3 Say Weinstein Raped Them, as Paltrow and Jolie Break Silence
New Yorker, New York Times
Since the New York Times's original exposé, there have been many more revelations and new accusers in the Harvey Weinstein sex-abuse scandal. In the New Yorker, Ronan Farrow reports that three women accuse the movie mogul of rape. The magazine presents undercover audio from an investigation of Weinstein in which he appears to admit to groping women in the past. The Huffington Post says Farrow's story "was in NBC's hands as recently as August" but the network passed on it. In the New York Times, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, and others say Weinstein made unwanted advances toward them too. And Weinstein's wife said she's leaving him. As news investigations widen, TMZ is reporting that Weinstein's contract allowed for sexual harassment, while the International Business Times reports that Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., who declined to prosecute Weinstein in 2015 for allegedly groping an Italian model, received a campaign donation from the film executive's lawyer, David Boies.
Weinstein Fallout: Amazon Official Suspended
Variety
Amazon suspended top entertainment executive Roy Price as reports resurfaced of harassment of Isa Hackett, a "Man in the High Castle" executive producer who is the daughter of science-fiction author Philip K. Dick. And actress Rose McGowan accused Amazon of canceling a script she had in development there when she told a top executive, reportedly Price, that Weinstein had raped her. Amazon is developing two series with the Weinstein Company.
Video: 'Bias Inside the Newsroom of the NY Times'
Project Veritas
In the latest sting video by James O'Keefe and his Project Veritas, a video editor for the New York Times is caught on camera saying that the Times "always" slants news with an anti-Trump bias and that he does too, always. Responding, the Times says the editor appears to have "violated our ethical standards."
America's Shadow War in Africa
Politico
The United States is deploying growing numbers of troops to Africa's most lawless regions, including the part of Niger where four soldiers died in an ambush last week. "The U.S. military presence in the Sahel and sub-Saharan regions has grown to at least 1,500 troops," Politico says, "roughly triple the official number of American troops in Syria."
Burma: ‘They Threw My Baby Into a Fire'
New York Times
Jeffrey Gettleman investigates the brutalization of a Rohingya woman by Burmese soldiers: "... The soldiers clubbed Rajuma in the face, tore her screaming child out of her arms and hurled him into a fire. She was then dragged into a house and gang-raped. By the time the day was over, she was running through a field naked and covered in blood. Alone, she had lost her son, her mother, her two sisters and her younger brother, all wiped out in front of her eyes, she says."
Dark Secrets of Florida Juvenile Justice
Miami Herald
The beating death of Elord Revolte, 17, caught on camera in the Miami-Dade juvenile detention center, is just one of many dark secrets of the Florida juvenile justice system. Common are incompetent supervision, questionable health care, and spasms of staff-induced violence, sometimes bought for the price of a pastry. The youth's killing prompted this investigative series by the Miami Herald.
Chinese Couples Seek American Pregnancy Surrogates
New Republic
Surrogate pregnancy is illegal in China, so many affluent Chinese couples are flocking to the United States for American women open to the work. Demand is skyrocketing, and so is the supply of surrogates to meet it. After all, the money's not bad: Surrogacy can cost around $100,000, of which about a third goes to the child-bearer.
How Smartphones Hijack Our Minds
Wall Street Journal
Smartphones might be weakening our intellects as our brains grow more dependent on the devices, says technology writer Nicholas Carr. Beyond the endless distractions, even suppressing the desire to check our phones has been found to debilitate our ability to think. It seems that even as access to information grows, gadgets hinder learning.
