Alec Baldwin Ignored the No. 1 Rule of Gun Safety: Hollywood Weapons Expert

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Alec Baldwin, who accidentally killed his cinematographer on the set of his film “Rust,” should have never pointed a gun at another human, even if he believed it was safe, Hollywood safety experts told The Post.

And the actor is now likely to face a gantlet of legal challenges — including possible criminal charges — as both the man who pulled the trigger and as the executive producer responsible for set safety, legal experts said.

“Loaded or unloaded, a weapon never gets pointed at another human being,” Hollywood firearms consultant Bryan Carpenter of Dark Thirty Film Services told The Post. . .

For safety, all live firearms used in TV and film productions are typically aimed at a dummy point, not at equipment, cast or crew, Carpenter noted. Guns, he said, are never aimed at a person.

“You never let the muzzle of a weapon cover something you don’t intend to destroy,” said Carpenter, whose New Orleans-based firm has worked on the sets of scores of TV and film productions. “All guns are always loaded. Even if they are not, treat them as if they are.” (Read more from “Alec Baldwin Ignored the No. 1 Rule of Gun Safety: Hollywood Weapons Expert” HERE)

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NYC Man Tries to Strangle Little Girl Arraigned, Out on Bail

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A 29-year-old man accused of trying to strangle an 11-year-old girl in a Manhattan park was arraigned and released on $7,500 bail on Saturday night.

Nathaniel Direnzo, of Saint Marks Place, was arrested on Saturday morning for a bizarre, broad-daylight attack on the young girl and another minor on Wednesday afternoon. . .

According to police, just around noon on Oct. 20, Direnzo approached the girl and her classmates at Stuyvesant Square with her classmates and began to yell at them, before spraying water on the group and trying to attack them, cops said.

When the young girl tried to fight back, cops say Direnzo grabbed her by the hair and punched her in the face. He then allegedly “wrapped his hands around the girl’s neck,” trying to strangle her, police said. (Read more from “NYC Man Tries to Strangle Little Girl Arraigned, Out on Bail” HERE)

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State Department Says 363 Americans Still Trapped in Afghanistan; Biden Admin Lied Claiming Only 100 Left Behind After Botched Withdrawal

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At least 363 Americans are still trapped in Afghanistan — far above the administration’s initial estimate — weeks after the Biden administration’s botched withdrawal from the jihadist-controlled country, according to the State Department.

The State Department reportedly relayed the information to congressional staff Thursday, admitting it is in contact with 363 Americans stranded in Afghanistan. Of those, 176 reportedly want to come home.

This figure is far greater than the estimate offered by Secretary of State Antony Blinken last month, insisting that roughly 100 Americans were left in the country.

“We believe the number of those who have American citizenship, many of them dual-nationals, who remain in Afghanistan is somewhere around a hundred,” he told reporters in Qatar in September, claiming the department to be in “direct contact with virtually all of them.”

“We are working around the clock to help U.S. citizens, to help lawful permanent residents, to help at-risk Afghans to whom we have a special commitment depart Afghanistan if they so choose,” he said at the time, claiming that they had “successfully done that already.”

(Read more from “State Department Says 363 Americans Still Trapped in Afghanistan; Biden Admin Lied Claiming Only 100 Left Behind After Botched Withdrawal” HERE)

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Afghan Refugee Charged With Rape of 18-Year-old After Resettling in U.S.

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An Afghan refugee was charged with raping an 18-year-old after resettling in Missoula, Montana, Fox News reported on Thursday.

Zabihullah Muhmand, 19, ended up in Montana as part of a State Department effort to resettle people evacuated from Afghanistan after the government fell to the Taliban in mid-August, Republican Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte announced, according to Fox News. Gianforte asked the Biden administration to stop resettlement efforts so officials can look into the vetting process of evacuees.

“911 received a call from the victim and also from the local motel who wanted to report seeing some concerning behavior between a male and female,” police official Lydia Arnold said, local outlet KGVO reported. “Officers were able to connect the victim with the resources in Missoula to aid the victim with immediate medical assistance, conduct a preliminary investigation, and take a preliminary statement from the victim.”

Muhmand was arrested after the victim called 911 from a motel in Missoula, the Missoula Police Department told Fox News. Muhmand was charged with sexual intercourse without consent and is in custody at the Missoula County Jail pending the results of an investigation. (Read more from “Afghan Refugee Charged With Rape of 18-Year-old After Resettling in Montana” HERE)

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Fauci, Washington’s Highest-Paid Fed, Got Big Break Under George W. Bush

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Dr. Anthony Fauci drew a salary of $434,312 in 2020, making him the federal government’s highest-paid employee for the second year in a row, and the top earner among dozens of medical officers receiving high salaries throughout the executive branch.

Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and current chief medical adviser to the president, was paid $417,608 in 2019.

That’s according to federal compensation data compiled and published by Open The Books, an Illinois-based nonprofit that compiles and publishes millions of salary, pension, and other spending data for the federal and state governments, as well as the nation’s largest cities. The federal salary database can be found here.

Fauci is paid more than the president of the United States, the vice president, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and all nine Supreme Court justices.

Fauci, at $399,625, was the third-highest-paid federal employee in 2018, exceeded only by Robert J. Wylie, a medical officer colleague at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The second highest that year was another HHS medical officer, Rachel Sherman, at $399,750. (Read more from “Fauci, Washington’s Highest-Paid Fed, Got Big Break Under George W. Bush” HERE)

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Patience With Biden Wearing Thin Among Black Leaders

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Black voters and activists are increasingly frustrated with Democrats and the Biden administration in the wake of the party’s latest failure to advance voting rights legislation.

In his first days in office, President Biden signed a flurry of executive orders to advance equity throughout every aspect of the federal government, but his campaign promises were far loftier, and Democrats have struggled to make good on them.

Now, after nine months during which not a single voting rights bill made it to the president’s desk, pressure is mounting on Biden to turn things around as projections for next year’s midterms start to look bleak for Democrats.

NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson delivered a stark warning to Biden in a statement released after a failed cloture vote on the Freedom to Vote Act Wednesday afternoon: “Don’t forget that Black voters landed a victory for this President and this Congress, so don’t fail us again.”

White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre acknowledged Thursday that there have been setbacks with both voting legislation and police reform talks, but she highlighted other ways the administration is advancing policies important to the Black community. (Read more from “Patience With Biden Wearing Thin Among Black Leaders” HERE)

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Mega Actor Kills Woman With Prop Gun on Movie Set

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Alec Baldwin reportedly discharged a prop gun at a movie set outside Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Thursday, killing a woman and injuring a man.

The incident resulted in the death of the film’s director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, 42, and an injury of director Joel Souza, 48, the sheriff’s office said in a statement released Thursday evening, NBC News reported.

“There was an accident today on the New Mexico set of Rust involving the misfire of a prop gun with blanks,” a spokesperson for Baldwin said in a statement, according to NBC News. “Production has been halted for the time being. The safety of our cast and crew remains our top priority.”

The sheriff’s office said that investigators were looking into “how and what type of projectile was discharged,” Variety reported.

Baldwin was reportedly questioned by the investigators Thursday evening and was seen and photographed in tears while in the parking lot outside the sheriff’s office, according to Santa Fe New Mexican. (Read more from “Mega Actor Kills Woman With Prop Gun on Movie Set” HERE)

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30% Of Americans Struggling To Eat Due to Biden-Flation

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Three of 10 Americans are missing meals because of the high prices of food – the result of inflation that the Biden administration has been unable to control, according to a new poll.

Zogby Analytics said 29.3% of respondents said “yes” to the question, “Because of the Biden administration’s inability to control inflation, has the increased cost of food resulted in you or your family having to skip meals?”

So far, 65.7% said, that hasn’t happened to them.

“There is no shortage of crises today. We’re on the verge of so many disruptions environmentally, politically, and economically that it’s hard to keep track,” the Zogby analysis said. “While we struggle to get COVID under control, clear supply chains, control energy costs, and fill millions of open jobs, there is another crisis lurking in the shadows that might be affecting more people than once thought.”

The report continued, “Food insecurity is becoming increasingly too familiar these days. As the gap between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ widens, more and more Americans are finding it harder to meet ends daily. Economists and advocacy groups are sounding the alarm bells as food insecurity is on the rise in U.S. To compound matters, rising food prices are not helping the situation. Families are missing meals because their paychecks do not go as far as they once did a few years ago. The middle class is being hollowed out by inflation. We asked voters if they felt the Biden Administration’s failure to control inflation had caused them or family members to miss meals because of the increased cost of food prices, and the results were shocking.” (Read more from “30% Of Americans Struggling To Eat Due to Biden-Flation” HERE)

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CDC Director: Boosters May Force Change to Definition of ‘Fully Vaccinated’

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CDC Director Rochelle Walensky has suggested that the definition of “fully vaccinated” may be subject to change now that booster shots are becoming widely available.

Speaking during a COVID-19 response press briefing on Friday, Walensky was asked by an Associated Press reporter if fully vaccinated status will one day be jeopardized for those who are vaccinated but not boosted.

“Is the administration rethinking the definition of what it means to be fully vaccinated now that these boosters are recommended?” the reporter asked. “Should people who are eligible for a booster now get one by a certain time frame to maintain their fully vaccinated status?”

Walensky responded that it was a great question before elaborating.

“Right now, we don’t have booster eligibility for all people,” she said. “So, we are going to — we have not yet changed the definition of fully vaccinated. We will continue to look at shots. We may need to update our definition of fully vaccinated in the future. But right now, what I would say is, if you’re eligible for a booster, go ahead and get your booster, and we will continue to follow.” (Read more from “CDC Director: Boosters May Force Change to Definition of ‘Fully Vaccinated'” HERE)

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Email Confirms Loudoun County School Board Knew About Alleged Sexual Assault on Day It Happened

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The Loudoun County Public Schools board was informed of an alleged sexual assault that took place in a high school bathroom on May 28, 2021, an email from Superintendent Scott Ziegler shows.

The email, which was reported by WTOP-TV, alerted the school board that an incident took place at Stone Bridge High School in which a female student alleged she was sexually assaulted by a male student in the restroom.

The May 28 email reads:

Good Afternoon, Board Members, The purpose of this email is to provide you with information regarding an incident that occurred at Stone Bridge HS. This afternoon a female student alleged that a male student sexually assaulted her in the restroom. The LCSO [Sheriff’s Office] is investigating the matter. Secondary to the assault investigation, the female student’s parent responded to the school and caused a disruption by using threatening and profane language that was overheard by staff and students. Additional law enforcement units responded to the school to assist with the parent. The school’s counseling team is providing services for students who witnessed the parent’s behavior. The alleged victim is being tended to by LCSO.

According to WTOP-TV, the details of the incident were not disclosed to the school board because the board may be involved in student disciplinary actions, and they are rarely told the specifics of major incidents at schools. (Read more from “Email Confirms Loudoun County School Board Knew About Alleged Sexual Assault on Day It Happened” HERE)

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