Concerts cancelled, investigation opened into Placido Domingo

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Two music companies cancelled appearances by Placido Domingo and the Los Angeles Opera said Tuesday it would launch an investigation in response to an Associated Press story in which numerous women accused the opera legend of sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour spanning decades.

Domingo has been general director of the LA Opera since 2003 and previously served as the company's artistic director, jobs that gave him the power to cast roles and — his accusers say — make, or break, careers.

Some of the women told the AP that Domingo used his power at the LA company and elsewhere to try to pressure them into sexual relationships, with several saying that he dangled jobs and then sometimes punished them professionally if they refused his advances.

On Tuesday, the Philadelphia Orchestra and San Francisco Opera announced they would cancel upcoming performances featuring the star, regarded as one of the greatest opera singers of all time.

New York's Metropolitan Opera said it would await the results of LA Opera's investigation "before making any final decisions about Mr. Domingo's future at the Met," where he is scheduled to appear next month.

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AP: Women accuse opera legend Domingo of sexual harassment

For decades, Placido Domingo, one of the most celebrated and powerful men in opera, has tried to pressure women into sexual relationships by dangling jobs and then sometimes punishing the women professionally when they refused his advances, numerous accusers told The Associated Press.

Regarded as one of the greatest opera singers of all time, Domingo also is a prolific conductor and the director of the Los Angeles Opera. The multiple Grammy winner is an immensely respected figure in his rarefied world, described by colleagues as a man of prodigious charm and energy who works tirelessly to promote his art form.

At 78, Domingo still attracts sellout crowds around the globe and continues adding to the 150 roles he has sung in 4,000-plus performances, more than any opera singer in history.

But his accusers and others in the industry say there is a troubling side to Domingo — one they say has long been an open secret in the opera world.

Eight singers and a dancer have told the AP that they were sexually harassed by the long-married, Spanish-born superstar in encounters that took place over three decades beginning in the late 1980s, at venues that included opera companies where he held top managerial positions.

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Flights resuming at Hong Kong airport after protest chaos

HONG KONG (AP) — Flight operations resumed at Hong Kong's airport Wednesday morning after two days of disruptions marked by outbursts of violence highlighting the hardening positions of pro-democracy protesters and the authorities in the Chinese city that's a major international travel hub.

About three dozen protesters remained camped in the airport's arrivals area, a day after a mass demonstration and frenzied mob violence forced more than 100 flight cancellations. But check-in counters were open and flights appeared to be operating normally.

The airport had closed check-in for remaining flights late Tuesday afternoon as protesters swarmed the terminal and blocked access to immigration for departing passengers. Tuesday's cancellations were in addition to 200 flights backlogged from Monday.

Most of the protesters left after officers armed with pepper spray and swinging batons tried to enter the terminal, fighting with demonstrators who barricaded entrances with luggage carts. Riot police clashed briefly with the demonstrators.

The burst of violence included protesters beating up at least two men they suspected of being undercover Chinese agents. Airport security appeared unable to control the crowd, and paramedics later took both men away. Police have acknowledged using "decoy" officers, and some protesters over the weekend were seen being arrested by men dressed like demonstrators — in black and wearing face masks.

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2 guards suspended and warden reassigned after Epstein death

NEW YORK (AP) — The warden at the federal jail where Jeffrey Epstein took his own life over the weekend was removed Tuesday and two guards who were supposed to be watching the financier were placed on leave while federal authorities investigate the death.

The move by the Justice Department came amid mounting evidence that the chronically understaffed Metropolitan Correctional Center may have bungled its responsibility to keep the 66-year-old Epstein from harming himself while he awaited trial on charges of sexually abusing teenage girls.

Epstein was taken off a suicide watch last month for reasons that have not been explained, and was supposed to have been checked on by a guard every 30 minutes. But investigators learned those checks weren't done for several hours before he was found Saturday morning, according to a person familiar with the case who was not authorized to discuss it and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Guards on the unit are now suspected of falsifying log entries to show they were making the checks, according to another person familiar with the probe.

In the past, guards at both federal and state prisons have faced criminal charges over false entries in duty logs that were discovered after something went wrong with a prisoner.

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Dreadful heat, humidity invade South as misery continues

ATLANTA (AP) — Stifling heat smothered states from Texas to South Carolina on Tuesday with temperatures that felt like 120 degrees (49 Celsius), making it difficult to be outside for long, much less work or play.

As the entire Southeast baked amid heat warnings and advisories that reached from central Texas to coastal Georgia, construction workers toiled under a blazing sun in Louisiana. Alabama's largest city opened its auditorium as a refuge for anyone needing to cool down.

Some schools and coaches limited football practice for players getting ready for the upcoming season, and social media was dotted with photos showing automobile thermometers with triple-digit readings.

Forecasters said a cold front and storms could lead to a slight midweek cool down, but for the meantime it was just too hot.

The National Weather Service said the afternoon heat index, a combination of temperature and humidity, climbed to 120 degrees (48.8 Celsius) in Clarksdale, Mississippi, nearly hitting the 121 degrees (49.4 Celsius) it felt like Monday . Readings were nearly as high in cities including Dyersburg, Tennessee, and West Memphis, Arkansas.

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Trump official: Statue of Liberty poem refers to Europeans

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Trump administration official said Tuesday that the famous inscription on the Statue of Liberty welcoming immigrants into the country is about "people coming from Europe" and that America is looking to receive migrants "who can stand on their own two feet."

The comments from Ken Cuccinelli, the acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, came a day after the Trump administration announced it would seek to deny green cards to migrants who seek Medicaid, food stamps, housing vouchers or other forms of public assistance. The move — and Cuccinelli's defence — prompted an outcry from Democrats and immigration advocates who said the policy would favour wealthier immigrants and disadvantage those from poorer countries in Latin America and Africa.

"This administration finally admitted what we've known all along: They think the Statue of Liberty only applies to white people," tweeted former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke, a Democratic presidential candidate.

The administration's proposed policy shift comes as President Donald Trump is leaning more heavily into the restrictive immigration policies that have energized his core supporters and were central to his 2016 victory. He has also spoken disparagingly about immigration from majority black and Hispanic countries, including calling Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals when he launched his 2016 campaign. Last year, he privately branded Central American and African nations as "shithole" countries and he suggested the U.S. take in more immigrants from European countries like predominantly white Norway.

Cuccinelli said in an interview with CNN on Tuesday night that the Emma Lazarus poem emblazoned on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty referred to "people coming from Europe where they had class based societies where people were considered wretched if they weren't in the right class."

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Did the Dayton gunman target his sister? Police can't agree

One of the first victims struck by the Dayton shooter during his 32-second rampage that left nine people dead was his younger sister, but whether he intentionally killed her remains unknown more than a week later, the Ohio city's police chief said Tuesday.

Investigators have "radically different views" on whether Connor Betts targeted his 22-year-old sister, Megan, two hours after they arrived with a friend at a popular strip of nightclubs, Chief Richard Biehl said at a news conference.

Text messages show the 24-year-old gunman knew his sister and their friend were going to a taco stand minutes before he came down an alley and started shooting, Beihl said.

"There's a real question whether he could see who was on the other side," the police chief said, adding that its possible investigators may never come up with an answer.

"If we can't seem to make that call conclusively — that we're divided about how, whether that was intentional or not — I think it's inconclusive," Biehl said.

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Trump delays tariffs on some Chinese goods until December

WASHINGTON (AP) — Responding to pressure from businesses and growing fears that a trade war is threatening the U.S. economy, the Trump administration is delaying most of the import taxes it planned to impose on Chinese goods and is dropping others altogether.

The announcement Tuesday from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative was greeted with relief on Wall Street and by retailers who have grown fearful that the new tariffs would wreck holiday sales.

The administration says it still plans to proceed with 10% tariffs on about $300 billion in Chinese imports — extending its import taxes to just about everything China ships to the United States in a dispute over Beijing's strong-arm trade policies.

But under pressure from retailers and other businesses, President Donald Trump's trade office said it would delay until Dec. 15 the tariffs on nearly 60% of the imports that had been set to absorb the new taxes starting Sept. 1. Among the products that will benefit from the 3 1/2-month reprieve are such popular consumer goods as cellphones, laptops, video game consoles, some toys, computer monitors, shoes and clothing.

The administration is also removing other items from the tariff list entirely, based on what it called "health, safety, national security and other factors."

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'Chrisley Knows Best' stars charged with federal tax evasion

ATLANTA (AP) — A federal grand jury in Atlanta on Tuesday indicted reality television stars Todd and Julie Chrisley on charges including tax evasion, alleging among other things that they tried to hide their income from "Chrisley Knows Best" from the IRS.

The 12-count indictment also accuses the pair of conspiracy, bank fraud and wire fraud.

"The allegations contained in the indictment are based on complete falsehoods. The Chrisleys are innocent of all charges," Chrisley attorneys Bruce H. Morris and Stephen Friedberg said in an emailed statement.

Accountant Peter Tarantino, 56, was charged in the indictment with conspiracy to defraud the United States and aiding the filing of a false tax return. A woman who answered the phone at his office outside Atlanta on Tuesday afternoon said he was with a client and would have no comment.

"Chrisley Knows Best" follows the tight-knit, boisterous family living in the Nashville area. Much of the series emphasizes Todd Chrisley's obsessive yet comedic efforts to keep tabs on three of his kids, two of whom are in their 20s, and his mother.

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CBS, Viacom to reunite as media giants bulk up for streaming

NEW YORK (AP) — The newly combined ViacomCBS will invest in more movies and TV shows and try to sell more advertising as it seeks to become a bigger player in the growing business of streaming video.

Yet the bigger company still might not be big enough to be competitive, as larger rival Disney launches its own service in November and streaming pioneer Netflix spends even more on original shows and movies.

That isn't stopping Viacom CEO Bob Bakish, who will lead the combined company, to declare that ViacomCBS will be "one of only a few companies with the breadth and depth of content and reach to shape the future of our industry."

CBS and Viacom, which separated in 2006, announced their long-anticipated reunion Tuesday.

Viacom owns the Paramount Pictures movie studio and pay TV channels such as Comedy Central, MTV and BET, while CBS has a broadcast network, television stations, Showtime and a stake in The CW over-the-air network.

News from © The Associated Press, 2019