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LOS ANGELES (AP) —
An ex-fiancee of Charlie Sheen has sued the actor claiming he didn't disclose he was HIV positive until after they had sex several times and was physically and emotionally abusive during their relationship.
Scottine Ross, a porn star who performed under the name Brett Rossi, sued the actor on Thursday for assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress claims. Her lawsuit states she and Sheen had sex five times before the actor told her he was HIV positive.
"As a result of this exposure, (Ross) has suffered serious emotional distress from a reasonable fear that she will contract HIV," the suit states.
The "Two and a Half Men" star publicly disclosed he was HIV positive on the "Today" show last month but said he disclosed his status to all his sexual partners. He also vowed during the appearance that he would not to pay to settle any claims from sexual partners claiming he exposed them to the virus that causes AIDS.
Ross' lawsuit was filed one day after Sheen was supposed to pay her $1 million to settle all claims against him under a draft agreement that the actor never signed, according to the court filing.
Sheen's attorney Marty Singer wrote in a statement that Ross' claims are already being addressed in private arbitration.
"Charlie Sheen intends to vigorously defend the lawsuit filed," Singer wrote. "Numerous witnesses will dispute each and every claim made by Ms. Rossi."
Ross first met Sheen in November 2013 and agreed to have sex with the actor for $10,000. They got engaged in January 2014, but their relationship ended later that year.
In addition to Ross' claim that Sheen didn't disclose his HIV status, she accuses the actor of physically abusing her throughout their relationship, including kicking her on the ground during one incident and threatening to kill her during other fights.
WASHINGTON (AP) —
The U.S. economy generated another month of solid hiring in November, making it highly likely that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates from record lows this month.
The Labor Department said Friday that employers added 211,000 jobs, led by big gains in construction and retail. And the government revised up its estimated job growth for September and October by a combined 35,000.
The unemployment rate remained a low 5 percent for a second straight month. More Americans began looking for jobs in November, and most found them.
Employers have now added an average 213,000 jobs a month over the past six months. The robust hiring indicates that consumer spending is powering the economy even as weak growth overseas and low oil prices squeeze U.S. manufacturers and drillers.
Investors cheered the jobs report, with the Dow Jones industrial average rising 200 points a half hour after trading began. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was little changed at 2.3 percent.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen said this week that the economy appeared to be improving enough to justify a rate hike as long as no major shocks undermine confidence before the Fed meets Dec. 15-16. The Fed has kept its key short-term rate at a record low near zero for seven years.
For the Fed, conditions seem nearly ideal for a period of small and only gradual rate increases in coming months: Job growth has been consistently solid, and wages have begun to rise but not so much as to cause concern about future high inflation.
Since the Great Recession ended 6½ years ago, average hourly pay has grown at only about two-thirds of the pace typical of a healthy economy. In November, average hourly wages rose 2.3 percent from 12 months earlier. The November jobs report shows that the U.S. economy "is strong enough to withstand an initial hike in interest rates from what were seen as emergency record-low levels," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit. "A December rate hike now looks to be in the bag."
Job gains were broad-based across the economy in November. Construction companies added 46,000 jobs, the most in two years. Spending in that sector has reached its highest level in eight years, boosted by more homebuilding and development of more roads and infrastructure.
The sizable gain in construction jobs last month, even as the Fed is preparing to raise rates, suggests that few expect higher borrowing costs to derail home building or sales.
"It was heartening to see growth in construction and that manufacturing held steady as ... both are sensitive to higher interest rates," said Tara Sinclair, chief economist at job search site Indeed.com.
Government added 14,000 positions in November, retailers nearly 31,000. But factories shed 1,000 jobs.
Americans are spending more on costly items like cars and homes. Their stepped-up spending has supported the U.S. economy and offset drags from falling oil prices and weak growth overseas.
Auto sales, for example, jumped to a 14-year high in November, boosted in part by Black Friday deals offered throughout the month. Industry analysts expect auto sales to total a record 17.5 million for 2015.
Steady job gains this year and low mortgage rates have also boosted home sales, though sales have leveled off in recent months. Purchases of existing homes have increased nearly 4 percent from a year ago. Sales of new homes have jumped nearly 16 percent.
Americans are eating out more often, driving restaurant sales much higher. Retailers have reported weak revenue in recent months, but online purchases were robust on Black Friday.
Still, a strong U.S. dollar is weighing on U.S. exports and cutting factory output, while also lowering profits for U.S. multinational corporations. The dollar has jumped 13 percent in value in the past year, thereby making U.S. goods costlier overseas and imports cheaper in the United States.
The dollar could rise further next year should the Fed raise interest rates even as its counterparts overseas, such as the European Central Bank, cut them further. Higher rates would attract investors to the dollar, driving up its value.
Separately, falling oil prices have cut factory output as drilling companies have ordered less steel pipe and other materials, such as fracking sand. Businesses overall have cut back on investing in computers and equipment this year.
The economy expanded at a modest 2.1 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter. Most economists have forecast that it will grow at a still relatively subpar 2.5 percent this year, only slightly above its average pace since the recession officially ended in mid-2009.
DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) —
Jeb Bush and his allies are spending circles around his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination. Yet for all the money they've invested — $26 million on television ads alone — they've yet to see a substantial return.
Having fallen from summer front-runner to autumn afterthought, the former Florida governor made deep spending cuts to his campaign operation in October. But he and his backers plowed ahead with a television blitz three times the size of anyone else's, while putting a new strategic focus on New Hampshire.
Some Bush allies suggested those efforts had to pay off with improved numbers in preference polls in November. Yet as December begins, Bush remains mired in single digits — including in New Hampshire — in a race that continues to be dominated by political novices, most notably billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump.
Bush's most loyal supporters argue the advertising, mostly financed by an outside group known as a super PAC, has paid off by helping stabilize a campaign that was losing ground. The brother and son of former presidents is showcasing new endorsements, and his team continues to raise a steady stream of money.
In November, Bush's campaign collected at least $1 million, a tally by The Associated Press found. Top donors will head to Miami on Saturday for a campaign update, and ahead of that gathering Bush strategists are circulating a list of 300 contributors as a show of his staying power.
But those same backers are also starting to acknowledge that time is growing short, with the leadoff Iowa caucuses now just two months away.
"We've got to do better than expected in those first three states" of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, said Barry Wynn, one of Bush's biggest South Carolina supporters and a member of his national finance team.
Said Craig Duchossois, a devoted financial backer from Chicago, "I continue to be concerned."
The pro-Bush super PAC, called Right to Rise, has spent about $26 million on TV and radio commercials in the past 11 weeks, according to Kantar Media's CMAG advertising tracker. That's about a quarter of the record-setting $103 million it raised in the first six months of the year.
When Bush gathered his top donors in Houston in October at an event that featured former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, many suggested that the candidate's poll numbers would improve by the end of November — once those ads had time to penetrate.
That hasn't happened. At the start of the ad campaign in mid-September, an ABC News/Washington Post poll found that about 8 percent of Republican and Republican-leaning registered voters nationally said they supported Bush. Two months later, and despite thousands of biographical ads that touted Bush as a proven leader, his numbers in that same poll were about the same: 6 percent.
It's the same story in New Hampshire, a state Bush has visited nearly weekly since November. He was the first choice of 9 percent of likely Republican primary voters in a poll conducted for WBUR in mid-September, and was at about 7 percent by the middle of November.
Explanations vary depending on who is asked.
Duchossois said the Bush team was too ambitious in thinking his poll numbers would be moving this soon. But he said Tuesday, "The next month is absolutely critical."
Bush spokesman Tim Miller said no one from the campaign predicted a big change by the end of November. Instead, he suggested this week, the turnaround will come in the new year.
"I just think a lot of things are going to change in the race next year," Miller said. "It's a volatile field."
Officials at Right to Rise, the Bush super PAC, are taking an even longer view. The group has already reserved an additional $38 million in television advertising across the country over the next 15 weeks — as much as the next three biggest spenders combined.
"Our investments are long-term and focused on helping Jeb achieve a general election victory in November 2016," said Right to Rise spokesman Paul Lindsay. "We measure ourselves by that goal alone."
Bush and his supporters are making the case that, in the wake of the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris, voters will take another look his message of experience — which they hope will eventually overtake interest in outsider candidates such as Trump and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.
"The good news is the numbers aren't slipping, and to me, there's been a vast improvement in the campaign," said Fred Zeidman, a Houston-based donor. "He is truly showing his expertise in the issues that affect us all. Some of the folks who are ahead of him won't stay there as voters get serious."
Perhaps the biggest question for Bush, regardless of how much money he and his allies spend on TV ads, is whether Zeidman's prediction proves correct.
Former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, a key supporter, told Chicago donor Bill Kunkler and others on a recent national finance call that voters were angry and some even irrational.
"Not that they are going to stay irrational. They are going to gravitate toward the most accomplished choice," Kunkler recalls Cantor saying.
"And we'll see if he's right."