Report: Production halts on Bill Murray film ‘Being Mortal’ after behavioral complaint

Searchlight Pictures has reportedly halted production on a film starring Bill Murray following allegations of inappropriate behavior.

According to reports from the New York Times and Variety, the studio issued a letter to cast and crew on Wednesday saying that filming had been suspended due to an unspecified complaint.

The New York Times reports the letter did not provide information on the nature of the complaint but a person working on the production said that the movie was shut down because of inappropriate behavior by Murray.

According to IMDb, Aziz Ansari is the director of the film that is planned to be released in 2023. “Being Mortal” also stars Seth Rogen and Keke Palmer.

The movie is based on surgeon Atul Gawande’s 2014 nonfiction book “Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End,” according to the online movie database.

Americans are going to church less, poll finds

Americans’ church membership is at its lowest numbers in years.

According to a poll from Gallup, memberships to houses of worship continued to decline last year and dropped below 50% for the first time in Gallup’s eight-decade trend.

In 2020, 47% of Americans said they belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque, down from 50% in 2018 and 70% in 1999.

Researchers with Gallup said U.S. church membership was 73% when they first measured such numbers in 1937. Church membership remained near 70% for the next six decades, before beginning a steady decline around the turn of the 21st century.

Gallup reports the decline in church membership is primarily a function of the increasing number of Americans who express no religious preference.

Over the past two decades, the percentage of Americans who do not identify with any religion has grown from 8% in 1998-2000 to 13% in 2008-2010 and 21% over the past three years.

Gallup also reported it found declines in church membership when it comes to the younger generations but less of a drop among Republicans, as well as married adults and college graduates.

Church membership was found to be the highest among those groups, people who live in the South and Black adults.

Police: Woman dies after getting stuck upside down while climbing US-Mexico border wall

Tucson, Ariz.

Police in Arizona said a Mexican woman died after illegally attempting to cross into the U.S. earlier this week.

Cochise County Sheriff Mark J. Dannels reports deputies responded to a call from Mexican authorities at about 11 p.m. on Monday concerning a woman stuck on a border fence near Douglas, Ariz.

According to the sheriff’s office, the woman was climbing over the border wall when she got stuck in the ropes of a harness and trapped upside down for a significant amount of time.

The 32-year-old was transported to a local hospital, but she was pronounced deceased. Authorities in Arizona said they notified the Mexican Consulate about the incident.

An autopsy will be completed to determine the woman’s cause of death and the sheriff’s office said its investigation continues.

“These incidents are not political; they are humanitarian realities that someone has lost a loved one in a senseless tragedy,” Sheriff Dannels said. “We have to do better in finding solutions to the challenges facing our border, and we have to do it for the right reasons. Regardless of opinions, the facts should direct our progress, and we will keep working towards a shared goal of border safety and security.”

Woman wins $10M lottery prize after being ‘pushed’ into buying scratch-off ticket

Los Angeles

A woman in Southern California is ‘accidentally’ $10 million richer thanks to some help pushing a button at a California Lottery Scratchers vending machine.

According to lottery officials, California resident LaQuedra Edwards was at a Los Angeles-area Vons grocery store in November 2021 when she put $40 into the Scratchers machine.

Edwards said when she was deciding which games to play, “some rude person” bumped into her. The impact then pushed her into choosing the wrong selection on the machine, a $30 200X Scratchers ticket.

“He just bumped into me, didn’t say a thing, and just walked out the door,” Edwards said.

Edwards told lottery officials that she wasn’t planning on playing that game and was initially irritated because the ticket took most of her lottery budget.

However, Edwards said she was not upset for long as she started scratching the $30 ticket once back in her car and discovered she’d just won the game’s top prize of $10 million.

“I didn’t really believe it at first, but I got on the freeway and kept looking down at [the ticket], and I almost crashed my car,” Edwards said. “I pulled over, looked at it again, scanned it with my [California Lottery mobile] app, and I kept thinking this can’t be right.”

According to lottery officials, Edwards plans to use the prize money to purchase a home and start a nonprofit organization.

“I’m still in shock. All I remember saying once I found out how much I just won was, ‘I’m rich!” Edwards said.

Lottery officials said the Vons store where Edwards bought the Scratcher received $50,000 for selling the winning ticket.

Higher risk of heart issues found after COVID compared to 2nd vaccine dose, CDC reports

Washington

Researchers continue to look into life after COVID when it comes to heart issues following infection and recovery.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released a report on the increased risk for cardiac complications after SARS-CoV-2 infection and mRNA COVID-19 vaccination.

The report focuses on the ongoing risks and adverse health outcomes after a patient has gotten COVID. Findings also touched on the potential risk of heart issues after receiving an mRNA vaccine for the virus from Pfizer and Moderna.

According to the report, cardiac complications, “particularly myocarditis and pericarditis,” have been tied to the coronavirus and mRNA COVID vaccination.

However, findings from 40 health care systems that participated in the report from January 2021 to January 2022 showed that the risk for cardiac complications was significantly higher after the SARS-CoV-2 infection than after an mRNA COVID vaccination.

The report also states that male patients 12-17 years old had the highest risk of developing cardiac conditions after vaccination and infection:

“The incidence of cardiac outcomes after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination was highest for males aged 12–17 years after the second vaccine dose. However, within this demographic group, the risk for cardiac outcomes was 1.8–5.6 times as high after SARS-CoV-2 infection than after the second vaccine dose.”

According to the report, studies from Israel and the United Kingdom have found a higher risk for myocarditis after SARS-CoV-2 infection than after an mRNA COVID-19 vaccination.

Therefore, the CDC noted that the findings support the continued use of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines among all eligible persons.