Friday Morning Scoop: Time’s Up for Weinstein

Welcome to the Morning Scoop for May 25, 2018. Today marks a huge day for the Time’s Up Hollywood movement, as well as the #MeToo movement. After news that another beloved star has been accused of sexual abuse, we definitely needed this. 

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Harvey Weinstein Surrenders to New York Police

The man himself. (Image: Flickr)

Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein turned himself in early this morning for charges of sexual assault, according to CBS. Weinstein has been under investigation since late 2017, after several high profile actresses came forward with allegations that they were raped by Weinstein himself.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance has been leading the investigation and has been under pressure to press criminal charges from major movements such as Time’s Up and #MeToo. Vance has been criticized for being too soft on Weinstein and dismissive of his accusers.

Since the initial accusation, more than seventy-five women have come forward to admit that they were assaulted one way or another by Weinstein, with cases dating as far back as the 1980’s.

The occurrence this morning follows an announcement from Weinstein yesterday in which he stated that he will surrender to the criminal charges. As a part of his bail package, Weinstein will front $1 million in exchange for house arrest, as well as forfeit his passport to limit travel. There is no date yet for his trial.

Italy Chooses New Prime Minister to Lead Divided Country

After more than eleven weeks of political deadlock and negotiations between the recently elected far-right League, the anti-establishment populist Five Star Movement, and the mainstream conservative center-right coalition, the incoming Italian government has chosen its new prime minister, Giuseppe Conte.

Conte, 53, is a former law professor who recently taught in both the cities of Florence and Rome. He has been criticized for his lack of political or governmental experience as well as a controversial resume.

The new governing coalition promises new policies taken from both the political left and right to address Italy’s economic stagnation, immigration issues, and differences between the European Union in Brussels.

CMN’s Duane Murphy covers this story here.

South Koreans Slam Trump for Cancellation of June Summit

South Koreans are not happy with President Trump’s decision to cancel the summit with North Korean leader Kim Jung Un, which was announced yesterday in a formal White House letter. North Korea has taken large strides in anticipation for the summit, which was supposed to take place June 12.

According to Reuters, many South Koreans have gathered in protest early today to “fight for the state of peace on the Korean peninsula.” Protesters at the University of Seoul went as far to say that because of this cancellation, Trump no longer deserves a Nobel Peace prize.  South Korean President Moon Jae-in hast stated that he is “perplexed” by Trump’s choice to cancel the summit.

When asked about whether the withdrawal from the summit will increase the chances of war, President responded with, “We’ll see.”

To read Trump’s official cancellation, check out Erin Whitten’s report.

Today in a Tweet: National Wine Day

Merlot? Cabernet? Pinot Grigio? Champagne? The wine cellar is your oyster on this glorious day. 

Last But Not Least: Shawn Mendes Releases Self-Titled Album

Canadian singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes released his album “Shawn Mendes” early today. To celebrate his album drop, he took to Twitter to answer fan questions.

Many fans asked the 19-year-old why he decided to name the album after himself, to which he replied: “I wanted to stamp this moment in time, because I’ve never felt so true to myself.”

Congrats, Shawn!

This pre-weekend Morning Scoop was compiled with contributions from Duane Murphy, Erin Whitten and the CMN Staff. We’re definitely ready to get our wine on.