What do expert witnesses do

A speeding driver Facetimed his girlfriend just moments before mowing down and killing a two-year-old girl as she walked home from a playpark, a court has heard. Luke Pirie ploughed into little Harlow Edwards at 50mph as she headed back from the park in Perthshire, Scotland, with her older sister and a five-year-old boy. The 23-year-old motorist had been sending "angry" texts to his partner, Heather Eaton, and was racing to confront her at the time of the crash , the Daily Record reports. He suspected her of cheating on him, and just seconds before his Ford Focus careered into Harlow and two others last year, he Facetimed her, the court was told. Witnesses told how Harlow’s teenage sister Dionne and the boy – who can’t be named for legal reasons – were hurled more than 30ft over a wall in the incident close to the A94. Luke Pirie ploughed into the toddler at 50mph, a court heard Harlow's middle name was Elizabeth in honour of her granny, who was killed in a car … [Read more...] about Speeding driver Facetimed ‘cheating’ girlfriend just moments before mowing down and killing two-year-old girl near her home

Funeral giant Dignity has appointed Kate Davidson as the firm’s next top boss. She will take over from Gary Channon as the company’s next chief executive officer from June 10, the company told investors on Monday morning. The current chief operating officer, who has over 15 years’ experience in the funeral and crematoria industry, has been serving on the company’s board since the start of the year. The appointment comes five days after Dignity reported a “weak” performance over the past three months after a “drop in the death rate”. Shares slumped after it was revealed that death numbers had tumbled by 19% to 166,000 over the quarter. Recommended Coleen Rooney to resume evidence in Rebekah Vardy court battle - live ‘Putin likely to have lost third of troops in Ukraine’ – follow live Dignity was among the funeral firms witnessing a surge in deaths during the pandemic but is now coming under pressure from the successful vaccination … [Read more...] about Kate Davidson appointed new chief of funeral firm Dignity

Israel advanced plans for the construction of more than 4,000 settler homes in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, a rights group said, a day after the military demolished homes in an area where hundreds of Palestinians face the threat of expulsion. It was a jolting illustration of Israel's policies in the territory it has occupied for nearly 55 years. Critics, including three major human rights groups, say those policies amount to apartheid, a charge Israel rejects as an attack on its very legitimacy. Hagit Ofran, an expert on the settlements at the anti-settlement watchdog group Peace Now, said a military planning body approved 4,427 housing units at a meeting on Thursday that she attended. Israeli officials did not respond to requests for comment. It's the biggest advancement of settlement projects since the Biden administration took office. The White House opposes settlement construction and views it as an obstacle to any eventual peace agreement with the … [Read more...] about Rights group: Israel approves over 4,000 new settler homes

Bette Midler has faced criticism for encouraging mothers to “try breastfeeding ,” during the current baby formula shortage in the United States. The 76-year-old actor discussed breastfeeding in a recent post on Twitter , responding to MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle’s tweet about a what she’s learned about the baby formula production market through the shortage. “The baby formula shortage reveals an amazing secret oligopoly: Three American companies control over 90 per cent of the market,” Ruhle wrote. “Hugely restrictive regulations (thanks to big 5 lobbying) prohibit foreign formulas.” “Name another industry/sector/product like this,” she added. In response, Midler tweeted: “TRY BREASTFEEEDING! It’s free and available on demand.” Recommended Hocus Pocus sequel, starring original cast, coming to Disney+ in 2022 Bette Midler apologises after ‘outburst’ in which she called West Virginia ‘poor, illiterate’ Bette Midler, Berry Gordy … [Read more...] about Bette Midler faces backlash for telling mothers to ‘try breastfeeding’ their babies amid formula shortage

The YouTube video starts with a popular British children's cartoon character, Peppa Pig , introducing herself and her family, but there are signs of trouble almost immediately. During the ninth second, Peppa's mother opens her mouth and shouts, "Smoke weed!" The video - a doctored version of a real Peppa episode - deteriorates from there. Over five minutes, there are explosions and racial and homophobic slurs, culminating with Peppa and her parents in dark sunglasses smoking marijuana as rapper Snoop Dogg dances nearby. Since it was uploaded in 2015, the altered video, which has no age restrictions, has been viewed more than 1.5 million times. After years of vowing to police inappropriate content, YouTube continues to deliver violent imagery, drug references, sexually-suggestive sequences and foul, racially-charged language in clips that reach children at a troubling pace, say researchers, parents and consumer groups. YouTube's recommendation algorithm, they say, … [Read more...] about Young children can easily see disturbing content on YouTube despite age restrictions

Revenge porn victims could be granted anonymity as part of a review of the laws around online abuse. MPs and campaigners have been calling for victims to be protected from further harassment after the sharing of private or sexual images or videos of a person without their consent was made a criminal offence in 2015. Survivor Lena Chen previously told The Independent how she had to leave the US and change her name when she was harassed for years after her ex-boyfriend’s posted of intimate photos online. The Law Commission is to consider the case for granting revenge porn victims automatic anonymity, which is currently standard for sexual offences, as part of a wide-ranging review. The independent body will also look at whether current laws are sufficient to tackle the emerging offence of “cyberflashing ”, where victims are sent unsolicited sexual photos and “deepfake” pornography that sees victims’ faces added to explicit videos. UK news in pictures … [Read more...] about Revenge porn victims could be granted anonymity in review of online abuse laws

Russian President Vladimir Putin 's reliance on oligarchs could prevent him from reviving the Soviet Union, experts said. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, some raised concerns that Putin could be seeking to revive the Soviet Union. But a return to Soviet-style economics could threaten the wealth of his allies in Russia's oligarchical class, so it's unlikely he would seize their assets, Bryon Moraski, a professor of Russian politics at the University of Florida explained to Newsweek . Putin relies on both popular and elite support for legitimacy, Moraski explained. This means that any efforts to seize the assets of Russian oligarchs could cause him to lose the support of his closest allies, potentially leaving him in a difficult position as the president. "There wouldn't be an ideological reason for Putin to go through some kind of process for the redistribution of property," Moraski said. Brian Taylor, a professor of Russian politics at Syracuse University, offered … [Read more...] about Putin allies’ wealth will keep him from reviving USSR

Republican Congressman Madison Cawthorn faces a tough test in the North Carolina Primary on Tuesday, after a series of controversies and antics that have threatened his chances of getting re-elected. Even Donald Trump has said he deserves a "second chance." But Cawthorn's donors haven't been deterred. Cawthorn's fundraising committee, Cawthorn for NC, saw a small decline in campaign contibutions in April. It received 827 donations in the month, according to Federal Election Commission filings, down from 1,252 in March, but that's in line with the flow of overall electoral donations nationally. Cawthorn for NC raised just under $66,000 in April, down from $103,000 in March. His highest fundraising month was $251,000 in June 2021. Equally, Cawthorn's Republican challengers who have raised the most in donations, Bruce O'Connell and Chuck Edwards, didn't see any major donation boosts to their campaigns in April, after Cawthorn's controversies, according to FEC data. … [Read more...] about Madison Cawthorn’s scandals haven’t put off his donors

Amber Heard took the witness stand again on Monday in her defense testimony and stated that the feces in her and ex-husband Johnny Depp 's bed was their dogs, not hers. In the high-profile defamation trial between the two actors, Depp claimed that Heard had defecated in their bed, and a video of his testimony went viral in late April . During her defense testimony on Monday, Heard stated that it was actually Depp's Yorkshire Terrier named Boo that had left feces on the bed. Heard stated that in 2016, while she and her friend were preparing to leave for the Coachella music festival, they left the dogs on the bed. When asked if she had committed any kind of "prank," Heard replied, "Absolutely not." "First of all, I don't think that's funny. I don't know what grown woman does find that funny," she added. "I was not also in a pranking mood…my life was falling apart. I had just been attacked on my 30th birthday by my violent husband with whom I was desperately in love and … [Read more...] about Amber Heard Says Bed Feces Wasn’t Hers, Belonged to Yorkshire Terrier

As the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation trial continues, both sides continue to present scathing evidence against the other. The former married couple returned to the Fairfax County court in Virginia on Monday , May 16 for day 16 of the trial. Depp is suing Heard for $50 million in loss of earnings after Heard wrote a 2018 op-ed stating she was the survivor of domestic abuse. The article never mentioned Depp by name, but his team has argued the insinuation resulted in extensive financial losses and damaged his profitability as an actor. The trial began on April 11 and Depp's legal team has already mounted their case, calling on witness testimony and physical evidence to show that Depp was the wronged party. Heard's team began their making case to the jury on May 4 and will continue to do so in the coming days and weeks. As the trial continues, here is six pieces of evidence presented in the trial so far which could be damning for Amber Heard. 1. Audio of Heard … [Read more...] about The 6 most explosive pieces of evidence against Amber Heard so far