In this weeks's 5X Press Roundup, we give you a quick break down of 5 trending stories that you may have missed this week, to highlight stories that may have slipped under your radar.  Don't worry, we got you covered! Join the conversation on socials, and head to 5XFest.com/5XPress to read the rest of this week's stories -- trust us, you don't want to miss it!

Alec Baldwin accidentally shot and killed a cinematographer on set of his movie Rust

Alec Baldwin stars in Rust, an old Western that was filming near Santa Fe, New Mexico, US. Last week, Baldwin shot what he thought was a “cold” (safe) gun during the filming of a gunfight scene, but the gun was loaded with “live rounds” and injured cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who later died after succumbing to her injuries.

The movie’s director, Joel Souza was behind Hutchins and was also hit and injured but ultimately survived his injuries. Santa Fe County Sheriff’s office is leading the investigation and interviewing close to 100 people who were present on set. No charges have been filed thus far, but they have since recovered 600 pieces of evidence. 

“All options are on the table. No one has been ruled out at this point,” said District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, indicating that criminal charges could still be filed.

This tragic incident has shed light on the safety protocols and labour mistreatment on low-budget film sets. In fact, the day of the shooting, it was reported that camera crew and other workers had walked off the set in protest because production had promised to pay for accommodation but had later refused. Crews were expected to drive 50 miles from Albuquerque and back every day after a 12-13 hour work day. 

Some of the crew that walked off told various news outlets that “corners were being cut — and they brought in non-union people so they could continue shooting.”

The Sheriff’s office has said that Baldwin is fully cooperating with the investigation. He also spoke about the incident the next day via a series of tweets. He said, “There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours. I'm fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred.”
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Baldwin has also been in touch with Hutchins’ husband to provide any support that he can, and a GoFundMe page set up in her name has raised more than $225K for her family.

The handling of Kyle Beach’s sexual assault allegations sheds light on hockey’s toxic and broken culture

TW: Sexual assault

Kyle Beach was playing for the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010 when he was allegedly sexually assaulted by the team’s video coach, Brad Aldrich. He had since anonymously filed a lawsuit against the Blackhawks for mishandling his allegations.

In an interview aired on TSN, Beach came forward to reveal his identity as the “John Doe” who filed the case against the Blackhawks. The Blackhawks commissioned an investigation and the report from the investigation was made public on Tuesday, the day before Beach came forward with his identity.

The report found that the Blackhawks’ coaching and management completely failed Kyle Beach and did nothing about his allegations against Aldrich. In fact they double downed and denied the allegations altogether, claiming that they conducted an investigation and found his claims to be meritless.

According to the report, the assault occurred on May 8th or 9th, and the Blackhawks made it to the Stanley Cup finals on May 23rd, so senior officials prioritized the team’s “legacy” and didn’t want to divert attention from the Stanley Cup finals against Philadelphia.

Aldrich stayed throughout the season up until the team’s Stanley Cup win and celebrated with the team, which Beach said made him feel “like nothing”. Aldrich was ultimately given an ultimatum and had to resign but still never faced any consequences for sexually assaulting Beach.

The players have been scrutinized as well, particularly the team captain at the time, Jonathan Toews. Beach said that “word travelled fast” and the other players knew about the “rumours” but also did nothing to show their support for Beach.

In light of this news, Joel Quenneville, who was head coach of the Blackhawks at the time, resigned as Florida Panthers coach after a meeting with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. The NHL has fined the Blackhawks $2 million citing “inadequate internal procedures and insufficient and untimely response”.
Gary Bettman, Joel Quenneville, and NHL Coaches’s Association released statements via Twitter addressing the situation and showing their remorse. Many who support Beach have said that it’s too little too late.

"Bones Day" takes over the Internet

A 13-year-old pug named Noodle has become a sensation on TikTok by determining whether millions of people will have a “bones day” or not. 

Noodle’s owner, Jonathan Graziano, records himself waking Noodle up each day and posts it on TikTok almost every morning. He prefaces his videos by saying, “Good morning everyone, and welcome back to yet another round of ‘no bones,’ the game where we find out if my 13-year-old pug woke up with bones. As a result, we find out what kind of day we’re going to have.” 

If Noodle gets up and stays up on his own then it is in fact a “bones day” but if he lays back down and has no interest in getting up then it is declared a “no bones day”.

Noodle has 4 million followers on TikTok and his fans from around the world tune in to decide their fate for the day. If it is a bones day then it’s an action filled day and you make the most of it, but if it’s a no bones day then the goal is to have a chill and easy day filled with self care.

Graziano says he has been doing this since he first adopted Noodle 6 years ago, but only started posting it for the world recently.

Many celebrities have also commented on Noodle’s page and jokingly thanked him for his service. Others have alluded that their days are determined by the pug, including the Vikings football team who recently posted a video saying “No bones, no problem” suggesting that they had won despite it being a no bones day. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards tweeted, “Today is a bones day, and while every day is a great day to get your vaccination, today is an extraordinarily good day.”

Noodle is working hard deciding the daily agendas for millions of people from his dog bed in New York.

People who supported the Farmers Protests in India are at risk of getting their OCI Visas revoked

The Overseas Citizens of India card aka OCI card is a travel document that is more or less a lifelong visa for entry into India. It is a type of permanent residency in which one can live and work in India indefinitely, but cannot vote in elections. Many people of Indian origin that live in foreign countries have the card so that they can easily travel back to their homeland without needing to apply for a travel visa every time.

The Centre, i.e. the Modi government, has decided to cancel OCI cards and LT (long-term) visas for those individuals it has deemed to be involved in “anti-India activities” such as supporting the ongoing Farmers’ Protest.

The number of visas being cancelled has not been disclosed, as the ministry of external affairs refuses to confirm or deny these claims. However, rumours suggest that the current government is keeping a close eye on protests going on in some countries, including Canada. They are particularly targeting international students who have been vocal against the government’s treatment of the farmers.

If people with cancelled visas travel to India, the Immigration Department’s protocol is to send them back to the nation they are travelling from. One such case that has gotten ample media coverage is of writer Aatish Taseer whose OCI was revoked as early as 2019. The ministry claimed that they had cancelled Taseer’s OCI because he had apparently failed to disclose that his father was Pakistani. However the timing of the cancellation is suspicious because it came right after he had written an article for Time magazine in which he called PM Modi “Divider in Chief”.

This news is extremely disheartening for those who have been away from their families and wish to visit their homeland after being unable to due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a concerning time for non-resident Indians, free speech, and democracy.

Anita Anand replaces Harjit Sajjan as Minister of Defence but the media coverage has the stench of patriarchy

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shuffled his cabinet after the recent federal elections, including moving Anita Anand, a well-educated lawyer with ample experience as the Minister of Defence.

Anand has held positions as a law professor at University of Toronto, Yale Law School, Queen’s University, and Western University. She also successfully managed the government’s vaccine rollout and played a vital role in negotiations regarding vaccine procurement. 

She is only the second woman to become Canada’s Defence Minister, with the first being Kim Campbell, who was the Defence Minister for just 6 months in 1993 before becoming Canada’s only female Prime Minister.

Many experts have commended the decision to have a woman lead the Canadian Armed Forces amidst an ongoing sexual allegation crisis, as it will hopefully bring a new perspective to the issues plaguing the military. Sajjan has been heavily criticized for his handling sexual abuse allegations and for being unable to change/manage the broken culture.

Despite expert opinions and Anand’s extensive resume and qualifications, the media coverage has been focussed on her ability to lead the military being a woman.

The Globe and Mail published a now edited article in which the title was along the lines of “Canada’ Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan replaced by a woman,” obscuring her credentials and belittling her to just her gender. Furthermore if Anand were a man with the same credentials nobody would have batted an eye.

This kind of rhetoric is not only disgusting but also dangerous because it is painting her as inadequate for the job before she has even begun. It unnecessarily puts her under the microscope while she attempts to manage her new position.

It’s a shame to see journalism in a so-called “developed” and “progressive” country push forward such backwards misogynistic ideologies.

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Gurshabad’s educational background in Biology and Psychology is inspired by her lifelong pursuit to seek and decipher the human connection. She loves McDonald’s fries, long walks on the beach, and telling people how to correctly pronounce her name. She regularly forces her friends to sit in her car & record a podcast aptly named Sitting In The Car. You can find her but more importantly her dog, @gurshabadkang on all platforms.