<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/50900624.cms" /><br /> <keyword id="64245" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="David-Headley">David Headley</keyword>, the Pakistani-American LeT operative, today deposed before a Mumbai court via video-link after he was made an approver in the 26/11 case. Headley said that he came to India seven times before the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks; he also stated that his main contact in LeT was Sajid Mir, another accused in the case.<br />
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In more than seven years since the attacks, this is the first time that Headley deposed before the court.<br />
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The deposition through video conference began at 7 AM, in which Headley claimed to be a "true follower of LeT" and said that along with the seven times before the attacks, he has also visited India afterwards, once.<br />
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Headley is serving 35 years of prison sentence in the US for his role in the terror attacks. He said that he changed his name from Dawood Gilani to David Headley in 2006 for the ease to enter India and set up some business.<br />
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"I applied for change in name on February 5, 2006 in Philadelphia. I changed my name to David Headley to get a new passport under that name. I wanted a new passport so that I could enter India with an American identity.<br />
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"After I got a new passport I disclosed it to my colleagues in LeT of which one of them was Sajid Mir, the person with whom I was dealing with. The objective for coming to India was to set up an office/business so that I can live in India. Before the first visit, Sajid Mir gave me instructions to make a general video of Mumbai," Headley said in his video conference.<br />
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Headley also stated he furnished all "wrong" information in his Indian visa application "to protect his cover".<br />
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On his visits to India, he drew maps, took video footages and scouted several targets for the attacks including the Taj Hotel, Oberoi Hotel and Nariman House, which provided vital information for the 10 LeT terrorists who finally launched the attack.<br />
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In December last year, the court had made him an approver in the case and directed him to depose before the court on February 8, to which he had agreed on the condition of being granted pardon, which was accepted with certain conditions.<br />
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Last year, Mumbai Police had moved an application before the court, requesting Headley to be tried by the court along with 26/11 key plotter Abu Jundal, given that both were the conspirators and abettors behind the attacks that left 166 people dead.<br />
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<a href="https://prityjaiswal.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/taj-mahl.jpg"><em>Image source</em></a><br />


Headley says there were 2 failed attempts before 26/11 in Mumbai!

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/50943522.cms" />Mumbai attacks accused <keyword id="67323" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="David-Coleman-Headley">David Coleman Headley</keyword> made new revelations about the carnage.<br />
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The Pakistani-American terrorist, Headley, said the ISI and LeT majorly funded terror operations in India.<br />
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Headley said ISI and LeT financed him at regular intervals and Pakistan native Tahawwur Rana visited Mumbai before the terror strikes.<br />
Resuming his deposition before a court here today via video-link, the LeT operative also said that RBI has turned down a request to open a bank account for their office in India.<br />
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"Tahawur Rana (Headley's associate and a Pakistani native who operated a Chicago-based immigration business) used to send me money from the US in September 2006 when I came to India to do intelligence work on instructions of LeT," he told the court.<br />
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The 55-year-old, who recently turned approver in the case, also said that "it was my idea to open an office in India. It was a part of my cover (as an immigration consultant). I had discussed about this with Major Iqbal and Sajid Mir and they both agreed to it."<br />
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"I also told Rana that Major Iqbal had asked me to do intelligence work in India. Iqbal told me that if Rana was reluctant to be associated with this (Headley's India operations) then he (Headley) should appeal to his (Rana's) sense of patriotism towards Pakistan," he testified.<br />
"But Rana was not reluctant and he agreed readily for me to go to India," Headley said.<br />
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Earlier on Tuesday, Headley had told the court that terror outfits like LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizbul Mujahideen were given moral, financial and military support by the Pakistani intelligence agency besides making fresh revelations including about an aborted plan to target Indian defence scientists and famous Siddhivinayak temple here.<br />
<br /> He said he was working for ISI besides LeT (<keyword id="53557" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lashkar-e-Taiba">Lashkar-e-Taiba</keyword>) and that he knew about ISI official Brigadier Riyaz being the handler of LeT's top commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, who was the mastermind of the November 26, 2008 attacks in Mumbai.<br />
<br /> He named three officials of the Pakistan army and ISI --Colonel Shah, Lt Colonel Hamza and Major Samir Ali - besides retired army officer <keyword id="141753" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Abdul-Rehman">Abdul Rehman</keyword> Pasha who was closely working with LeT and Al-Qaeda.<br />
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Headley said his assessment was that ISI and LeT were coordinating with each other.<br />
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Headley, who had visited Mumbai seven times to scout for targets, revealed that plans to harm the metropolis had started over a year before the attacks in 2008 and that LeT initially wanted to attack a conference of Indian defence scientists at Taj Mahal Hotel for which even a dummy of the hotel was prepared.<br />
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But the plan to target scientists was dropped because of logistical reasons, like difficulty in smuggling in weapons and personnel and lack of details about the schedule of the meet, he said.<br />
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The LeT operative had said he had also conducted a recce of the famous Siddhivinayak Temple and Naval air station. <br />
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(Image: Indiatimes)<br />


26/11 Mumbai attacks: David Headley reveals details of operatives, says ISI funded terror operations in India

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/47367836.cms" />The documents, which were seized from <keyword id="41240" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Osama-bin-Laden">Osama bin Laden</keyword>’s house in 2011 from Abbottabad, revealed that <keyword id="118788" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="26/11-Mumbai-attacks">26/11 Mumbai attacks</keyword> was an inspiration for jihad and also termed bombing in India’s financial capital as ‘beautiful’.<br />
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The US has declassified documents seized by the US Navy Seal during their raid on Osama’s house in Abbottabad in 2011.<br />
Among the documents seized is the propaganda material that welcomed 26/11 Mumbai attack as an inspiration for global jihad. The documents also denounced the ISI as ‘dogs’.<br />
 <br />
There are several references to India, in a series of documents that have been declassified.<br />
 <br /> The documents revealed news articles on criminal charges against <keyword id="67323" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="David-Coleman-Headley">David Coleman Headley</keyword>, a key strategist behind the 26/11 attacks. The hundreds of pages of material recovered by US forces in the raid that led to Osama’s killing also included a propaganda document titled 'Terror Franchise' by former Al Qaida's external operations chief Saleh al Somali that praised the 26/11 Mumbai attack.<br />
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"The heroic Fidai operations in Bombay - India's economical capital - in which several western targets were struck in which many Americans and other Westerners were killed. Following that, was the beautiful huge bombing - also in India - of the western German bakery mainly visited by Jews and western nationals in general...," the document read, which is subtitled 'The unstoppable assassin'.<br />
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Somali is believed to have been killed in a US drone strike in 2009.<br />
 <br /> The 'Terror Franchise' article also slammed the ISI for playing a deadly cover war with CIA to target <keyword id="16945" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Taliban">Taliban</keyword> cadres. "ISI dogs gathered the somewhat freely available info from their countless money-worshipping tribal agents, or from the many captured among the Mujahideen and civilians, in check posts, sudden ambushes, and sudden raids on houses during the preparation stage through 2003-2006," document stated.<br />
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There are also references to a possible disconnect with the Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistan-based terror organisation that ferments violence in India.<br />
Economic Times reported that in a document titled 'Lessons learnt from the fall of the Islamic Emirate' referring to the fall of the Taliban, the author said an operative named Abu Yasir either got arrested due to excessive usage of internet or 'the treachery of LeT'.<br />
 <br />
ET further reported there is a reference to an unnamed 'Indian brother in Madina' who contributed two tranches of money to the Al Qaida funds in May and July 2009 - Rs 2,92,400 and Rs 3,35,000. The total 'funds' recorded amount to over Rs 48 crore.<br />
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Also, there are two unexplained references in a document dated October 2011 to a person named 'Dawood' and the 'transfer of money'. <br />
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(Image: Indiatimes)

26/11 Mumbai carnage was an inspiration for global jihad, reveals US declassified files

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/553ea07069bedd4f1d27d18c-1200-924/maple-1.jpg" border="0" alt="maple"><p class="source"><span>Madeline Stone / Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">COO Akshay Navle, executive chef Soa Davies, and CEO Caleb Merkl.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>If the success of delivery sites like Grubhub and Seamless and the constant presence of delivery men on bikes are any indication, New Yorkers love their takeout.</p><p>But ordering takeout can be a huge hassle, at least according to the team behind food delivery startup <a href="https://maple.com/">Maple</a>, which launches in Manhattan's Financial District today. </p><p>"If you think of what plagues online delivery right now, it's pretty poor food quality, really inconsistent delivery times, an overwhelming number of choices, and bloated prices," Maple cofounder and CEO Caleb Merkl said to Business Insider. "Our goal is really to tackle all of that."</p><p>Maple has tapped into a network of award-winning chefs to create a daily rotating menu that they hope can be delivered to you in less than 30 minutes. </p><p>David Chang, founder of the Momofuku restaurant empire, joined the venture early on. Mark Ladner and Brooks Headley of Del Posto and former ABC Kitchen executive chef Dan Kluger are also advising on the menu. </p><p>Soa Davies, former head of menu research and development at three-Michelin-starred Le Bernardin, is Maple's executive chef. </p><p>"We thought it was really important to have a council involved so that food was always at the forefront of what we were doing," Merkl said. "It's easy to say we're a tech company or a startup, but at the heart we're really a food company."</p><p><span><span><span>When you open the Maple app, you'll see three meal options. Choices could include a green chile enchilada made with local tortillas, baked arctic char served with a green olive relish and broccoli rabe, or rosemary lemon chicken on a bed of mushrooms, for example. </span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span>Pick one of the three options, enter your address and payment method, and you can have your meal delivered to your front door in half an hour.</span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="Courtesy of Maple" title_caption="Pepper crusted pork loin. " class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/553ec9f86bb3f76b421a346d-960/maple-meal-4.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/553ec9f86bb3f76b421a346d-1200-924/maple-meal-4.jpg" border="0" alt="maple meal" /></a><p class="source"><span>Courtesy of Maple</span></p><p class="caption">Pepper crusted pork loin. </p></div><p></p></div></div></span></span></span></p><p><span>"W<span id="docs-internal-guid-51207f75-fd37-6db3-757a-e44326871bba"><span>e wanted to create an opportunity for people to order balanced meals that they typically couldn't find in the to-go or online ordering world right now," Davies said. "<span id="docs-internal-guid-51207f75-fd39-242d-ae66-f8ffd8e78c35"><span>We want to bring the mentality of high-end farm-to-table restaurants to a wide base of consumers who don't typically get to eat at all the new places." </span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="Courtesy of Maple" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/553ecb6a6da8118a24fbe2e6-960/maple app screen shot 3.png"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/553ecb6a6da8118a24fbe2e6-640-1136/maple app screen shot 3.png" border="0" alt="Maple App Screen Shot " /></a><p class="source"><span>Courtesy of Maple</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Davies met Merkl and Maple cofounder Akshay Navle through Chang last summer. </span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><span>Merkl and Navle had met at Primary Ventures, where they came up with their idea to completely make over food delivery.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><span>To Davies the idea seemed exciting, but it was also extremely daunting. </span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><span>With a rotating menu of three options each for lunch and dinner, she would need to develop 90 meals every three weeks. </span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><span>A cookbook generally has about 90 recipes in it, something Davies knows from experience - she's co-authored two of them with Le Bernardin's Eric Ripert. </span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"It takes anywhere from eight to 18 months to write a cookbook," Davies said. "</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">I still think they're crazy."</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><br /></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><span>But it's not just the sheer number of recipes that was intimidating - Davies has found that launching a startup requires developing skills she never needed in the restaurant world.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><span>"E</span></span></span></span></span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">veryday we're learning something new, like what foods travel better, how you keep foods hotter, what foods won't work because they're leaking out too much liquid, or maybe the sauce has too much viscosity," she said. </span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-51207f75-fd4c-a228-e3dc-4d961a9924ae"><span>"When you're developing food for a restaurant, especially a high end restaurant, you don't have to think of any of those things."</span></span></span></p><p><span>Packaging proved to be an especially difficult challenge. Merkl says they looked through nearly 200 different versions before deciding on the current one.</span></p><p><span>"When you're doing delivery, you </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">lose the aspect of plating, so we wanted to be sure it could still be presented well in the box," he said. "R</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">estaurants don't have margin in their business for packaging. It's amazing to me that most takeout food is delivered in one of those 'I Love NY' bags with the sauce spilled all over."</span></p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="Madeline Stone / Business Insider" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/553eb11decad04042049ec88-960/maple-2.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/553eb11decad04042049ec88-1200-924/maple-2.jpg" border="0" alt="maple" style="color: #000000;" /></a><p class="source"><span>Madeline Stone / Business Insider</span></p></div><p></p></div></div><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/553f8261ecad045a750ff12e-889-667/maple-meal-6.jpg" border="0" alt="maple meal"><p class="source"><span>Courtesy of Maple</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">One major focus was maintaining consistency, both in the quality of the food and the price. </span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>Each lunch costs $12, while dinner costs $15. That fee includes tax, tip, and delivery. </span></span></p><p><span>They're able to do that in part because they've limited the area where delivery will be available. As of today, Maple is only available in the Financial District - essentially Chambers Street and below - which means that anyone who orders a meal will hopefully be able to receive it in 30 minutes or less. </span></p><p><span>Maple's engineering team has streamlined this process in a number of ways. They've built an ordering app for customers, an order management system for the kitchen workers, and a mapping app for the delivery team. They can know exactly how long it will take the delivery team to get to you, based on walking speed, traffic, and even how long it would take them to lock up their bike at any given location.</span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="Courtesy of Maple" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/553ee03fecad04b05c49ec8a-960/maple app screen shot 4.png"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/553ee03fecad04b05c49ec8a-640-1136/maple app screen shot 4.png" border="0" alt="Maple App Screen Shot 4" /></a><p class="source"><span>Courtesy of Maple</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>"<span id="docs-internal-guid-51207f75-fd73-5f37-6d3f-68ba97f9fa93"><span>All that information gets routed back to the system, and the system uses it to decide how to bundle orders together," Navle said. "<span id="docs-internal-guid-51207f75-fd73-c20d-e23c-9c1f28cd8f0a"><span>Over time, it builds better and better routes."</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">At the moment, there are 30 full-time delivery workers, who are paid minimum wage and receive health </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">benefits. Avoiding relying on contract workers was a priority for the executive team.</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">They have about 70 employees in total.</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"We realized </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">that there was an opportunity to create really meaningful, awesome jobs," Merkl said. "It's hard to do that when the person isn't permanently connected with the company."</span></p><p><span> </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Line cooks get benefits, too.</span></p><p><span>"These cooks tend to make so little in New York City. <span id="docs-internal-guid-51207f75-fd35-facf-91d8-dfa846324f78"><span>Most of these guys have never had health care or insurance, or even savings accounts for that matter," Davies said. "One of the biggest things our business manager has done is help our immigrant cooks and dishwashers to open their first savings accounts so we can do direct deposit."</span></span></span></p><p>Being able to provide restaurant-quality food without the cost of maintaining a restaurant is a major plus, too. Maple is currently only operating out of one distribution kitchen in the Financial District, but as they expand, they'll open a network of kitchens that are connected to one main commissary. </p><p>"<span id="docs-internal-guid-51207f75-fd7c-df74-0a64-afb6b4470f45">When you go to a restaurant now you're half paying for the food and half renting real estate for the night, plus maintenance and ambience," Merkl said. "<span id="docs-internal-guid-51207f75-fd7d-443c-d2ca-9bea71348971">We're taking all that money we're saving on real estate and pumping it back into actually being able to pay a minimum wage, pumping it back into the food."</span></span></p><p><span><span>User demand will determine where in New York they'll go next.</span></span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Maple <a href="http://fortune.com/2015/03/20/food-startup-maple-funding/">raised $22 million</a> in Series A funding in March. Greenoaks Capital led the round, with contributions from Thrive Capital, Primary Ventures, Bonobos CEO Andy Dunn, and Chang. It had previously raised $4 million in seed funding in November 2014. </span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="Courtesy of Maple" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/553ee06769bedd502c27d18c-960/maple-meal-5.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/553ee06769bedd502c27d18c-1200-600/maple-meal-5.jpg" border="0" alt="maple meal" /></a><p class="source"><span>Courtesy of Maple</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/robotic-waitress-serves-food-china-2015-1">This Robot Waitress In China Serves Food, Takes Selfies, And Is Super Busty</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="9tbW1zcjrMgsTiDgqRFva8Vcha5FrMXY" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', '9tbW1zcjrMgsTiDgqRFva8Vcha5FrMXY',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Maple, a startup backed by ramen king David Chang, wants to make the food delivery process less miserable for New Yorkers

<ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>"Top Gun: Maverick," starring <keyword id="11922280" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tom-cruise" source="Orion">Tom Cruise</keyword>, is an international box-office success. </strong></li><li><strong><keyword id="12250619" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="leah-remini" source="Orion">Leah Remini</keyword> criticized Tom Cruise in a Saturday tweet over his connection to <keyword id="13780537" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="scientology" source="Orion">Scientology</keyword>.</strong></li></ul><p>Leah Remini criticized Tom Cruise as his newest film, "Top Gun: Maverick," continued to dominate the box office. </p><p>"Top Gun: Maverick," which hit theaters less than three weeks ago, <a href="https://www.insider.com/top-gun-tom-cruise-generates-100million-opening-weekend-box-office-2022-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scored $100 million during its opening weekend</a> and <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/top_gun_maverick" target="_blank" rel="noopener">garnered high praise from fans</a>. But Remini blasted the film and Cruise in a <a href="https://twitter.com/LeahRemini/status/1535693248349450240" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter post</a> over his connection to <a href="https://www.insider.com/scientology-celebrity-2017-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Church of Scientology</a>.</p><div type="image" title="An image of Tom Cruise in &quot;Top Gun: Maverick.&quot;" height="1000" width="1333" msid="92167098" hostid="261"></div><p>While Remini, 51, was a member of the Church of Scientology, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/heres-why-leah-remini-left-scientology-2015-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">she left in July 2013 and has repeatedly spoken out against it</a>. <a href="https://www.insider.com/tom-cruise-career-from-scientology-to-mission-impossible-2022-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cruise, 59, is still an active member</a>.</p><p>On Twitter, Remini shared a screenshot of the former Scientologist and her friend Claire Headley's Facebook post that accused Cruise of promoting "a dangerous cult that destroyed my family."</p><p>"So no, I will not watch the movie, nor will I ever support or approve of this scam of a man," Headley wrote. "Trust me, Tom Cruise knows exactly who he is supporting and the abuses the organization perpetuates."</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Leah Remini  (@LeahRemini) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1535693248349450240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2022</a></blockquote><p>Remini responded to the tweet, saying: "Thank you to my friend @claireheadley for your courage. You have continued to speak out despite the non-stop attacks from Scientology. And as Claire says in her post below, Tom Cruise knows exactly what goes on in Scientology."</p><p>She added: "Don't let the movie star charm fool you."</p><p>Representatives for Remini and Cruise did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. </p><p>In 2017, Remini <a href="https://www.insider.com/leah-remini-tom-cruise-scientology-2017-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called Cruise "diabolical"</a> during a Reddit event, adding: "There is a public persona of the guy who looks at you directly in the eye and shakes your hand and hugs you and is an attentive person to you and there's the person behind the mask who is a completely different person."</p><p>After her departure from the church, Remini told <a href="https://people.com/celebrity/leah-remini-on-scientology-no-one-is-going-to-tell-me-how-i-need-to-think/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">People in July 2013</a> that "no one is going to tell me how I need to think, no one is going to tell me who I can, and cannot, talk to."</p><p>"I believe that people should be able to question things. I believe that people should value family, and value friendships, and hold those things sacrosanct," she added.</p><div type="image" title="Leah Remini Scientology and the Aftermath season 2 premiere ae.PNG" height="1117" width="1494" msid="92167099" hostid="261"></div><p>Remini has previously accused the Church of Scientology of mistreating members and <a href="https://www.insider.com/craziest-scientology-facts-leah-remini-2017-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spoke out against its leader, David Miscavige</a>.</p><p>In November 2016, Remini launched the A&amp;E series "<a href="https://play.aetv.com/shows/leah-remini-scientology-and-the-aftermath#episodes">Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath</a>," which sought to share insights into Scientology. The church <a href="https://www.insider.com/craziest-scientology-facts-leah-remini-2017-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declined</a> to participate, <a href="https://www.leahreminiaftermath.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accusing</a> Remini and other contributors of making false statements about the church for monetary gain.</p><p>While a number of celebrities, <a href="https://www.insider.com/scientology-celebrity-2017-7#tom-cruise-14" target="_blank" rel="noopener">including Elisabeth Moss and John Travolta</a>, have been associated with Scientology, Cruise has taken the brunt of criticism regarding Scientology in the public eye. Other celebrities have defended him over the years.</p><p>"I think that probably all religions sound bizarre to the people who are not the practitioners of them," Kirstie Alley, an actor and member of the church, told "<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/11/kirstie-alley-defends-tom-cruise-scientology_n_1874160.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ET</a>" in 2012. "To me it's so normal, and probably 90% of the crazy stuff I hear isn't true. I've been a Scientologist for over 30 years. I think a lot of things are sensationalized."</p>

Leah Remini reminds fans about Tom Cruise's connection to Scientology amid 'Top Gun' success: 'Don't let the movie star charm fool you'

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="25125" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Eddie-Murphy">Eddie Murphy</keyword> didn't like <keyword id="1676222" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ryan-Coogler">Ryan Coogler</keyword>'s idea for a sequel to his hit movie, "Coming to America."</li><li>The movie would have starred <keyword id="921897" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Michael-B-Jordan">Michael B. Jordan</keyword> as Eddie Murphy's son. </li><li>"I was like, then the movie would be about the son...not our characters," Eddie Murphy recalled.</li></ul><p>Eddie Murphy is set to return with a sequel to his <a href="https://www.insider.com/coming-to-america-cast-where-are-they-now">classic 1988 comedy "Coming to America"</a> in March, but the actor recently revealed that "Black Panther" director Ryan Coogler previously tried to revive the movie and pitched his own sequel, starring Michael B. Jordan. </p><p>In a new <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/24/movies/eddie-murphy-arsenio-hall-coming-2-america.html">profile in The New York Times</a> with his "Coming 2 America" co-star Arsenio Hall, Murphy said that he and the film's producers "never thought about doing a sequel" to the film that follows Murphy's Prince Akeem as he treks to America - Queens, New York specifically - to find his bride.</p><p>"The way the story ended was kind of like, 'And they lived happily ever after.' Then all this time passed and the movie became this cult thing," Murphy said. "Catchphrases from the movie start working their way into the culture. Stores turning themselves into McDowell's [where Prince Akeem worked.] I see Beyoncé and Jay-Z dressed up like the Zamunda characters for Halloween," Murphy said, referencing the fictional African country where Prince Akeem hailed from. </p><p>But after Murphy began to receive pitches for a sequel from directors such as Coogler, he started to explore what a "Coming to America" sequel might look like. </p><p>"[Coogler] had an idea for Michael B. Jordan to play my son and he would be looking for a wife," Murphy recalled. "I was like, then the movie would be about the son, it's not our characters, we already did that. It didn't come together." </p><div type="image" title="A still from &quot;Coming 2 America&quot;" height="2600" width="3900" msid="81195673" hostid="261"></div><p>"But all that made me start thinking, maybe we should do a sequel," Murphy continued.</p><p>"Coming 2 America" will debut on Amazon Prime Video on March 5. The comedy reunites Murphy with Barry W. Blaustein and David Sheffield, who wrote the original film. Craig Brewer, who worked with Murphy on 2019's "Dolemite is My Name," directed.</p><p>The film will see Murphy's Prince Akeem return to New York City when he discovers that he has a long-lost son in Queens.</p><p>Originally, Murphy told the New York Times that he wanted Tracey Morgan to play his son. But as the film took longer to develop, it was no longer possible because of Morgan's age. </p><p>"I'm like, I love Tracy and he's the funniest guy in the world. But yo, Ed, y'all about the same age," Hall, who plays Murphy's onscreen best friend Semmi, said.</p><p>Morgan was instead cast as one of Lavelle's uncles. </p><p>"Coming 2 America" will bring back many of the original film's stars, including James Earl Jones, Shari Headley, John Amos and Garcelle Beauvais.</p>

Eddie Murphy says Ryan Coogler tried to make a 'Coming to America' sequel starring Michael B. Jordan - but he didn't like the idea

<ul class="summary-list"><li>As <keyword id="6354896" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="protests">protests</keyword> against police brutality sweep through American cities following the death of <keyword id="9295731" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="george-floyd">George Floyd</keyword>, advisers have urged Trump to moderate his rhetoric, r<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/30/us/politics/trump-threatens-protesters-dogs-weapons.html">eported The New York Times. </a></li><li>The president has been accused of stoking unrest with tweets threatening tough measures against protesters, including one which was screened by Twitter for "glorifying violence." </li><li>But the pleas of advisers to promote unity are proving ineffective, said the report, with the president continuing to target Democrats and the "radical left" in messages on Saturday. </li></ul><p>President <keyword id="6354484" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Donald-Trump">Donald Trump</keyword> is ignoring top advisers who want him to tone down his rhetoric and emphasize a message of unity as protests and riots sweep America following the death of George Floyd in police custody. </p><p>As protests broke out into rioting and clashes with police in American cities, including Minneapolis, Atlanta, New York, and Washington DC, Saturday, advisers were counseling the president to "modulate his rhetoric," reported T<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/30/us/politics/trump-threatens-protesters-dogs-weapons.html">he New York Times, citing administration sources. </a></p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Maggie Haberman  (@maggieNYT) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1266858824335601665?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 30, 2020</a></blockquote><p>The counsel was ignored and by Saturday night, reported the Times, advisers had dropped plans for Trump to attempt to quell the crisis by addressing the nation on live TV, fearing it could worsen tensions. </p><p>On Friday, Trump was accused of stoking the unrest that erupted in Minneapolis, where Floyd died last week, when he tweeted that "when the looting starts, the shooting starts."</p><p>The president was quoting Miami cop Walter Headley whose racist policies sparked race riots in Miami in 1968 — and in an unprecedented step, Twitter restricted the message's visibility for "glorifying violence." </p><p><div type="image" title="Minneapolis protests" height="690" width="920" msid="76120640" hostid="261"></div></p><p>Early Saturday, Trump had abruptly shifted his tone. In remarks at the launch of the SpaceX rocket in Florida, the president said: "I stand before you as a friend and ally to every American seeking justice and peace, and I stand before you in firm opposition to anyone exploiting this tragedy to loot, rob, attack, and menace. Healing, not hatred; justice, not chaos, are the mission at hand."</p><p>But in further messages, on Saturday, Trump reverted to stirring partisan and racial divisions, and relishing the prospect of violent reprisals against demonstrators who broke the law. </p><p>On Saturday, the president tweeted that demonstrators gathering outside the White House would face "vicious dogs" and "ominous weapons" if they attempted to breach the perimeter of the executive residence. </p><p>DC mayor Muriel Browser accused Trump of stirring up memories of segregationist violence. He <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/muriel-bowser-trump-tweet-dogs_n_5ed2cf47c5b6900376057a9b?ri18n=true">said</a> the message was "no subtle reminder to African Americans of segregationists who let dogs out on women, children and innocent people in the South."</p><p>When asked in Florida if he was concerned that he might be exacerbating the situation when he called for his supporters to form a counter-demonstration outside the White House that night, Trump remarked: "No not at all ... I have no idea if they're going to be here.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—David Cay Johnston  (@DavidCayJ) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1266774412629508096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 30, 2020</a></blockquote><p>"By the way, they love African Americans, they love black people. MAGA loves the black people."</p><p>Critics were quick to highlight the line the president drew between his supporters and black Americans.</p><p>On Twitter, he sought to blame the unrest on political opponents and doubled down on attacks on the Democratic mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey.</p><p>"The National Guard has been released in Minneapolis to do the job that the Democrat Mayor couldn't do. Should have been used 2 days ago &amp; there would not have been damage &amp; Police Headquarters would not have been taken over &amp; ruined. Great job by the National Guard. No games!" tweeted the president. </p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Donald J. Trump  (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1266737385120960515?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 30, 2020</a></blockquote><p>In fact, the National Guard was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/28/us/george-floyd-minneapolis-protests.html">activated in Minneapolis two days ago</a>, but the president may have been referring to a street clearing operation carried out by the National Guard in the city on Saturday night. </p><p>"How come all of these places that defend so poorly are run by Liberal Democrats? Get tough and fight (and arrest the bad ones). STRENGTH!" he tweeted. </p><p>He later wrote: "ANTIFA and the Radical Left. Don't lay the blame on others!" — continuing attacks on the radical anti-fascist group that has become one of the favored bogeymen of conservative rhetoric. </p><p>He also continued attacks on the media — whom in a tweet he again labeled the "Enemy of the People", as reports emerged of protesters and police targetting reporters covering the demonstrations in several US cities. </p><p>"Much more 'disinformation' coming out of CNN, MSDNC, <a href="https://twitter.com/nytimes" target="_blank" title="" rel="noopener noreferrer">@nytimes</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/washingtonpost" target="_blank" title="" rel="noopener noreferrer">@washingtonpost</a>, by far, than coming out of any foreign country, even combined," Trump wrote. "Fake News is the Enemy of the People!"</p>Read the original article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/george-floyd-trump-ignores-advice-to-curb-divisive-rhetoric-nyt-2020-5">Business Insider</a>

Trump is ignoring top advisers urging him to dial down his divisive rhetoric as George Floyd protests sweep the US, report says

<p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5519913f6bb3f73164bf9824-1200-600/leah-remini-16.png" border="0" alt="Leah Remini"><p class="source"><span>Frederick M. Brown/Getty</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div>In 2009, actress Leah Remini&#xa0;</span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/leah-remini-leaves-scientology-2013-7" target="_blank">left the church of Scientology</a><span>&#xa0;after 30 years and she didn't go quietly.</span></p><p><span><span>Remini&#xa0;</span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/leah-remini-talks-scientology-split-2013-7" target="_blank">explained her departure</a><span>&#xa0;was because "</span><span>no one is going to tell me how I need to think, no one is going to tell me who I can, and cannot, talk to."</span><span><br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"></span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">One of the few celebrities who has been as vocal about breaking from Scientology is Oscar winning writer/director,&#xa0;</span><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0353673/" target="_blank">Paul Haggis</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">, who has&#xa0;publicly&#xa0;</span><a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/02/14/110214fa_fact_wright" target="_blank">criticized the church</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">&#xa0;for requiring members to "disconnect" from those who have chosen to cut ties with the religion.</span></p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/551995876da8113112dd9d1e-1200-924/goingclear2-3.jpg" border="0" alt="goingclear2"><p class="source"><span>HBO</span></p><p class="caption">Director Paul Haggis, who is featured in "Going Clear," publicly praised Leah Remini for leaving Scientology.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>In the wake of Remini's break from Scientology, Haggis wrote an open letter thanking the actress in&#xa0;<a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/leah-reminis-scientology-break-paul-595708" target="_blank">The Hollywood Reporter</a>. After Sunday's HBO premiere of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/going-clear-tom-cruise-and-john-travolta-should-leave-scientology-2015-3" target="_blank">explosive Scientology documentary</a> "Going Clear" <span>-</span>&#xa0;in which Haggis is prominently featured as an interview subject <span>-</span>&#xa0;the letter is more relevant than ever.<p><span>While Haggis&#xa0;<span>begins his note by cautioning, "</span><span>Leah and I haven't spoken in quite a while" and "we were always friendly but never close friends," the director continues, "she called me as soon as she heard about&#xa0;<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/02/14/110214fa_fact_wright" target="_blank">my letter of resignation</a>" from the church.</span></span></p><p><span><span><span>"Unlike the rest of my former friends, she expressed real sadness that I was leaving and concern for me and my family," Haggis writes.</span><span><br><br><span>So when he heard that Remini had later left the church, the "Crash" and "Million Dollar Baby" writer says "</span><span>I read some things that really disturbed me."</span><span><br /></span></br></br></span></span></span></p><p>"First was the way Leah was being attacked by her celebrity 'friends,' who were&#xa0;<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2364389/Scientologist-Kirstie-Alley-posts-cryptic-tweet-Leah-Remini-makes-dramatic-exit-Church-I-thought-friend.html" target="_blank">disparaging her character</a>," he explains. "What was new to me was the report that Leah had run afoul of the church by challenging Scientology's leader, David Miscavige, who is held to be infallible."</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/551995f46da8112213dd9d1e-628-471/david-miscavige-7.jpg" border="0" alt="David Miscavige"><p class="caption">Remini reportedly questioned the whereabouts of Scientology leader David Miscavige's wife, who hasn't been seen in years.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Remini reportedly questioned the whereabouts of Miscavige's wife, Shelly, who&#xa0;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/going-clear-wife-of-scientologys-miscavige-not-in-hbo-documentary-2015-3" target="_blank">hasn't been seen in years</a>.<p>"The next thing I learned made me feel terrible," Haggis explains in his open letter. "Leah got in trouble because of me, because when I was 'declared' a 'Suppressive Person' and shunned, she came to my defense <span>-</span>&#xa0;without me ever knowing it. She had shouting matches with&#xa0;Tommy Davis, then the church spokesman, who&#xa0;had come to try and keep her quiet."</p><p><strong>Haggis concludes by applauding Remini's bravery, writing:</strong></p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">I can't express how much I admire Leah. Her parents, family and close friends were almost all Scientologists; the stakes for her were so much higher than for me. Her decision to leave was so much braver...</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">I finally called Leah during the last week of July. Her answering service didn't recognize my number, so it took a while to get through. It was good to hear her voice and great to hear her laugh -- though it was easy to tell she had been terribly hurt and shaken by the events of the last weeks. That said, Leah is an incredibly strong woman and will get through this with the help of her family and her true friends. She is kind and generous and loyal; she has always cared more about others than herself. She barely knew me, and yet she fought for me and my family, a battle she had to know in her gut she was never going to win. That takes an enormous amount of integrity and compassion. I will leave it to you to decide if the same can be said of Scientology's executives and Leah's many former friends <span>-</span>&#xa0;especially those Scientologists who are watching her be smeared now and are choosing to stay silent.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">I will forever be grateful&#xa0;to her.</p><p><strong><strong>To read Haggis' entire open letter on The Hollywood Reporter,&#xa0;<a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/leah-reminis-scientology-break-paul-595708" target="_blank">click here.</a></strong></strong></p><p><strong>After watching "Going Clear" Sunday night on HBO, Remini tweeted:</strong></p><div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Thank you to the brave who did something about it. And to those who didn't have a voice, you do now. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoingClear?src=hash">#GoingClear</a></p>- Leah Remini  (@LeahRemini) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/582405452618575872">March 30, 2015</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div></div><p class="embed-spacer"><strong>She later tweeted links to her posts on Instagram:</strong></p><p class="embed-spacer"><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55196a626bb3f7db3cbf9822-1021-559/screen%20shot%202015-03-30%20at%2011.22.21%20am.png" border="0" alt="Instagram Leah Remini"><p class="source"><span>Instagram.com/LeahRemini</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></span><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">&#xa0;<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5519689b6bb3f72939bf9823-1022-448/screen%20shot%202015-03-30%20at%2011.10.33%20am.png" border="0" alt="Leah Remini instagram"><p class="source"><span>Instagram.com/LeahRemini</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p><p class="embed-spacer"><strong>After watching the film, Remini&#xa0;<a href="http://tonyortega.org/2015/03/28/on-the-eve-of-going-clear-leah-remini-says-shes-grateful-to-the-people-behind-it/" target="_blank">gave an official quote</a>&#xa0;to Scientology blogger Tony Ortega:&#xa0;</strong><span>"</span><span>I wanted to thank the people who are in it and have worked so hard. You, Mike Rinder, Marty Rathbun, Marc Headley, Tom DeVocht, Lawrence Wright, Alex Gibney, and HBO. And Paul Haggis in particular for&#xa0;</span><a href="http://tonyortega.org/2015/03/24/going-clear-paul-haggis-pens-a-description-of-the-scientology-experience-you-wont-forget/" target="_blank">what he wrote on your website</a><span>&#xa0;the other day. What Paul wrote is so exactly right."</span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/going-clear-sundance-premiere-scientology-bombshells-2015-1">6 Crazy Things Revealed In HBO's Explosive New Scientology Documentary 'Going Clear'</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="o5dzJpczpndV8YG9M7cnoa3JXgQXBqja" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'o5dzJpczpndV8YG9M7cnoa3JXgQXBqja',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Read the moving letter director Paul Haggis sent Leah Remini after she left Scientology in 2013

<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/51891b3669bedd9f4d000016-620-466/blue-hill-new-york-city.jpg?maxX=400&amp;maxY=300" border="0" alt="Blue Hill New York City" width="400" height="300" /></div><p class="source"><a href="http://www.bluehillfarm.com/food/blue-hill-new-york">Blue Hill New York City</a></p></div>The winners of the<a href="http://www.jamesbeard.org/awards"> James Beard Foundation Awards,</a> one of the most prestigious honors in the culinary industry, were announced in a live ceremony last night.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bluehillfarm.com/food/blue-hill-new-york">Blue Hill, </a>a restaurant in New York City overseen by executive chef Dan Barber, won the award for the Most Outstanding Restaurant in the U.S. The Greenwich Village restaurant opened in 2000.</p>
<p>The award for the outstanding restaurant is given to an American restaurant that is a "national standard-bearer for consistent quality and excellence in food, atmosphere, and service." The restaurant must have been open for at least 10 years.</p>
<p>Blue Hill serves seasonal American cuisine, with most of the ingredients sourced directly from its farm in upstate New York. (Blue Hill's sister restaurant, Blue Hill at Stone Barns took the top spot on our list of the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-best-restaurants-in-america-2013-4">Best Restaurants In America</a>.)</p>
<p>Another New York restaurant, Del Posto, won the award for the Most Outstanding Service, and a San Francisco restaurant, State Bird Provisions, won the award for the Best New Restaurant.</p>
<p><strong>Here is the <a href="http://www.jamesbeard.org/blog/winner-recap-4">full list of winners</a> for the James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef <keyword id="6360366" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="awards">Awards</keyword>:</strong></p>
<p>Outstanding Restaurant: Blue Hill, NYC</p>
<p>Outstanding Service: Del Posto, NYC</p>
<p>Best New Restaurant: State Bird Provisions, San Francisco</p>
<p>Outstanding Restaurateur: Maguy Le Coze, Le Bernardin, NYC</p>
<p>Outstanding Wine Program: Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder, CO</p>
<p>Outstanding Bar Program: The Aviary, Chicago</p>
<p>Oustanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Professional: Merry Edwards, Merry Edwards Winery, Sebastopol, CA</p>
<p>Best <keyword id="30173" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="chefs">Chefs</keyword> in America:</p>
<p>Outstanding Chef: (tie) David Chang, Momofuku Noodle Bar, NYC, and Paul Kahan, Blackbird, Chicago</p>
<p>Outstanding Pastry Chef: Brooks Headley, Del Posto, NYC</p>
<p>Rising Star Chef Of The Year: Danny Bowien, Mission Chinese Food, San Francisco and NYC</p>
<p>Best Chef in the Great Lakes: Stephanie Izard, Girl &amp; the Goat, Chicago</p>
<p>Best Chef in the Mid-Atlantic: Johnny Monis, Komi, Washington, D.C</p>
<p>Best Chef in the Midwest: Colby Garrelts, Bluestem, Kansas City, MO</p>
<p>Best Chef in the New York City: Wylie Dufresne, wd~50</p>
<p>Best Chef in the Northeast: Melissa Kelly, Primo, Rockland, ME</p>
<p>Best Chef in the Northwest: Gabriel Rucker, Le Pigeon, Portland, OR</p>
<p>Best Chef in the South: Tory McPhail, Commander’s Palace, New Orleans, LA</p>
<p>Best Chef in the Southeast: Joseph Lenn, The Barn at Blackberry Farm, Walland, TN</p>
<p>Best Chef in the Southwest: Jennifer Jasinski, Rioja, Denver</p>
<p>Best Chef in the West: Christopher Kostow, The Restaurant at Meadowood, St. Helena, CA</p>

Blue Hill Was Just Named The Most Outstanding Restaurant In America

<p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/551c1efb6bb3f7a30321446c-1200-924/leah-remini-5.jpg" border="0" alt="Leah Remini"><p class="source"><span>Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div>After 30 years as a devout Scientologist, actress Leah Remini&#xa0;</span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/leah-remini-leaves-scientology-2013-7" target="_blank">abruptly left the church</a><span>&#xa0;in July 2013 and she didn't go quietly. After the recent release of HBO's explosive Scientology documentary "Going Clear," Remini's story is now more relevant than ever.</span></p><p><span><span>At the time of her exit from the church, Remini&#xa0;</span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/leah-remini-talks-scientology-split-2013-7" target="_blank">explained her departure</a><span>&#xa0;was because "</span><span>no one is going to tell me how I need to think, no one is going to tell me who I can, and cannot, talk to."</span></span></p><p><span><span><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/551c28f46da811624bb35c03-629-471/david-miscavige-13.jpg" border="0" alt="David Miscavige"><p class="caption">Remini reportedly clashed with Scientology leader David Miscavige.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>The "Old School" and "King of Queens" actress allegedly called it quits after years of questioning the religion's</span><strong>&#xa0;</strong><span>treatment of followers under the leadership of&#xa0;</span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/scientology-leader-david-miscaviges-wife-has-been-missing-since-2006-2012-7" target="_blank">David Miscavige</a><span>.</span></span></span></p><p>"It all began when Leah questioned the validity of <a href="http://tonyortega.org/2012/11/08/scientology-excommunication-documents-the-church-usually-keeps-under-wraps/" target="_blank">excommunication</a> of people," a source&#xa0;<a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/remini_quits_scientology_kPy6Yw4WymA6dSg9VQYVEN" target="_blank">told PageSix</a>&#xa0;of her decision at the time. "She is stepping back from a regime she thinks is corrupt. She thinks no religion should tear apart a family or abuse someone under the umbrella of 'religion.'"</p><p>Remini reportedly spoke out about the&#xa0;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/going-clear-wife-of-scientologys-miscavige-not-in-hbo-documentary-2015-3" target="_blank">mysterious disappearance of Miscavige's wife</a>, Shelly, who has reportedly only been seen once since 2006.</p><p>Another&#xa0;<a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/remini_wanted_to_call_cops_E2LWZUMtKkex5MyEXi8r0N" target="_blank">PageSix</a>&#xa0;source explained, "Because Leah threatened to call the police to find Shelly, she was put through 'Security Checking,' her family was put through it, and her friends."</p><p><span>The Page Six source says that as a result of her outspoken questioning, the former co-host of "The Talk" "was put through 'thought modification' for five years," but, "When they tried this with her again earlier this year, she said, 'Enough.'"</span></p><p><span>Mike Rinder, a former Scientologist who was <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/scientology-calls-hbo-documentary-going-clear-propaganda-2015-3" target="_blank">featured in "Going Clear"</a> and runs&#xa0;<a href="http://www.mikerindersblog.org/" target="_blank">a blog about the religion</a>, said at the time that Remini "will no longer tolerate the squirreling and human rights abuses perpetrated in the church... As a result, the church has lost one of its most effective supporters - both in the public relations arena and their bank balances."</span></p><p><span>"I believe that people should be able to question things," the 44-year-old actress&#xa0;</span><a href="http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20721105,00.html" target="_blank">explained to People magazine</a>&#xa0;at the time of her departure<span>. "I believe that people should value family, and value friendships, and hold those things sacrosanct. That for me, that's what I'm about. It wouldn't matter what it was, simply because no one is going to tell me how I need to think, no one is going to tell me who I can, and cannot, talk to."&#xa0;</span></p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/551c2888eab8ea8f6cd4441b-1200-924/leah-remini-husband-daughter-family.jpg" border="0" alt="Leah Remini husband daughter family"><p class="source"><span>John Shearer/Invision for The HollyRod Foundation/AP Images</span></p><p class="caption">Remini with her daughter and husband, who were also practicing Scientologists.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><p>Remini's mother, husband, and daughter were also practicing Scientologists.&#xa0;<span>The actress had been a member of the church for three decades after her mother became a Scientologist in the 1970s, rising through Scientology's ranks&#xa0;</span><a href="http://tonyortega.org/2013/07/05/has-leah-remini-left-the-church-of-scientology/" target="_blank">to achieve Operating Thetan Level Five</a><span>, with three more rungs to climb until reaching the highest spiritual rank, according to&#xa0;</span><a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/leah-remini-leaves-scientology-questioning-583860" target="_blank">The Hollywood Reporter</a><span>.</span></p><p><span>"We went from a middle-class lifestyle [in Brooklyn, N.Y.] to living in a roach-infested motel with six other girls off a freeway in Clearwater," Remini <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/jarettwieselman/leah-remini-shares-the-truth-about-the-hardest-year-of-her-l#.uwYDkXMRgQ" target="_blank">recalled to BuzzFeed</a> of her family's transition to the Church's compound in Florida, before her 10th birthday. "We were separated from our mother. We had to sign billion-year contracts we didn't understand. And we kept saying, 'Why are you doing this to us? Why are we here?'"</span></p><p><span>Remini's mother had moved the family to Florida at the urging of her stepfather, who abandoned the family before they entered the Clearwater compound's gates.</span></p><p>"We were working from morning until night with barely any schooling," Remini told Buzzfeed. "There was no saying no. There was no being tired. There was no, 'I'm a little girl who just lost her father and everything I've ever known.' There was only, 'Get it done.'&#xa0;<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">If the church needed a ballroom wall knocked down, you made it happen because there were heavy repercussions if you didn't. And although that was horrendous for a child to deal with, at the same time, it gave me my work ethic."</span></p><p>Despite her history with the church,&#xa0;"I'm not about to shut up," Remini <a href="http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20721105,00.html" target="_blank">told People</a>, adding, "We stand united, my family and I, and I think that says a lot about who we are, and what we're about."</p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">But not all of Remini's famous Scientology friends were as supportive as her family during the transition.</span></p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/551c384c6da8116d15b35c03-1200-924/kirstie-alley-scientology.jpg" border="0" alt="Kirstie Alley Scientology"><p class="source"><span>Peter Brandt/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Many Scientologists, like Kirstie Alley, cut ties with Remini after she left the church.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Fellow <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/celebrity-scientologists-2015-3#actress-kirstie-alley-1" target="_blank">church-member Kirstie Alley</a>&#xa0;called Remini <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/kirstie-aley-leah-remini-scientology-howard-stern">"repulsive" and "a bigot"</a>&#xa0;during a 2013 interview on Howard Stern's&#xa0;SiriusXM radio show.<p><span><span>Alley, who told Stern that she recently reached the OT-7 level in the church's hierarchy of achievements, continued about Remini:&#xa0;</span></span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"She left the religion and she was very critical. That's just sort of water under the bridge. I didn't shun her, but if a lot of people are rejecting you, at some point you gotta ask, 'What am I doing?' I mean, that's what I would have asked myself."</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Others, however, were more supportive of the actress' decision to leave.</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Oscar-winning writer/director&#xa0;</span><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0353673/" target="_blank">Paul Haggis</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">, a former Scientologist who is featured in "Going Clear" and has publicly&#xa0;</span><a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/02/14/110214fa_fact_wright" target="_blank">criticized the church</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">,&#xa0;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/paul-haggis-sent-leah-remini-letter-after-she-left-scientology-2015-3" target="_blank">wrote an open letter</a> thanking the actress in&#xa0;<a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/leah-reminis-scientology-break-paul-595708" target="_blank">The Hollywood Reporter</a>:</span></p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">"I read some things that really disturbed me.&#xa0;<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">First was the way Leah was being attacked by her celebrity 'friends,' who were&#xa0;</span><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2364389/Scientologist-Kirstie-Alley-posts-cryptic-tweet-Leah-Remini-makes-dramatic-exit-Church-I-thought-friend.html" target="_blank">disparaging her character</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">. What was new to me was the report that Leah had run afoul of the church by challenging Scientology's leader, David Miscavige, who is held to be infallible...</span></p><p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span><span>I can't express how much I admire Leah. Her parents, family and close friends were almost all Scientologists; the stakes for her were so much higher than for me. Her decision to leave was so much braver...&#xa0;<span>I will forever be grateful&#xa0;to her."</span></span><br /></span></span></p><p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span><span>Read the full letter <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/leah-reminis-scientology-break-paul-595708" target="_blank">here.</a></span></span></span></p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/551c3a66eab8eaa736d4441d-1200-600/goingclear2-5.jpg" border="0" alt="goingclear2"><p class="source"><span>HBO</span></p><p class="caption">Paul Haggis in "Going Clear"</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><strong>Following her difficult departure from the church, Remini&#xa0;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/leah-remini-leaves-scientology-2013-7" target="_blank">released a statement</a>&#xa0;thanking fans for their support:</strong><p style="padding-left: 30px;">"I wish to share my sincere and heartfelt appreciation for the overwhelming positive response I have received from the media, my colleagues, and from fans around the world. I am truly grateful and thankful for all your support."</p><p><strong>After watching HBO Scientology documentary "Going Clear" for the first time on Sunday night, Remini tweeted:</strong></p><div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Thank you to the brave who did something about it. And to those who didn't have a voice, you do now. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoingClear?src=hash">#GoingClear</a></p>- Leah Remini  (@LeahRemini) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/582405452618575872">March 30, 2015</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div></div><p class="embed-spacer"><strong>She also&#xa0;<a href="http://tonyortega.org/2015/03/28/on-the-eve-of-going-clear-leah-remini-says-shes-grateful-to-the-people-behind-it/" target="_blank">gave an official quote</a>&#xa0;to Scientology blogger Tony Ortega:&#xa0;</strong></p><p class="embed-spacer" style="padding-left: 30px;">"I wanted to thank the people who are in it and have worked so hard. You, Mike Rinder, Marty Rathbun, Marc Headley, Tom DeVocht, Lawrence Wright, Alex Gibney, and HBO. And Paul Haggis in particular for&#xa0;<a href="http://tonyortega.org/2015/03/24/going-clear-paul-haggis-pens-a-description-of-the-scientology-experience-you-wont-forget/" target="_blank">what he wrote on your website</a>&#xa0;the other day. What Paul wrote is so exactly right."</p><p class="embed-spacer"><strong>Remini later tweeted links to her posts on Instagram:</strong></p><p class="embed-spacer"><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55196a626bb3f7db3cbf9822-1021-559/screen%20shot%202015-03-30%20at%2011.22.21%20am.png" border="0" alt="Instagram Leah Remini"><p class="source"><span>Instagram.com/LeahRemini</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div><br /></span></p><p class="embed-spacer"><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5519689b6bb3f72939bf9823-1022-448/screen%20shot%202015-03-30%20at%2011.10.33%20am.png" border="0" alt="Leah Remini instagram"><p class="source"><span>Instagram.com/LeahRemini</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div><strong>Read Scientology's lengthy response to "Going Clear"&#xa0;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/scientology-response-to-hbo-documentary-going-clear-2015-3" target="_blank">here.</a></strong></span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/going-clear-sundance-premiere-scientology-bombshells-2015-1">6 Crazy Things Revealed In HBO's Explosive New Scientology Documentary 'Going Clear'</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="o5dzJpczpndV8YG9M7cnoa3JXgQXBqja" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'o5dzJpczpndV8YG9M7cnoa3JXgQXBqja',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

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