Max Landis Dropped By His Writ Large Managers Amid Allegations

Max Landis, the screenwriter who’s accused of sexually assaulting and mentally torturing several women, has been fired by Writ Large, his personal managers. “Writ Large does not represent Max Landis,” said Britton Rizzio, his former manager. “As soon as we heard about the Daily Beast article, we parted company.”

Tuesday’s Daily Beast report detailed allegations by eight women who say they were abused by Landis, the screenwriter best known for Bright and Chronicle. At least one of women alleged that he once threatened to kill her.

Landis, the son of director John Landis, was first accused in 2017, when actress Anna Akana, who starred in a YouTube video he directed, took to Twitter the day that Bright was to premiere on Netflix to say that the film was “Written by a psychopath who sexually abused and assaults women, right? Cool.”

Several other women came forward soon thereafter with allegations of sexual misconduct, including artist Zoe Quinn, who tweeted: “Sometimes men who commit sexual assault are talented screenwriters and their work comes with baggage. Other times, they’re Max Landis.”

Deadline reached out to his attorney, Howard Abramson, but did not get a callback.

Turkey’s Erdogan claims former Egyptian President Morsi was killed

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has claimed that former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi didn’t die of natural causes, but that he was killed.

During a speech in Istanbul, Erdogan cited as evidence that the deposed Egyptian president allegedly “flailed” in a Cairo courtroom for 20 minutes Monday and nobody assisted him.

The Turkish leader said Wednesday: “Unfortunately, Mohammed Morsi was on the ground of the courtroom flailing for 20 minutes. No official there intervened. Morsi did not (die) naturally, he was killed.”

Erdogan said Turkey would do everything in its power to ensure Egypt faces trial in Morsi’s death. He also called on the Islamic Cooperation Organization to “take the necessary action” over Morsi’s death.”

What happens when royal security goes wrong?

An 83-year-old woman is in hospital after being hit by a convoy taking the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to an event. Also today, a UN report says there is “credible evidence” to investigate the crown prince of Saudi Arabia over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

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Johnson's team welcomes latest vote in UK PM bid

LONDON, June 19 (Reuters) – The team backing Boris Johnson in his bid to become Britain’s prime minister welcomed a jump in the number of lawmakers supporting him in a third round of voting for the leadership of the Conservative Party on Wednesday.

The team was happy with the additional 17 lawmakers giving support to Johnson, a source in the team said, playing down expectations of an even higher number after fellow pro-Brexit Conservative Dominic Raab was eliminated from the contest on Tuesday. (Reporting by Elizabeth Piper Editing by William Schomberg)

Boris Johnson Extends Lead in Race to Be Next U.K. Premier

In this article

Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson extended his lead in the race to succeed Theresa May as U.K. prime minister in the third round of voting among the Conservative Party’s 313 Members of Parliament, while International Development Secretary Rory Stewart was eliminated.

• Johnson’s tally of votes rose to 143 on Wednesday from 126 on Tuesday, extending his lead over Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, whose tally rose to 54 from 46
• Environment Secretary Michael Gove was third on 51, a gain of 10
• Home Secretary Sajid Javid won 38 votes, up from 33
• Stewart’s tally fell to 27 from 37
• NOTE: Stewart Fears Dark Arts Plot as Tories Vote: Brexit Update

Rain-hit cricket World Cup may cost insurers millions

Star India has global media rights for the tournament

Lost revenues from a record number of rain-hit cricket World Cup games in England and Wales may result in insurance claims of a few million pounds for each abandoned fixture, insurance sources say.

Broadcasters, organisers, venues, advertising sponsors and catering establishments are among the firms to have missed out after four matches were called off in an exceptionally rainy June.

Companies typically buy contingency, or cancellation, insurance for sporting events, which covers everything from rain stopping play to terror attacks.

Beazly, an agency of Lloyd’s of London, estimated, for example, that the football World Cup in Russia in 2018 was insured for more than $10 billion. Insurers say cover for the cricket equivalent will be much lower.

Star India has the global media rights for the cricket tournament but has licensed further rights to sports broadcasters in other countries.

However, it is likely to have lost at least £1 million ($1.26 million) for each abandoned match, insurance specialists estimate.

Delayed Kentucky internet project faces new squirrel setback

A project that would bring high-speed internet across Kentucky will be delayed because company representatives say an "abundance" of squirrels have chewed through wiring.

The Courier-Journal reports lawmakers in the state's capitol questioned reports of ravenous squirrels Tuesday, blocking officials in charge of the KentuckyWired project from borrowing an additional $110 million.

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KentuckyWired was started in 2015 under former Gov. Steve Beshear to boost Kentucky's internet infrastructure. Officials are now saying squirrels damaged cable that was supposed to be up and running in April.

This isn't the first time the project has been denied extra funds. In February, lawmakers blocked a request for an additional $20 million for "unanticipated borrowing costs." KentuckyWired has been plagued from the beginning by delays and cost overruns , running nearly four years behind schedule.