'Doctor Strange' fans 'inspired' as America Chavez brings Latina and LGBTQ representation to the MCU

Kristina Garcia
Sat, May 7, 2022

Marvel executive Victoria Alonso, left, and America Chavez actor Xochitl Gomez, center, speak from the El Capitan stage at the premiere of "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

With her witty humor, charm and fake-it-till-you-make-it confidence, the character of America Chavez in the latest "Doctor Strange" franchise film is already stealing hearts as an LGBTQ and Latinx addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Played by Xochitl Gomez, America tries to defeat an unexpected evil in the new Sam Raimi-directed “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.” At the Thursday premiere at El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, fans arrived dressed in Scarlet Witch crowns, magical cloaks, "WandaVision"-inspired cosplay and the occasional Spider-Man suit — but it was America who left the biggest impression.

“I feel empowered and inspired by characters like her," audience member Lance Parilla said, adding that he planned on watching the movie again the next day. "It's not just because of her heritage as a Latina, but also what she represents: She represents not just me, but my fellow LGBTQs.”

People gather outside the El Capitan Theater for the first screening of "Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness." (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Fans watch actor Xochitl Gomez, who plays America Chavez in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," introduce the film. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Fans tour an exhibit of costumes from the film before the first screening. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Many others apparently agree. "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" started the weekend with $90 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales by end of day Friday, according to studio estimates, plus $139.3 million internationally. The $90 million was enough to be the seventh biggest domestic opening day in history.

At the Thursday premiere, Gomez appeared on the El Capitan stage, as did Victoria Alonso, president of physical and post-production, visual effects and animation production at Marvel Studios.

“It’s been very well known [that] I don’t like superheroes,” Alonso said sarcastically to the audience. “But what I do love is what they mean to you.”

For Megan Hill, who came to watch as an early 13th birthday gift, a Latina who identifies with the LGBTQ community is the kind of representation she’s been searching for.

“She's a part of the LGBTQ+ community, and a lot of people are hating on her. But I'm a part of that, and I think that's amazing,” Megan said. “For her to be a main character, I think is just great. Because a lot of young girls will definitely look up to her. And I know it's something I've been missing my entire life. And I'm just happy now that I get it.”

Megan Hill, 12. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Saudi Arabia was among the countries that have banned the “Doctor Strange" sequel because of its queer character, and Gomez — whose multiverse-traveling teen sits at the center of the movie — has been harassed on social media.

In the face of that negativity, the premiere drew supporters including John Ramirez, who cosplayed as Doctor Strange and who at the start of the pandemic in 2020 used El Capitan’s marquee to propose to his now-wife.

“It's great that everybody gets representation, because I just think that that's how movies always should be. We should all be included,” Ramirez said. “I did hear about her scene with her parents and stuff on screen and how that was sort of an issue. … I'm glad that it was done really good justice.”

The USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative surveyed 1,300 top box office films from 2007 to 2019, analyzing the inclusion of Hispanic/Latino characters and persons on screen and behind the camera. In 2019, only 7% of films cast a Hispanic/Latino lead or co-lead actor. Across the 13-year span of the survey, the number dropped to 3.5%.

The character of America resists stereotypes — the spicy Latina, the gangster, the housekeeper. El Capitan moviegoers noted America’s authenticity and how her character came off as the typical kid who lives down the block.

Moviegoer Jessie Abarques. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

“I really actually believed she was just a kid off the street,” said moviegoer Jessie Abarques, who added that Gomez had "the whole aura down."

Jazmin Sedano, 18, arrived at the premiere head to toe in her Scarlet Witch costume, accompanied by her mother and her little brother, who dressed as Spider-Man — because Spider-Man was “the one who broke the multiverse,” after all.

Sedano pointed out how America switched languages throughout the film.

“Especially for Marvel, I love how they still put in Mexican culture, so she says some words in Spanish," Sedano said. "And it's like how when we get mad or a little bit anxious, we switch to Spanish. So I feel like that was really cool."

Jazmin Sedano, 18, said she liked the inclusion of some Spanish in the new movie. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Scarlet Witch cosplayer Karin Worley was drawn not just to America's personality, character and superpowers, but also to the parallels with the Marvel character of Wanda Maximoff.

“Wanda probably would be in a much different place if someone had actually taken the time to believe in her," Worley said. Every time someone loves Wanda, that person gets taken away, she said. "It's kind of just wild seeing the parallels between the two of them, because in a different world, they could have been each other.”

Moviegoer and cosplayer Karin Worley, 23, at the El Capitan Theatre on Thursday. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

RIP
Legendary comic book artist George Perez dies


George Perez, the legendary comic book artist known for helping to reshape the DC universe, has died. He was 67. Photo courtesy George Perez/Facebook


May 7 (UPI) -- George Perez, the legendary comic book artist known for helping to reshape the DC universe, has died. He was 67.

His death, which came after his pancreatic cancer diagnosis, was announced by Constance Eza, a friend of the comic artist who managed his social media accounts.

"Constance here, with the update no one wants to read. George passed away yesterday, peacefully at home with his wife of 490 months and family by his side. He was not in pain and knew he was very, very loved," Eza said.

"We are all very much grieving but, at the same time, we are so incredibly grateful for the joy he brought to our lives. To know George was to love him; and he loved back. Fiercely and with his whole heart. The world is a lot less vibrant today without him in it."

Eza said that Perez loved seeing drawings that his fans had sent him and "was deeply proud to have brought so much joy to so many."

"Everyone knows George's legacy as a creator. His art, characters and stories will be revered for years to come. But, as towering as that legacy is, it pales in comparison to the legacy of the man George was," Eza said.

"George's true legacy is his kindness. It's the love he had for bringing others joy -- and I hope you all carry that with you always."

It was "fitting" that Perez died just before Free Comic Book Day, Eza said, calling the day when comic book stores give a free comic book to fans "a day George absolutely loved."

A memorial service will be held for the public at MEGACON Orlando on May 22.

DC Comics paid tribute to the beloved artist in a message posted to Twitter and said that he "made everything look effortless."

"His contributions were pivotal in both driving and reinventing DC's long and rich history. George's stories were a joy to read, and his work resonated with everyone he met," the company said. "He will be missed by those here at DC and fans worldwide."

Perez had written a lengthy letter to fans in December revealing that he had Stage 3 pancreatic cancer.

"It is surgically inoperable and my estimated life expectancy is between 6 months to a year," Perez said at the time.

The artist said he had been given the option of undergoing chemotherapy or radiation therapy but had decided not to undergo the treatments.

"I've opted to just let nature take its course and I will enjoy whatever time I have left as fully as possible with my beautiful wife of over 40 years, my family, friends and my fans," he wrote.

Before his death, the artist arranged with an agent to refund money paid for sketches he was unable to finish because of his diagnosis.

Perez was born in the South Bronx in New York City in June 1954 and got his start as a studio assistant at Marvel in his teens.

He published his first comic book work in 1974 and began drawing for Marvel's Avengers in 1975 before working on the Fantastic Four series.

His first collaboration with writer Marv Wolfman came while working on a Fantastic Four Annual published in 1979.

In 1980, Perez began working for Marvel rival DC Comics and is credited with launching the New Teen Titans series with Wolfman. Together, the pair created characters including Cyborg, Raven and Starfire.

Perez and Wolfman then together worked on DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths -- a series which massively restructured the publisher's multiverse and killed off a host of major characters.

He then played a key role in the 1987 reboot of Wonder Woman, which tied the character more closely to Greek mythology.

His work on the Wonder Woman character was credited as an influence for the success of the 2017 film starring Gal Gadot by the director of the blockbuster.

In the 1990s, Perez briefly worked on the six-issue Infinity Gauntlet series for Marvel Comics, which was one of the series adapted into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, before returning to the Avengers.

In his career, Perez also worked on several other high-profile properties for Marvel and DC Comics including the characters of Superman and the Green Arrow.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
Ncuti Gatwa named first Black actor to take on leading 'Doctor Who' role


Ncuti Gatwa made his name in the hit Netflix series 'Sex Education'

 (AFP/CHRISTIAN MANG) 

Sun, May 8, 2022,

British actor Ncuti Gatwa, known for his role in popular series "Sex Education" will be the first Black actor to play the leading role in the cult BBC science fiction series, "Doctor Who", the channel announced Sunday.

The Rwandan-born Scottish actor, 29, will become the 14th incarnation of the Time Lord from 2023 as the series celebrates its 60th anniversary.

He takes over from British actress Jodie Whittaker, who was the first woman to play character known as "The Doctor" in the show.

"It feels really amazing. It's a true honour. This role is an institution and it's so iconic," Gatwa told BBC News.

"I feel very grateful to have had the baton handed over and I'm going to try to do my best," he added.

The adventures of the doctor -- a time travelling, humanoid alien who traverses the universe -- have maintained a loyal following since they were first aired in 1963.

Gatwa will work alongside screenwriter and producer Russell T Davies, creator of the series "It's a Sin", hugely popular in the UK.

It is a return for Davies, who stepped down as executive producer of the show in 2008 after he relaunched the series in 2005.

Whittaker took on the role in 2017 from Scottish actor Peter Capaldi, best known for playing a foul-mouthed spin doctor in the BBC satire "The Thick Of It".

She announced she would leave the role in July 2021.

mpa/raz/jj

Warhol Monroe portrait set to smash records at New York sales

2022/5/6 
© Agence France-Presse

A journalist takes photos during a press preview March 21, 2022 in New York

New York (AFP) - An Andy Warhol portrait of Marilyn Monroe worth an estimated $200 million headlines this month's spring sales in New York that collectors say are among the most anticipated ever.

Christie's expects Warhol's 1964 "Shot Sage Blue Marilyn" to become the priciest 20th century artwork when the auction house puts it under the hammer on Monday.

Not to be outdone, competitor Sotheby's is offering $1 billion of modern and contemporary art including the second helping of the famed Macklowe Collection, during its marquee week in May.

"The excitement is certainly unprecedented," Joan Robledo-Palop, a collector and CEO of Zeit Contemporary Art in New York City, told AFP, about the buzz surrounding this season's auctions.

The 40 inch (100 centimeter) by 40 inch silk-screen Warhol is part of a series of portraits the pop artist made of Monroe following her death from a drug overdose in August 1962.

They became known as the "Shot" series after a visitor to Warhol's "Factory" studio in Manhattan fired a gun at them, piercing the portraits which were later repaired.

Alex Rotter, head of 20th and 21st century art at Christie's, has called the portrait "the most significant 20th century painting to come to auction in a generation."

The current most expensive 20th century auctioned work is Picasso's "Women of Algiers," which fetched $179.4 million in 2015.

The auction record for a Warhol is the $104.5 million paid for "Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)" in 2013.

Other highlights offered by Christie's include Jean-Michel Basquiat's "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Derelict" (1982), expected to go for more than $30 million, and "Untitled (Shades of Red)" by Mark Rothko, tipped to fetch up to $80 million.

The auction house is also offering three Claude Monet oil on canvases that are predicted to sell for upwards of $30 million each.

- Rothko, Picasso, Richter -

"Every couple of decades you have a sale where the quality is so high that you don't see all of this at once normally. This season really grew into one of those unique moments," Rotter told AFP.

After selling the first batch of works from the Macklowe Collection -- the most expensive to hit the market at $600 million -- last fall, Sotheby's will auction the remaining 30 items when its sales open on May 16.

Highlights include Gerhard Richter's 1975 "Seascape," estimated at up to $35 million, and Rothko's "Untitled" from 1960 that has a high-end pre-sale estimate of $50 million.

Sotheby's said its modern evening auction of 19th and 20th century works, including by Pablo Picasso and Philip Guston, is its "most valuable" in the category in 15 years.

Picasso's "Femme nue couchée" is appearing at auction for the first time, and Sotheby's expects it to fetch more than $60 million. Other highlights include a Monet view of Venice tipped to fetch $50 million.

Brooke Lampley, head of sales for global fine art at Sotheby's, said she expects records to be broken across categories.

"The art market is very strong. That's why we see such an amazing array of works on offer this season," she told AFP.

Companies envision taxis flying above jammed traffic

2022/5/7
© Agence France-Presse

Companies such as Archer Aviation, whose eVTOL aircraft is seen here, are working on electric-powered aircraft that take off and land vertically like helicopters

San Francisco (AFP) - As urban traffic gets more miserable, entrepreneurs are looking to a future in which commuters hop into "air taxis" that whisk them over clogged roads.

Companies such as Archer, Joby and Wisk are working on electric-powered aircraft that take off and land vertically like helicopters then propel forward like planes.

"'The Jetsons' is definitely a reference that people make a lot when trying to contextualize what we are doing," Archer Vice President Louise Bristow told AFP, referring to a 1960s animated comedy about a family living in a high-tech future.

"The easiest way to think about it is a flying car, but that's not what we're doing."

What Archer envisions is an age of aerial ride-sharing, an "Uber or Lyft of the skies," Bristow said.

Neighborhood parking garage rooftops or shopping mall lots could serve as departure or arrival pads for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

Commuters would make it the rest of the way however they wish, even synching trips with car rideshare services such as Uber which owns a stake in Santa Cruz, California-based Joby.

Joby executives said on a recent earnings call that its first production model aircraft should be in the skies later this year.

That comes despite a Joby prototype crashing early this year while being tested at speeds and altitudes far greater than it would have to handle as part of an air taxi fleet.

Joby has declined to discuss details of the remotely piloted aircraft's crash, which occurred in an uninhabited area, saying it is waiting for US aviation regulators to finish an investigation.

"We were at the end of the flight test expansion campaign at test points well above what we expect to see in normal operations," Joby executive chairman Paul Sciarra told analysts.

"I'm really excited about where we are right now; we have demonstrated the full performance of our aircraft."

Its eVTOL aircraft have a maximum range of 150 miles (241 kilometers), a top speed of 200 miles per hour and a "low noise profile" to avoid an annoying din, the company said.

Joby has announced partnerships with SK Telecom and the TMAP mobility platform in South Korea to provide emissions-free aerial ridesharing.

"By cooperating with Joby, TMAP will become a platform operator that can offer a seamless transportation service between the ground and the sky," TMAP chief executive Lee Jong Ho said in a release.

Joby has also announced a partnership with Japanese airline ANA to launch air taxi service in Japan.

And Toyota has additionally joined the alliance, with an aim to explore adding ground transportation to such a service there, Joby said.
Rethinking required

Hurdles on the path include establishing infrastructure and adapting attitudes to make air taxis a part of everyday life.

"For mass adoption, people need to have a mindset change," Bristow said.

"Getting people to want to travel in a different way will take some rethinking."

The need for the change, though, is clear, she reasoned.

Roads are congested with traffic that wastes time, frays nerves and spews pollution.

"There is nowhere else for traffic to go," Bristow said.

"You have to go up."

Miami and Los Angeles are already exploring the potential of aerial ridesharing, and Archer is hoping to have a small air taxi service operating in at least one of those cities by the end of 2024.

"It's a monumental task that we're taking on," Bristow said.

"It's going to take a while before the infrastructure supports the mass expansion of what we're trying to do."

Archer last month announced that it teamed with United Airlines to create an eVTOL advisory committee.

The US airline has pre-ordered 200 Archer aircraft with an eye toward using them for "last-mile" transportation from airports, Bristow told AFP.

"Imagine flying from London to Newark, New Jersey, then getting in an Archer and being deposited somewhere in Manhattan," Bristow said.
More time for life

Silicon Valley startup Xwing specializes in making standard aircraft capable of flying safely without pilots, with an aim of turning commuting by air into a cheaper and more efficient way to travel.

"We're strong believers here that the industry is going through a pretty dramatic transformation," Xwing chief and founder Marc Piette told AFP.

"In a few years you'll start seeing taxi networks of electric aircrafts regionally or on long hauls and it's going to be quite a different landscape."

Thousands of regional airports used mostly for recreation could become part of aerial commute networks, air mobility consultant Scott Drennan told AFP.

To Drennan, the primary reason for taking to the skies is to "give people back their time."

RENT HIKES=INFLATION

Facing soaring rents, some US tenants are fighting back

2022/5/7 
© Agence France-Presse

Anh-Thu Nguyen of Brooklyn, New York has sued her landlord after being notified by the new owner that her lease was ending

New York (AFP) - Before the start of each month, Anh-Thu Nguyen and her two roommates send rental checks to their landlord. A few days later, the checks are mailed back.

The bizarre ritual began soon after the March 2021 purchase of Nguyen's Brooklyn building by a shadowy real estate firm called Greenbrook Partners, which told residents they had to leave by June 30.

Some neighbors moved out, but Nguyen and tenants from four other units sued the financially connected Greenbrook, one of several investor-backed rental housing firms to draw scrutiny in Washington.

"We have to fight back," said Nguyen, who has helped organize tenants in other buildings that belong to Greenbrook, which has more than 150 properties in Brooklyn and Queens, most bought during the pandemic.

"This has been my home for 13 plus years. It's a wonderful community and I want to stay here... it's also the right thing to do," said Nguyen, 39, a trained attorney who works on labor organizing for an NGO.

Nguyen and other activists back a pending tenant protection bill in the New York state legislature. The battle comes as rising rent adds to today's historic inflation surge, with horror stories abounding of landlords in the unregulated portion of New York's rental market seeking increases of 30 percent or higher.

"The market has bounced back, and that has led to rent increases and lease renewals that are really burdensome for tenants," said Charles McNally, director of external affairs at the Furman Center, a New York University urban policy research organization.

"It's a really difficult market for renters, and the inflationary pressures for owners are real as well."

'Suboptimal tenant'

Greenbrook was one of the actors highlighted in a February event organized by Senate Democrats, where Nguyen described herself as a "suboptimal tenant" for such firms.

"Their goal is maximizing profit, not the stability that comes with a long-term tenant," she told the panel.

Housing experts told senators that a frequently changing cast of shell companies and subsidiaries appearing on official ownership documents hinders accountability for tenants.

They also said some of the firms target traditionally non-white areas where home values have risen steeply.

The rental firms' defenders say restrictions on landlords can discourage needed investment and that the industry is being scapegoated for the housing affordability problem, a complex issue with many factors.

They also point to estimates that Wall Street-backed firms comprise a tiny stake of the US rental housing stock -- figures that housing experts say are based on outdated pre-pandemic data.

Recent news reports abound of the shift in cities such as Atlanta and Jacksonville, where Wall Street-backed rental firms snap up available stock, pricing out some first-time homeowners.

'Good cause eviction'

Greenbrook tenants have also garnered support from leading New York politicians, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and state Senator Jabari Brisport, who led a rally last month where Greenbrook was booed.

"Fight, fight, fight! Housing is a human right," the group chanted in support of "good cause eviction" legislation, which would limit evictions to cases where tenants don't pay rent or behave egregiously. The bill would also limit rent increases on apartments with market-based leases.

Many in real estate oppose the legislation, including Bryan Liff, who is selling two condo units rather than risk renting them under such a bill, which would come on top of soaring costs during the pandemic that he says are driving out mom-and-pop landlords.

"I'm not willing to take the risk that the state will basically give away our property," said Liff, a 50-year-old software engineer, who also owns an eight-apartment Harlem building in which he rents units.

The rally was held outside the Brooklyn home of Aneta Molenda, who also is in housing limbo with no active lease after fighting Greenbrook's 50 percent rent increase.

"I feel incredibly insecure in my housing situation," Molenda told AFP.

Greenbrook Partners has generally avoided comment and didn't respond to multiple queries from AFP.

The company's website says it targets "poorly maintained, undermanaged and undercapitalized assets located in growth-oriented and transitional submarkets of New York City."

Greenbrook and its affiliates own 153 properties, according to a New York City real estate database.

The properties are currently listed under "Freestone Property Group," after previously appearing under the name Greg Fournier, a principal at Greenbrook. Nguyen believes Freestone is a Greenbrook subsidiary.

As a private company, Greenbrook does not release its financial statements. Real estate trade press has described partnerships with the private equity behemoth Carlyle Group and the British investment company NW1 Partners.

Neither Carlyle nor NW1 responded to AFP request for comment.

CANADIANS DIED TOO 

Families of crash victims challenge Boeing settlement in US court
2022/5/3
© Agence France-Presse

Catherine Berthet (L) whose daughter died in the Boeing 737 MAX crash in Ethiopia, arrives at court in Fort Worth, Texas, to challenge the aircraft maker's settlement deal with the US Department of Justice

Fort Worth (United States) (AFP) - The families of victims of the two Boeing 737 MAX crashes in October 2018 and March 2019 asked a Texas judge Tuesday to overturn a $2.5-billion settlement between the aircraft manufacturer and the US government.

Under that agreement, Boeing admitted to having committed fraud in exchange for the Department of Justice dropping some of the proceedings against it over the deadly crashes of Lion Air in Indonesia and Ethiopian Airlines, which killed 346 people total and caused the MAX to be grounded globally for 20 months.

This January 7, 2021 arrangement was the focus of a court hearing Tuesday in Fort Worth, Texas.

"They messed up by making the crime fraud rather than manslaughter," said Catherine Berthet, a French woman who lost her 28-year-old daughter when the Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed near Addis Ababa on March 10, 2019.

"We believe that the rights of the victims' families have not been respected," she told AFP. "We have not been consulted. We ask to be heard."

The January 2021 agreement included a $500 million compensation fund for victims' relatives, $1.77 billion in compensation to the airlines and a $243 million criminal fine.

Boeing has admitted that two of its employees had misled a group within the Federal Aviation Authority that was to prepare training for pilots in using Boeing's new MCAS flight software, which was implicated in both crashes.

"The judge listened carefully and I think had a lot of concerns about how was it that the Justice Department can seal this agreement from the families," said Paul Cassell, lawyer for the families in the audience.

Relatives of the victims are now hoping for a quick decision from the Fort Worth judge.

"It's been three years and I never go to sleep before four or five in the morning," Berthet said. "I still have panic attacks. There are things I don't do anymore. There are films that I can no longer see, music that I can no longer listen to."

"I would like to see that the US Department of Justice is responsible enough to make sure that corporations don't get away with murder," said Paul Njoroge, who lost his 33-year-old wife, his children aged nine months, four and six, as well as his mother-in-law in the Ethiopia crash.

Collapse at French cliffs scaled by US troops on D-Day

2022/5/6 
© Agence France-Presse

Part of the Pointe du Hoc cliffs -- site of a daring vertical assault by US Army Rangers on D-Day in 1944 -- has collapsed on France's northern coast

Cricqueville-en-Bessin (France) (AFP) - A large section of the Pointe du Hoc cliffs has collapsed on France's northern coast, damaging the site of a daring vertical assault by US Army Rangers on D-Day in 1944.

"Part of the outcrop overlooking the English Channel collapsed" on Friday, the American Battle Monuments Commission, which has cared for the site since 1956, said in a statement.

"No one was injured in the landslide, which fell into the sea, and there is no risk for visitors," it added.

An AFP photographer saw around 100 tourists present on a sunny day at the site in Normandy in northern France.

A force of 225 rangers scaled the cliffs on June 6, 1944 to destroy German artillery emplacements that threatened the Allied amphibious landings.

Ascending the 25-metre (82-foot) cliff face in foul weather and under German fire, just 90 of the attackers escaped unharmed.

"The base of the cliffs has become increasingly fragile over time," said Scott Desjardins, superintendent of Normandy American cemetery and the Pointe du Hoc.

"We continue to study the situation in order to find ways to mitigate the risk and preserve the site," he added.

Normandy conservation official Regis Leymarie said that collapses had been expected at the site as "these cliffs have been eroding since they were created".

"About 12 years ago, we agreed with the Americans and the French state that reinforcing the foot of the cliff should aim to slow the erosion but never to stop it," he added, saying that already by then "the site was no longer as it was in 1944".

Around 500,000 people each year visit the Pointe du Hoc, one of the most famous sites of World War II's massive D-Day landings.

The arrivals were the first step to freeing France and western Europe from Nazi German occupation.

CAPITALI$M IS ADDICTION
Biographer says Mickelson had $40mn in gambling losses in four years

2022/5/5 
© Agence France-Presse

Six-time major winner Phil Mickelson plays a shot at the US PGA Tour's Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in January 2022

Los Angeles (AFP) - US federal auditors probing Phil Mickelson’s role in an insider trading case found he had gambling losses of more than $40 million from 2010 to 2014, according to an excerpt from Alan Shipnuck’s forthcoming biography of the US golfer.

Shipnuck posted the excerpt from the unauthorized biography on the Firepit Collective website on Thursday.

The book, "Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf’s Most Colorful Superstar," is due to be released on May 17.

That's two days before the start of the PGA Championship, where Mickelson is the defending champion.

Mickelson became the oldest major winner in golf history when he won the PGA at Kiawah Island last year at the age of 50, but it's not yet known if he will defend the title at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Mickelson has not played since an uproar in February followed Shipnuck's publication of the player's explosive remarks concerning the Saudi-backed LIV golf tour spearheaded by Greg Norman.

The six-time major champion called the Saudi partners "scary," citing the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

But he said he was willing to work with them if the breakaway tour provided "leverage" in efforts to force the US PGA Tour to alter policies that Mickelson said rob players of deserved money-making opportunities.

Mickelson was a relief defendant in a 2016 criminal insider trading case that sent gambler Billy Walters to prison.

Mickelson wasn't charged, but repaid almost $1 million made in the deal.

In the excerpt posted Thursday, Shipnuck, citing a source with direct access to the documents, writes that government auditors working the case investigated Mickelson's finances over four years from 2010 to 2014.

"In those prime earning years, Mickelson’s income was estimated to be just north of $40 million a year," Shipnuck wrote. "That's an obscene amount of money, but once he paid his taxes (including the California tariffs he publicly railed against), he was left with, what, low-20s? Then he had to cover his plane and mansion(s), plus his agent, caddie, pilots, chef, personal trainer, swing coaches and sundry others.

"Throw in all the other expenses of a big life -- like an actual T. Rex skull for a birthday present -- and that leaves, what, $10 million? Per the government audit, that's roughly how much Mickelson averaged in annual gambling losses."

Mickelson's management company confirmed in April that he had sought a release from the US PGA Tour to play in the first event of the LIV tour, the LIV Golf Invitational near London June 9-11.

But in a statement Steve Loy, co-president of Sportfive management, stressed the player had not yet confirmed his participation.

Activists urge ad boycott if Musk turns Twitter toxic
2022/5/3
© Agence France-Presse

Twitter makes most of its money from ads, which could flee the platform if it allows vitriol and misinformation to flourish once in the hands of billionaire Elon Musk

San Francisco (AFP) - Activist groups called on Twitter advertisers Tuesday to boycott the service if it opens the gates to abusive and misinformative posts with billionaire Elon Musk as its owner.

The Tesla chief's $44-billion deal to buy the global messaging platform must still get the backing of shareholders and regulators, but he has voiced enthusiasm for dialing back content moderation to a legal minimum and no longer banning people for using the platform to instigate real-world harm.