casino game quest 2
A chorus of support is growing behind actress Blake Lively after she filed a complaint alleging sexual harassment and a smear campaign against "It Ends With Us" co-star Justin Baldoni. Actress Amber Heard on Monday became the latest celebrity to speak out on behalf of the "Gossip Girl" alum over what she says was a coordinated social media effort to tarnish her name. Over the weekend, Lively filed a complaint claiming that Baldoni and a lead producer had behaved unacceptably during the filming of box office hit "It Ends With Us." The allegations included that Baldoni -- who also directed the film -- had spoken inappropriately about his sex life, and had sought to alter the film to include sex scenes that were not in the script and had not been agreed to. They also detailed how lead producer Jamey Heath had watched Lively while she was topless, despite having been asked to turn away. But the complaint goes into great detail -- including with texts and emails -- on a PR campaign to wreck her reputation and to divert attention from any public comments she might make about the men's alleged misbehavior. This was "a carefully crafted, coordinated, and resourced retaliatory scheme to silence her, and others from speaking out about the hostile environment that Mr Baldoni and Mr Heath created," the complaint says. It includes allegations that the two men hired a crisis PR team that amplified or planted negative stories about Lively on social media platforms. "You know we can bury anyone," Melissa Nathan, a member of the team, is alleged to have said, according to messages contained in the complaint. Heard's ex-husband Johnny Depp hired the same PR team during the high-profile defamation trial between the couple in 2022, in which a jury unanimously found that Heard defamed Depp over allegations he abused her. "Social media is the absolute personification of the classic saying 'A lie travels halfway around the world before truth can get its boots on,'" Heard said in a statement carried by NBC News. "I saw this firsthand and up close. It's as horrifying as it is destructive." Heard's support came on the heels of a joint statement by America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel, who starred with Lively in "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants." "As Blake's friends and sisters for over 20 years, we stand with her in solidarity as she fights back against the reported campaign waged to destroy her reputation," they wrote on Instagram. "Throughout the filming of 'It Ends with Us', we saw her summon the courage to ask for a safe workplace for herself and colleagues on set, and we are appalled to read the evidence of a premeditated and vindictive effort that ensued to discredit her voice." A lawyer for Wayfarer, the studio behind the film, said in a statement released to the New York Times that neither the studio, its executives, nor its PR team did anything to retaliate against Lively. "These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media," lawyer Bryan Freedman wrote. The complaint was lodged with the California Civil Rights Department, and is a precursor to a lawsuit. Major Hollywood talent agency WME -- which represents Lively -- has reportedly dropped Baldoni as a client. hg/aha
WASHINGTON — American Airlines briefly grounded flights nationwide Tuesday because of a technical problem just as the Christmas travel season kicked into overdrive and winter weather threatened more potential problems for those planning to fly or drive. Government regulators cleared American flights to get airborne about an hour after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a national ground stop for the airline. The order, which prevented planes from taking off, was issued at the airline's request. The airline said in an email that the problem was caused by trouble with vendor technology that maintains its flight operating system. An American Airlines employee wearing looks toward quiet check-in counters Tuesday in the American terminal at Miami International Airport in Miami. Dennis Tajer, a spokesperson for the Allied Pilots Association, a union representing American Airlines pilots, said the airline told pilots at 7 a.m. Eastern that there was an outage affecting the system known as FOS. It handles different types of airline operations, including dispatch, flight planning, passenger boarding, as well as an airplane's weight and balance data, he said. Some components of FOS have gone down in the past, but a systemwide outage is rare, Tajer said. Flights were delayed across American's major hubs, with only 37% leaving on time, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics company. Out of the 3,901 domestic and international American Airlines flights scheduled for Tuesday, 19 were canceled. Cirium noted that the vast majority of flights departed within two hours of their scheduled departure time. A similar percentage — 36% — arrived at their destinations as scheduled. Meanwhile, the flight-tracking site FlightAware reported that 3,712 flights entering or leaving the U.S., or serving domestic destinations, were delayed Tuesday, with 55 flights canceled. It did not show any flights from American Airlines. Cirium said Dallas-Fort Worth, New York's Kennedy Airport and Charlotte, North Carolina, saw the greatest number of delays. Washington, Chicago and Miami experienced considerably fewer delays. Travelers wait in line for security checks Tuesday at the Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles. Amid the travel problems, significant rain and snow were expected in the Pacific Northwest at least into Christmas Day. Showers and thunderstorms developed in the South. Freezing rain was reported in the Mid-Atlantic region near Baltimore and Washington, and snow fell in New York. Because the holiday travel period lasts weeks, airports and airlines typically have smaller peak days than they do during the rush around Thanksgiving, but the grind of one hectic day followed by another takes a toll on flight crews. Any hiccups — a winter storm or a computer outage — can snowball into massive disruptions. That is how Southwest Airlines stranded 2 million travelers in December 2022, and Delta Air Lines suffered a smaller but significant meltdown after a worldwide technology outage in July caused by a faulty software update from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. Many flights during the holidays are sold out, which makes cancellations even more disruptive than during slower periods. That is especially true for smaller budget airlines that have fewer flights and fewer options for rebooking passengers. Only the largest airlines, including American, Delta and United, have "interline agreements" that let them put stranded customers on another carrier's flights. An American Airlines employee wearing a Santa Claus hat walks through the American terminal Tuesday at Miami International Airport in Miami. This will be the first holiday season since a Transportation Department rule took effect that requires airlines to give customers an automatic cash refund for a canceled or significantly delayed flight. Most air travelers were already eligible for refunds, but they often had to request them. Passengers still can ask to get rebooked, which is often a better option than a refund during peak travel periods. Finding a last-minute flight on another airline tends to be expensive. An American spokesperson said Tuesday was not a peak travel day for the airline — with about 2,000 fewer flights than the busiest days — so the airline had somewhat of a buffer to manage the delays. The groundings happened as millions of travelers were expected to fly over the next 10 days. The Transportation Security Administration expects to screen 40 million passengers through Jan. 2. Airlines expect to have their busiest days on Thursday, Friday and Sunday. American Airlines employees check in travelers Tuesday in the American terminal at Miami International Airport in Miami. Many flights during the holidays are sold out, which makes cancellations more disruptive than during slower periods. Even with just a brief outage, the cancellations have a cascading effect that can take days to clear up. About 90% of Americans traveling far from home over the holidays will be in cars, according to AAA. "Airline travel is just really high right now, but most people do drive to their destinations, and that is true for every holiday," AAA spokesperson Aixa Diaz said. Gasoline prices are similar to last year. The nationwide average Thursday was $3.04 a gallon, down from $3.13 a year ago, according to AAA. Charging an electric vehicle averages just under 35 cents per per kilowatt hour, but varies by state. Transportation-data firm INRIX says travel times on the nation's highways could be up to 30% longer than normal over the holidays, with Sunday expected to see the heaviest traffic. "It's not the destination, it's the journey," said American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson. Ralph clearly was not among the travellers on one of more than 350 cancelled or 1,400 delayed flights after a worldwide tech outage caused by an update to Crowdstrike's "Falcon Sensor" software in July of 2023. U.S. airlines carried nearly 863 million travellers in 2023, with Canadian carriers accounting for another 150 million, many of whom experienced lost luggage, flight delays, cancellations, or were bumped off their flights. It's unclear how many of them were compensated for these inconveniences. Suffice it to say, posting a crabby rant on social media might temporarily soothe anger, but it won't put wasted money back in pockets. Money.ca shares what to know in order to be compensated for the three most common air travel headaches. Bags elected to go on a vacay without you? Check off the following: If you expect a large payout, think again. Tariffs (air carrier contracts) limit the compensation amounts for "loss of, damage to, or the delay in delivery of baggage or other personal property." In the case of Air Canada, the maximum payout is $1,500 per passenger in the currency of the country where the baggage was processed. To raise that limit, purchase a Declaration of Higher Value for each leg of the trip. The charge is $0.50 for each $100, in which case the payout limit is $2,500. For Delta Air Lines, passengers are entitled to up to $3,800 in baggage compensation, though how much you'll receive depends on your flight. Delta will pay up to $2,080 for delayed, lost, and damaged baggage for international travellers, almost half of what U.S. domestic passengers can claim. If your flight is marked delayed for more than 30 minutes, approach the gate agent and politely request food and hotel vouchers to be used within the airport or nearby. Different air carriers and jurisdictions have their own compensation policies when flights are delayed or cancelled. For example, under European Union rules, passengers may receive up to 600 Euros, even when travelling on a non-EU carrier. Similarly, the DOT states that travellers are entitled to a refund "if the airline cancelled a flight, regardless of the reason, and the consumer chooses not to travel." However, US rules regarding delays are complicated. Some air carriers, such as Air Canada, do not guarantee their flight schedules. They're also not liable for cancellations or changes due to "force majeure" such as weather conditions or labour disruptions. If the delay is overnight, only out-of-town passengers will be offered hotel accommodation. Nevertheless, many airlines do offer some compensation for the inconvenience. If your flight is marked delayed for more than 30 minutes, approach the gate agent and politely request food and hotel vouchers to be used within the airport or nearby. In terms of cash compensation, what you'll get can differ significantly based on things like departure location, time, carrier, and ticket class. The DOT offers a helpful delay and cancellations dashboard designed to keep travellers informed about their compensation rights. The dashboard is particularly helpful because, as the DOT states on its website, "whether you are entitled to a refund depends on a lot of factors—such as the length of the delay, the length of the flight, and your particular circumstances." The Canadian Transportation Agency is proposing air passenger protection regulations that guarantee financial compensation to travellers experiencing flight delays and cancellations, with the level of compensation varying depending on the situation and how much control the air carrier had. The proposed regulations include the following: The airline is obligated to complete the passenger's itinerary. If the new ticket is for a lower class of service, the air carrier would have to refund the cost difference; if the booking is in a higher class of service, passengers cannot be charged extra. If the passenger declines the ticket, the airline must give a full refund, in addition to the prescribed compensation. For overnight delays, the air carrier needs to provide hotel accommodation and transportation free-of-charge. Again, if you are unsatisfied, the Canadian Transportation Agency or Department of Transportation may advocate on your behalf. Passengers get bumped because airlines overbook. When this happens, the air carrier must compensate you. For international flights in the US, the rate is 200% of your one-way fare to your final destination, with a $675 maximum. If the airline does not make travel arrangements for you, the payout is 400% of your one-way fare to a maximum of $1,350. To qualify, you must check-in by the stated deadline, which on international flights can be up to 3 hours ahead. Keep in mind that if you accept the cash, you are no longer entitled to any further compensation, nor are you guaranteed to be rebooked on a direct flight or similar type of seat. Don't be too quick to give up your boarding pass. Negotiate for the best compensation deal that would include cash, food and hotel vouchers, flight upgrade, lounge passes, as well as mileage points. But avoid being too greedy—if the gate attendant is requesting volunteers and you wait too long, you'll miss the offer. According to Air Canada's tariff, if a passenger is involuntarily bumped, they'll receive $200, in cash or bank draft, for up to a two-hour delay; $400 for a 2-6 hours delay; and $800 if the delay is over six hours. (Air Canada was forced to raise its payouts in 2013 due to passenger complaints.) The new rules would raise the payout significantly: $900 for up to six hours; $1,800 for 6-9; and $2,400 for more than nine hours, all to be paid within 48 hours. Statistically speaking, Delta Airlines is the carrier most likely to bump. A few years ago, Delta raised its payout maximum to $9,950, while United Airlines tops out at $10,000. This story was produced by Money.ca and reviewed and distributed by Stacker. Get local news delivered to your inbox!How To Maximize The Efficiency Of The Pressure Pump
Unique deal could bring F-16s to Maryland, NFL to DCReuters 12:37 JST, December 30, 2024 TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Nikkei share average retreated from the previous session’s five-month high on Monday, the last trading day in 2024, as investors locked in profits on a market set to be up a fifth for the year. The Nikkei had fallen 0.75% to 39,979.68 by the midday break, after opening 0.11% higher. It ended at a five-month closing high on Friday after a three-session winning streak. The index is up 19.5% so far this year, putting it just behind Pakistan and Taiwan for the year. The broader Topix was down 0.42% to 2,789.98. “Investors sold stocks today because they could not find clear reasons for the Nikkei to cross the 40,000 levels,” said Fumio Matsumoto, chief strategist at Okasan Securities. “But that does not mean investors are pessimistic about the market in the coming year. They may just want to avoid risks during the market close in Japan for the new year, which is longer than usual.” The Japanese markets will reopen on Jan. 6 after closing for the new year holidays from the next session. Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest fell 3.83% to drag the Nikkei the most. Nissan Motor slipped 5.64% to become the biggest percentage loser on the Nikkei. Nissan’s shares surged nearly 40% this month as merger talks between the automaker and peer Honda Motor surfaced. Makino Milling Machine’s shares were untraded and were set to a daily limit of ¥10,750 after a surprise unsolicited takeover bid by Japanese manufacturing giant Nidec . Takehiko Masuzawa, trading head at Phillip Securities Japan, said the Nikkei rose last week as investors bought back stocks to cover their short positions ahead of the long market holiday.DiVincenzo scores 26 to lead Timberwolves past Spurs 112-110 despite 34 points from Wembanyama
Seasonal Jobs Shift to Fulfillment Centers as Consumers Shop Online
Tejon Ranch director Geoffrey Stack sells $94,590 in stock
U.S. Government’s New Climate Policy Initiatives: A Push Toward SustainabilityHow to solve today's Wordle. Looking for Saturday’s Wordle hints, clues and answer? You can find them here: Pack it all up, folks. The year is basically over. How was your 2024? We have today and tomorrow and then it’s time to remember to write 2025 on everything. 2025 is a nice, memorable number at least. Then just another 25 years before the midcentury mark. If I survive that long, I’ll be 68 when New Year’s 2050 rolls around. My oldest child will be 42. My youngest, 39. I don’t expect to make it to 2075, unless modern medicine and science devises some miracle longevity technology. The fountain of youth. I suspect that would more a curse than a blessing, however. Will Wordle still be a thing in 2050? It’s hard to picture such a different future. Then again, it’s hard to even remember the year 2000, the whole Y2K scare. That was back before the internet really took off, back before 9/11 and the way that event singularly changed the world. Anyways, a Wordle awaits. Let’s solve it! How To Solve Today’s Wordle The Hint: Gaze. The Clue: This Wordle ends in a vowel. Okay, spoilers below! . . . The Answer: Today's Wordle FEATURED | Frase By Forbes TM Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder Wordle Analysis Every day I check Wordle Bot to help analyze my guessing game. You can check your Wordles with Wordle Bot right here . A far, far easier Wordle today than yesterday’s, which was so tricky for so many people that it started trending. I’m not sure where LEANT came from, but it was a pretty good opener, leaving me with just 16 words. TRADE slashed that down to just 1, and it was easy enough to come up with STARE from there. Huzzah! Competitive Wordle Score I get 1 point for guessing in three and 0 for tying the Bot. I’ll take a point! How To Play Competitive Wordle Today’s Wordle Etymology The word "stare" comes from the Old English "starian" , meaning "to gaze, look fixedly." This traces back to the Proto-Germanic "starōną" , which also means "to stare." The root ultimately stems from the Proto-Indo-European "*ster-" , meaning "to be rigid or stiff," reflecting the sense of fixed, intense focus. Let me know how you fared with your Wordle today on Twitter , Instagram or Facebook . Also be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me here on this blog where I write about games, TV shows and movies when I’m not writing puzzle guides. Sign up for my newsletter for more reviews and commentary on entertainment and culture.
Mumbai: A 50% drop in procurement prices of onions in the last 15 days has led to major losses for farmers. Prices have dropped from ₹ 3,600 a quintal on December 12 to ₹ 1,725 a quintal on Monday. Farmers associations have now demanded the removal of the 20% export duty to push exports. The rise in the fresh harvesting of late kharif onion, coupled with the duty on exports, have led to the drastic fall in prices. The release of the stock procured in the past by the government agencies NAFED and National Consumers Federation of India, which have flooded the markets, has also led to the price drop. “The input cost of onion per acre is ₹ 80,000. Farmer are getting just ₹ 60,000, leading to losses of ₹ 20,000 per acre. The central government should immediately lift the export duty as this is not the time to retain it because there is no shortage and the rates have crashed,” said Bharat Dighole, founder president of Maharashtra state onion producer farmers organisation. While Maharashtra is the largest onion-producing state in the country, Lasalgaon in the Nashik district has one of Asia’s largest wholesale markets for it. The Lasalgaon Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) saw an inflow of 2,500 quintal late kharif onion daily over the last 15 days, which fetched an average cost of ₹ 1,725 per quintal. When the crop is sold at ₹ 3000 a quintal, the farmers get some profit, said Dighole. The anger among onion farmers was palpable when fisheries and port minister Nitesh Rane addressed a rally in Baglan in Nashik on Monday. A farmer, identified as Mahindra Surayawanshi, put an onion garland on Rane, an act that led to him being questioned for several hours by the police. Amid the fall in prices, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar last week urged the BJP-led Centre to remove the 20 per cent export duty on onions to provide relief to farmers grappling with plummeting prices. The central government had imposed 40% export duty on onion on October 28, 2023, which was reduced to 20% on May 4 this year in the middle of the Lok Sabha election to pacify the anger among farmers in Maharashtra. Ajit Nawale, national joint secretary, Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha (ABKS), said the falling price of onions was the result of flip-flop in government policies and religious political agenda affecting exports. “Many Gulf countries that have been major importers of the Indian onion haves stopped taking onion from us, because of the religious agenda of Indian government. Rampant change in the export import policies have majorly hit our credibility in the international market. On the other hand, the input cost has increased because of inflation, per acre production has dwindled owing to climate change, resulting in the two-way losses to the farmers,” he said.Twelve electric rotors whirring, a van-size aircraft lifted vertically into a bright sky and cruised smoothly over an artichoke field. The 10-minute test flight in California, controlled from a nearby trailer, took Archer Aviation a small step closer to a future imagined for decades by dreamers, engineers and frustrated commuters: a time when it’s possible to soar over traffic in an air taxi. Archer is aiming to launch its first commercially operated flights with a pilot and passengers within a year in Abu Dhabi. Credit: Archer via AP Archer’s electrically powered mash-up of a helicopter and an aeroplane is among the first competitors seeking to earn certification to carry passengers under a category of aircraft envisioned under new rules by the US Federal Aviation Administration. Years after the world watched TV character George Jetson zip to work in his airborne cartoon commuter, the flying taxi may be on the cusp of reality. Archer is aiming to launch its first commercially operated flights with a pilot and passengers within a year in Abu Dhabi. A competitor, Joby Aviation, says it is aiming to launch passenger service in Dubai as soon as late 2025. Advancements in batteries and other technologies required for the futuristic tilt-rotor craft are moving so fast that they could soon move beyond the novelty stage and into broader commercial use in a matter of years. Both companies are laying plans to operate at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. “They have created these amazing new aircraft that really 10 or 15 years ago would’ve been unimaginable,” said Roger Connor, curator of the vertical flight collection at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. “I think there’s something innately attractive about being able to leapfrog all of your terrestrial obstacles,” he said. “Who hasn’t wished that if you live in the suburbs that, you know, something could drop into your cul-de-sac and 15 minutes later you’re at the office.” Business success is by no means assured for these craft, called electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, or eVTOLs. Scaling the industry from a novelty ride for the wealthy to a broadly available commuter option would take billions more in start-up money, executives said, including building out a network of takeoff and landing areas (called vertiports) and charging stations. It feels like the modern-day American Dream, where you can invent a technology and bring it to market even [if it’s] as crazy as what some people call flying cars. Some high-profile ventures have already faltered. A plan for air taxis to transport spectators around the Paris Olympics fizzled. And last month, Lilium, a German eVTOL company, announced it had filed for insolvency. Still, investors, including big names like Stellantis and Toyota, have poured money into Silicon Valley companies like Archer and Joby. Boeing and Airbus are developing their own versions. All are betting that quieter, greener and battery-powered aircraft can revolutionise the way people travel. Major US airlines including American, Delta, Southwest and United also are building relationships and planting seeds for deals with air taxi companies. “It feels like the modern-day American Dream, where you can invent a technology and actually bring it to market even [if it’s] as crazy as what some people call flying cars,” said Archer Aviation CEO Adam Goldstein. Congress included several provisions aimed at bolstering the growth of air taxis in 2024’s FAA reauthorisation bill. The industry got a major boost in the northern autumn, when the FAA released standards for pilot training and certification. US President-elect Donald Trump appears to be supportive. In a 2023 speech, he said: “Just as the United States led the automobile revolution in the last century, I want to ensure that America, not China, leads the revolution in air mobility.” Joby CEO JoeBen Bevirt said that, as the numbers of air taxis grew, they would become more accessible to the masses. But the multibillion-dollar question remains: Now that they’ve been built, can they be turned into a viable business? “Urban air mobility is the big prize for these firms,” said Connor. “But it’s also the hardest to implement.” On a recent morning, space heaters were blasting in what seemed like a vain attempt to warm the cavernous hangar at Salinas Municipal Airport that serves as the home for Archer’s four-passenger prototype aircraft, called Midnight. The morning’s test flight was scheduled for 7am, but shortly before the hour, it became clear that conditions were too windy. Each test flight requires specific weather to deliver the information the team is seeking, and on this day that meant winds must be less than 19km/h. There would be no pilot behind the controls the test; that will come later. It’s been programmed to autonomously fly a racetrack pattern above the agricultural fields near the airport. Its progress will be monitored by Archer’s own mission control, a team that includes a former US Air Force test pilot and several engineers, who sit in a nearby trailer. Shortly before 11am, the wind is just right. From a field across from the airport, a group of observers watches as the 12 rotors on the aircraft begin to spin, lifting the 2900 kilogram craft, which hovers for just a few moments before the rotors tilt from vertical into horizontal, and it zips over the landscape in flight mode. About 10 minutes and just over 22 kilometres later, Midnight turns back to the airport, hovers briefly as the rotors return to a vertical position and slowly touches down. About 37 kilometres from Archer’s operation in Salinas , Bevirt greets a visitor to Joby’s campus in Marina, California. The campus, based on a former army base, is not far from the Santa Cruz Mountains where Bevirt grew up. Over lunch, Bevirt talks about Joby’s plan to build out a network of air taxis and landing sites, starting with a few “nodes” and gradually expanding. He believes air taxis will one day revolutionise routine travel. Joby Aviation’s pre-production prototype aircraft. Credit: Joby Aviation “We had the transition from horses to railroads, and then from railroads to car,” said Bevirt. “And with each of those, it transformed our perception of distance and how far we could move in a day. And it allowed our cities to grow and to become more productive.” On a tour of Joby’s manufacturing facilities, Bevirt points to a corner where spools of carbon fibre material that will be “baked” into aircraft components. At one work station, a robotic arm blasts water against a component to test for flaws. There’s also a model skyport lounge, with glass walls and lounge chairs. The tour ends in a large hangar, home to three of Joby’s prototype aircraft, including the hydrogen-electric demonstrator craft that recently completed an 841 kilometre flight. Bevirt says ultimately what will drive a market for air taxi rides is the ability to avoid crushing highway commutes. “It won’t happen overnight,” Bevirt said, “but when it does, it will have really profound implications because it will allow us to change our relationship with space and time.” The Market Recap newsletter is a wrap of the day’s trading. Get it each weekday afternoon .
EAM Jaishankar, foreign secretary engage with Biden admin, team Trump
Stories of High-Quality Development | Using 'intelligence' to extract 'black gold' 900 meters underground
Cadiz Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend for Q4 2024 on Series A Cumulative Perpetual Preferred StockA chorus of support is growing behind actress Blake Lively after she filed a complaint alleging sexual harassment and a smear campaign against "It Ends With Us" co-star Justin Baldoni. Actress Amber Heard on Monday became the latest celebrity to speak out on behalf of the "Gossip Girl" alum over what she says was a coordinated social media effort to tarnish her name. Over the weekend, Lively filed a complaint claiming that Baldoni and a lead producer had behaved unacceptably during the filming of box office hit "It Ends With Us." The allegations included that Baldoni -- who also directed the film -- had spoken inappropriately about his sex life, and had sought to alter the film to include sex scenes that were not in the script and had not been agreed to. They also detailed how lead producer Jamey Heath had watched Lively while she was topless, despite having been asked to turn away. But the complaint goes into great detail -- including with texts and emails -- on a PR campaign to wreck her reputation and to divert attention from any public comments she might make about the men's alleged misbehavior. This was "a carefully crafted, coordinated, and resourced retaliatory scheme to silence her, and others from speaking out about the hostile environment that Mr Baldoni and Mr Heath created," the complaint says. It includes allegations that the two men hired a crisis PR team that amplified or planted negative stories about Lively on social media platforms. "You know we can bury anyone," Melissa Nathan, a member of the team, is alleged to have said, according to messages contained in the complaint. Heard's ex-husband Johnny Depp hired the same PR team during the high-profile defamation trial between the couple in 2022, in which a jury unanimously found that Heard defamed Depp over allegations he abused her. "Social media is the absolute personification of the classic saying 'A lie travels halfway around the world before truth can get its boots on,'" Heard said in a statement carried by NBC News. "I saw this firsthand and up close. It's as horrifying as it is destructive." Heard's support came on the heels of a joint statement by America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel, who starred with Lively in "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants." "As Blake's friends and sisters for over 20 years, we stand with her in solidarity as she fights back against the reported campaign waged to destroy her reputation," they wrote on Instagram. "Throughout the filming of 'It Ends with Us', we saw her summon the courage to ask for a safe workplace for herself and colleagues on set, and we are appalled to read the evidence of a premeditated and vindictive effort that ensued to discredit her voice." A lawyer for Wayfarer, the studio behind the film, said in a statement released to the New York Times that neither the studio, its executives, nor its PR team did anything to retaliate against Lively. "These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media," lawyer Bryan Freedman wrote. The complaint was lodged with the California Civil Rights Department, and is a precursor to a lawsuit. Major Hollywood talent agency WME -- which represents Lively -- has reportedly dropped Baldoni as a client. hg/aha
