Former CIA deputy director examines Moscow concert hall attack

Statements of White House, FBI, Office of the Director of National Intelligence to 60 Minutes

Prior to 60 Minutes’ March 31, 2024, broadcast which featured correspondent Scott Pelley’s report on Havana Syndrome, we reached out to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the White House, and the FBI for comments on our story, “Targeting Americans.”

They responded to 60 Minutes with the following statements:

Office of the Director of National Intelligence:

“We continue to closely examine anomalous health incidents (AHIs), particularly in areas we have identified as requiring additional research and analysis. Most IC agencies have concluded that it is very unlikely a foreign adversary is responsible for the reported AHIs. IC agencies have varying confidence levels because we still have gaps given the challenges collecting on foreign adversaries—as we do on many issues involving them. As part of its review, the IC identified critical assumptions surrounding the initial AHIs reported in Cuba from 2016 to 2018, which framed the IC’s understanding of this phenomenon, but were not borne out by subsequent medical and technical analysis. In light of this and the evidence that points away from a foreign adversary, causal mechanism, or unique syndromes linked to AHIs, IC agencies assess those symptoms reported by U.S. personnel probably were the result of factors that did not involve a foreign adversary. These findings do not call into question the very real experiences and symptoms that our colleagues and their family members have reported. We continue to prioritize our work on such incidents, allocating resources and expertise across the government, pursuing multiple lines of inquiry and seeking information to fill the gaps we have identified.”

White House:

“At the start of the Biden-Harris Administration and again following the 2023 Intelligence Community assessment, the White House has directed departments and agencies across the federal government to prioritize investigations into the cause of AHIs and to examine reports thoroughly; to ensure that U.S. Government personnel and their families who report AHIs receive the support and timely access to medical care that they need; and to take reports of AHIs seriously and treat personnel with respect and compassion. The Biden-Harris administration continues to emphasize the importance of prioritizing efforts to comprehensively examine the effects and potential causes of AHIs.”

FBI:

“The issue of Anomalous Health Incidents is a top priority for the FBI, as the protection, health and well-being of our employees and colleagues across the federal government is paramount. We will continue to work alongside our partners in the intelligence community as part of the interagency effort to determine how we can best protect our personnel. The FBI takes all U.S. government personnel who report symptoms seriously. In keeping with this practice, the FBI has messaged its workforce on how to respond if they experience an AHI, how to report an incident, and where they can receive medical evaluations for symptoms or persistent effects.

Source link

Transcript: Cindy McCain, World Food Programme executive director, on “Face the Nation,” March 31, 2024

The following is a transcript of an interview with Cindy McCain, World Food Programme executive director, that aired on March 31, 2024.

ED O’KEEFE: We’re joined by the Executive Director of the World Food Program, Cindy McCain. Mrs. McCain, it’s great to see you. Thank you for joining us. Simply put–

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR WORLD FOOD PROGRAM, CINDY MCCAIN: My pleasure.

ED O’KEEFE: Simply put, right now there are too many people in the world going hungry and you have some critical insights into that, which is why we’re so pleased that you’re with us this morning. I wanted to begin with the situation earning the most attention right now in Gaza and as the war continues, the International Court of Justice this week called for Israel to, quote “take all necessary and effective measures” to allow humanitarian assistance into Gaza. What needs to change so that your teams can operate there?

CINDY MCCAIN: Well, first of all, thank you for covering this issue. We need access. We need full, unfettered access and right now we don’t have that. We can occasionally get a few trucks in. We can occasionally get up all the way to the north, but it’s not consistent and is- and is not to scale either. All of the other issues regarding maritime and airdrops and all those are all good. We need any- any way to be able to get food in- in any way we can, but they can’t take it to scale. We really need access to the road and we need to be able to get up to the north, all the way without being caught at checkpoints and turned around.

ED O’KEEFE: I read the World Food Program estimates simply addressing the basic food needs will require at least 300 trucks to enter Gaza every day and distribute food, especially in the north, as you mentioned, but you’ve only managed to get about nine convoys of trucks in since the start of the year. That’s nothing, right?

CINDY MCCAIN: It’s nothing. It really is. We were able to yesterday, or today I guess it was, get nine trucks in, period. We also were part of an airdrop today that was 6.1 metric tons. That’s nothing. We just cannot continue this way. As you know, famine is imminent in the north and so unless we can- can really convince our- our diplomatic groups and our political groups around the world to help convince the Israelis that we must get in and we must do it in a- in a sustained and unfettered- unfettered way. We can’t- people are going to die otherwise, and they already are dying.

ED O’KEEFE: When you or your colleagues speak with Israeli officials about getting that access, what is the reason they’re giving you why they’re not letting you in? Do they not understand the situation? Or is there some other reason?

CINDY MCCAIN: Well, I’m not really sure where the mistake has been made, but I do know that there’s been accusations that somehow the U.N. isn’t doing their job, which couldn’t be further from the truth. So I think again, it’s politics. I think it’s something that- that we’re, you know, various factions are involved in, all I want, all I need to know is when and where we can take the food in, make sure that we can distribute it. That’s what I want to know from the Israeli government.

ED O’KEEFE: You’re especially concerned as well about what’s happening in parts of Africa, specifically Sudan, South Sudan, and Chad, and you said, this could become the world’s largest hunger crisis. Why is that?

CINDY MCCAIN: Well, quite frankly, it’s the forgotten crisis now. Sudan no- is no longer paid attention to in the world media, and- and things haven’t stopped there. People are still fighting, there is no food. We have no access and we’re also fighting a climate change issue there as well. So it’s almost a combination of a perfect storm, with- with 2.2 million refugees across the borders, in various countries, especially Chad and the funding sources that we have right now and our ability to be able to fund, it just isn’t- isn’t meshing. We don’t have enough money and we need to be able to make sure that we can feed the refugees that are across the border, and also get access into Sudan from this- from- from the- the western side, the southern side, through South Sudan, and through the north, we’ve got to get food in there as well, because it can be and will be, I hope not, I pray not, the next- the next largest humanitarian crisis that will- that we will know.

ED O’KEEFE: And not only humanitarian crisis, you’ve suggested it could be a real national security risk for the United States, right?

CINDY MCCAIN: Very much so. People migrate, you know, the bad guys get mixed up in all of this. Food is the- is the major element here in being able to keep populations stable and keep- keep them healthy as well. With those two things not tended to, then people migrate, they run, they take their families, they do anything they can to feed their families.

ED O’KEEFE: You’ve made an interesting point that I think is a good reminder to all of us that these hunger crises around the world are not being caused by natural disasters, but by man-made events and conflict. And nowhere right now, perhaps, at least in this hemisphere, where we sit, is that most apparent than in Haiti, what is the situation there, as you understand it?

CINDY MCCAIN: It’s catastrophic. We- we WFP are still in there and we still are working in the north somewhat and somewhat down towards the center, but it is a very dicey situation. We are continuing our school feeding programs, but once again, as you’ve seen, there have been evacuations of U.N. personnel out of there. It’s just, again, this is a diplomatic solution. This is a man-made crisis, and we need a diplomatic solution to it and we need it now. We need it right now.

ED O’KEEFE: You know, we’d be remiss if we didn’t ask you while we have you about the death of the late Senator Joe Lieberman, who of course, was such a good friend to you and to your late husband, what did he mean to the McCain family?

CINDY MCCAIN: Oh, he was Uncle Joe to my children, he was a friend to my family and- and I had the extreme opportunity of watching two men together, not only navigate the difficulties that the world offered up to them as- as in what they did, but also watch them solve problems together in a way that was gracious and kind and loving towards humanity. And I had the good fortune of being able to call him my friend too.

ED O’KEEFE: Executive Director, Cindy McCain of the World Food Program, thank you for joining us.

CINDY MCCAIN: Thank you for having me.

ED O’KEEFE: And we’ll be right back.

Source link

Former CIA deputy director examines Moscow concert hall attack

Former CIA deputy director examines Moscow concert hall attack – CBS News

Watch CBS News

Russia has charged four men with terrorism in connection to the deadly concert hall attack that killed more than 130 people in Moscow last week. CBS News’ Debora Patta has the details. Then, former CIA acting and deputy director Michael Morell joins to assess the situation.

Source link

William Friedkin, “The French Connection” and “The Exorcist” director, dies at age 87

William Friedkin, “The French Connection” and “The Exorcist” director, dies at age 87 – CBS News

Watch CBS News

William Friedkin, the iconic director known for “The Exorcist,” “The French Connection” and “To Live and Die in L.A.” has died. He was 87.

Source link

William Friedkin, ‘The Exorcist’ and ‘The French Connection’ director, dies at 87

William Friedkin, the maverick film director who helped revolutionize 1970s Hollywood with the electrifying, era-defining classics “The French Connection” and “The Exorcist,” died Monday, a representative from his office told the Associated Press.

He was 87. The former Paramount Pictures head Sherry Lansing, Friedkin’s wife, confirmed his death to other news outlets.

Friedkin was synonymous with the New Hollywood era of the late 1960s and ‘70s, when risk-taking young filmmakers wrested creative control from studio suits and shook up the system. He was known for injecting familiar genres with live-wire energy and edge.

Friedkin won an Academy Award for directing “The French Connection,” a white-knuckle 1971 crime thriller about a brash New York City narcotics detective played by Gene Hackman. The film, anchored by a deliriously high-octane car chase, also won Oscars for best picture and best adapted screenplay.

From left; Philip D'Antoni, Gene Hackman, Jane Fonda, and William Friedkin, winner of "best achievement in directing" for "The French Connection," at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles, Calif. on March 27, 1971. — Philip D’Antoni, Gene Hackman, Jane Fonda, and William Friedkin at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles on March 27, 1971. AP

In an interview with NBC News in 2021, Friedkin said he came to believe he “took too many chances” in filming that famous car chase. “The fact that nobody got hurt is a miracle,” he said. “The fact that I didn’t get killed, the fact that some of the crew members didn’t get hurt or killed. That’s a chance I would never take again. I was young and I didn’t give a damn. I just went out and did it.”

“The Exorcist,” a singularly terrifying 1973 horror masterpiece about a teenage girl possessed by Satan, gave Friedkin the biggest box-office hit of his career. The movie earned more than $440 million globally, shocking audiences around the world with its head-spinning violence and disturbing imagery.

Director William Friedkin explaining the next scene to Linda Blair during the making of "The Exorcist" in 1972. — Director William Friedkin explaining the next scene to Linda Blair during the making of “The Exorcist” in 1972.Alan Band / Getty Images

Friedkin also directed a series of cult favorites that have earned loyal followings over the years, including the suspenseful “Sorcerer,” the Al Pacino psychodrama “Cruising” and the crime epic “To Live and Die in L.A.” He struggled to reach the commercial and critical highs of his ’70s output, though, and in recent years he steadily retreated from the limelight.

He was born on Aug. 29, 1935 in Chicago. He got his start in local television and documentary projects before moving to feature films, making his debut with the Sonny & Cher vehicle “Good Times” in 1967. Three years later, he directed “The Boys in the Band,” a LGBTQ cinema landmark about a group of gay friends in Manhattan.

Friedkin got his big break in 1971 with “The French Connection,” a smash with audiences and critics alike. The critic Pauline Kael called the movie a “hugely successful slam-bang thriller that zaps the audience with noise, speed, and brutality.”

“The French Connection” catapulted Friedkin to the top ranks of American filmmakers, putting him in league with other New Hollywood rising stars like Martin Scorsese, Peter Bogdanovich and Francis Ford Coppola.

The director told NBC News in 2021 that the movie struck him as a time capsule for a rougher and grittier chapter in New York City history, saying in part: “The film reminds me of the different nature of New York back then. Nothing about the city was embellished in the film.”

Friedkin leaped from “The French Connection” to “The Exorcist,” adapted from William Peter Blatty’s novel of the same name. The movie, starring Linda Blair as the possessed girl and Ellen Burstyn as her helpless mother, scandalized viewers with its relentless procession of terrors.

“This movie doesn’t rest on the screen; it’s a frontal assault,” Roger Ebert wrote in his review.

In the years to come, Friedkin continued to work steadily on genre entertainments that often wrestled with the ugliness of humanity and moral shades of gray. “Sorcerer,” “Cruising” and “To Live and Die in L.A.” failed to ignite theater box offices but found favor over the years among cinephiles.

Friedkin’s work in the 1990s and 2000s was shakier and less consistent, though two late-career descents into darkness — the psychological thrillers “Bug” and “Killer Joe” — showed glimmers of his youthful promise.

The director recently completed production on “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial,” a legal drama starring Kiefer Sutherland that is slated to premiere at the Venice International Film Festival in September.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Daniel Arkin

Daniel Arkin is a national reporter at NBC News.

Source link

8/6: The Takeout: Director Steve James

8/6: The Takeout: Director Steve James – CBS News

Watch CBS News

Director and film producer Steve James joins Major Garrett for this week’s episode of “The Takeout” to discuss his 2022 film, “A Compassionate Spy,” which chronicles the life of Theodore Hall, a U.S. nuclear physicist and Soviet Union spy.

Source link

‘Barbie’ joins $1 billion club, breaks record for pic helmed by female director

Greta Gerwig should be feeling closer to fine these days. In just three weeks in theaters, “Barbie” is set to sail past $1 billion in global ticket sales, breaking a record for female directors that was previously held by Patty Jenkins, who helmed “Wonder Woman.”

“Barbie,” which Gerwig directed and co-wrote, added another $53 million from 4,178 North American locations this weekend according to studio estimates on Sunday. The Margot Robbie-led and produced film has been comfortably seated in first place for three weeks and it’s hardly finished yet. Warner Bros. said the film will cross $1 billion before the end of the day.

In modern box office history, just 53 movies have made over $1 billion, not accounting for inflation, and “Barbie” is now the biggest to be directed by one woman, supplanting “Wonder Woman’s” $821.8 million global total. Three movies that were co-directed by women are still ahead of “Barbie,” including “Frozen” ($1.3 billion) and “Frozen 2” ($1.45 billion) both co-directed by Jennifer Lee and “Captain Marvel” ($1.1 billion), co-directed by Anna Boden. But, “Barbie” has passed “Captain Marvel” domestically with $459.4 million (versus $426.8 million), thereby claiming the North American record for live-action movies directed by women.

New competition came this weekend in the form of the animated, PG-rated “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” and the Jason Statham shark sequel, “Meg 2: The Trench,” both of which were neck-in-neck with Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” also in its third weekend, for the second-place spot.

“Meg 2” managed to sneak ahead and land in second place. It overcame its abysmal reviews to score a $30 million opening weekend from 3,503 locations. The Warner Bros. release, directed by Ben Wheatley, currently has a 29% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes and a B- CinemaScore from audiences. The thriller was released in 3D, which accounted for 22% of its first weekend business.

Third place went to “Oppenheimer,” which added $28.7 million from 3,612 locations in North America, bringing its domestic total to $228.6 million. In just three weeks, the J. Robert Oppenheimer biopic starring Cillian Murphy has become the highest grossing R-rated film of the year (ahead of “John Wick Chapter 4”) and the sixth-biggest of the year overall, surpassing “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.”

“Oppenheimer” also celebrated a landmark, crossing $500 million globally in three weeks. Its worldwide tally is currently $552.9 million, which puts it ahead of “Dunkirk,” which clocked out with $527 million in 2017, and has become Nolan’s fifth-biggest movie ever. It’s also now among the four top grossing biographies ever (company includes “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “The Passion of the Christ” and “American Sniper”) and the biggest World War II movie of all time.

Paramount’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” was close behind in fourth place with an estimated $28 million from 3,858 theaters in North America. Since opening on Wednesday, the film, which is riding on excellent reviews (96% on Rotten Tomatoes) and audience scores, has earned $43.1 million.

“This is one of those movies that is a multigenerational joy,” said Chris Aronson, Paramount’s president of domestic distribution. “I think the enduring popularity of ‘Turtles’ is showing its true colors. And there hasn’t been an animated film in eight weeks and there won’t be another for eight weeks which is great for us.”

“Turtles” cost $70 million to produce and features a starry voice cast that includes Jackie Chan, Ice Cube, Paul Rudd, Ayo Edebiri and Seth Rogen, who produced and co-wrote the film, which leans into the “teenage” aspect of the turtles.

“Barbie,” “Oppenheimer” and even the surprise, anti-trafficking hit “Sound of Freedom” (now at $163.5 million and ahead of “Mission: Impossible 7”) have helped fuel a boom at the box office, bringing in many millions more than was expected and helping to offset pains caused by some summer disappointments.

“After ‘The Flash,’ ‘Indiana Jones’ and, to a certain extent, ‘Mission: Impossible,’ people were saying the summer was a disappointment. But it’s not over yet,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “We’re going to have a summer that is going to go out on a high note.”

But the moment of triumph for the industry will likely be short lived if the studios can’t reach an agreement with striking actors and writers soon. The fall release calendar has already gotten slimmer, with some studios pushing films into 2024 instead of trying to promote them without movie stars.

Sony had planned to release its PlayStation-inspired true story “Gran Turismo” in theaters nationwide next Friday, but will now be rolling it out slowly for two weeks before going wide on Aug. 25. The thinking? If movie stars can’t promote the film, maybe audiences can.

“We have to be realistic,” Dergarabedian said. “We’re on this emotional high of movies doing so well, but we have to temper our enthusiasm and optimism with the fact that the strike is creating a lot of uncertainty. The longer it goes on the more profound the issues become. But the audience has spoken and they love going to the movie theater.”

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. “Barbie,” $53 million.

2. “Meg 2: The Trench,” $30 million.

3. “Oppenheimer,” $28.7 million.

4. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” $28 million.

5. “Haunted Mansion,” $9 million.

6. “Sound of Freedom,” $7 million.

7. “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part I,” $6.5 million.

8. “Talk to Me,” $6.3 million.

9. “Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani,” $1.5 million.

10. “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” $1.5 million.

Source link