Kevin Spacey has been charged with raping three men
All the news that's fit to mint
All the news that's fit to mint
Oscar winner and House of Cards star Kevin Spacey has been charged with four counts of sexual assault against three men by the UK's Crown Prosecution Service.
"He has also been charged with causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent. The charges follow a review of the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police in its investigation,"CPS spokesperson Rosemary Ainslie said. It's not yet known whether he will be extradited to the UK to face the charges.
These charges come as Spacey's career was on the brink of a comeback at the Cannes Film Festival as movie executives shopped around the rights to his latest project - a drama called Peter Five Eight.
It's the first leading role he's been in since his career came to a grinding halt in 2017 amid accusations of sexual misconduct.
PM in the AM
Here's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in glorious Goblin Mode.
The quintessential informal "Informed Australian".
Here's the guy who made a fuss about his pre-election shred and glow up, but this is the best he's looked. More #relatable content please PM.
We have to give the guy a pass for a low-fi end to the week. He's been busy.
Since winning the election on Saturday, he was up early Sunday to begin briefings, sort the new ministry and start the handover process from Scott Morrison. On Monday he was in Canberra being sworn in, by Tuesday morning he was speaking on the international stage and Wednesday he was charming he way to a State Visit to the US.
When he got back from the Quad meeting in Japan late Wednesday, Albo headed home to Marrickville in Sydney's trendy inner west but made a stop at a cemetery to "visit" his darling and dearly departed mum, Maryanne.
It was a bittersweet moment. It was 20-years to the day since her funeral and the new PM took what he called a "private moment" to remember the woman - the single mum with no formal education who lived on a disability pension - who got him to The Lodge.
"I travelled last night out to the cemetery to see her and have a chat,” he told Channel Nine. "I hope it gives people out there, whether they be single mums or people going through difficulties in life … I hope my journey does give people a bit of an uplift. It’s not about me. No one gets there … by themselves. You get there because people believe in you, because people provide you with support."
He's now busy again organising who'll join him, deputy PM Richard Marles, treasurer Jim Chalmers, finance minister Katy Gallagher and foreign affairs minister Penny Wong in cabinet. The rest of the government is set to be announced next week.
But Albanese also needs to get cracking on his government's renewable energy plan.
He's copping some heat (sorry) from business groups, including the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who are calling for finer details and bipartisan support (here's looking at you Greens) asap in order to ensure our power stays on and all this talk about electricity bill pain is short lived.
Meanwhile Wong is hard at work overseas trying to repair Australia's relationship in the Pacific.
The foreign minister is in Fiji and has promised Pacific leaders that Australia will do more in the region. We'll “do it differently”, take “real action” on climate change and support partners “with no strings attached”.
She made the dash over to the island nation to say a casual "hi" ahead of a Chinese government delegation heading to the region next week to showcase a proposal for a new cyber, security and policing deal to a few of our Pacific neighbours.
Wong said "we'll do it right" when asked how Australia will deal with the rising tensions in the region.
Let's pray for big Eternal Flame vibes.
Speaking of cooked...
Texan senator Ted Cruz, who is due to appear at a National Rifle Association meeting today, wants schools in the US to have armed guards, bullet proof glass and only one door in order to stop kids being murdered by people who can easily access guns.
‘We need to prevent crimes like this and the way we do that is, we prosecute criminals, we prosecute felons and fugitives when they try to illegally buy guns. We put them in jail.’ - United States Senator for Texas @tedcruz. https://t.co/4EPswsHDtp #Texas #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/tsF3hNoi2u
— 7NEWS Sydney (@7NewsSydney) May 26, 2022
Former president Donald Trump will join Cruz at the NRA love in where weapons have been banned because "it would be too dangerous".
Satire is dead, as are 19 kids...
Meanwhile as parents in Texas identified their murdered children, Cruz's Republican mate in Oklahoma signed off on the toughest abortion ban in the US.
Governor Kevin Stitt has outlawed terminations at any stage of pregnancy and delegated enforcement of the new law to private citizens, who can sue anyone who performs or aids an abortion for a minimum of $14,000 in damages.
The law took effect immediately last night. And with his signature, Oklahoma becomes the only state to ban abortion throughout pregnancy, going a step beyond Texas’s six-week abortion ban that took effect in September 2021.
It provides an exception for a medical emergency, or if the pregnancy is the result of rape, sexual assault or incest but only if that has been reported to the cops first.
I'm too ragey right now to continue, so I'll let Megan Thee Stallion finish with what she started earlier this week when accepting her Webby Award.
Reporting for Mom duty
Meghan Markle has travelled to Uvalde in Texas in her "capacity as a mother" where she donated two crates of food, drinks and desserts to a community blood donation clinic then visited a memorial for the 21 people, including 19 kids, killed in this week's school massacre.
Her visit comes as the Governor of Texas Greg Abbott was criticised for attending a fundraiser in the hours after the mass shooting, while his political opponent, Beto O'Rourke, went to donate blood.
Ley-beral Party
It's looking likely Peter Dutton will be the new Opposition Leader come next Monday when the remaining cast of Liberal party gather in Canberra for a party room vote.
Amongst the ashes, Sussan Ley may rise.
The NSW MP, former health minister who quit after an expenses bungle back in 2017 and then rejoined Cabinet as environment minister under Scott Morrison, has confirmed she'll put her hand up for the role of deputy.
So while Dutts has had some real life experience being a cop in Queensland for a few years, Ley has a resume bursting with diverse accomplishments. She's a qualified pilot and while she was studying in aviation she also held down gigs such as air traffic controller, did a few seasons mustering as a pilot and also worked as a shearer's cook.
If Ley is successful, she'll be the second woman to hold the position as deputy leader of the federal Liberal party.
After a bruising term in parliament, a brutal six-week campaign and a solid flogging at the polls on Saturday, Ley said she's feeling "energised and enthusiastic" about everything, especially "rebuilding the Liberal party".
You have to admire the tenacity. I'd be at least 98% gin and sleeping 23-hours a day after that innings.
Magic Mike
Another Lib who's embarking on a new gig, is former greyhound advocate and NSW Premier Mike Baird. Remember him?
Well, two things to note. He's not, not ruled out a return to politics one day but before that he is going to head up Future Generation Australia. Sounds vague and beige, but it's not. It's a listed investment company that donates about 1% of its assets to youth focused charities. Since it was established eight years ago, it has supported young Aussies and services, including the Kids Helpline and Youth Off The Streets, by chipping in about $27m.
Cricket gets candid
Earlier this year there was all this drama in the then super successful Australian cricket team when its coach, Justin Langer quit, knocking back a new 6-month contract.
Langer broke his silence on Thursday saying he had enough of the "bullshit politics" after there were continuous reports leaked to the media saying players had been "worn down by his intense style".
One particularly colourful incident was when Langer asked a player to stop eating a toastie on the pitch during formal practice. The player, an adult man, had a sook about being told off.
JL, as he was known during his playing days, has only one speed - flat out. His style, regardless of how "outdated" or "unorthodox", got results. The team, with him at the helm, won the Ashes, the T20 World Cup and only lost one game all season.
Langer was widely supported by many of his famous mates and former team mates when he walked.
Speaking to a bunch of suits in his home town of Perth on Thursday he detailed a conversation he had with Cricket Australia chairman Richard Freudenstein the day after he stood down:
"The first thing he said to me was: 'It must make you feel so good that all your mates are supporting you in the media,'" Langer said.
"I said: 'Yeah it is acting chairman, but with all due respect, those mates are also the all-time greats of Australian cricket. They are the fabric of Australian cricket. They are Australian cricket. They also work all around the world in cricket. So yeah, I’m glad my mates are looking after me. Imagine if you had have."
We hear Freudenstein is still being treated for that third-degree burn.
Red card for women's soccer
Police have been asked to look into "criminal" complaints following a five month internal investigation into the toxic culture of Australian women's soccer brought to the public's attention by former Matildas captain Lisa De Vanna.
Some of the allegations included grooming, bullying and one parent saying a male coach, 20 years older than her teenage daughter, promised her a place on the starting line-up if she agreed to his sexual advances. While another said a senior female player sent his high school aged daughter nude videos of herself.
De Vanna attempted to work with the organisation to deal with these, and a myriad of other alarming complaints, but nothing every eventuated until now.
"It’s a major step forward in the right direction and De Vanna should be lauded for her courage, for the Matildas legend has paid a very deep personal price in being the lead voice in this investigation chiefly after some former and current Matildas teammates turned their backs on her," News Corp journalist Seline Steele, who broke the story, said.
"Not only did they turn her back on her, they deliberately turned the conversation into one of sexuality and gender instead of abuse and player welfare."
Meghan Markle’s favourite face gym is opening in Australia, Greta Thunberg publishes Andrew Tate’s contact details
All the news that's fit to mint.
Emily Ratajkowski joins the competitive world of online dating, Nick Kyrgios quits at the last minute
All the news that's fit to mint.