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Robert Redford was rarely spotted at Sundance in his final years, yet the late Hollywood legend forever looms large at the influential US movie festival he co-created.Set up in the 1980s to support creative, independent directors at a time when the blockbuster era launched by “Jaws” and “Star Wars” held sway over Hollywood, Sundance is for many filmmakers the epitome of Redford’s legacy.”Reflecting on Robert’s importance is like reflecting on the moon’s importance — it’s tidal,” said David Osit, a director whose documentary “Predators” premiered at this year’s Sundance.”It’s beyond comprehension, his impact. I don’t know what our profession looks like without his influence, especially on independent film,” he told AFP.Years before his breakthrough role in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” the native Californian Redford had purchased a small plot of land in the picturesque, snowy mountains of Utah.That valley became the first home of Redford’s Sundance Institute, which offers resources and training to young movie directors, and soon after to the Sundance Film Festival — an annual showcase for new independent movies that changed the US industry.Held in sub-zero temperatures each winter at an altitude of 7,000 feet (2,150 meters), the Sundance festival has famously launched the careers of directors like Quentin Tarantino and Steven Soderbergh.It has also premiered countless Oscar-winning documentaries, including recent titles “20 Days in Mariupol,” “Navalny” and “Summer of Soul.”Roughly 4,000 feature films have been presented at the fest over the years, the vast majority from directors who are not household names and have limited finances.”In the United States, there isn’t government funding typically for young artists, like there is in other countries,” said Richard Heredia-Arriaga, a director who has been involved with the online Sundance Collab platform for nearly a decade.”That’s what makes Sundance so special for American filmmakers, in particular, because it was an outlet for your work to be seen and then basically legitimized on a professional level.”As it grew in size, Sundance has attracted some of the very commercialism that it had been set up to mitigate — something that did not always sit well with Redford.”I want the ambush marketers — the vodka brands and the gift-bag people and the Paris Hiltons — to go away forever,” Redford famously told a reporter during the 2012 festival.”They have nothing to do with what’s going on here.”As Redford grew older and his health deteriorated, he had less direct involvement in the festival, though his video message always played before its opening film, and his family remained keen stewards of Sundance.One of Redford’s final public involvements was a statement marking the festival’s upcoming move away from its Utah home in the Park City ski resort, which it has outgrown. From 2027, Sundance will be held in Colorado.Sundance’s “mission remains even more critical today,” and the move “will ensure that the festival continues its work of risk taking, supporting innovative storytellers, fostering independence, and entertaining and enlightening audiences,” said Redford.Yet Redford’s stamp remains central to the Sundance brand, as an antidote to the excesses and risk-aversion of Hollywood, and for the sense of integrity and authenticity he brought to the festival and his adopted home.”He was just a regular guy, not your typical Hollywood movie star,” Monika Suter, a regular visitor to the Utah ski community of Sundance — itself named after Redford’s legacy — told AFP.”His presence is always felt within the organization, because there was always this known fact that Bob was the person that put this all together, you know?” added Heredia-Arriaga.

The suspect in the murder of prominent US conservative political activist Charlie Kirk has been formally charged with his murder, prosecutors in Utah announced Tuesday.Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump, was shot dead last week during a speaking event on a Utah university campus. He was the founder of the influential conservative youth political group Turning Point USA.Authorities said 22-year-old Tyler Robinson used a rifle to shoot Kirk with a single bullet to the neck from a rooftop. He was arrested after a 33-hour manhunt.”After reviewing the evidence that law enforcement has collected thus far, I am… charging Tyler James Robinson, age 22, with the following crimes,” Utah County attorney Jeff Gray told a press conference.”Count one, aggravated murder, a capital offense, for intentionally or knowingly causing the death of Charlie Kirk under circumstances that created a great risk of death to others.”Six other charges include obstruction of justice and witness tampering, allegedly for ordering his roommate to stay silent.”I am filing a notice of intent to seek the death penalty,” Gray added.”I do not take this decision lightly, and it is a decision I have made independently as county attorney based solely on the available evidence and circumstances and nature of the crime.”Gray cited lengthy text message exchanges between Robinson and his roommate, whom he described as “a biological male who was transitioning genders.”Robinson and the roommate were in a romantic relationship, Gray said.In one part of the exchange, the roommate, who was not named, asked Robinson why he had killed Kirk.”‘I had enough of his hatred.'” Gray cited the messages as saying. “‘Some hate can’t be negotiated out.'”Robinson, who is being held without bail, was expected to make an initial court appearance later Tuesday.Gray explained that in line with practice in the county, this appearance would be by video link.Kirk, a father of two, used his audiences on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to build support for conservative talking points, including strong criticism of the transgender rights movement.A polarizing figure, he often posted edited clips of his interactions during debates at his many college events.FBI Director Kash Patel has been heavily criticized for his actions in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, including having quickly announced the arrest of a separate suspect, only to confirm they had been released two hours later.Patel faced a grilling from a Senate panel on Tuesday that included some very bad-tempered exchanges with Democratic Senator Corey Booker.Patel has come under fire from both the right and the left since being named by Trump to head the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the nation’s premier law enforcement agency.On Monday, the White House said it would be pursuing an alleged left-wing “domestic terror movement” in the wake of Kirk’s killing, prompting alarm that such a campaign could be used to silence political dissent.

Colombia on Tuesday halted arms purchases from the United States, its biggest military partner, after Washington decertified the South American country as an anti-drugs ally for failing to halt cocaine trafficking.On Monday, President Donald Trump denounced his leftist Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro for not only failing to curb cocaine production, but overseeing its surge to “all-time records.”Trump added that as a result he had “designated Colombia as having failed demonstrably to meet its drug control obligations.”Reacting to the news, Colombian Interior Minister Armando Benedetti told Blu Radio that “from this moment on…weapons will not be purchased from the United States.”Trump’s decertification of longtime ally Colombia, the first in three decades, was seen as mainly symbolic.It was not expected to significantly affect the millions of dollars provided by Washington each year to Bogota to bolster its fight against drug cartels and left-wing guerrillas funded by cocaine trafficking.But it was seen as a stinging rebuke of Petro’s anti-drug efforts nonetheless.The former left-wing guerrilla hit back, saying that the Colombian military would end its dependence on “handouts” from the United States.- An ‘erratic’ president -Since coming to power in 2022, Petro, a former guerrilla himself, has championed a paradigm shift in the US-led war on drugs, away from forced eradication to focus on the social problems that fuel drug trafficking.Under his watch, cultivation of coca, the main ingredient in cocaine, has increased by about 70 percent, according to Colombian government and United Nations estimates.Writing on X, Petro blamed the figures on “the increase in (cocaine) consumption worldwide, especially in Europe.””The world needs to change its anti-drug policy because it has failed,” he said, adding that cocaine consumption in the United States had only stabilized “because they switched en masse to fentanyl consumption, which is 30 times more deadly.”Washington has conducted assessments annually since 1986 on the anti-narcotics efforts of some 20 drug-producing and distributing countries. In the case of Colombia, US assistance for anti-narcotics efforts reached some $380 million a year.”Colombia has been a great partner historically. Unfortunately, they have a president now that, in addition to being erratic, has not been a very good partner when it comes to taking on the drug cartels,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a harsh critic of leftist leaders in Latin America, said on a visit to Israel.The decertification comes amid a major drive by Trump against Latin American drug cartels.On Tuesday he claimed that the United States had “knocked off” three suspected Venezuelan drug boats, up from a previous tally of two.It is a major blow for Colombia, coming as the military and police reel from a string of deadly attacks by the guerrillas.On August 21, 12 police officers were killed when breakaway members of the defunct FARC rebel group shot down a police helicopter during a coca eradication operation in the country’s northwest.

The US Federal Reserve started a key interest rate meeting Tuesday, hours after Donald Trump’s new appointee narrowly won confirmation to join the central bank — while another top official fights her removal by the president.Stephen Miran, the chair of Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers, took the oath of office as a Fed governor early Tuesday, the bank said, as its rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) began a two-day policy gathering.Miran narrowly won a Senate vote on Monday night, making him one of the FOMC’s 12 voting members. Economists expect he will not radically shift this week’s outcome.There is little doubt that the Fed will make its first interest rate cut of 2025 after the latest gathering, as policymakers pivot towards shoring up a deteriorating jobs market.But concerns about political influence targeting the independent central bank will loom over the gathering, as Trump repeatedly bashes Fed Chair Jerome Powell over his rate decisions, and after he moved to fire governor Lisa Cook, sparking a legal battle.On Tuesday, Trump told reporters that the Fed should “listen to smart people like me.”The last-minute addition of Miran is unlikely to drastically alter the meeting’s result, said Oxford Economics’ chief US economist Ryan Sweet.Sweet also cast doubt on whether Miran would have joined in time to submit an economic projection and path for monetary policy.Miran has come under fire from Democratic lawmakers over his plan to take only a leave of absence from his White House role, rather than resign.He is serving out a Fed term which expires in just over four months, filling governor Adriana Kugler’s term after she stepped down.- Court appeal -Trump has separately sought to oust Fed Governor Cook, claiming that mortgage fraud allegations are sufficient “cause” for her removal.So far, Cook, who was appointed by former president Joe Biden, has managed to remain in place for the FOMC meeting.Trump announced in August that he was removing her, and she has been in a legal battle with the president since — a fight that could have broader implications for the Fed moving forward.While a federal appeals court ruled late Monday that she could remain in position while her legal challenge proceeds, the Trump administration is likely to take the case to the Supreme Court.”The administration will appeal this decision and looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue,” White House spokesman Kush Desai told AFP.Although Trump pointed to a criminal referral in announcing Cook’s removal, she has not been charged with a crime and the alleged incidents took place before she was a Fed governor.Since its last cut in December, the Fed has held the benchmark lending rate at a range between 4.25 percent and 4.50 percent as policymakers monitor the effects of Trump’s tariffs on the economy.But markets widely expect a 25 basis points cut at the end of discussions on Wednesday. Investors will also be watching for signals on the number and pace of future rate reductions.Nationwide chief economist Kathy Bostjancic does not anticipate a strong consensus to cut rates by a bolder 50 basis points.But Fed governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, who voted against the FOMC’s last decision to hold rates steady — instead favoring a rate cut — could now dissent in favor of a larger reduction.They could also be joined by Miran this time, Bostjancic said. 

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said his country had “knocked off” three boats in total from Venezuela, a day after he confirmed a second deadly US strike on alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean.”We knocked off actually three boats not two, but you saw two,” he told reporters at the White House before heading to the United Kingdom for a state visit.He did not elaborate on what had happened with the third boat, or if any more people had been killed.On Monday evening, he announced that US forces had struck a second boat in international waters, killing three people he described as “narco-terrorists.”Trump’s administration has faced questions over the legality of such strikes since its first attack earlier this month, which killed 11 people.The US government has released videos of the two previously known strikes and claims it has irrefutable evidence the people killed were traffickers seeking to ship deadly drugs to the United States.It has not, however, provided details to back up those claims, while drug trafficking itself is not a capital offense under US law.The attacks also comes amid spiraling tensions in the Caribbean as a large US naval build-up sparks speculation that Washington may be seeking regime change in Caracas.The United States accuses Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro of heading a cocaine trafficking cartel and recently doubled its bounty for his capture to $50 million. Much of the international community rejected Maduro’s July 2024 re-election, with the opposition claiming widespread fraud.”Stop sending drugs into the United States,” Trump said, in response to a reporter who asked him what message he wanted to send to Venezuelan President Maduro.

Wall Street stocks turned lower on Tuesday while the dollar slid as the US Federal Reserve began a two-day meeting at which it is expected to cut interest rates.While the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite set fresh record highs as trading got underway in New York, equities soon slid into the red.Stocks have repeatedly set record highs in recent days as a series of data showing a softening of the labour market and moderate inflation have cemented expectations that the Fed will resume cutting interest rates.”The Fed’s focus appears to have shelved inflation concerns for now, instead concentrating on a stalling (US) jobs market, which should lead to a 0.25-percent cut,” noted Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor.The rise in stocks, particularly in tech shares, has provoked some concern about them having become overvalued, but City Index and FOREX.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada said investors have largely shrugged off these worries.”So, it looks like investors are taking no chances ahead of the FOMC meeting, choosing to take profit on what has been another amazing bull run for technology stocks,” he said, referring to the Fed committee that sets interest rates.Data released on Tuesday showed retail sales in the United States rose more than analysts expected in August, even as the effects of President Donald Trump’s tariffs ripple through the US economy.Overall sales jumped by 0.6 percent on a month-on-month basis in August, beating expectations of a 0.2-percent gain, showing US consumers are not holding back despite the softening jobs market.Separate data showed US non-fuel import prices rose by 0.4 percent in August, following no gain in July.”Today’s data won’t change the market’s expectation that the Fed will vote tomorrow to cut the target range for the fed funds rate by 25 basis points to 4.00-4.25 percent, but it will presumably temper calls for a 50-basis-point cut,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.The dollar dropped against main rivals on Tuesday as lower interest rates make the greenback less attractive to investors. Expectations that US interest rates will be reduced over the next few months and possibly into 2026 pushed up gold to an all-time peak close to $3,700 an ounce.The euro hit its highest level against the dollar since 2021.The British pound firmed versus the dollar, with analysts increasingly expecting the Bank of England to maintain its key interest rate on Thursday and for the remainder of 2025.Official data on Tuesday showed UK unemployment remaining at a four-year high of 4.7 percent amid stubbornly high British inflation.European stock markets fell on Tuesday following a steady showing by Asia’s main indices.Shares in Germany’s Thyssenkrupp rose around eight percent in Frankfurt after India’s Jindal Steel International made an offer for the company’s steel division.Sentiment was also supported by Trump announcing on Tuesday that the United States and China had reached a deal over TikTok, which Washington says must pass into US-controlled ownership.Trump said he would confirm the deal when he speaks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Friday.- Key figures at around 1530 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 45,708.99 pointsNew York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.2 percent at 6,604.12New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 22,332.41London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.9 percent at 9,195.66 (close) Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 1.0 percent at 7,818.22 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 1.8 percent at 23,329.24 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 44,902.27 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: FLAT at 26,438.51 (close)Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,861.87 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1841 from $1.1768 on MondayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3646 from $1.3609Dollar/yen: DOWN at 146.60 yen from 147.38 yenEuro/pound: UP at 86.78 pence from 86.47 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 1.3 percent at $68.33 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 1.7 percent at $64.38 per barrelburs-rl/rlp

Top Hollywood studios filed a federal lawsuit Monday against Chinese artificial intelligence company MiniMax, alleging massive copyright infringement.Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Universal Pictures accuse MiniMax of building what they call a “bootlegging business model” that systematically copies their most valuable copyrighted characters to train its AI system, then profits by generating unauthorized videos featuring iconic figures like Spider-Man, Batman, and the Minions.The lawsuit marks the first time major US entertainment companies have targeted a Chinese AI company and follows a similar lawsuit in June against California-based AI company Midjourney over copyright infringement.”MiniMax operates Hailuo AI, a Chinese artificial intelligence image and video generating service that pirates and plunders Plaintiffs’ copyrighted works on a massive scale,” states the complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court.The studios are seeking monetary damages, including MiniMax’s profits from the alleged infringement, as well as statutory damages of up to $150,000 per work. They also demand a permanent injunction to stop the unauthorized use of their copyrighted material.According to the 119-page complaint, MiniMax users can simply type prompts like “Darth Vader walking around the Death Star” or “Spider-Man swinging between buildings” to receive high-quality videos featuring these protected characters.”MiniMax completely disregards US copyright law and treats Plaintiffs’ valuable copyrighted characters like its own,” the lawsuit states.MiniMax, one of China’s emerging AI giants, was reportedly valued at $4 billion in 2025 after raising $850 million in venture capital.The lawsuit says the studios sent MiniMax a cease-and-desist letter detailing the extensive copyright violations, but the company “did not substantively respond to Plaintiffs’ letter as requested and did not cease its infringement.”The studios argue that MiniMax could easily implement copyright protection measures similar to those used by other AI services but has chosen not to do so.A request for comment from MiniMax did not receive a response.

Donald Trump filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times on Monday, adding to the US president’s growing list of legal attacks on news organizations he accuses of bias against him.Trump, 79, has intensified his long-established hostility toward the media since his return to the White House, repeatedly badmouthing journalists critical of his administration, restricting access and bringing lawsuits demanding huge amounts of compensation.In his suit filed Monday in federal court in Florida, Trump accuses The New York Times of a “decades-long pattern” of smears driven by feelings of “actual malice.”The Times reported last week that Trump had threatened legal action against it in relation to its articles on a lewd birthday note he allegedly gave to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. A copy of the alleged note was later released by US lawmakers. The Republican president has denied authoring the note.”The New York Times has been allowed to freely lie, smear, and defame me for far too long, and that stops, NOW!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.The lawsuit also named four New York Times reporters and the publisher Penguin Random House as defendants, according to an 85-page complaint filed in the US District Court for Florida’s Middle District.The document cited three articles that came out between September and October last year, and a book by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig also published around that time.”The Book and Articles are part of a decades-long pattern by the New York Times of intentional and malicious defamation against President Trump,” read the complaint, which was dated Monday.”The Times has become a leading, and unapologetic, purveyor of falsehoods against President Trump on the legacy media landscape.”In a statement posted on X, The Times said Trump’s case “has no merit.””It lacks any legitimate legal claims and instead is an attempt to stifle and discourage independent reporting. The New York Times will not be deterred by intimidation tactics,” it added.- Other suits -Trump’s lawsuit alleged that the Times deviated from its typical journalistic patterns and industry best practices when covering him, such as writing articles “in the most antagonistic and negative way” and not giving him sufficient time to respond before publishing.”Put bluntly, Defendants baselessly hate President Trump in a deranged way,” the complaint read.The court was asked to grant compensatory damages of not less than $15 billion and additional punitive damages “in an amount to be determined upon trial.”While broad constitutional protections exist for US media, Trump has found success in similar lawsuits brought against other news organizations, winning multi-million dollar settlements from Disney-owned ABC and Paramount-owned CBS.However, the settlements in those cases — which are to be paid to Trump’s future presidential library — were seen as being motivated by the desire of the news organizations’ parent companies to stay in Trump’s good graces.Trump has also sued media magnate Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal for at least $10 billion, after it reported in July on the existence of the letter he allegedly sent to Epstein.

A massive security operation swung into force Tuesday as US President Donald Trump headed to the UK for a state visit, in one of Britain’s largest policing operations for years.Trump and his wife Melania were due to land north of London in Air Force One on Tuesday night, before heading to Windsor Castle on Wednesday to be welcomed by King Charles III and other royals.Police in Windsor, around 20 miles (32 kilometres) west of London were on standby to respond to potential “very high threat level” incidents, with anti-Trump protests planned on Tuesday and Wednesday in Windsor and London.While security is generally heightened during carefully choreographed state visits, Trump’s trip comes days after his far-right ally Charlie Kirk was shot dead at a university in Utah, prompting further fears of political violence in the United States.Trump himself survived two assassination attempts during his US presidential election campaign in 2024.The US Secret Service — which has been coordinating with the UK’s domestic intelligence service MI5 and police forces — will be allowed to carry firearms when in Britain, according to the BBC.”I’m very content that we have planned a very comprehensive policing and security operation that has taken into consideration just about every eventuality of what could happen,” said Windsor’s local force Assistant Chief Constable Christian Bunt.In a break from previous royal events, steel barricades have been thrown up blocking the public view and access of the Long Walk avenue leading to Windsor Castle, where Trump is due to stay on Wednesday night.Some British media highlighted that it was the UK’s largest security operation since the king’s coronation in 2023.- Drones and boats -Thames Valley Police secured Windsor from the skies and water ahead of the whirlwind trip, with a temporary airspace ban over the southeast English town and boat patrols on the River Thames.One drone pilot was arrested in Windsor for breaching the restrictions on Tuesday.A marine unit deployed on Windsor’s river and riverbanks was “part of a wide range of security measures in place, many of which will be visible to the public and others which will not”, police said.US Vice President JD Vance was criticised by locals when he visited rural England on holiday in August for bringing with him a large motorcade, road closures and ID checks.The Metropolitan Police was gearing for a protest scheduled in London on Wednesday afternoon, which thousands were expected to attend.Trump, whose last state visit in 2019 was dogged by demonstrations, is set to skip the British capital entirely this time and will remain largely out of the public view.On Monday, UK group “Everyone Hates Elon” unfurled a large canvas depicting a picture of Trump posing with US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Since Charlie Kirk’s murder stunned the United States, his widow has not shied from view, mourning in the public spotlight as she vows to advance the ideology she shared with the conservative activist.Married since 2021 and the mother of two young children, 36-year-old Erika Kirk, a former Miss Arizona, has for some years promoted the same vision as her husband who championed a Christian, traditionalist America.Two days after the head of right-wing youth activist group Turning Point USA was gunned down on a university campus in Utah, his widow took to social media to deliver a proclamation of faith and a call to ideological arms.”To everyone listening tonight across America, the movement my husband built will not die,” she declared, standing by the chair from which he hosted his popular podcast.”The evil-doers responsible for my husband’s assassination have no idea what they have done. They killed Charlie because he preached a message of patriotism, faith and of God’s merciful love.”You have no idea the fire that you have ignited within this wife. The cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry.”- Biblical studies -She exhorted America’s youth to join the movement Charlie Kirk co-founded in 2012, and thanked President Donald Trump for his support. Turning Point USA has grown into a powerful conservative force embraced by Trump and much of his inner circle. The Republican president said he will attend a memorial service for Kirk on Sunday at a 63,000-seat stadium in Glendale, Arizona.Erika Kirk’s own entrepreneurial and podcasting activities are steeped in her Christian faith. Her “Proclaim” clothing line features Bible verses and religious imagery. With “Biblein365,” her company offers daily scripture readings. Her weekly podcast aims “to provide you that deep breath of, ‘God’s got this,'” she explains on her website.With degrees in law, political science and international relations, she is pursuing a doctorate in biblical studies at an evangelical university.Erika Kirk has shared her grief openly with her 5.4 million Instagram followers.In photos and videos, she is seen kneeling at her late husband’s open casket, holding and kissing his hands.She was also seen grieving on an airport tarmac alongside US Vice President JD Vance, a close friend of Kirk whose remains were transported aboard Air Force Two.- Young conservatives -The Kirks used their public image to boost young conservative support.In June, Erika Kirk accompanied her husband on stage in Dallas, at the nation’s largest gathering of young conservative women, organized by Turning Point USA.”I don’t want you to chase a paycheck,” she told them, according to The New York Times. “You’re not wasting a degree when you’re raising your children with wisdom, love and truth,” she said, suggesting it was “not ideal” for women to be getting married after age 30.”But this is how amazing God is,” she added. “When I met Charlie, that was it. I could care less about a career.”Since his death, she emphasized that “our battle is not simply a political one, above all it is spiritual” and pledged the movement was set to become “stronger, bolder, louder and greater than ever.”It has at least received a major financial boost, as millions of dollars in donations have been raised in the aftermath of Kirk’s assassination.