In Brief

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This article was published 17/07/2023 (1158 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ManyFest cancelled

After more than a decade of downtown street festivals, ManyFest has called off its 2023 event scheduled for the second weekend in September.

In a social media post Friday, organizers announced the annual event at Broadway and Memorial Park had been cancelled due to “a number of operational factors,” while indicating ManyFest may return in the future.

ManyFest is co-hosted by True North Sports + Entertainment and local production company Smith Events in collaboration with the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ.

The free September festival has been running since 2010 and featured live local music, a food truck competition and family- and pet-friendly activities.

De Niro’s grandson’s dealer arrested

NEW YORK — A woman has been arrested on federal narcotics charges for allegedly selling the drugs that led to the death of actor Robert De Niro’s 19-year-old grandson.

Sofia Haley Marks, 20, was arrested Thursday by New York City police officers and federal drug agents on charges of selling drugs to Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

There were no online booking records for Marks’ arrest Friday, and it couldn’t be determined if she has an attorney who might speak on her behalf.

Rodriguez was found dead in his Manhattan apartment on July 2. His cause of death remains under investigation, a spokesperson for the city medical examiner’s office said.

Rodriguez’s mother, Drena De Niro, announced her son’s death on Instagram. She wrote her son died after “someone sold him fentanyl laced pills.”

Rodriguez was the son of Drena De Niro, the oldest child of Robert De Niro, and artist Carlos Mare.

McElhenney reveals learning disorders

Rob McElhenney shared this week on Twitter that he “was recently diagnosed with a host of neuro-developmental disorders and learning disabilities” at 46.

The It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star said he would elaborate and “go through the full diagnosis/prognosis” on a July 24 episode of The Always Sunny Podcast.

“It’s not something I would normally talk about publicly but I figured there are others who struggle with similar things and I wanted to remind you that you’re not alone,” McElhenney tweeted.

“You’re not stupid. You’re not ‘bad.’ It might feel that way sometimes. But it’s not true.”

A number of people replied to McElhenney’s tweet thanking him for his openness and sharing their own stories.

“Your openness is great for neurodivergent folks like me (who was diagnosed Autistic at 37, but been diagnosed with Dyscalculia and Hyperlexia for most of my (life])!” one person tweeted. “(I) was already a big fan!”

Jimmie Allen fights sex assault claims

Country singer Jimmie Allen has filed lawsuits against two women who said he sexually assaulted them.

Allen, 38, accused one woman of defamation and the other of stealing his cellphone and sending it to police, Billboard reported.

The first sexual assault claim against Allen was filed in Nashville Federal Court in May. Allen’s former manager said he raped her, assaulted her and repeatedly abused her during a relationship which lasted from 2020 to 2022.

About one month later, a second woman said Allen sexually assaulted her during an encounter in Las Vegas. The woman said she agreed to have protected sex with Allen, but he insisted on unprotected sex and filmed the encounter without her permission.

Allen strongly denied both claims, but was still dropped by his agency and record label. A number of his performances were also cancelled.

He cited those consequences in his defamation lawsuit against the first woman, according to Billboard. That countersuit focused largely on an interview the woman gave after filing the suit.

In his countersuit in the second case, Allen argued the entire interaction was consensual, and claimed the woman agreed to him filming their encounter, Billboard reported. He said she later backtracked and asked him to delete it, and when he refused, she took his phone and gave it to law enforcement.

Usher’s ex-wife wants lake drained

THE ex-wife of R&B singer Usher wants to drain Georgia’s largest lake.

Fashion designer Tameka Foster’s son was fatally injured on Lake Lanier a decade ago. She’s collected more than 2,500 signatures for her online petition calling on officials to “drain, clean and restore” the lake, so that safety improvements can be made and hazardous debris can be removed.

Lake Lanier, northeast of Atlanta, covers nearly 155 square kilometres. It attracts millions of visitors each year and provides drinking water to five million people. Its dam generates hydroelectric power for metro Atlanta.

Foster’s 11-year-old son, Kile Glover, died there after being struck by a personal watercraft.

— staff and wire services