List of All Articles with Tag 'ti'

Ratings agency Fitch on Tuesday downgraded the U.S. government's top credit rating by a notch to 'AA+' sending

Swedish study found computer-aided detection could spot cancer at similar rate to two radiologists.

WASHINGTON Former Vice President Mike Pence, who confounded attempts by then-President Donald Trump to remain in power after

Since her breakthrough album in 2019, Lizzo has been a vocal advocate of body positivity and self love – but now the pop star has been hit with a lawsuit claiming that she weight-shamed her backing dancers. The singer, real name Melissa Viviane Jefferson, is also facing claims of sexual harassment, and of creating a hostile work environment via racial and religious harassment, in a suit filed by three of her backing dancers. The claims, which are not all against Lizzo personally, have taken many fans by surprise. The singer has not commented on the allegations. Here are the details, and why they matter. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Who is making the claims? Two of the claimants are Arianna Davis and another former dancer, Crystal Williams, who began performing with Lizzo after competing on her Amazon reality show, Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, in 2021. They were fired earlier this year, the suit says. The third dancer involved in the lawsuit, Noelle Rodriguez, was hired the same year after performing in the video for “Rumors”. She resigned earlier this year. What are the claims? The suit accuses Lizzo of calling attention to the weight of one of her dancers, Arianna Davis, after an appearance at South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival in 2022. The singer allegedly told the dancer that she seemed “less committed” to her job. The suit describes the comment as a “thinly veiled” concern about Davis’ weight. Amsterdam strip club incident Earlier this year, the suit claims, Lizzo and her dancers went to an Amsterdam strip club called Bananenbar, where the singer allegedly “began inviting cast members to take turns touching the nude performers, catching dildos launched from the performers’ vaginas, and eating bananas protruding from the performers’ vaginas”. Lizzo then allegedly pressured Davis to touch one of the strippers’ breasts. Davis eventually did, despite being “visibly uncomfortable”, the suit says. A week later, after a performance in Paris, Lizzo allegedly invited her dancers to a club so they could “learn something”, but failed to mention that it was a “nude cabaret bar”. The suit described the performance as “artful,” but the dancers were “shocked that Lizzo would conceal the nature of the event from them, robbing them of the choice not to participate”. Racial harassment claims The racial harassment claim is aimed at comments made by employees of Lizzo’s touring company, which the suit describes as “charged with racial and fat-phobic animus”. The former dancers say they asked to be paid for their downtime at 50 per cent of their weekly pay, but an accountant allegedly declined, offering half of that and calling their request “unacceptable and disrespectful”. “Only the dance cast — comprised of full-figured women of color — were ever spoken to in this manner,” the suit said. ‘Religious harassment’ Meanwhile, Lizzo’s dance captain Shirlene Quigley allegedly harassed the dancers with her religious beliefs. According to the suit, she preached her Christianity and “took every opportunity to proselytize to any and all in her presence regardless of protestations”. After discovering that Davis was a virgin, Quigley discussed the subject in interviews and posted about it on social media, the suit says. When cast members asked her to stop pressuring Rodriguez – who Quigley regarded as a “non-believer,” according to the suit – about her faith, Quigley responded: “No job and no one will stop me from talking about the Lord”. Fractious firings Two of the dancers were fired in April and May 2023. According to the suit, Williams lost her job first, after speaking up in a meeting where Lizzo had allegedly claimed the dancers were drinking before performances. The previous day, Lizzo had forced the group to audition for their jobs again, which resulted in an “excruciating” 12-hour rehearsal. Five days later, on April 26, Lizzo’s tour manager fired Williams in a hotel lobby, the suit says, putting the move down to budget cuts. The suit noted that nobody else was fired in that instance. The next day, Lizzo allegedly raised the incident with the dancers in a meeting, telling them she had “eyes and ears everywhere”. The suit continues that Davis recorded the meeting on her phone, which made Lizzo “furious” when she later found out. When Davis told the singer she hadn’t meant any harm, Lizzo allegedly responded “There is nothing you can say to make me believe you,” and fired Davis. Before Lizzo left the meeting, Rodriguez then told her that she felt disrespected and would resign. As she left, the singer allegedly raised both her middle fingers and yelled a slur. Why it matters Lizzo has long been a beacon of hope for the body positivity movement, and has spoken out against bullying multiple times in public. Earlier this year, she said online videos which fat shamed her were “starting to make me hate the world.” “I’m tired of explaining myself all the time,” she added. She also said that all the talk of her weight made her feel like quitting her music career. Meanwhile, songs including the hit 'Good As Hell' feature lyrics about valuing oneself, which has prompted Lizzo's live performances to be themed around boundless positivity. That is why the claims have taken fans aback. The dancers’ lawyer, Rob Zambrano, said: “The stunning nature of how Lizzo and her management team treated their performers seems to go against everything Lizzo stands for publicly, while privately she weight-shames her dancers and demeans them in ways that are not only illegal but absolutely demoralizing.” The lawsuit doesn’t say whether Lizzo knew about the behaviour of Quigley, the dance captain. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Approval ratings of the US Supreme Court remain at record low levels and Americans are closely divided on Justice Clarence Thomas, as the court continues to issue controversial opinions and is hit with criticism about ethics standards.

Donald Trump’s place at the top of the polls for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination makes him a

Mr Trump is being indicted for allegedly plotting to overturn his 2020 election defeat.

When Ford Motor Co.’s UK boss visited the automaker’s massive production complex in Turkey last week, temperatures reached

Donald Trump is in trouble once again. The former US president has been indicted over trying to mess with the 2020 election. He is accused of four counts including conspiracy to defraud the US, tampering with a witness and conspiracy against the rights of citizens. The indictment caps an inquiry into events surrounding the 6 January 2021 riot at the US Capitol. It is not the only issue Trump is facing. He has already been charged in two other cases: with mishandling classified files and falsifying business records to cover up a hush-money payment to the porn star Stormy Daniels. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Nevertheless, he called the case "ridiculous" and denied wrongdoing. His campaign said: "The lawlessness of these persecutions of President Trump and his supporters is reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, the former Soviet Union, and other authoritarian, dictatorial regimes." It added: "These un-American witch hunts will fail." The election investigation has focused on Trump's actions in the two-month period between his loss to Joe Biden and the riot in Washington DC. The 45-page indictment lists six unnamed co-conspirators: four lawyers, a justice department official and a political consultant. The court document accuses Trump of a "conspiracy to impair, obstruct, and defeat the federal government function through dishonesty, fraud and deceit". The man leading the inquiry, special counsel Jack Smith, said: "The attack on our nation's capital on January 6 2021 was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy. "As described in the indictment it was fuelled by lies." Here's how people reacted: Mike Pence said the indictment against Trump was “an important reminder [that] anyone who puts himself over the constitution should never be president of the United States”. He also said that though Trump was entitled to be presumed innocent, “his candidacy means more talk about January 6 and more distractions”. “Trump’s presidential bid is driven by an attempt to stay out of prison and scam his supporters into footing his legal bills,” former Texas congressman Will Hurd said. “Furthermore, his denial of the 2020 election results and actions on January 6 show he’s unfit for office.” He added: “As Republicans we need to prioritise offering solutions to difficult issues affecting all Americans … if we make the upcoming election about Trump, we are giving Joe Biden another four years in the White House.” Trump also got some supportive messages from Republicans who believe it to be a distraction attempt to undermine the former president. Trump is due to appear in court on Thursday in Washington DC. This story is not going anywhere. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

By Panarat Thepgumpanat BANGKOK Thailand's election-winning Move Forward Party is no longer part of an eight-party coalition hoping

Jurors on Wednesday will deliberate for a second day on whether to sentence Robert Bowers to death for killing 11 worshippers and wounding six others at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018.

Donald Trump was indicted on 1 August on four charges by a grand jury hearing evidence in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The indictment also described six unnamed co-conspirators. The former president was informed shortly beforehand and posted the news on Truth Social that he would soon be indicted. This is Mr Trump’s third criminal indictment, his second federal indictment, and his first for his alleged conduct while in office as president. He has been ordered to make an initial appearance in federal court in Washington on Thursday, while the case has been assigned to US district judge Tanya Chutkan, who was appointed by Barack Obama. In a brief statement, Mr Smith placed the blame for the violence squarely on Mr Trump’s shoulders, saying the 6 January 2021 riot “was fueled by lies”. The Trump campaign said he had always followed the law and characterized the indictment as a “persecution” reminiscent of Nazi Germany. “President Trump will not be deterred by disgraceful and unprecedented political targeting!” it added. Read Trump’s indictment from the January 6 grand jury in full Read More Donald Trump’s third indictment explained Why Trump is charged under a civil rights law used to prosecute KKK terror Takeaways from the Trump indictment that alleges a campaign of 'fraud and deceit' Criminal conspiracies and civil rights abuses: Trump charges to overturn 2020 election, explained