The Full Belmonte, 5/27/2023
2 more Oath Keepers sentenced to prison terms for Jan. 6 Capitol attack
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, LINDSAY WHITEHURST and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
FILE - This artist sketch depicts the trial of Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes and four others charged with seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, in Washington, Oct. 6, 2022. Shown above are, witness John Zimmerman, who was part of the Oath Keepers' North Carolina Chapter, seated in the witness stand, defendant Thomas Caldwell, of Berryville, Va., seated front row left, Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes, seated second left with an eye patch, defendant Jessica Watkins, of Woodstock, Ohio, seated third from right, Kelly Meggs, of Dunnellon, Fla., seated second from right, and defendant Kenneth Harrelson, of Titusville, Fla., seated at right. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Rakoczy is shown in blue standing at right before U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta. U.S. Army veterans Watkins and Harrelson are scheduled to be sentenced on Friday, May 26, 2023 (Dana Verkouteren via AP)
“WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Army veterans who stormed the U.S. Capitol in a military-style formation with fellow members of the Oath Keepers were sentenced Friday to prison terms, a day after the far-right extremist group’s founder received a record-setting 18-years behind bars in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta sentenced Jessica Watkins, of Woodstock, Ohio, to eight years and six months behind bars and sentenced Kenneth Harrelson, of Titusville, Florida, to four years in prison.
A federal jury acquitted Watkins and Harrelson of the seditious conspiracy charge that Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was found guilty of in November. But jurors convicted Watkins and Harrelson of other Jan. 6 charges, including obstructing Congress’ certification of President Joe Biden’s victory….” Read more at AP News
Judge halts South Carolina’s new stricter abortion law until state Supreme Court review
By JEFFREY COLLINS
South Carolina Assistant Attorney General Thomas Hydrick argues that a judge should not halt enforcement of the state's new law banning abortion when cardiac activity is detected during a hearing, Friday, May 26, 2023, in Columbia, South Carolina. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)
“COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A judge put South Carolina’s new law banning most abortions around six weeks of pregnancy on hold Friday until the state Supreme Court can review the measure, giving providers a temporary reprieve in a region that has enacted strict limits on the procedure.
Judge Clifton Newman’s ruling that put the state’s abortion law back at roughly 20 weeks came about 24 hours after Gov. Henry McMaster signed the bill into law without any notice, which had left dozens of people seeking abortions in limbo and created the potential for a legal abortion becoming illegal as a doctor performed it.
‘It’s extraordinarily difficult not only for the women themselves, but for their doctors — not just the doctors at Planned Parenthood — but hospitals all across the state who need to understand what to do in an emergency,’ said Vicki Ringer, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood in South Carolina.
The developments in South Carolina are a microcosm of what has played out across the country since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade a year ago, allowing states to decide their abortion laws and leaving patients scrambling to find care wherever they can in situations where weeks or even days can make a huge difference.
The South Carolina measure joins stiff limitations pending in North Carolina and Florida, states that had been holdouts in the South providing wider access to the procedure, threatening to further delay abortions as appointments pile up in the region….” Read more at AP News
12 injured after man opens emergency exit door on Asiana Airlines flight
Natalie Neysa Alund
USA TODAY
“At least 12 people suffered injuries Friday after officials said a passenger opened an Asiana Airlines commercial plane door during a flight in South Korea.
The incident took place on an Airbus A321 jet in East Asia as the plane, carrying 194 people was heading to the city of Daegu from the southern island of Jeju, Asiana Airlines and government officials confirmed.
A man sitting in the emergency seat row opened the door when the aircraft was about 700 feet from the ground and nearly two minutes from landing in the city about 150 miles south of Seoul, the South Korean Transport Ministry said, according to the Associated Press.
Passengers on board reported they attempted to stop the man, who was able to partially open the door, officials reported.
Video shot by what appears to be someone sitting three rows behind the emergency exit aisle, shows the plane in the air, with an emergency exit door open to the person's left.
Passengers sitting in seats next to the open door appear to remain buckled while articles of their clothing blow behind their heads in the footage.
The plane landed safely.
When the plane landed, airport police arrested the man on charges including violating the aviation security law, a ministry statement said.
Officials have not released the man's identity yet. According to ministry transportation laws, he faces up to 10 years in prison in connection to the incident.
According to local emergency officials, crews transported 12 passengers to hospitals for treatment in connection to ‘breathing problems and other minor symptoms.’…” Read more at USA Today
Elon Musk’s brain implant company Neuralink says it has US approval to begin trials in people
By LAURA UNGAR
FILE - Elon Musk departs the Phillip Burton Federal Building and United States Court House in San Francisco, on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023. Musk’s brain implant company Neuralink says it’s gotten permission to begin testing its device in people. The company made the announcement on Twitter Thursday, May 25, but has provided no details about a potential trial, which was not listed on the U.S. government database of trials. (AP Photo/ Benjamin Fanjoy, File)
“Elon Musk’s brain implant company Neuralink says it’s gotten permission from U.S. regulators to begin testing its device in people.
The company made the announcement on Twitter Thursday evening but has provided no details about a potential study, which was not listed on the U.S. government database of clinical trials.
Officials with the Food and Drug Administration wouldn’t confirm or deny whether the agency granted the approval, but press officer Carly Kempler said in an email that the FDA ‘acknowledges and understands’ that Musk’s company made the announcement….” Read more at AP News
THE WEEK IN CULTURE
Tina Turner performing in Paris in 1987.Bertrand Guay/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
“Tina Turner, who died at 83, was a tornado and a treasure. She lived ‘so galactically, so contagiously,’ that Wesley Morris, a Times critic, hardly believed she could die.
In the Swiss town where she lived, Turner was a neighbor, not a star. No one bothered her when she went shopping or stood in line at the post office.
Bob Mackie, a designer, reflected on dressing Turner for years. See the looks.
A live action adaptation of “The Little Mermaid” was released in the U.S. Halle Bailey, who plays Ariel, discussed the film’s racist backlash.
Despite the uproar, “The Little Mermaid” stays dutiful to the original. That’s to its detriment, Wesley Morris writes. See one of the scenes.
Gustavo Dudamel, the star maestro set to take over the New York Philharmonic, is leaving the Paris Opera four years ahead of schedule.
A new trailer for “Barbie” was quickly converted to memes, The Cut reports.
The social highlight of the Cannes Film Festival was a 100th anniversary party for Warner Bros., attended by Hollywood’s biggest stars and media executives.
University of Alabama sorority sisters assessed the accuracy of a documentary about their rush process.
A documentary about the actress Mary Tyler Moore examines her life personifying a kind of hopeful, second-wave feminism.
Padma Lakshmi, the longtime host of “Top Chef,” visits immigrant communities throughout the United States in the second season of “Taste the Nation.”” [New York Times]