The return of McDonald’s Halloween buckets, ‘Superfly’ actor sentenced to 50 years for rape, and more trending news
Here’s a look at some trending topics for today, Oct. 18.
McDonald’s Halloween buckets
What’s spookier than a bit of Halloween-themed nostalgia?
McDonald’s has announced the return of its retro Halloween Pails, a long-standing tradition first released by the fast-food chain in 1986. The cute buckets will return to stores on October 18, according to a news release published by McDonald’s on Thursday. There are three variants: white McBoo, orange McPunk’n and green McGoblin.
They’ll be in stock until October 31 while supplies last, McDonald’s said. You’ll have to purchase a Happy Meal if you want one.
The adorable, retro-style buckets are good for more than just storing candy during trick-or-treating, according to the McDonald’s.
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Deputy District Attorney Cynthia Wallace said she believes Walker is “truly a predator” for his assaults on young women and teenagers between 2013 and 2018, according to City News Service.
Read more at https://nypost.com/2022/10/18/superfly-actor-kaalan-walker-sentenced-to-50-years-to-life-in-prison-for-rape-charges/
‘Superfly’
A Los Angeles-based rapper who acted in the 2018 movie “SuperFly” was sentenced Monday to 50 years to life in prison after he was convicted of sexually assaulting seven victims — including three minors.
Kaalan Walker, 27, was also ordered to register as a lifetime sex offender for the series of crimes dating back to 2013, according to City News Service.
The performer was convicted of three counts of forcible rape, two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, two counts of rape of an intoxication victim and one count of assault with intent to commit oral copulation by a Van Nuys jury on April 18.
An image from an electron microscope shows SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. (NIAID-RML/Zuma Press/TNS)
Boston University COVID strain
Boston University COVID researchers have combined the omicron variant spike protein with the original virus, testing the created strain on mice “to help fight against future pandemics,” according to BU.
The scientists in BU’s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories found that all mice infected with only the BA.1 omicron variant had mild cases and survived, while the combined omicron spike protein with original COVID-19 virus strain inflicted severe disease with an 80% mortality rate.
When mice were infected with just the original, ancestral virus strain, 100% of the mice died.
Get more info about it here:
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Paul Flores
Kevin Spacey
Airstrikes cut power and water supplies to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians. That’s part of what the country’s president called an expanding Russian campaign to drive the nation into the cold and dark and make peace talks impossible. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said nearly a third of Ukraine’s power stations have been destroyed in the past week, causing massive blackouts. The mayor of Zhytomyr said all of the city was without electricity and water after a double missile strike Tuesday on an energy facility. Authorities said missile strikes also hit an energy facility in Kyiv and severely damaged another in the south-central city of Dnipro.
As the value of the U.S. dollar soars, other currencies around the world are sinking by comparison. This is contributing to skyrocketing prices for everyday goods and services and compounding financial distress, especially in poorer countries. It has stirred complaints from an auto parts dealer in Nairobi, a seller of baby clothes in Istanbul, a wine importer in Manchester, England, and the driver of the colorful Philippine mini-bus known as a jeepney. The dollar is up 18% this year against a basket of key currencies around the globe. The U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes have led to higher rates on U.S. government and corporate bonds, luring investors and driving up the U.S. currency.
Donald Trump’s private company arranged for the Secret Service to pay for rooms at his properties in excess of government-approved rates at least 40 times during his presidency — including two charges for more than $1,100 per room, per night. That is according to documents released Monday by a congressional committee investigating the former president. The House Oversight Committee said the Secret Service was charged more than $800 per night at least 11 times by his properties. The Trump Organization denied anything improper. It said it provided rooms to the Secret Service at cost or deep discount, adding that its business did not profit at all from the presidency.
President Joe Biden has officially kicked off the application process for his student debt cancellation program. He announced Monday that 8 million borrowers had already applied for loan relief during the federal government’s soft launch period over the weekend. Biden is encouraging the tens of millions eligible for potential relief to visit studentaid.gov and touting the application form, which he says will take less than five minutes to complete. He says an early, “beta launch” version of the online form released late Friday handled the early stream of applications “without a glitch or any difficulty.”
A man suspected of killing six men and wounding a woman in a series of shootings in Northern California has a criminal history that includes traffic violations and convictions for drug crimes. The California corrections department said Monday that 43-year-old Wesley Brownlee was sentenced in 1999 to two years in prison for possessing and selling a controlled substance. Brownlee was again convicted for the same crime in December 2001 and sentenced to three years. Brownlee was arrested Saturday as he drove through the streets of Stockton. It was not known if Brownlee has an attorney who can speak on his behalf.
Officials in Nigeria say the death toll from this year’s flooding has risen to 603. Authorities have called the floods the country’s worst in more than a decade, blaming the disaster on unusually heavy rainfall and the release of excess water from the Lagdo dam in neighboring Cameroon. More than 1.3 million people have been displaced by the disaster, according to Nigeria’s humanitarian affairs minister. Sadiya Umar Farouq is warning that five states are still at risk of experiencing floods up until the end of November. At least 340,000 hectares of land also have been affected, worsening fears of food supply disruptions.
Opening statements are set to begin soon in the trial of “That ’70s Show” actor Danny Masterson, who is charged with raping three women about 20 years ago. A Los Angeles County jury is expected to be seated as soon as Tuesday in the trial of the 46-year-old former star of the long-running sitcom. All three women say Masterson raped them at his home between 2001 and 2003. Masterson is a member of the Church of Scientology and all three women are former members, making the church likely to loom large during the trial.
A judge has ruled that Mel Gibson can testify about what he learned from one of Harvey Weinstein’s accusers. The 66-year-old actor and director Gibson was one of many trial witnesses whose identities were revealed in court Friday. Weinstein is accused of sexual battery against the woman, who is a masseuse and friend of Gibson’s. The judge and lawyers took a break from jury selection to argue over which witnesses and evidence will be allowed during the eight-week trial. Weinstein has pleaded not guilty.
A teary Kevin Spacey has testified in a New York courtroom that he never made a sexual pass at the actor Anthony Rapp. Rapp says Spacey put him on his bed after a 1986 party and laid on top of him when he was 14 and Spacey was 26. Spacey said Monday on the stand that those allegations are “not true.” Spacey said he met Rapp and aspiring actor John Barrowman backstage after a performance. Spacey testified that “Anthony Rapp seemed like a kid and John Barrowman seemed like a man.” Spacey’s account is backed up by a deposition by Barrowman.
Following the second rainout of the series, the Cleveland Guardians and New York Yankees are set to finally settle their American League playoff in the Bronx. After that, a most unexpected National League Championship Series matching the Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres gets underway at Petco Park. After fans waited through a 2 1/2-hour rain delay, the decisive Game 5 of the Division Series between the Guardians and Yankees was postponed Monday night and rescheduled for Tuesday at 4:07 p.m. That gives New York a chance to start All-Star lefty Nestor Cortes on three days’ rest instead of Jameson Taillon. Cleveland is expected to stick with right-hander Aaron Civale. The winner faces Houston in the AL Championship Series.
Dustin Hopkins kicked four field goals, including a 39-yarder with 2:38 remaining in overtime, and the Los Angeles Chargers rallied for a 19-16 victory over the Denver Broncos. The Chargers have won three straight to improve to 4-2. They are tied with Kansas City atop the AFC West. The game appeared to be headed toward a tie until Denver’s Montrell Washington muffed JK Scott’s punt at the Broncos 32-yard line. It was recovered by Deane Leonard at the 28.
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