Robert De Niro splits from wife of 20 years, Grace Hightower
Robert De Niro and his wife, Grace Hightower, have reportedly called it quits after over 20 years of marriage, according to multiple outlets.
A source close to the former couple told Page Six on Tuesday that De Niro, 75, and Hightower, 63, are "not living together at this time."
“Sometimes things don’t work out the way you hope or want them to,” another insider told People magazine.
A rep for De Niro did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.
After dating for almost 10 years, the "Wizard of Lies" star and Hightower tied the knot in 1997. They went on to welcome two children together — son Elliott, 20, and daughter Helen, 6.
This isn't the first time the pair have separated. Per People, two years after their wedding, De Niro filed for divorce, and a custody dispute reportedly ensued over their son. However, things were smoothed over and the divorce was not finalized.
De Niro was previously married to Diahnne Abbott, with whom he shares two children — daughter Drena, 47, and son Raphael, 42. He also has 23-year-old twin sons, Julian and Aaron, with ex Toukie Smith.
Football: Team TCI defeat St Vincent & the Grenadines
It was history in the making when the Turks and Caicos Men’s National Football Team began their journey with the Concacaf Nations League in September.
They suffered a brutal defeat to Cuba in Havana, 11 to NIL.
Then Guyana took the game in October, beating our National team in their own territory, 8 to NIL.
But the tides shifted yesterday when TCI swiped the game, defeating St. Vincent & the Grenadines during a packed match at the TCIFA Academy on Sunday, November 18th in Providenciales.
The game saw TCI scoring the first goal in the third minute, achieved by Billy Forbes.
The second goal came from Billy Forbes again for team TCI in the 42nd minute, making it 2 to NIL for the first half.
At this point, TCI was dominating.
For the second half, both TCI and St. Vincent & the Grenadines made a number of substitutions.
The game saw St. Vincent & the Grenadines scoring their first goal in the 86th minutes and two minutes later, the team scored again, bringing the game to a tie, 2 ALL.
But the fighting spirit of team Turks and Caicos could not be outdone. The team rallied together, valiantly defending and advancing the ball.
In the 89th minute, no. 6 for TCI, Jepthe Francios, scored, giving our guys the lead once more, 3 to 2.
St. Vincent & the Grenadines could not respond despite their efforts, crumbling to team Turks and Caicos who prevailed, securing a historic win for the country.
Story by Allie Capron/RTC News
Several killed as Haitians protest for President's resignation
At least six people were killed and several others injured as opposition demonstrators took to the streets on Sunday demanding the resignation of President Jovenel Moise and a full investigation into the use of the funds under PetroCaribe, the Venezuela oil initiative to assist countries in the region.
“There is only one option. Jovenel Moïse is a political corpse that must be brought to the cemetery. It's over for him. We cannot do anything with him anymore. He must leave without delay to avoid chaos,” said André Michel, one of the organisers of the protest.
Police have confirmed that the deaths occurred across the French-speaking Caribbean Community country and that several arrests had been made.
The spokesman for the National Police of Haiti (PNH), Michel-Ange Louis Jeune said that six people were killed, five others injured, and 20 arrests were made, but the opposition organisers, speaking at a news conference late Sunday, said that 11 people had been killed, 47 wounded and 75 others arrested.
The Secretary of State for Communication Eddy Jackson Alexis, while congratulating the police and law enforcement authorities for their “professional work”, deplored and condemned the attacks against companies, residences, private property and some diplomatic residences.
President Moise cancelled the planned trip with members of his Cabinet to Cap Haitien on Sunday to commemorate the 215th anniversary of the Battle of Vertières.
The democratic opposition later described the decision of President Moise as “cowardly”, even as leader of the opposition Pitit Dessalines, party, Jean-Charles Moise took credit for the decision of Moise to cancel his trip.
In a pre-recorded message, President Moise said “the symbolism of Vertières calls for dialogue, union and understanding”.
On Sunday, several people took to the streets in the capital as well as in some of the provincial cities, burning tyres, paralysing public transport, waving black and red flags, and demanding answers also to PetroCaribe.
PetroCaribe is an oil alliance of many Caribbean states with Venezuela to purchase oil on conditions of preferential payment. The alliance was launched on the 29th of June 2005 in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela. In 2013, PetroCaribe agreed for links with the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA), to go beyond oil and promote economic cooperation.
Haitians have been taking to the streets in recent months demanding an inquiry into the use of Petro Caribe funds.
Prior to the demonstrations, the opposition Famni Lavalas party called on the population to remain vigilant amid reports that Nicolas Duvalier, the son of former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier, is being promoted by Haitian politicians abroad as the new leader of the country.
“The black and red flag of François Duvalier is being promoted. Stop irritating the people, stop putting the people's struggle as a comedy,” Famni Lavalas said in a statement, adding “today the battle is not that of the colour of the flag.
“The battle is to do what our ancestors did on November 18, 1803 — to free the country from these authorities. The battle is to put, no matter the cost, at the head of the country a power of transition, so that we can make a PetroCaribe trial and a national conference to establish in the country a good political system that will allow Haiti to really develop,” the party said.
The party said it was urging supporters not to “fall into the trap of the division on the colour of the flag, and to remain mobilised”.
The opposition has called on supporters to stay home on Monday, but Jackson Alexis, said the population should ignore the advice and that the police would be out in their numbers to ensure their safety.
UK consents to TCI's adoption of Advanced Passenger Information System
A press conference was held at the Hilly Ewing Building yesterday for the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Turks and Caicos Islands Government and the United Kingdom that will allow TCI to join the list of countries that take part in the Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS).
APIS is an automated system established for aviation and maritime operators. It has the capability of enhancing border security over the region by supplying law enforcement officers with data on passengers and crew members prior to arrival and departure from CARICOM member states, United Kingdom, United States and Canada. This system was established by the US Customs Border Protection agency (CBP) in May 2009.
The main contributions of APIS to TCI border management include:
- The ability for law enforcement officials to know whether potential or known offenders or inadmissible persons are travelling to the TCI prior to departure, giving TCI and it's partners adequate time to utilize resources efficiently. This also reduces workload for immigration officers.
- The TCI hopes to use APIS as a decision making tool that Immigration and Customs primarily can employ before a passenger is permitted to board an aircraft in their port of departure.
- Transmission of passenger details well in advance of arrival is also a positive step toward achieving facilitation and compliance goals in the TCI.
With the signing of the MOU, the United Kingdom formally granted consent to the TCI for the sharing of intelligence among member states of the Caribbean Community (Caricom).
An MOU regarding APIS between the Turks and Caicos and the United States was signing back in May of 2017 making TCI the first Caricom Associate Member country amongst the six British Overseas territories to sign on to the Advanced Passenger Information System.
At the 2017 signing ceremony, Deputy Premier and Minister of Border Control, Hon. Sean Astwood remarked that that the signing marked a historic occasion as the Turks and Caicos Islands embarked on a path of modernizing our border security regime through the cooperation agreement between the United States of America and the Caribbean counterparts.”
The US ambassador also explained that by adopting APIS, countries would be better able to secure their airports and ports which leads them to enhancing regional security.
Attending yesterday’s signing ceremony were H.E. the Governor, Mr. John Freeman, Premier, Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson, Deputy Premier and Minister of Border Control, Hon. Sean Astwood, Minister of Home Affairs, Hon. Vaden Williams, Minister of Infrastructure, Hon. Goldray Ewing, Minister of Health, Hon. Edwin Astwood, Officials of the Ministry of Border Control and Employment and Staff of the Immigration Department.
The Hon. Premier signing the MOU on behalf of the Turks and Caicos Islands and H.E. the Governor signed on behalf of the United Kingdom.
Diddy breaks silence over ex Kim Porter's sudden death
Hip hop star Sean "Diddy" Combs has broken his silence three days after the death of his former partner Kim Porter, with whom he had three children.
Ms Porter, 47, was Mr Combs's partner for 13 years.
Emergency services were called to her home around noon last Thursday, according to TMZ, and her cause of death is still under investigation.
According to reports, she had recently been unwell and was prescribed antibiotics.
On Twitter, Mr Combs wrote: "For the last three days I've been trying to wake up out of this nightmare. But I haven't. I don't know what I'm going to do without you baby. I miss you so much. Today I'm going to pay tribute to you, I'm going to try and find the words to explain our unexplainable relationship."
A video posted alongside the tribute on social media featured the couple expressing their love for one another.
"We were more than best friends, we were more than soulmates," Mr Combs tweeted.
Reports surfaced on Friday that model and actress Kim Porter - a former longtime girlfriend to rap mogul Diddy and mother to three of his children - had died, aged 47.
Figures in the hip hop community have been paying tribute and offering condolences after a spokesperson for Diddy - real name Sean Combs - confirmed the death on Thursday.
No further details about the death were given.
Rapper Missy Elliot was among those paying tribute on Twitter, saying her "heart just aches so much 4 her children".
World Toilet Day highlights global sanitation crisis
Poor countries around the world are facing a dangerous shortage of toilets that puts millions of live at risk, according to campaigners marking World Toilet Day by urging governments and businesses to invest more in sanitation.
The toilet crisis is most severe in parts of Africa and Asia facing extreme poverty and seeing a population boom.
One in five primary schools and one in eight secondary schools globally do not have any toilets, the group WaterAid said in a new report to mark the UN-designated toilet day, observed yesterday as part of efforts to end the global sanitation crisis.
An estimated 4.5 billion people across the world lack access to proper sanitation, said the report. Some 2.5 billion among them do not have adequate toilets, according to UN figures. The lack of toilets forces many to defecate in the open — in the streets, in the bushes and by rivers and other water sources.
Among the development goals set by the UN in 2015 is a target to ensure everyone has access to a safe toilet by 2030. But campaigners warn this goal will be hard to meet if governments and businesses do not put more money into the sanitation economy.
Sanitation is “the business of the decade”, said Cheryl Hicks, chief executive of the Geneva-based business group Toilet Board Coalition. She told The Associated Press that the group is urging commercial investment to help reduce toilet shortages in countries where governments cannot afford such infrastructure.
“Half the world needs toilets. They don't have them because the infrastructure is too expensive for governments,” she said.
African countries are among the neediest.
The new report by WaterAid cites an estimated 344 million children in sub-Saharan Africa who lack a toilet at home, leaving them vulnerable to diarrhoea and other water-borne infections.
In the West African nation of Guinea-Bissau, one of 101 countries surveyed by WaterAid, eight in 10 schools there lack adequate toilet facilities. The same study reported that 93 per cent of households in the East African nation of Ethiopia lack a decent toilet.
Joel Ssimbwa, an entrepreneur who has put up two low-cost facilities in impoverished parts of the Ugandan capital, Kampala, said he launched his business in 2016 after several times he needed to ease himself but had “nowhere to go”.
In September 2007 a Ugandan lawmaker told reporters he was “badly off” and helpless after being photographed urinating against a wall outside the Ministry of Finance in Kampala. He was later charged and fined, despite protesting the lack of sanitation facilities nearby.
There are fewer than 20 free public toilets in Kampala, a city of over three million people. Toilets in buildings across the city are often kept under lock and key, apparently to ward off unwelcome users.
Ssimbwa acknowledged that the Shs300 (8 cents) he charges may still be unaffordable to many, the reason he is working on a business model that would allow his clients to pay a uniform monthly fee instead of having to pay each time they check in.
“It is a drop in the ocean, but it creates awareness” of what the government and others must do, he said, talking about his services.
Nissan chairman arrested for misconduct
Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn has been arrested over claims of financial misconduct, the carmaker has said.
Mr Ghosn, a towering figure in the car industry, will be sacked from the Japanese firm after a board meeting on Thursday, its chief executive said.
He has been accused of "significant acts of misconduct", including under-reporting his pay package and personal use of company assets.
Nissan said it was unable to give further details on the offences.
Japanese prosecutors have yet to comment on Mr Ghosn's arrest.
Nissan is the world's sixth-largest carmaker and its site in Sunderland is the UK's biggest car plant.
"I feel despair, indignation and resentment." said Nissan chief executive Hiroto Saikawa at a news conference. "As the details are disclosed I believe that people will feel the same way as I feel today."
Mr Saikawa said Nissan would now try to "stabilise the situation, and normalise day-to-day operations" for staff and business partners.
It said it had been conducting an internal investigation for several months, prompted by a whistleblower.
According to Japanese media reports, which have not been confirmed, he under-reported an amount totalling 5bn yen ($44m) over a five-year period from 2011.
Mr Saikawa said he believed the misconduct "went on for a long period".
From 2010, Japanese firms have been required to disclose the salaries of executives who earn more than 100m yen.
The carmaker added that it had been providing information to the Japanese Public Prosecutors Office and would continue to do so.
Nissan said it also planned to oust senior executive Greg Kelly, who had been "deeply involved" in the misconduct.
Mr Kelly - who has also been arrested, according to the firm - was described as a close aide to Mr Ghosn. Mr Saikawa said he was able to "exert influence" in the company.
As well as being chairman of Nissan, Mr Ghosn is also chairman and chief executive of Renault and chairman of Mitsubishi Motors.
Mitsubishi said it would propose the removal of Mr Ghosn as chairman.
St Vincent & Grenadines could become global medical marijuana producer
St Vincent and the Grenadines says it’s is on the brink of becoming a globally leading producer of organically certified medicinal cannabis, rivalling any other producer in the entire Western Hemisphere.
It says the expected passing of legislation this month, ensuring tightly regulated guidelines, positions the nation as a powerful Caribbean hub for global medicinal cannabis innovation.
Minister of Agriculture, Industry, Fisheries, Forestry, Labour and Rural Transformation Saboto Caesar said the industry had the potential to positively transform rural livelihoods and communities while changing the lives of patients who suffer from medical conditions that are unresponsive to other treatments.
“The production of cannabis for medicinal purposes provides an excellent opportunity for Small Island States to further diversify possibilities for farmers to secure sustainable livelihoods,” he said.
Minister Caesar said the Government would have more to say with the passing of the legislation, but was now putting the world’s investors on notice of the top 30 benefits for investing in the country.
These include: a tropical climate ideal for extra low-cost ‘outdoor’ cannabis production; over 50 years of experience in cannabis cultivation; more than 2,000 traditional cannabis farmers; availability of arable lands; unique strains of domestically produced cannabis available for scientific research and development; the likelihood of cannabis being VAT exempted since it is an agricultural commodity; an established national bio-pesticide, bio-fertilizer production platform to support organic cannabis production;
accessibility to medicinal cannabis healthcare products and services; international air and sea port connections; and an exotic tourism location, with 32 islands and cays, and over a quarter million cruise ship passenger visits forecast for 2019.
The government said those advantages have put St Vincent and the Grenadines on a solid platform to launch its medical cannabis programme.
LeBron James passes Wilt Chamberlain for 5th on all-time scoring list
LeBron James lit up Staples Center, doing everything for the Los Angeles Lakers in their 126-117 win over the Portland Trailblazers.
It was a historic night for James as he passed Wilt Chamberlain for fifth on the all-time NBA scoring list midway through the fourth quarter with 39 points. James now sits 867 points behind Michael Jordan for fourth and 2,218 points behind Lakers legend Kobe Bryant who is in third.
“When I’m able to do what I love to do, do it at this level, even being mentioned with the greats who have played this game – it just always brings me back to my home town of Akron,” James told ESPN after the game. “And knowing where I’ve come from, knowing how hard it was to get to this point, it’s just never being in satisfied mode.
James finished the game with 44 points – the first Lakers player to do so since D’Angelo Russell in 2017 – and nearly had a triple double on the night with nine assists and 10 rebounds.
The forward started off hot from beyond the arc, making his first five. His sixth attempt was blocked by Portland’s Al-Farouq Aminu late in the third quarter.
But James had his own highlight block block to layup sequence.
It was in the third quarter when James really took over. He had 16 of the team’s 38 points to help the Lakers build on their halftime lead. They extended their lead from four to eight heading into the last 12 minutes.
James would sit out the beginning of the fourth before re-entering with seven minutes left. He took a hard foul to the head a few minutes later, but even that couldn’t stop him from grabbing his moment.
He made all eight of his fourth-quarter free throws, including the two from the flagrant foul on Portland’s C.J. McCollum. With under four minutes left, James tied and then passed Chamberlain after making an and-1 basket and the following free throw.
“I give it all to the man above for giving me these God-given abilities. I’m taking full advantage of them. And then my coaching staff and my teammates throughout these 16 years so far that’s gotten me to this point.”
The crowd appreciated his effort and the history that was made, giving James a standing ovation as the game ended.
After the game, James said that the game ball and they jersey he wore would go to “I Promise”, his recently opened school in Akron.
California wildfire death toll rises to 51
Authorities searching through the blackened aftermath of California's deadliest wildfire have released the names of about 100 people who are still missing, including many in their 80s and 90s, and dozens more could still be unaccounted for.
As the names were made public late Tuesday, additional crews joined the search, and the statewide death toll climbed to at least 51, with 48 dead in Northern California and three fatalities in Southern California.
“We want to be able to cover as much ground as quickly as we possibly can,” Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said. “This is a very difficult task.”
A sheriff's department spokeswoman, Megan McMann, acknowledged that the list was incomplete. She said detectives are concerned they will be overwhelmed by calls from relatives if the entire list is released.
“We can't release them all at once,” McMann said. “So they are releasing the names in batches.” She said the list would be updated.
Authorities have not updated the total number of missing since Sunday, when 228 people were unaccounted for.
Meanwhile, friends and relatives of the missing grew increasingly desperate. A message board at a shelter was filled with photos of the missing and pleas for any information.
“I hope you are okay,” read one hand-written note on the board filled with sheets of notebook paper. Another had a picture of a missing man: “If seen, please have him call.”
Some of the missing are not on the list, said Sol Bechtold, who is searching for his 75-year-old mother, Joanne Caddy, whose house burned down along with the rest of her neighbourhood in Magalia, just north of Paradise, the town of 27,000 that was consumed by flames last week.
Bechtold said he spoke with the sheriff's office yesterday morning, and they confirmed they have an active missing person's case on Caddy. But Caddy, a widow who lived alone and did not drive, was not on the list.
“The list they published is missing a lot of names,” Bechtold said. Community members have compiled their own list.
Greg Gibson was one of the people searching the message board Tuesday, hoping to find information about his neighbours. They've been reported missing, but he does not know if they tried to escape or hesitated a few minutes too long before fleeing Paradise, where about 7,700 homes were destroyed.
“It happened so fast. It would have been such an easy decision to stay, but it was the wrong choice,” Gibson said from the Neighbourhood Church in Chico, California, which was serving as a shelter for some of the more than 1,000 evacuees.
Inside the church, evacuee Harold Taylor chatted with newfound friends. The 72-year-old Vietnam veteran, who walks with a cane, said he received a call last Thursday morning to evacuate immediately. He saw the flames leaping up behind his house, left with the clothes on his back and barely made it out alive.
Along the way, he tried to convince his neighbour to get in his car and evacuate with him, but the neighbour declined. He doesn't know what happened to his friend.
“We didn't have 10 minutes to get out of there,” he said. “It was already in flames downtown, all the local restaurants and stuff,” he said.
The search for the dead was drawing on portable devices that can identify someone's genetic material in a couple of hours, rather than days or weeks.
“In many circumstances, without rapid DNA technology, it's just such a lengthy process,” said Frank DePaolo, a deputy commissioner of the New York City medical examiners' office, which has been at the forefront of the science of identifying human remains since 9/11.
Before the Paradise tragedy, the deadliest single fire on record in California was a 1933 blaze in Griffith Park in Los Angeles that killed 29.