy the same thing. And if we didn’t, we accepted it,” Ralph told WOWT. “Dorothy loves ballroom dancing, and I loved shooting clay targets. I joined her with ballroom dancing, and she joined me with trap shooting.”

The current record for the world’s longest marriage is held by Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher of the United States. They were married for 86 years and 290 days when Herbert died on February 27, 2011.

As for Ralph and Dorothy, we wish them more happy years together.

For more on their story check out the video below.

Inside the life of actress Felicity Kendal: This is all you need to know

By
Monica Pop
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Actress Felicity Kendal had her major television breakthrough with the 1975 television series The Good Life which became a “landmark light entertainment” in Britain and won the hearts of millions across the globe. Some years later, it aired in the US under the name Good Neighbors, but never reached the enormous popularity it enjoyed in the UK.

As a young child, Kendal, who was born in September 1946 in Birmingham, spent a lot of time in India together with her family. Her father owned a touring theater company there where they performed Shakespeare for royalties one day and entertained farmers from the desolate countryside the next.

Kendal was part of those performances from early age and was somehow destined to become an actress.

”When we weren’t performing we were travelling: long, tiring journeys the length and breadth of India on trains and buses, on which the routine never varied,” she told the Daily Mail in 2012.

McCarthy/Express/Getty Images

Although she enjoyed India very much, at the age of 17, Kendal contracted typhoid fever in Calcutta. Speaking of her struggle with the highly contagious and life-threatening infection, the actress revealed it was the “closest” she had ever been to dying.

On The Good Life, Kendal portrayed the role of middle-class suburban housewife Barbara Goode. She and her on-screen husband Tom, played by Richard Briers, decided to live off-guard and surrounded themselves with chickens, goats, pigs, and homegrown vegetables.

According to the actress herself, people loved her character so much because of her loyal, cheerful, and sexy bearing.  

British actors Penelope Keith, Richard Briers (1934 – 2013), Paul Eddington (1927 – 1995), and Felicity Kendal, in the BBC sitcom ‘The Good Life’, 2nd September 1977.

As her on-screen marriage flourished, her real-life relationship with her then husband Drewe Henley, was disintegrating. “The show was the very opposite of what was going on in my home life,” she confessed.

Her personality was also far from the one her TV character possessed. “I always did have affairs when I wanted,” she told Daily Mail. “It’s just how you are at the moment. Look, the aura of sweetness and light associated with Barbara Good has got b****r all to do with my life.”

Kendal and Henley divorced in 1979 after 11 years of marriage. They welcomed son Charley, a prestigious special effects technician who worked on Gladiator, the Harry Potter movies, and Prometheus among the rest.

Getty Images

In 1983, Kendal married her second husband, Michael Rudman, a US theater director with whom she welcomed her second son, Jacob. Kendal converted to Judaism and claimed it had nothing to do with her marriage to Rudman, but she did it because she saw it as a connection to India, the place she holds dear to her heart.

She divorced Rudman in 1990 and dated other people, but in 1998, she reconnected with him and they are still together.

”Michael is the big love of my life. We have a history together: going through a divorce is like going through a tragedy and if you come out the other side it really does bind you together,” Kendal told The Guardian.

Felicity Kendal with her husband and sons / Getty Images

One thing that affected Kendal’s life deeply was the passing of her sister Jennifer who died of colon cancer at the age of 51. “These days, we are so much more open about serious illness and death. Back then it was ­almost seen as an embarrassment. I was with Jennifer when she was diagnosed and told her cancer was likely to be fatal. The doctor couldn’t even meet her eyes,” Kendal told Express in 2009.

Jennifer Kendal/ IMDB

Today, the actress is 75 years old. She keeps herself in shape by exercising three times a week. She also admits she uses Botox for her face but has never undergone any major plastic surgeries.

“There was a time when you’d think, I’m over 60, I can not possibly wear a short skirt again because of my crinkly knees. Then you come out the other end and say, f *** it, I’ve got good legs, I’m going to put on tights and a short skirt,” she says.

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Felicity Kendal has starred in a huge number of stage productions over the years and doesn’t plan to retire any time soon.

She adopts a boy that nobody wants – 28 years later she finds out the truth he was hiding

By
Adam East
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One family, the McIntosh, has fostered 125 children over the years, but it was one very special boy named Jordan who stole their hearts forever. The moment Ingeborg McIntosh held Jordan in her arms for the first time ever, she described it as “love at first sight.” What’s most, they knew Jordan belonged with them and they did all in their power to adopt him. What they didn’t know, however, was that the love they have given him would be returned to them in a way no one could ever imagine. This story is all about love, kindness, and a saved life. YouTubeAlthough Jordan was fostered by this loving family, his biological mother didn’t want them to adopt him. The reason why was that she wanted her son to be raised by black parents.
YouTube
After failing to find such family, she eventually agreed the McIntosh to adopt Jordan. At the time he officially became part of their family, Jordan was four years old. “He was a part of the family, no matter what.”
YouTube
Two decades later, Ingeborg received awful news. She was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease and needed a kidney transplantation. Jordan decided he couldn’t stand by and watch his mother suffer. He decided to act, without his mother even being aware of his plans. He booked an appointment to see if he was a match for transplantation. The tests showed that he was.
YouTube
“I feel like this was my calling in life, I guess,” Jordan said. “Hopefully I can do more for her as I get older, but for the moment, it’s the least I could do.” Ingeborg insisted Jordan not give her a kidney because she didn’t want him to go under the knife, but he was determined to save her life.
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When speaking of the love he has for his mother, Jordan can’t hide his tears. “Everything she’s done for me since I was a kid, I just wanted to give it back to her, and show her how much I appreciate her,” he said. This family raised a wonderful boy who turned into a caring man. Way to go, Jordan, you are the son every parent would be happy to have.

Hungry teen goes to Kroger to ask strangers for food, has no idea life is about to change forever

By
Jessica Jones
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Not everyone is born under a lucky star. Some people have it easy in life and are able to afford nice houses, vehicles, and a number of commodities, while others have a hard time putting food on the table and struggle to make ends meet. A teenage boy named Chauncy Black didn’t have much while growing up. He and his mother had a place to call home, but struggled to make enough money for food. Black, although just 16 years old, decided things needed to change. He couldn’t stand seeing his mother feeling guilty for not providing him a better life. One day, he decided to take bus to a place where there was lots of food, a Kroger grocery store in an affluent neighborhood. He managed to save enough money for a bus ticket and had a plan to offer help to strangers in an exchange for some food. Little did he know that this pan of his would change his life forever.
Facebook/Jody Callahan
Once at the store, Chauncy noticed a man carrying a bunch of bags so he approached and asked if he could help him carry his groceries to his car in an exchange for some donuts. The stranger, Matt White, agreed. “This kid looked like he had been turned down 100 times. He looked ashamed, hungry and broken. In my heart I screamed a loud “yes!”, but to him I just chuckled and said, “yeah dude, we’ll get you some donuts,” Mark recalled. Mark realized the kid had no money, only a bus pass to get back home where his hungry mother was waiting for him.
Facebook/Matt White
Feeling the urge to step in for Chauncy, Mark decided to repay for the teen’s help not only by getting him donuts, but a bunch of other things too. “So, needless to say, he and I went on a shopping spree. We had so much fun! We got cereal and chips and frozen veggies, pizzas, Cheetos, melons and pasta, peanut butter, milk, soap, tooth brushes, just a little bit of everything,” Mark explained. While they were shopping, Chauncy told Mark how he was an A-straight student and was doing all in his power to get a job in order to help with the rent. “This kid was amazing. Chauncy kept calling himself poor, but he told me that one day he was gonna be wealthy and own his own businesses so that he could help other people in his neighborhood and buy them groceries like me. I was in awe.”
Facebook/Matt White
Mark even offered Chauncy a ride home. Once there, he noticed that the boy’s mother was very ill. “I gave him a ride home so that he didn’t have to take the bus and when we got to his house I was truly humbled. He wasn’t kidding. He and his mom had nothing. They didn’t even have beds or furniture. They were sleeping on pads made out of sleeping bags, they had two lamps and nothing in their fridge.” Chauncy’s mother was shaking uncontrollably because of the condition she suffered from. She was fragile and in need of medical assistance.
Facebook/Matt White
Chauncy was extremely thankful to Mark. No one has ever done anything so generous for him and his mom before. “As I was leaving I gave him a hug and told him how much God loved him and that he was going to grow up to be an incredible man. I’ll never forget that hug. It meant more to me than any possession I have.” Mark couldn’t stop thinking of the poor life conditions of Chauncy and his mom. He knew he needed to do something in order to ease their life as much as possible so he started a GoFundMe page. In no time, this teen’s story went viral, and support and donations came pouring in. An incredible $341K was raised in response to this family’s basic needs. On top of that, Chauncy could now afford to buy the necessary equipment for his lawn mowing business he was planning on starting long time ago.
Facebook/Matt White
One serendipitous encounter changed it all for this brave teen. For more on his life story go to the video below.

Inside the life of the Duchess of Alba – famous for her young lovers, many titles, and plastic surgeries

By
Monica Pop
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One of the few people who didn’t pass unnoticed by the wide public thanks to their turbulent life, unique style, and the controversy that surrounded their life is Cayetana Fitz-James, or better known as the Duchess of Alba.

This woman, who held the most hereditary titles in the world, led quite a life. Born as a royalty, she was direct descendant of King James II and Queen Victoria Eugenie, Cayetana attracted the attention of many. She was friends with many celebrities, including Marlene Dietrich, Audrey Hepburn, but most of all Princess Margaret. Both the Duchess of Alba and Princess Margaret are widely known for “breaking” the royal protocol numerous times, all because they wanted to live their lives by their own rules.

Cayetana received most of her titles after her mother’s passing. She caught tuberculosis at the time the disease was a pandemic and died of pneumonia. Cayetana was just 8 years old at the time. What helped her move on was the fact that she had close relationship with her father, Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart y Falcó, 17th Duke of Alba.

However, when the Spanish royalty was forced into exile in 1931, Cayetana and her father moved to France. She wasn’t fond of the country’s capital, Paris, and the two soon moved to England. Once in London, she received formal education and learnt several languages.

Cayetana with her father in London / Getty Images

At the age of 21, Cayetana married her first husband, Pedro Luis Martínez de Irujo y Artacoz, who came from a noble Spanish family. Their wedding was dubbed the most expensive in the world, with a huge number of people watching the Duchess arriving at the cathedral of Seville in a horse-drawn carriage. Cayetana and Pedro had six children together, and a marriage easily described as picture-perfect. Unfortunately, Pedro died in 1972, at the age of 53. As a couple, they were a powerful one and got to hang out with some of the most influential celebrities and politicians in the world.

Cayetana, for one, hosted Jackie Kennedy in one of her castles during her visit of Spain.

Jacqueline Kennedy and the Duchess Cayetana of Alba at a charity party for the Red Cross Foundation at the ‘Casa de Pilatos’, 1966, Sevilla, Spain / Getty Images

After the passing of the love of her life, many believed Cayetana would never marry again. But they were very wrong. In fact, it was because of her second marriage to a former pastor who wasn’t in any way related to the royalty of Spain that she started being considered controversial. Jesús Aguirre y Ortiz de Zarate was 11 years her junior, which only added to the gossip that he was a toyboy and a gold digger.

“Some people will not forgive me for having married an intelligent man. We are very happy together; we do not need anyone else,” Cayetana told People in 1979.

The marriage, sadly, ended with Cayetana’s husband passing. She experienced another heartbreak, and what followed was her most controversial marriage of all.

The Duchess of Alba with her first husband / Getty Images

When she met public servant Alfonso Diez Carabantes and wanted to marry him, all her children were strongly against that decision. The reason why was that Cayetana was 85 and he was 25 years younger than her. The couple became so talked about that even the king of Spain himself took a stand. He dubbed Alfonso a gold-digger. In order to settle the dust, The House of Alba released a statement saying that the relationship “was based on a long friendship and there are no plans to marry.” That, however, didn’t turn out to be true because the marriage did happen eventually.

It was a hot topic not only in Spain and Seville, but all over the world.

Although the ceremony was a small gathering, hundreds of people gathered around the Palacio de las Dueñas to see the Duchess of Alba. As a thank you for the people’s support, she performed a quick few steps of the flamenco dance for them.

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and the Duchess of Alba watch a flamenco performance at the Flamenco Museum in Madrid / Getty Images

Sadly, she got to enjoy her marriage for three years only. Duchess of Alba died on November 19, 2014, at the age of 88.

She left all her fortune and her assets to her children. She was believed to have had a net worth of between €600 million and €3.5 billion.

Cayetana owned numerous castles all over Spain, with her most famous property being the Liria Palace in Madrid, built around 1770. Inside, it was believed there were around 249 oil paintings by artists such as Rembrandt and Rubens.

Cayetana, however, never spoke of her fortune and claimed she wasn’t that rich. In one occasion she even said, “I have a lot of artworks, but I can’t eat them, can I?” 

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Besides her controversial marriages, her many titles, and her connections and friendships with influential individuals, one thing that marked Cayetana’s life was the plastic surgeries she had over the years.

Although she never confessed going under the knife, it was very much obvious she had undergone procedures.

The Daily Mail once described her as a “Pekingese with Botox” and wrote how she was an extreme example of what can go wrong in the world of plastic surgery.

One thing is certain, Cayetana was happy with her looks and her life, and at the end, that’s what matters the most.

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