• Cuba Gooding Jr. learned on Thursday that he's facing a new undisclosed charge in his sexual misconduct case, a development that came as jury selection was set to begin for his trial. At a court hearing in Manhattan, Assistant District Attorney Jenna Long revealed the charge is contained in a sealed indictment against the Oscar-winning Jerry Maguire star. She told a judge that the indictment covers previous allegations as well as a "previously uncharged incident." Gooding, 51, now must be arraigned on the new indictment next week before a trial can begin. He and his lawyers left the courthouse without speaking to reporters. The actor has been accused of placing his hand on a 29-year-old woman's breast and squeezing it without her consent near Times Square on June 9. The woman told police she believed Gooding was intoxicated. Gooding was arrested four days later after turning himself in to police. He has pleaded innocent to forcible touching and sexual abuse charges and was released on his own recognizance. The defense had filed papers saying the misdemeanor forcible touching case should be dismissed based on accounts of two witnesses who say it never happened, and that video from the bar backs up that claim. The judge ruled that the conflicting accounts should be resolved at a trial.
• Aaron Paul's character in the popular series Breaking Bad was supposed to get killed off at the end of the first season. But producers had a change of heart after witnessing the strong chemistry between his Jesse Pinkman character and Bryan Cranston's Walter White in a pilot. The decision to keep the story revolved around the duo for five seasons panned out for the series, which won several Golden Globe and Emmy awards. Paul won three supporting actor Emmys for his breakout portrayal of the overly emotional, loud-mouth and meth-taking Pinkman. Now, Paul returns as Pinkman in the Netflix film El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, which premieres today on the streaming service. The movie has cameos from some of the show's best characters. "The dynamic between Walter and Jesse changed the whole dynamic of the series and my life," said Paul, who has gone on to star in the TV series The Path as well as the films Need for Speed and Central Intelligence. Breaking Bad concluded its five-year run on AMC in 2013. El Camino picks up the story with a scar-faced, dusty Pinkman fleeing a bloody scene in a stolen El Camino and focuses on Pinkman's effort to start anew while on the run from the police. "I thought I said goodbye to this guy years ago," Paul said. "So, it's sort of nice to revisit in this state of mind and continue this journey with him. Then reconnecting with everyone from the show. It was like a family reunion."
A Section on 10/11/2019