'Rust' movie shooting: New Mexico DA says criminal charges 'on the table'

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Alec Baldwin's 'Rust' movie shooting: Criminal charges 'on the table,' district attorney says
The accidental shooting on the set of the upcoming western film "Rust" could result in criminal charges, according to a New Mexico district attorney.

Mary Carmack-Altwies of the state's first district told The New York Times that authorities "haven’t ruled out anything" when it comes to the future of the case.

Last Thursday, actor Alec Baldwin was rehearsing a scene for the film on a ranch near Santa Fe when he discharged a firearm he was reportedly told was cold or "unloaded." A projectile from the gun struck and ultimately killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Director Joel Souza was also wounded but has since been released from a hospital.

"Everything at this point, including criminal charges, is on the table," Carmack-Altwies told the Times.

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It remained unclear Tuesday what was loaded into the gun at the time of the shooting, and the district attorney said the authorities were focusing on ballistics to determine what was loaded into the gun, according to the Times. 

The firearm was handed to Baldwin by "Rust" assistant director Dave Halls, who believed the gun was "cold," meaning he believed it contained no form of ammunition or blanks. CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON OUR TOP STORY. 

In other developments:
- 'Rust' shooting: LIVE UPDATES
- 'Rust' shooting left film locals 'rolling their eyes' at alleged lack of safety measures: 'Just unthinkable'
- Alec Baldwin 'Rust' movie shooting: Authorities recovered revolvers and ammo from set, warrant says
- 'Rust' gaffer, who held Halyna Hutchins in his ‘arms while she was dying,' returns to LA after on-set tragedy
- 'Rust' movie was turned down by veteran prop master over 'massive red flags'

Loudoun County parents demand superintendent, school board resign after alleged sexual assault email
Parents demanded resignations from Virginia's Loudoun County School Board and Superintendent Scott Ziegler at a school board meeting Tuesday, citing an email that surfaced last week. 

In the email, Ziegler alerted the board to a report of an alleged sexual assault in a girls' restroom on May 28, about a month before he publicly declared that he had no record of restroom assaults.

"You have buried a sexual assault to protect your precious 8040 policy," Carrie Michon, a grandmother of Loudoun County children, accused the school board, referencing a pro-transgender policy. "Every last one of you, resign!"

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"You just had hundreds of Loudoun County students walk out in protest because they feel unsafe in schools," local mom Erin Smith said. "Did any of you even respond to this email on May 28 from Dr. Ziegler? Was that email alarming to anyone?"

Smith also addressed School Board Chair Brenda Sheridan, who suggested that parent complaints are focused on the state's Nov. 2 gubernatorial election. 

"We're not here to impact elections, Brenda," she said, pledging that parents will keep coming back after the election. "Get comfy because we are not going away." CLICK HERE FOR MORE.

In other developments:
- Loudoun parents gather for potentially explosive school board meeting after alleged assault revelations
- Dozens of Loudoun County students stage walkout over sexual assault by boy in girls' restroom
- UVA event defending Thomas Jefferson sparks student blowback, conservative group says
- Head of teachers union praises op-ed claiming parents don't have right to shape kids' curriculum

Washington Post hits McAuliffe with four Pinocchios for 'wildly' inflating Virginia's coronavirus numbers
Democratic Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe's repeated false statements about the number of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in the state came to a head Tuesday as The Washington Post awarded him its worst possible falsehood rating of four Pinocchios. 

"The pandemic will continue to be a serious policy challenge for the next Virginia governor but there’s no reason for McAuliffe to hype the numbers. He earns Four Pinocchios," wrote The Post's resident fact-checker, Glenn Kessler, after outlining each instance McAuliffe repeated the false figures. "He offers wildly inflated figures for child hospitalizations, suggesting again that these were daily figures and claiming twice that these many children were in ICUs. Instead, he appears to be citing a figure for all of the children hospitalized with covid-19 in Virginia over the past 19 months — which is still inflated."

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"In speaking about the threat of the coronavirus to the state, McAuliffe frequently touts numbers — often wrong numbers about the impact on children," Kessler wrote. "When we first queried the McAuliffe campaign about his figures, we were told it was a slip of the tongue. Okay, we understand that, and so we passed on a fact check. But then his tongue kept slipping."

Kessler wrote that The Post first became interested in McAuliffe's numbers on Sept. 28 when he claimed, during the gubernatorial debate against Republican businessman Glenn Youngkin, that there were 8,000 new coronavirus cases in Virginia the previous day. He then repeated the claim the following day, and again on Oct. 7. during a radio interview. 

McAuliffe continued to make the false claim about the number of children in ICU beds, as well as the number of new coronavirus cases in the state outside of weekend numbers, on multiple occasions over the following weeks, Kessler added. CLICK HERE FOR MORE.

In other developments:
- Biden briefly ‘stumbles’ during speech at McAuliffe rally, critics seize
- Clinton running mate Tim Kaine compares Virginia's Youngkin to Jan. 6 rioters during McAuliffe rally
- Hannity warns McAuliffe after rally: 'Everything Joe Biden touches implodes'
- McAuliffe dances onstage next to Biden and internet chimes in
- Brit Hume: McAuliffe's defeat will be seen as a 'political earthquake' for Dems heading into midterms
- Biden echoes McAuliffe claim that Youngkin wants to ban books

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TODAY'S MUST-READS:
- McConnell joins Trump, backs Herschel Walker in Georgia's 2022 GOP Senate primary
- NBC News op-ed accuses Sinema of pushing negative bisexual stereotypes like being 'greedy' and 'unreliable'
- 'Kissing disease’ among teenagers may trigger multiple sclerosis: report
- TWISTED KNIFE: Teens involved in shocking sword killing will be charged as adults
- Three people accidentally given COVID-19 vaccines at military base
- World Series: Braves take Game 1 with hot start, lose Charlie Morton
- WATCH: Liberal host grills DNC chair in fiery exchange as Dems sweat over race

THE LATEST FROM FOX BUSINESS:
- Biden spending bill to include $500B toward climate action, chief of staff says
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- Manchin: Debt ceiling hike through budget reconciliation is Dems' 'responsibility'
- Senate Dems release corporate minimum tax proposal for spending bill
- Biden releases 'gender equity' plan that calls for eliminating cash bail

SOME PARTING WORDS

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Sean Hannity on Tuesday night had a warning for Virginia gubernatorial hopeful Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat who hosted President Biden at a rally in Arlington earlier in the day. 

"I hate to break it to you, Terry. Everything Joe Biden touches implodes," the host said on "Hannity."

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