Jordan Peele surprises Hollywood again: ‘Us’ brings in $70 million, well more than expected
Jordan Peele’s new horror film terrified audiences and shattered expectations at the box office this weekend.
“Us,” the director’s second film, made an estimated $70.3 million in North America — more than tripling its production budget of $20 million.
It exceeded industry expectations in a big way. The film was initially projected by industry experts to bring in closer to $45 million this weekend.
The R-rated film stars Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke as parents trying to fend off an attack from evil Doppelgängers. The film has made $87 million worldwide.
“There’s nothing scary about horror for Hollywood,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.
“Us” is another hit for Peele and Universal.
Peele’s “Get Out” was a critically acclaimed blockbuster in theaters two years ago. It hauled in $255 million at the box office globally — $33 million on its opening weekend. That was 56 times its budget. “Get Out” was also nominated for four Oscars, and Peele won for Best Original Screenplay. As for Universal, the studio now has the second, third and fourth biggest openings of the year — with “Us,” “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,” and “Glass.”
The No. 1 opening in 2019 was by “Captain Marvel,” from Disney and Marvel Studios.
“Us” represents another horror hit for Hollywood. Scary films such as “It,” “Halloween” and “A Quiet Place” have made big money on low budgets in recent years.
Strong reviews and word of mouth helped propel “Us.”
The film has a 94% score on review site Rotten Tomatoes and has been building buzz since its premiere at Austin’s SXSW conference earlier this month. Audiences gave it a CinemaScore of B.
1-Year-Old Fresno Boy Fatally Mauled by 2 Roaming Rottweilers in Grandparents’ Front Yard
A 1-year-old boy who wandered out of his grandparents’ house in Fresno was fatally mauled in their front yard by two roaming dogs.
Lt. Mark Hudson said other children in the house alerted the boy’s grandmother to the attack on Friday. He said she ran outside and tried to get the Rottweilers off the child and was also attacked.
Hudson said the boy’s grandfather used a hose to fend them off.
Officers who responded to the attack performed CPR on the boy. He was then taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Hudson said animal control officers found the dogs several blocks away. Investigators were trying to determine whether they were strays or had an owner.
He had no immediate information on the extent of the grandmother’s injuries.
Driving Instructor Accused in Sexual Assault of 17-Year-Old Student; Additional Victims Sought
A driving instructor accused of sexually assaulting a teen student this month is a sex offender who was previously arrested for allegedly molesting another student, Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said Thursday.
Tom Lam, 56, of Montclair, was taken into custody last week following an investigation into the most recent claim but has since been released on bail, and investigators believe he could have additional victims, the Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.
A 17-year-old girl approached authorities on March 12 to report that Lam had sexually assaulted her during two driving lessons.
The teen’s parents had hired Lam as her personal driving instructor last summer and paid for six lessons so their daughter could complete the requirements to get her license.
The girl completed the first four lessons without incident but was sexually assaulted by Lam during the last two, officials said.
Upon further investigation, detectives discovered Lam was required to register as a sex offender following a 2014 arrest in Monterey Park in which he was accused of annoying or molesting a minor student, the Sheriff’s Department said.
To be licensed by the state Department of Motor Vehicles, driving instructors must complete a Live Scan fingerprinting, among other requirements.
Lam was arrested last Friday, March 15, at his home in Montclair and booked on suspicion of sexually assaulting a minor. He was released two days later, on Sunday, after posting $140,000 bond, deputies said.
The suspect is scheduled to appear in court April 8.
Anyone with information on potential additional victims can contact the sheriff’s Special Victims Bureau tip line at 877-710-5273 or by emailing [email protected]. Anonymous tips may be submitted via 800-222-8477 or www.LACrimeStoppers.org.
3 teens charged after allegedly beating autistic teen, lighting his hair on fire
(WMUR/CNN/Meredith) – Three 19-year-olds in New Hampshire have been indicted by a grand jury for allegedly assaulting another teenager with autism, including lighting his hair on fire and threatening his life.
Police said the incident was caught on video by witnesses.
Paul Dustin, Brandon Lemieux and Israel Rivera are facing a variety of charges in connection with the October 2018 assault in Seabrook, New Hampshire, including felony criminal restraint.
Lead Asst. Rockingham County Attorney Ray Ollis explained to WMUR that the felony criminal restraint charges stem from the victim allegedly being held in a room for two hours while the suspects allegedly kicked and punched him and lit his hair on fire.
The incident allegedly happened inside a home.
Court documents show police describing the 18-year-old victim as having a low-level autism disorder and having noticeable bruises when the incident was reported the following day.
In a victim statement, the victim said Rivera “hit me in the face three times, twice on each side and once on the chin. After that I was completely humiliated, most of the people at the house were spitting on me, physically abusing me, flicking ash in my hair, kicking me and making me admit crimes I did not commit.”
Dustin and Lemieux are charged with simple assault, and in the victim statement, the victim said his iPhone was taken and “I was told that at if at any point I left, I would be put in the hospital and then a body bag.”
Documents also indicate video evidence, with a detective stating “Izzy [Rivera] can be seen punching him in the face with a closed fist while several other people are filming and laughing,” and that the video “shows the victim pleading with him to stop and is defenseless.”
All three suspects are free on bail. At this point, their cases will be tried separately.
Man arrested for keeping an 86 inch flat-screen TV that was mailed to his home by mistake
FREETOWN, MASS. —
A Massachusetts man was arrested for keeping a flat screen TV that was sent to his house by mistake.
Nick Memmo, 35, described what happened at his Freetown home Monday night when he was arrested on charges of larceny and misleading a police officer.
During a search inside the house, officers found an 86-inch flat screen TV mounted to the living room wall.
“They surrounded the house and knocked on the door with flashlights coming through all the windows. They told me to come outside then handcuffed me,” said Memmo.
Memmo admits the TV was delivered to his home by mistake and he admits police tried to question him about it several days before his arrest.
“I answered what questions I could without putting myself in jeopardy,” he said.
“I said ‘Do I need to hire an attorney?’ and they said I wasn’t under investigation at that point. They were just asking questions. I answered a lot of questions with ‘I don’t know’ just so I didn’t jeopardize myself,” he said.
Memmo says he bought and paid for a 74-inch flat screen on Amazon.
When a third party shipping company delivered it, they also gave him a larger model TV by mistake.
When asked if he ever thought they made a mistake, and whether he should return it, Memmo said: “I did and I looked into all the laws and said, ‘You know, it’s a scratch ticket. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.'”
“Amazon said I had nothing to worry about. I made no wrong no decisions at that point,” he said.
The shipping company said it made numerous attempts to contact Memmo before contacting the police. The company also says Memmo signed for the delivery, something that he disputes.
“I have my phone ringing all day. I get calls from Google, website people, I have no reasons to answer all these calls. If it’s not important I just hang up,” he said.
When asked whether he told them he was someone he isn’t, Memmo replied, “No.”
Memmo says if he thought he was going to be arrested, he would have just paid for the extra TV or given it back.
He’s now looking at the possibility of jail time.
19-year old Enterprise employee spiked co-worker’s water with LSD
ARNOLD, Mo. (KMOV.com) – Arnold police are investigating an unusual incident that occurred at the Enterprise Rent-A-Car location in the 3900 block of Jeffco Boulevard last Thursday.
According to Lt. Clinton Wooldridge, two employees became dizzy and shaky and didn’t know why. The workers were taken to an urgent care center and then transferred to Mercy Hospital South.
Wooldridge said officers questioned a 19-year old male employee and he admitted putting LSD in the water bottles of two co-workers and a third employee’s coffee cup. Police said the man told them he did it because his fellow employees had “negative energy.”
According to the task force commander of the Jefferson County Municipal Enforcement Group, which investigates drug crimes, the workers’ reaction is consistent with the use of LSD.
“You’re going to have an increased heart rate, temperature, higher blood pressure. It’s been described as causing the shakes or tremors,” said Sgt. Tony Dennis with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department.
Dennis said the popularity of LSD dropped off during the 1980’s but had a resurgence in the 1990’s and 2000’s at raves. He said LSD is still around even though there’s not much publicity about it.
“Typically it comes in a clear, odorless liquid,” said Dennis.
The Enterprise workers were okay after the effects of the drugs wore off. Wooldridge said no charges will be filed until lab tests are done on the water but the suspect could face charges of second-degree assault and possession of a controlled substance.
Catholic priest accused of groping woman during last rites by massaging a breast, pinching a nipple and asking “Does it feel good?”
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Roman Catholic priest has been arrested on a misdemeanor assault charge after he was accused of groping a woman in home hospice care while giving her last rites.
The Rev. Gerold Langsch, of Austin, was arrested Thursday and charged with assault by contact stemming from the Oct. 5 encounter. The 75-year-old priest is free on $15,000 bond. If convicted, he could be sentenced to a year in jail and fined up to $4,000.
Police contend in the arrest affidavit that the woman was in hospice care for complications from diabetes when Lansch went to her home to administer the sacrament of anointing the sick, a sacrament of absolution. The woman, who is still alive, reported that Langsch first anointed her chest with holy water, then began to apply lotion, massaging a breast, pinching a nipple and asking “Does that feel good?” He then tried to slip his hand inside her diaper but was unable to.
The woman later told police the priest’s actions left her in shock, uncomfortable, confused and feeling like, she told police, a “nasty, dirty piece of meat.”
In a statement Wednesday, the Catholic Diocese of Austin said Langsch had been pastor of St. Paul Catholic Church in Austin until last month, when the diocese “received an unrelated report that he had failed to maintain proper boundaries with an adult.” The statement said that report did not involve any physical contact. Nevertheless, the diocese removed Langsch from his post and deemed him no longer able to serve as a priest in the diocese.
The diocese said it will cooperate fully with police and asks anyone with information about the priest’s actions to notify police.
‘I Don’t Know Why I Shot Him’: Witness Recalls Pittsburgh Officer Charged in Shooting of Unarmed Black Teenager Saying
A witness in the shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer said Wednesday he saw the officer standing on the sidewalk, panicking, saying, “I don’t know why I shot him. I don’t know why I fired.”
The trial of former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld ended for the day Wednesday in a Pittsburgh courtroom. It will reconvene Thursday morning.
John Leach, a neighbor who lives a few houses from the site of the June shooting, said he was on his front porch when Rosfeld fired three bullets into 17-year-old Antwon Rose II after pulling over an unlicensed taxicab suspected to have been used in a drive-by shooting minutes earlier. Rose was a front-seat passenger in the cab and was shot as he fled.
Rosfeld, 30, faces a charge of criminal homicide.
Leach, the second witness to testify Wednesday, said that after the shooting, he was watching Rosfeld on the sidewalk nearby saying repeatedly, “I don’t know why I shot him. I don’t know why I fired.”
He said that later, he saw other officers consoling Rosfeld as he was crying, bent over and hyperventilating. Rosfeld, he said, looked as if he was about to pass out.
Defense attorney Patrick Thomassey had tried to discredit Leach’s testimony, asking him if he was trying to “juice things up.” Leach said, “I don’t have any reason to.”
Patrick Shattuck said Wednesday he was standing outside a senior center when Rosfeld pulled over the unlicensed cab in front of the building. Five to seven minutes after the shooting, Shattuck said Rosfeld, with swollen, red eyes, entered the building and said, “Why did he do that? Why did he do that? Why did he take that out of his pocket?”
East Pittsburgh Mayor Louis J. Payne, who was also there, said he, too, heard Rosfeld say, “Why did he do that?” but said he didn’t hear the comment about the pocket.
Rosfeld was in the senior center only a few minutes when another officer came in and told him he couldn’t be there. Rosfeld left, taking with him a rifle he had brought inside, Shattuck said.
Thomassey said Rosfeld did not intend to shoot anyone that day and did nothing wrong in his fatal encounter with Rose.
“You think Michael Rosfeld got up on the 19th of June and thought he was going to shoot someone? Of course not,” he said.
Allegheny County Housing Authority officer Charles Rozzo, who responded to the shooting, testified that a distraught Rosfeld asked him how Rose was and if he “saw the gun.” It’s unclear what Rosfeld was referring to. Prosecutors said Rosfeld gave inconsistent statements about the shooting, including whether he thought Rose had a gun.
Authorities have said two guns were inside the vehicle and an empty magazine was in his pocket. One of the guns had Rose’s DNA on it but does not appear to have been fired officials said.
The video of the shooting, recorded by neighbor Lashaun Livingston, was posted online, triggering protests in the Pittsburgh area last year, including a late-night march that shut down a major highway.
A jury of six men and six women, including three African-Americans, was selected across the state in Harrisburg last week and will be sequestered in a Pittsburgh hotel for the duration of the trial, expected to take a week or more.
Additional video was shown in court, taken by a University of Pittsburgh student who was in his car at a stop sign nearby. Peyton Deri said he couldn’t really see whether there was anything in the hands of Rose or the vehicle’s other occupant, Zaijuan Hester.
Rose’s mother sent a letter to prosecutors Wednesday urging them to counter the defense’s portrayal of her son as “just another thug.” In the letter, she asks prosecutors to paint a picture of her son as he truly was.
“He was a rose that grew from concrete. Despite darkness all around him, he was kind, loving and funny,” she wrote in the letter dated Tuesday.
She describes how he taught other children in the neighborhood how to Rollerblade and skateboard, and even gave away his skates to kids in need.
Rose had been riding in the front seat of the unlicensed taxi when Hester, in the backseat, rolled down a window and shot at two men on the street.
Hester, 18, of Swissvale, pleaded guilty Friday to aggravated assault and firearms violations for the shooting, which wounded a man in the abdomen. Hester told a judge that he, not Rose, did the shooting.
Philadelphia Mom Admits Plotting Girl’s Death: ‘I Wanted Her to Go Away’
The mother of a girl who was raped, murdered and dismembered testified Wednesday that she helped plot the attack and carry it out, telling her daughter before her death that “I can’t help you anymore.”
Appearing to smirk at times, Sara Packer calmly recounted how she watched her boyfriend sexually assault her daughter, 14-year-old Grace Packer, then strangle her in a hot attic outside Philadelphia. She said Grace looked at her as she was being choked to death, and Sara Packer took her hand and told her it was “OK to go.”
“Grace had become, for lack of a better word, a non-entity,” Sara Packer said in a monotone. “She just didn’t exist anymore. I wanted her to go away.”
Sara Packer’s testimony came at a sentencing hearing for Jacob Sullivan, who pleaded guilty to rape, first-degree murder and other offenses in Grace’s death. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Sullivan. The defense is seeking life in prison.
Sara Packer has agreed to plead guilty to first-degree murder in exchange for a life sentence.
On Wednesday, she told the jury that her daughter was a discipline problem — a “very difficult child” —and she wanted her dead. She admitted she hated Grace, shared a rape-murder fantasy with Sullivan, and helped hack up her daughter’s body and dispose of it months later.
Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub told the jury that he agreed to a life sentence for Sara Packer in exchange for her confession and guilty plea because the physical evidence against her was weak, because it was Sullivan who raped and killed Grace, and because her crimes did not qualify for the death penalty.
But Weintraub made it clear what he thought of Packer.
“Is it fair to say you are an utter and miserable failure at being a worthwhile human being?” he thundered at her.
Relatives testified about the impact of the killing early Wednesday.
“It sickens me to know that Grace was abused, tortured and literally thrown away like she was a piece of trash,” said her cousin, Karie Heisserer, with whom Grace lived for a time in 2015. “Grace is in a better place now, free from evil and pain.”
Jurors saw photos of the bubbly child in happier times: Sitting in the cab of her uncle’s big rig, frolicking in the sand at her first trip to the beach, delighting in birthday cake at a pool party. But all of that happened with relatives, not with Sara Packer, a former county adoptions supervisor who prosecutors say spent years physically and mentally abusing the little girl she fostered and then adopted.
Sara Packer testified that she and Sullivan tried to kill Grace with an overdose of over-the-counter medicine, thinking the pills and the heat of the attic would kill her. She also admitted helping bind her daughter with zip ties and stuffing a ball gag in her mouth.
The couple left her to die.
Grace eventually managed to escape some of her bindings and spit the gag out. But she was unable to make it out of the vacant house before Sullivan and Sara Packer returned overnight — some 12 hours later — and Sullivan strangled her.
Sara Packer and Sullivan stored Grace’s body in cat litter for months, then hacked it up and dumped it in a remote area where hunters found it in October 2016.
In a statement read by a detective, Grace’s younger brother, Josh Packer, now 14, said the only way he can bear his loss is if adults know her story and then act to prevent child abuse.
He said that if his big sister was told she could save other kids’ lives by giving her own, she would have asked, “What do I have to do?”
“Watch out for all the kids so that a loss like Grace’s loss never happens again,” Josh wrote. “Do your best to help kids who can’t help themselves.”
That’s not what happened in Grace’s case.
Sara Packer and her husband at the time, David Packer, adopted Grace and Josh in 2007. The couple cared for dozens of foster children before David Packer was sent to prison for sexually assaulting Grace and a 15-year-old foster daughter at their Allentown home, about an hour outside Philadelphia.
Sara Packer lost her job as a Northampton County adoptions supervisor in 2010 and was barred from taking in any more foster children. But child welfare authorities did not remove Grace from the home, despite evidence of abuse.
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services launched an investigation after Grace’s murder but its findings have not been made public.
via: https://ktla.com/2019/03/20/philadelphia-mom-admits-plotting-girls-death-i-wanted-her-to-go-away/
Woman arrested after elderly dad found living with hundreds of rats
CALIFORNIA — A Southern California woman is in custody after deputies discovered her 96-year-old father and multiple pets living in a home stinking of feces and infested with up to 700 rats, authorities said Tuesday.
Catherine Ann Vandermaesen, 65, was arrested on suspicion of felony elder abuse and misdemeanor animal neglect, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. She was in custody and couldn’t be reached for comment.
Vandermaesen didn’t want to allow deputies inside the home during a welfare check last Wednesday in Ojai, a small city in a rural valley northwest of Los Angeles, the statement said.
A sheriff’s task force returned the next day and encountered multiple pets and urine and feces throughout the residence, authorities said.
The home was also filled with garbage, according to the release.
Eight dogs, two rabbits, a cat, a parrot and 55 pet rats were removed. Animal Control estimated the house was infested with another 200 to 700 rats.
Vandermaesen’s elderly father and her 74-year-old sister, whom deputies described as a “possible victim,” were taken by ambulance to a hospital. Their conditions were unknown.
County welfare authorities assumed custody of Vandermaesen’s father, who uses a wheelchair.
Officials also helped the sister get temporary housing services.
Vandermaesen had “willfully caused or permitted the health of her elderly father to suffer” by allowing him to live at the home, officials said.
The city declared the home “unlivable and a danger to the occupants and animals.”
via: https://nypost.com/2019/03/20/woman-arrested-after-elderly-dad-found-living-with-hundreds-of-rats/