Dancer in Weinstein film testifies he sexually assaulted her in 2003
A dancer who worked as a body double in a movie produced by Harvey Weinstein testified Thursday that the filmmaker removed her top and acted in a lewd manner during a 2003 sexual assault in Puerto Rico.
The woman, identified as Ashley M., said at Weinstein’s rape and sexual assault trial in Los Angeles that she met Weinstein on the set of “Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights.”
The then-22-year-old dancer said she was “freaked out” after meeting the Oscar-winning film producer but agreed to go with him to his hotel because his then-assistant, Bonnie Hung, said she would remain with them the entire time.
She said Hung’s presence made her feel safe, but the situation changed as the trio began walking down the hall of the hotel toward a door.
“Harvey opened it and then he went in and I went in,” she said, as she began to cry.
“And then Bonnie shut the door behind us. I was like, ‘Oh no, what do I do?’”
Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to the allegations he faces in Los Angeles: four counts of rape and seven counts of sexual assault. Ashley M. is one of four women who are not involved in the charges but have been allowed to testify and describe Weinstein’s behavior.
—New York Daily News
6 wounded in shooting outside funeral in Pittsburgh, police say
PITTSBURGH — Gunfire erupted outside a funeral Friday, leaving six people wounded and continuing a spate of gun violence across Pittsburgh’s North Side.
The shooting began around noon outside of Destiny of Faith church in the 3700 block of Brighton Road. Police said at least 20 rounds were fired.
Inside the church, loved ones mourned and remembered 20-year-old John Hornezes Jr.
Hornezes was among three people shot and killed Oct. 15 in a shootout near a gas station on Cedar Avenue. Police have said they believe he might have been one of the shooters. Two women at a nearby bus stop were killed in that shooting.
The funeral was being livestreamed via YouTube.
Footage shows horrified attendees screaming and ducking for cover as muffled but loud bangs can be heard. Someone shouted above the din of terror for everyone to stay inside. The video showed people gathering and taking cover in one corner of the front of the church.
The video feed eventually cuts out, but the sound of panic continues on for 10 more minutes.
Through Thursday, the city had recorded 59 homicides, 25% more than the same time last year, Cmdr. Ford said during an Oct. 27 media briefing. Only one had taken place in Brighton Heights, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner.
—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Obama backs Hochul, records radio ad touting her accomplishments
ALBANY, N.Y. — Former president Barack Obama is hitting the airwaves in support of Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The 44th president of the United States will be featured in a new radio ad Hochul’s campaign released on Friday encouraging New Yorkers to head to the polls and vote for the Democratic incumbent.
“My friend, Governor Kathy Hochul, is the best person for the job, hands down,” Obama says in the one-minute spot. “Kathy knows how to get things done. She’s a strong leader who has met the moment and fought for you.”
The high profile endorsement from the former president comes a day before early voting begins.
Hochul is contending with a tighter-than-expected race against Republican challenger Lee Zeldin, with recent polling shows the conservative congressman within striking distance of the sitting governor.
Both candidates are pounding the pavement, rolling out high-profile supporters and flooding the airwaves with new ads in the final weeks of the campaign ahead of the Nov. 8 election.
—New York Daily News
Appeals court won’t review House request for Trump tax returns
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court in Washington declined to revisit a ruling that said the House Ways and Means Committee could gain access to former President Donald Trump’s tax records.
The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit declined to revisit an opinion from a three-judge panel of the same appeals court from August that sided with Ways and Means Chairman Richard E. Neal, D-Mass.
The decision paves the way for a potential Supreme Court appeal, which Trump’s attorneys have hinted at in court filings, in the long-running litigation from the committee request for Trump’s personal tax records.
Neal praised the Thursday decision in a statement, saying the law “has always been on our side.”
“Former President Trump has tried to delay the inevitable, but once again, the Court has affirmed the strength of our position,” Neal said. “We’ve waited long enough — we must begin our oversight of the IRS’s mandatory presidential audit program as soon as possible.”
The committee requested Trump’s personal returns last year under a provision of law that allows the Ways and Means Committee to review personal tax records. Neal argued that it would be used to assess the presidential audit program and other tax laws.
—CQ-Roll Call
