Names and faces
Federal prosecutors say former New York congressman Anthony Weiner should go to prison for about two years for engaging in sexting with a 15-year-old girl. Prosecutors filed papers in Manhattan federal court Wednesday urging a judge to send a message at the sentencing hearing that’s set for Monday. The 53-year-old New York Democrat said in a submission last week that he’s undergoing treatment and is profoundly sorry for subjecting the North Carolina high school student to what his lawyers called his “deep sickness.” Prosecutors, however, urged the judge to weigh Weiner’s claims of a therapeutic awakening in the context of a man who made similar claims after embarrassing, widely publicized interactions with adult women in the past. Defense lawyers had portrayed the girl as an aggressor, saying she wanted to generate material for a book and possibly influence the presidential election. As part of a plea bargain, Weiner, who ran for New York City mayor in 2005 and 2013, has agreed not to appeal any sentence between 21 months and 27 months. Weiner’s case played a role in the final days of the 2016 presidential election when an FBI investigation of Weiner turned up emails that had been sent to his wife, Huma Abedin, who was then a top aide to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Weiner and Abedin are seeking a divorce.
Linda Hamilton is returning to the Terminator franchise for the first time since 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Terminator creator James Cameron announced Hamilton’s casting at a private event in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, the Hollywood Reporter reported. Paramount Pictures, which is distributing the planned sequel, confirmed the news Wednesday. Cameron is producing the sequel, which Deadpool filmmaker Tim Miller is directing. Arnold Schwarzenegger is also set to return. Cameron, who was once married to Hamilton, recently compared Wonder Woman unfavorably to Hamilton’s Terminator character, Sarah Connor. Cameron called Gal Gadot’s superhero an “objectified icon” but said Connor was defined by “pure grit.”
Former Access Hollywood and Today show personality Billy Bush has separated from his wife, Sydney Davis, after nearly 20 years of marriage. Jill Fritzo, Bush’s publicist, said in a statement that the couple has “separated for the moment to evaluate their life together.” She adds, “They love each other and their children deeply and are committed to a bright future.” The separation comes nearly a year after a 2005 recording surfaced of a lewd conversation between Bush and then Apprentice host Donald Trump during an Access Hollywood shoot. The video rocked Trump’s presidential campaign and led to Bush’s ouster from his Today post. Bush is a cousin of former President George W. Bush and a nephew to former President George H.W. Bush.