TV News LIES

James Tolkan, known for his roles as an authoritarian figure in the Back to the Future and Top Gun films, has died. He was 94.

Tolkan died Thursday in Lake Placid, New York, where he lived, his booking agent, John Alcantar, said Saturday. A brief obituary published on the Back to the Future website said Tolkan died “peacefully”, but no cause of death was given.

In Back to the Future, Tolkan portrayed the bow tie-wearing vice-principal Gerald Strickland, who eyeballed students for trouble in the halls of the fictitious Hill Valley high school – in particular Marty McFly, played by Michael J Fox.

“You got a real attitude problem, McFly,” Tolkan’s character says in the 1985 film. “You’re a slacker. You remind me of your father when he went here. He was a slacker, too.”

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A Palestinian middle school student in Michigan who was publicly admonished for refusing to stand for the pledge of allegiance as part of a personal protest against the war on Gaza has settled with her school district following a lawsuit around her first amendment free speech rights.

The teenager, identified as DK in court documents, said she faced racism from a teacher at the West Middle school in Canton, Michigan, after she did not participate in the pledge. The teacher reportedly told DK to “go back to her country”, Fox 2 Detroit reported.

In a statement following the settlement, DK called the ordeal “terrifying” and “overwhelming” at times.

“But it taught me the importance of speaking up for what I believe is right,” said DK. “I feel proud of the outcome and of being part of something that reinforces how important free speech is. I’ve learned that even when it feels uncomfortable or risky, speaking out can make a difference, not just for me, but for others as well.”

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A female executive at the top of the modelling industry had a close friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and introduced him to women on the agency’s books, a Guardian investigation has found.

Until last November, Faith Kates ran Next Management modelling and talent agency, which has represented the likes of Alexa Chung, Milla Jovovich and Billie Eilish, a position she held for decades as the founder of the business. She stepped down quietly just weeks before the first major Epstein files were released, saying she intended to focus on charity work.

Links between Kates and the late sex offender have previously been reported, but analysis of documents published by the US Department of Justice reveals a much deeper relationship than previously known, with emails showing Kates secretly took business advice from Epstein and discussed multimillion-dollar loans.

Kates appears to have met Epstein regularly, including on one occasion with the then Prince Andrew at a New York department store in December 2010, the week of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s now infamous visit to the city to supposedly call off his friendship with the financier.

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A tourist helicopter crashed on a remote beach off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii, killing three people and injuring two others, authorities said.

The helicopter was carrying one pilot and four passengers when it crashed on Thursday afternoon at Kalalau Beach, the Kauai fire department said. The beach is on the Na Pali coast on Kauai’s north shore. The area is otherwise reachable only by hiking or boat.

The area’s geography of tall seaside cliffs and sharp mountain ridges can contribute to turbulent air and quick weather changes that pose hazards for aviation. It was the latest in a series of fatal crashes that has plagued the industry for decades.

The helicopter was carrying one pilot and four passengers when it crashed on Thursday afternoon at Kalalau Beach, the Kauai fire department said. The beach is on the Na Pali coast on Kauai’s north shore. The area is otherwise reachable only by hiking or boat.

The area’s geography of tall seaside cliffs and sharp mountain ridges can contribute to turbulent air and quick weather changes that pose hazards for aviation. It was the latest in a series of fatal crashes that has plagued the industry for decades.

Police said three people died and two others were transported to Wilcox medical center for treatment. An email was sent to the medical center seeking the patients’ conditions.

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Jeff Webb, a cheerleading pioneer and mentor to the late Charlie Kirk, died at 76 after a “tragic accident,” according to his family.

Webb was the founder of Varsity Spirit and helped turn cheerleading into a sport recognized by the International Olympic Committee, according to The Associated Press.

A family spokesperson said Webb died after a “tragic accident,” and the family declined to share more details.

People reports that Webb suffered a fall while playing pickleball two weeks before his death. He reportedly sustained a severe head injury and the family later decided to remove him from life support.

Webb started the Universal Cheerleaders Association in 1974 and developed camps, new uniforms and the first national competition.

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A California jury on Wednesday found that Meta and Google were to blame for the depression and anxiety of a woman who compulsively used social media as a small child, awarding her $6 million in a rare verdict holding Silicon Valley accountable for its role in fueling a youth mental health crisis.

The jurors concluded that Meta and Google should pay the woman $3 million in compensatory damages and an additional $3 million in punitive damages, with Meta on the hook for 70% of that amount.

While the financial punishment is miniscule for companies each worth trillions of dollars, the decision is still consequential. It represents the first time a jury has found that social media apps should be treated as defective products for being engineered to exploit the developing brains of kids and teenagers.

The verdict validated the plaintiff's lawyers' approach of shifting the legal target; instead of focusing on the content people see on social media, the case put the spotlight on how social media services were designed. Meta's apps, including Instagram, and Google's YouTube, the jury concluded, were deliberately built to be addictive and the companies' executives knew this and failed to protect their youngest users.

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