Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Giuliani caught in hotel bedroom scene in new ‘Borat’ movie
NEW YORK — Rudy Giuliani is shown in a compromising position in a hotel room with a young actress pretending to be a television journalist in a scene in Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest mockumentary, a sequel to his hit “Borat” film.
The scene shot in July at a New York hotel room — which resulted in Giuliani calling police — includes a moment when Giuliani is seen lying on a bed, tucking in his shirt with his hand down his pants and the young woman nearby.
Giuliani went to the hotel room thinking he was being interviewed about the Trump administration’s COVID-19 response.
The young woman is flirtatious with him and invites him to the bedroom, which is rigged with hidden cameras.
Giuliani then asks for her phone number and address. He lies back on the bed to tuck in his shirt and has his hands in his pants when Baron Cohen rushes in wearing an outlandish outfit.
Baron Cohen, who was disguised as part of the crew, screams that the young woman is 15 years old. Up to that point, there is no indication she is underage.
The character, Borat’s daughter, is played by actress Maria Bakalova, who is listed as 24 years old on the Internet Movie Database site, IMDb.com.
Giuliani, 76, had no immediate comment.
The former New York City mayor called police after that encounter, but there is no indication an investigation was launched.
New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, who profiled Baron Cohen before the film’s release, tweeted Wednesday: “It’s even wilder than it sounds. Beyond cringe.”
Lawsuit against Trump:
A woman who has accused President Donald Trump of raping her in the 1990s said she was stunned and speechless after the Justice Department on Wednesday turned down an opportunity to make oral arguments on whether Trump can substitute the United States for himself as the defendant in her defamation lawsuit.
E. Jean Carroll watched from a jury box as U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan gave a government lawyer a chance to argue by phone, after the lawyer who was supposed to argue in person was banned from the courthouse because he traveled from Virginia.
New York requires visitors from Virginia to quarantine for 14 days.
William Lane, a Department of Justice civil division attorney, told the judge the government would rest on its papers, meaning it would rely solely on already submitted written arguments.
“I'm stunned, stunned, and actually speechless, which is unusual,” Carroll told reporters outside the courthouse.
Carroll's lawyers had already argued in their papers that Trump cannot claim he was acting in an official capacity when he made statements denying the encounter with Carroll in a department store dressing room in Manhattan.
Justice Department attorneys have said Trump had to respond in June 2019 to accusations Carroll made against him in a book because the claims related to his fitness for office.
Carroll was a 52-year-old media figure hosting an advice show when she says the encounter with Trump occurred sometime between the fall of 1995 and spring of 1996.
The Associated Press does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly.
Thailand protests: Student-led protesters in Thailand marched near the prime minister’s office Wednesday, repeating their demand that he step down even as he urged them to let Parliament deal with their calls for democratic reforms.
The demonstrators pushed through lines of police, who did not put up a serious fight despite being equipped with riot gear and standing behind portable metal barriers and barbed wire.
Protesters handed government representatives what they said was a resignation form for Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha to sign, and also demanded freedom for those arrested in connection with earlier protests.
If their demands were not met, they said, they would return in three days. They then dispersed peacefully.
The protesters’ long-term demands also include a more democratic constitution and reforms to the monarchy. The implicit criticism of the royal institution has stirred controversy because it traditionally has been treated as sacrosanct and a pillar of national identity.
In a televised speech, Prayuth offered a concession, saying he would lift the state of emergency he declared in Bangkok last week “if there are no violent incidents.”
Virus milestone: Spain became the first country in western Europe with over 1 million confirmed COVID-19 infections Wednesday.
The health ministry said that its accumulative case load since the start of the pandemic reached 1,005,295 after reporting 16,973 more cases in the past 24 hours.
The ministry attributes 34,366 deaths to COVID-19. Experts say that, as in most countries, the real numbers of infections and deaths are probably much higher because of insufficient testing and asymptomatic cases, among other issues.
The regional government of northern Aragon announced Wednesday that they have closed the city limits of Zaragoza, Huesca and Teruel.
Neighboring Navarra, which leads Spain in infections per 100,000 over 14 days, is preparing to become the first Spanish region to close its borders Thursday.
Nigeria shootings: Amnesty International said in a report Wednesday that Nigeria's security forces fired upon two large gatherings of peaceful protesters Tuesday night, killing 12 people calling for an end to police brutality.
At least 56 people have died during two weeks of demonstrations against police violence, including 38 Tuesday, the group said. The Nigerian government did not comment about the allegations.
The protests began amid calls for Nigeria's government to close the police Special Anti-Robbery Squad, known as SARS.
The protesters defied a curfew and faced off with security forces Wednesday as gunfire rang out and fires burned in Lagos.
The security forces opened fire without warning on the protesters Tuesday night at the Lekki toll plaza, Amnesty said in its report, citing witnesses, video footage and hospital reports.
Women trampled: At least 11 women were trampled to death when a stampede broke out Wednesday among thousands of Afghans waiting in a soccer stadium to get visas to leave the country, officials said.
Attaullah Khogyani, the spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province, said another 13 people, mostly women, were injured at the stadium, where they were trying to get visas to enter Pakistan. He said most of the dead were elderly.