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June 18, 2021
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Gwyneth Paltrow appeared in court in the western US state of Utah on Tuesday, where she is being sued for damages by a retired optometrist over a skiing accident seven years ago.
In opening statements, Terry Sanderson's lawyer said the alleged collision on the slopes of Deer Valley had caused him damages worth $3.3 million. The "Shakespeare in Love" actress has in turn countersued.
Paltrow's lawyer Steven Owens told the Park City court on Tuesday that Sanderson is "obsessed" with the lawsuit, and that the case was a "meritless claim of false allegation."
"Really kind of an offensive one. That she somehow left him an unconscious man and bolted? I can tell you, we believe it to be utter BS," said Owens.
The alleged collision occurred in February 2016 at Deer Valley, a glamorous ski resort above the swanky larger resort of Park City in the Rocky Mountains.
Deer Valley hosted Winter Olympics skiing events in 2002, while Park City is home to the annual Sundance film festival.
Paltrow, wearing a white turtleneck sweater, sat silently beside Owens as proceedings began Tuesday. She is expected to later take the stand in her own defense.
Paltrow's husband Brad Falchuk and children Moses and Apple are due to address the court, Owens said.
Sanderson says Paltrow skied into him from behind and then vanished, leaving him unconscious, lying in the snow.
Lawrence D. Buhler, representing Sanderson, said in his opening statement that Paltrow had been skiing in a "dangerous" and "reckless" manner, and had caused his client "four broken ribs and permanent brain damage."
Paltrow says Sanderson skied into her back, and is countersuing for a nominal $1 plus legal expenses.
Her lawyer Owens said "Gwyneth is a conservative skier" who was "not going fast," and said she had initially feared she was "being assaulted" when Sanderson appeared directly behind her.
"It rattled her and physically hurt her," he said.
Owens also said Sanderson is "blind in one eye" and suffers from "decreasing vision" in the other -- suggesting poor eyesight was a reason for the crash.
In addition to her Oscar-winning acting career, Paltrow has forged a second career marketing wellness products on her Goop website.
The online blog and store promotes healthy eating and stress-free living, as well as a range of unorthodox products -- from DIY coffee enema kits to a line of scented goods made with cedarwood, bergamot, rose and ambrette, and named "This Smells like My Vagina."
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More than 500,000 children were shut out of lessons Tuesday as school workers in Los Angeles began a three-day walkout over pay.
Bus drivers, cafeteria workers and special education assistants employed by Los Angeles Unified School District -- the second biggest in the United States -- are striking over what they say are "poverty wages."
The roughly 30,000 members of the powerful United Teachers Los Angeles union will not cross the picket line and will therefore not be working, the union said.
Service Employees International Union Local 99 says many of its members earn as little as $25,000 per year.
"Caring for students is one of the most meaningful careers," tweeted US Congressman Adam Schiff, from southern California.
"I stand with the bus drivers, custodians, teachers' aides and others... No one can live on $25,000. We must invest in schools and pay fair wages."
Los Angeles is one of America's most pricey places to live, with high taxes and expensive grocery and utility bills.
Median rent in the city is $3,000 per month, according to property website Zillow.
LAUSD officials said they have offered a 23 percent increase, along with a three percent "cash-in-hand bonus."
The union is demanding a 30 percent pay raise, with an additional boost for the lowest-paid workers.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the city was stepping in to provide food and shelter to vulnerable children who would normally get such services at school.
"With more than 500,000 students and their families affected by today's school closures, the City is providing meals and safe places for young people at dozens of locations across Los Angeles," she said.
"I will make sure the wellbeing of LA students always comes first as I continue to work with all parties to reach an agreement to reopen the schools and guarantee fair treatment of all LAUSD workers."
The dispute comes as Americans are battered by a persistent cost of living crisis, with prices of everyday goods and services rocketing up over the last year or so.
Figures released last week showed the consumer price index rose six percent from a year ago.
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'Complete shock': School worker blurts out racist remark as Ohio mom drops off her daughter
March 21, 2023
An Ohio school district employee is facing unspecified “disciplinary action” over a racially charged statement directed at a parent and her daughter, WTOL-Toledo reports.
The Evergreen Middle School parent, who is of Middle Eastern descent, alleges that after she and her daughter entered through a set of doors to the school an employee “just looks at me and my daughter and asks if I have a bomb on me."
The incident occurred in Fulton County, a community of approximately 43,000 residents west of Toledo.
The parent told the television station that she was dropping her daughter off at school during the lunch period when the employee approached them. The parent requested anonymity because her daughter still attends the school.
IN OTHER NEWS: Trump sending a coded message to the far-right with the location of next rally: experts
"I was in complete shock. I was like, 'Excuse me?'" the mother said. "She's like, 'We just don't let anybody into the building – you wouldn't happen to have a bomb on you would you?'
"And I was in complete shock, I was stuttering. I said (to her,) 'I am just here to drop off my daughter.'"
Evergreen Local School District Superintendent Eric Smola in a statement to the television station confirmed that an investigation resulted in the employee facing disciplinary action over the comment.
"Unfortunately, a comment was made last month by one of our teachers to a parent and her daughter that goes against Evergreen's core values," the statement said.
"The exchange has been investigated, addressed and resulted in disciplinary action. While malice was never intended by the employee, we understand the insensitive nature and impact of the comment. The teacher and administration have extended an apology to the student and family involved."
The employee has since apologized to the mother in an email obtained by the news outlet that said: "I would like to sincerely apologize for my insensitive attempt at humor when we were both entering the school building."
But the parent said she isn’t buying the employee’s explanation, noting that had she replied in at “attempt at humor,” she’d have faced consequences.
"When she asked if I had a bomb on me and if I would've ‘humored’ back and replied and said yes, would that have been taken lightly? It wouldn't – they would've had the school on lockdown, they would've had my kids expelled, probably. They would not have taken that lately if I would have humored back and I said yes," the parent said.
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