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Jan 01, 2050
Chip Somodevilla/Getty
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Jan 01, 2050
Kevin Lamarque/ReutersJohn S. McCain III, an American hero who served as a Navy captain and a member of Congress for 57 years, died on TKTKTK DAY. He was 81.
McCain was a giant of the United States Senate and a lifelong public servant who won respect and admiration from his colleagues on Capitol Hill and world leaders for his staunch advocacy of democratic principles and his defiant policy positions, particularly on issues relating to the military and national security.
He was a tough and, at times, feisty and brash legislator, but he forged friendships and bonds that cemented his place in history as a dealmaker. His political opponents sometimes branded him a war-monger and a reactionary at worst but never doubted his unwavering adherence to his principles, his tireless support for American troops, and his enduring commitment to public service.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/GettyDonald Trump's legal payroll is easily the largest and most diverse of any political figure in modern U.S. history. But while most of the attorneys that Trump's various fundraising committees have paid over the years are a matter of public record, one of the top recipients still poses a mystery—with more than $8 million in legal costs going to an unknown firm, or firms, through what appears to be a corporate intermediary.
Legal experts told The Daily Beast that the arrangement masks the true recipients of a significant amount of Trump's legal bills, depriving the public of that information while possibly running afoul of federal law. And the unprecedented structure of those payments, the experts said, potentially violates the ban on corporate contributions.
For the last 15 months, five of Trump's political committees, including his 2024 campaign, have paid about $8 million in combined legal costs to a curious recipient: Red Curve Solutions, the firm that handles their political accounting.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily BeastDear (former, best ever) President Donald Trump,
We've had our disagreements over the years, some of them pretty bigly. But if there's one important lesson you've taught me, it's that we should never let personal grievances, ethics, or the law stand in the way of a good business opportunity.
As your legal fees continue to mount by the millions, your Truth Social stock tanks, and the bond for your $454 million judgment for sexually assaulting E. Jean Carroll is rejected (so unfair!)—now's the perfect time to explore a new income stream that can capitalize on the attention you're getting over rumors you've been audibly farting in the courtroom during your first-ever criminal trial.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/HandoutLaura Benanti has been nominated for five Tony Awards (with one win) and appeared in dozens of TV shows and movies since making her Broadway debut at 19 years old as Maria in The Sound of Music. But as the title of her new solo stage show attests, she still reminds herself on a daily basis that "nobody cares" about her many accomplishments.
In this episode of The Last Laugh podcast, Benanti talks about mining her most embarrassing life stories for musical comedy in her new show, which returns to the New York stage and premieres on Audible next month. She also reveals how playing Melania Trump on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert finally made people take her "seriously" as a comedic actress and what she thinks is going through the former first lady's head as her husband stands trial for paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels.
When I ask Benanti about the bold decision to call her new show Nobody Cares, she admits it stems from a fear of indifference from the industry that has provided her livelihood for more than 25 years. "I know other actors who sort of feel similarly where you're like, what else do I need to do before I am anointed? When do I get my fucking crown?" she says. "And it always feels like it's just one rung up the ladder, and then I'm going to be ther
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Apr 24, 2024
Apple TV When we last left the residents of Deerfield, the fictional Midwest town at the center of the strange occurrences in The Big Door Prize, everyone was zapped of energy—in some cases, quite literally. The Season 1 finale of Apple TV 's existential comedy ended with a key character in the hospital after being electrocuted while trying to destroy a MORPHO machine, a photo booth-like contraption that tells you your life's true potential. The rest of Deerfield's population is just as exhausted (though, luckily, not under medical care) after spending the show's first season comically upending their comfortable lives because the mysterious MORPHO spat out a little blue card with one vague word printed on it.
The results of this small-town chaos yielded one of 2023's most unexpectedly delightful new series, which had much more to say about adult life and the nuances of our neuroses than a certain sickeningly upbeat Apple TV show. Quirky Deerfield dwellers like Dusty (Chris O'Dowd), his plucky wife Cass (Gabrielle Dennis), Cass' arrogant mother Izzy (Crystal R. Fox), and toupéed restaurateur Giorgio (Josh Segarra) struggled to understand what their MORPHO cards meant, often finding that one word could conjure endless potential outcomes. These bite-sized, intertwining character studies were a novel joy, albeit one that had limits. Even though last season's finale packed more than a few twists, repeating the same storytelling patte
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Apr 24, 2024
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/MaxWhen We're Here debuted in 2020, a global pandemic prematurely curtailed the first season. Now entering its fourth year, the HBO docuseries faces a different existential threat: anti-LGBTQ legislation impacting states like Tennessee and Oklahoma.
Not only are four new hosts joining the We're Here family, but they are venturing to only two places this season: Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and Bakersville, Oklahoma (and their surrounding areas). The new line-up of Sasha Velour, Priyanka, Jaida Essence Hall, and Latrice Royale lead the show's mission to spread a message of love and connection in divisive times. They are taking over from the three drag queens who hosted the previous seasons, Eureka, Bob the Drag Queen, and Shangela, who used the transformative power of drag to embolden queer people who live outside the big-city liberal bubble.
While previous seasons of the series revealed the challenges of small-town living for members of the LGBT community, We're Here has now changed its focus as the cultural landscape has become more dangerous. It is why spending three episodes in one place is so effective; the series is looking to the future.
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Apr 24, 2024
Katie Yu/FXFX's Shogun, whose 10-episode season ended Wednesday night, is a remarkable adaptation of James Clavell's 1975 novel. In a landscape of remakes, franchise, and reboots, it is a series that feels remarkably fresh, despite being the fourth time the book has been adapted (including an ill-fated, yet Tony-nominated, 1990 musical). Yet, in a story told almost exclusively in Japanese, perhaps the most remarkable thing about Shogun is how it ends: not with a riotous, prestige television bang, but with a quiet and considered conclusion.
Over the course of its season, Shogun's action simmers under a calm exterior, erupting here and there in sudden bursts of energy. This isn't a world of blood and gore, but one in which a conversation can be violence and death sudden and silent, as Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) connives his way to becoming shogun—the de facto military dictator of Japan. As its palace intrigue intensifies, Shogun is gentle yet decisive in ratcheting up the tension around Toranaga's grand plan.
It's understandable, then, if viewers expect the release of that tension to be explosive. After all, so many characters reference that Toranaga is about to plunge Japan into war and even deep into the finale they talk about the battle to come. I admit, despite familiarity with the book, even I thought Shogun would conclude with a battle—nor would I have blamed co-creators Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks for tossing one in.
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Apr 24, 2024
NetflixI love watching The Circle. The Netflix reality competition series—about a group of people who communicate exclusively through the titular social media app—is a fascinating look at how our lives revolve around and often depend on social media. But while the show's concept is solid and its contestants are larger than life, it sometimes struggles to keep my interest. Watching people talk to a screen can only be so riveting. Thankfully, this season The Circle recognizes its own limitations, and in the latest batch of episodes, delivers a massive twist that shakes up the competition.
(Warning: Spoilers ahead.)
A shake-up like the one revealed in the new episodes isn't always a guaranteed success—like the AI reveal from earlier this season that went nowhere. But in Episode 7, there is a "ride or die" twist that takes the show's drama to a whole new, exciting level. It's the best twist in The Circle's history.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty/ReutersAs Donald Trump's hush money trial resumed on Tuesday, David Pecker arrived without the improbable smile he had when he first took the witness stand the day before.
On Monday, the 72-year-old accountant-turned-supermarket sleaze had seemed delighted to appear on center stage, even if it was to testify against a man he had once called a friend. He appeared to be energized by the drama of a courtroom packed with reporters, uniformed court officers and Secret Service agents, and initially seemed completely comfortable to assume the high profile perch of a subpoenaed stool pigeon.
But he must have been more anxious than he at first appeared, for he erupted into a sudden, surprisingly loud laugh when he momentarily had trouble remembering his phone number and the New York address of American Media, Inc. (AMI), where he had been CEO. AMI owns the National Enquirer.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
Comedy CentralOn Tuesday, former National Enquirer chief David Pecker testified for the second day in a row as the first witness in Donald Trump's hush-money trial. While the headlines practically write themselves, it turns out that having a Pecker on the stand wasn't even the wildest part of this week so far.
As The Daily Show correspondents and this week's co-hosts Jordan Klepper and Ronnie Chieng made clear, the most ridiculously entertaining part of the trial's proceedings so far was Jesse Watters' inane claims on Monday that Trump is being subjected to "cruel and unusual" punishment by having to be present at his own trial.
"Clearly Trump thinks he's being treated unfairly in this trial," explained Chieng on Tuesday, "and he's not the only one."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Reuters/Curtis MeansAttorneys for Donald Trump's co-defendants appeared to switch direction in a motion Tuesday, seemingly arguing that FBI agents weren't thorough enough in their search of the ex-president's Mar-a-Lago estate when they retrieved top-secret documents from there in 2022.
The abrupt about-face—after over a year of Trump and his allies decrying the search itself as "unconstitutional" and invasive—referred to the fact that federal investigators missed a "hidden room" near Trump's bedroom and a locked closet during their search of the premises, both of which may have contained classified documents.
Now, attorneys for Trump co-defendant Walt Nauta—and on behalf of Carlos De Oliveira and Trump himself—have demanded that Special Counsel Jack Smith's cough up "records concerning the FBI's apparent failure to search several areas of President Trump's residence during their execution of a search warrant on Mar-a-Lago."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
CNNSen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) is no fan of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), the far-right firebrand whose latest outrage is at House Speaker Mike Johnson for helping to shepherd military aid for Ukraine through the House.
He told CNN Tuesday that she is "a total waste of time" and is "dragging our brand down."
"I think she is uninformed, she is a total waste of time, and I'm embarrassed to have actually lived geographically in her district at one time before she was there," Tillis told CNN reporter Lauren Fox.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/GettyAs his criminal trial gets underway with opening statements and the presentation of the first prosecution witness, defendant Donald Trump's defense lawyers signaled a "throw everything against the wall and see what sticks" strategy that may reflect a desperate attempt to find something-anything-that may appeal to a lone holdout juror.
Indeed, the phrase "you only need one"-or some variation of that-seems to have become mantra among reporters and legal commentators covering the trial. But the scenario of a lone holdout juror causing a "hung jury" and ensuing mistrial is neither the panacea Trump may believe it to be nor as grave a danger that those hoping for a Trump conviction fear it to be.
Classically strong defense opening statements usually vary between a near silent approach-sometimes defense counsel even reserve openings until later in the trial if the rules allow for it-in which the defense lawyer simply reminds the jury of the fact that the prosecution has the extremely high burden of proof and to scrutinize the evidence and witnesses carefully and an approach that lays out the theory of defense.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/GettyAs his criminal trial gets underway with opening statements and the presentation of the first prosecution witness, defendant Donald Trump's defense lawyers signaled a "throw everything against the wall and see what sticks" strategy that may reflect a desperate attempt to find something-anything-that may appeal to a lone holdout juror.
Indeed, the phrase "you only need one"-or some variation of that-seems to have become mantra among reporters and legal commentators covering the trial. But the scenario of a lone holdout juror causing a "hung jury" and ensuing mistrial is neither the panacea Trump may believe it to be nor as grave a danger that those hoping for a Trump conviction fear it to be.
Classically strong defense opening statements usually vary between a near silent approach-sometimes defense counsel even reserve openings until later in the trial if the rules allow for it-in which the defense lawyer simply reminds the jury of the fact that the prosecution has the extremely high burden of proof and to scrutinize the evidence and witnesses carefully and an approach that lays out the theory of defense.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesJust days ago, desperately needed aid to Ukraine was languishing in the U.S. House.
Widely supported restrictions on TikTok were dying in the U.S. Senate.
Now, both are on their way to President Joe Biden's desk.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Reuters/Dado RuvicThe U.S. Senate voted in favor of a bill on Tuesday that will ban TikTok in the U.S. unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, divests entirely from it.
Voting was lopsided in favor of passing the bill, with just 17 senators voting against it. That vote comes on the heels of the legislation passing the House with a vote of 360-58 on Saturday.
The legislation, if signed by Joe Biden, could mean TikTok's days are limited in the U.S. as ByteDance has indicated it has no plans to remove itself from the social network it founded.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/BravoJax Taylor is one of the most nefarious men to ever appear on TV, in both reality and fiction. He's a harrowing character, a man whose depraved nature knows no bounds, while simultaneously being a certified larger-than-life diva. He was simply made to be on TV, and tonight's Vanderpump Rules is proof of that.
It's become long clear that some of the worst people in society make the best stars, a sad fact of life that has given fame to some truly obscene people. Jax is someone who just can't help but soak up the scenery with his desire to start drama every chance he gets. Not only did Jax prove he still can stir it up with the best of them, he lit a fire under the entire cast that helped the show recover from a sluggish episode last week.
Our episode opens on the return of Jax, who meets James and Ally at their apartment to discuss their upcoming event, the "Jax Taylor Saves Vanderpump Rules Party, featuring special guest & legend of the craft, Scheana Shay." Jax's real mission, though, isn't to host an event with Los Angeles' 76th most sought after DJ, but to settle the score with his list of foes.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
MSNBCA pair of students in New York City took it upon themselves to attend the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president on Tuesday, with one telling MSNBC afterwards that it was especially "funny" to see Donald Trump's lawyer, Todd Blanche, get "annihilated" by Judge Juan Merchan.
On Chris Jansing Reports, Hope Harrington and Owen Berenbom shared their experience in the courtroom. In addition to continued testimony from former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, Tuesday's proceedings saw Merchan grill Blanche, who struggled to defend what prosecutors say were Trump's repeated and willful violations of the gag order in the case. Merchan has not yet ruled on a potential punishment for Trump.
Harrington in particular recalled the moment Merchan told Blanche that his discursive responses to his questions meant that he was losing all credibility" with the court.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Scouted/The Daily Beast/Business Wire. Scouted selects products independently. If you purchase something from our posts, we may earn a small commission.
Fashionphiles (and Spice Girl enthusiasts) rejoice: Victoria Beckham's highly-anticipated capsule collection in collaboration with Spanish high-street retailer Mango has finally dropped internationally in stores and online. The Victoria Beckham x Mango drop consists of 46 pieces, including apparel, footwear, handbags, and jewelry, embodying the British ready-to-wear designer's signature knack for imbuing classic, supremely tailored wardrobe staples with unapologetic femininity and a distinctive contemporary flair.
According to Mango, the collaboration's overarching theme was inspired by swimming pools, and more specifically, as Beckham told Vogue, Jane Birkin's character in the 1969 film La Piscine, which is abundantly clear in the collection's slinky slip dresses and the
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Apr 23, 2024
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/GettyThe first person to testify in the first-ever criminal trial of an American president is the former publisher of the National Enquirer. But the supermarket tabloid might not have been around to "catch and kill" stories about Trump's sexual liaisons if it were not for the early financial support of another notorious New York celebrity, the gangster Frank Costello.
And while Trump is not known for his grasp of history, he'd do well to view Costello's relationship with the Enquirer's first publisher as a cautionary tale.
In the 1940s, Frank Costello was known as the Prime Minister of the Underworld owing to his gentlemanly public manner, political connections, and patina of respectability. Costello used the mob's Prohibition-era millions—and the money from its vast illegal gambling empire—to take control of Tammany Hall. This meant that while Costello was the head of what came to be known as the Genovese crime family, he also pretty much ran the Democratic party in New York.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
ReutersBuckingham Palace announced Tuesday that King Charles had appointed Kate Middleton to a prestigious new title—one that's a first in the history of the British royal family.
Middleton, the Princess of Wales, was named Royal Companion of The Order of the Companions of Honour, which makes her the first ever Royal Companion named to that order.
The official royal website says the Order of the Companions of Honour is "a special award granted to those who have made a major contribution to the arts, science, medicine, or government lasting over a long period of time."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty ImagesIf ever there was a way to distract from Tesla's lackluster corporate results on Tuesday, it was this: CEO Elon Musk declared during the company's earnings call that he hopes to sell "sentient humanoid" robots by the end of next year.
Before then, the robots known as "Optimus" will likely be used at Tesla's factories sometime this year, he said. "I think Optimus will be more valuable than everything else [at Tesla] combined," Musk boasted. "If you've got a sentient humanoid that is able to navigate reality and do tasks…there is no meaningful limit to the size of the economy."
Tesla is currently worth roughly half a trillion dollars.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesDonald Trump's hush-money trial in New York City is sure to draw out a cast of characters from Trumpland, from allies to ex-associates who've gone rogue on the former president.
Jury selection wrapped last week, with prosecutors and defense attorneys combining to weed out potentially-biased jurors. In doing so, they put together a list of 41 potential witnesses who may be called on to testify.
Below is a list of the most interesting names from that list—and how they may factor into the highly-anticipated trial.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Andrew Harnik/Getty ImagesSenate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) didn't hesitate to fault talking head Tucker Carlson for spreading Russian propaganda that seriously hindered GOP support for Ukraine.
Asked Tuesday why he thought it was taking so long to pass aid for the eastern European ally, McConnell didn't waste time blaming the loudmouthed conservative media personality.
"I think the demonization of Ukraine began by Tucker Carlson, who in my opinion ended up where he should've been all along, which is interviewing Vladimir Putin," McConnell said.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Sputnik/Alexei Nikolsky/Kremlin via ReutersThe Kremlin is reportedly scrambling to find a successor to Ramzan Kadyrov following reports that the Chechen leader has been diagnosed with necrotizing pancreatitis, a terminal illness, according to Russian media reports.
Kadyrov, also known as "Putin's attack dog" or "Putin's soldier" for his loyalty to Russian President Vladimir Putin, has visited Moscow Central Clinical Hospital regularly through the years to undergo procedures. He was allegedly diagnosed with the illness five years ago.
Ukrainian intelligence last year pointed to Kadyrov's ailing health, noting last year that he was in a coma.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Drew AngererDisgraced ex-Republican George Santos has killed his short-lived bid for a new seat in Congress, announcing his withdrawal from the race for New York's 1st Congressional District on Tuesday.
"I have decided to withdraw from my independent run for #NY1," Santos wrote on X.
He added that he didn't want his run to be portrayed as a "reprisal against" incumbent Nick LaLota, a fellow GOP rep Santos has said he personally dislikes. In an interview with The Daily Beast earlier this month, Santos vehemently denied his bid for LaLota's seat was a "revenge run" against the ex-colleague he once called a "meathead."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Roberto Machado Noa/Getty ImagesA 10-year-old Oklahoma boy woke up alone on Monday morning and found himself the subject of a waking nightmare: while he was sleeping, his entire family had been slain by a father who then turned the gun on himself.
According to a police report, the boy dialed 911 around 9:35 a.m. Monday morning. Responding cops found the bodies of his parents and three siblings upon arriving at the family home. All five of them had been shot to death, the report said.
The boy, whose name has not been released, was unharmed.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Monroe County Sheriff's OfficeA Michigan woman is facing several charges after allegedly drunk driving into a building over the weekend—killing two young children and injuring 13 others.
Marshella Chidester, 66, was charged with eight crimes—including second-degree murder and operating under the influence of alcohol causing death—after she allegedly plowed her SUV into the Swan Boat Club on Saturday afternoon.
Authorities say that Chidester crashed into a children's birthday party and killed 4-year-old Zayna Phillips and his 8-year-old sister, Alanah. Of the 13 others injured in the crash, nine were hospitalized and five remain in critical condition.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesWNBA star Kelsey Plum and New York Giants tight end Darren Waller have filed for divorce after one year of marriage, according to Clark County court records.
The Las Vegas Aces point guard, 29, and the pro footballer, 31, filed a joint petition for divorce on Tuesday. The split came a little more than a year after they first tied the knot in March 2023.
Plum had posted a somber Instagram story hinting that the marriage was over on Tuesday morning.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / GettyKaty Perry, respectfully, what the hell are you doing?
Is it just me, or do we, as a society, collectively ask that question every three months or so? Whether she's duking it out with some nuns over real estate, joining American Idol as a judge more than a decade after it was cool, releasing shoes that resemble blackface and minstrel make-up, or battling another old person for a different piece of real estate, Ms. Perry's moves often feel out of step with what the public might want from a beloved celebrity. (That said, however, I will grant that when she somehow found a way to denounce feminism while accepting a Woman of the Year award in 2012, that was actually very on trend.)
Now, the
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Apr 23, 2024
Yuki Iwamura/GettyFormer National Enquirer boss David Pecker testified on Tuesday that he agreed to be Donald Trump's "eyes and ears" during the then-presidential candidate's campaign for the White House, describing in detail a "highly, highly confidential" effort to bury bad stories about Trump and promote negative ones about his political rivals.
The bombshell moment about the so-called catch-and-kill scheme came amid Pecker's hours-long time on the stand, during which he explained the levers his tabloid pulled in helping get Trump elected.
Pecker said it all began in mid-August 2015, when he attended a meeting at Trump Tower with Trump and his former personal lawyer and "fixer" Michael Cohen. According to Pecker, Cohen invited him there, saying "the boss" wanted to see him.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / GettyAfter a nearly weeklong jury selection process, the criminal hush-money trial of former President Donald Trump kicked off Monday with opening statements and the prosecution's first witness—former National Enquirer chief David Pecker.
Monday's proceedings produced several headlines, such as Pecker discussing his habit of "checkbook journalism" that resulted in him helping arrange a $130,000 payment in 2016 to adult film star Stormy Daniels to kill a story about her alleged one-night stand with Trump.
Over on Fox News, however, much of its trial coverage instead revolved around parroting the ex-president's grievances about the case and how it is akin to "election interference" since he's required to appear in court.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Lexie Moreland/WWD via Getty ImagesA former cameraman for rap star Megan Thee Stallion is suing her for harassment and for creating a "hostile, abusive work environment," according to documents obtained by NBC News. Emilio Garcia told NBC that he worked for the star, who's real name is Megan Pete, starting in 2018 through June 2023.
Garcia alleged that things went downhill for him after he was forced to watch Pete have sex while trapped inside a moving vehicle with her and an unidentified woman in 2022, after he accompanied the star to Ibiza, Spain.
He expanded on the experience in an interview with NBC News, in which he said, "I felt uncomfortable. I was kind of frozen, and I was shocked. At kind of just be the overall audacity to do this right, right beside me."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Lexie Moreland/WWD via Getty ImagesA former cameraman for rap star Megan Thee Stallion is suing her for harassment and for creating a "hostile, abusive work environment," according to documents obtained by NBC News. Emilio Garcia told NBC that he worked for the star, whose real name is Megan Pete, starting in 2018 through June 2023.
Megan denied the allegations soon after, with her attorney, Alex Spiro, telling Page Six: "This is an employment claim for money — with no sexual harassment claim filed and with salacious accusations to attempt to embarrass her. We will deal with this in court."
Garcia alleged that things went downhill for him after he was forced to watch Pete have sex while trapped inside a moving vehicle with her and an unidentified woman in 2022, after he accompanied the star to Ibiza, Spain.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Rebecca Noble/GettyKari Lake's abortion stance is about as clear as the Hudson River.
The MAGA fangirl has switched her position on an antiquated abortion ban once again, telling an Idaho news outlet it is "unfortunate" Arizona's near-total ban isn't being enforced in the state. That statement directly contradicted comments the U.S. Senate candidate made earlier this month, when she asked state legislators to repeal the same Civil War-era ban.
Speaking to the Idaho Dispatch, Lake supported the ban and threw shade at her state's Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs, while discussing a recent state Supreme Court decision to uphold it.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Scott Olson/Getty ImagesThe Department of Justice has agreed to a $138.7 million settlement with victims of sports physician Larry Nassar who accused the FBI of failing to adequately investigate the convicted sex abuser.
Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin Mizer announced the settlement on Tuesday, saying: "For decades, Lawrence Nassar abused his position, betraying the trust of those under his care and medical supervision while skirting accountability."
"These allegations should have been taken seriously from the outset," he said.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Comedy CentralJon Stewart seemed a bit sheepish when he asked famed author Salman Rushdie, a victim of murder attempts on account of his novel Satanic Verses, to weigh in on Paste's byline-less Taylor Swift critique this week on The Daily Show, after the site chose to publish their scathing review of the singer's latest album anonymously due to death threats sent to the writer of their previous Swift critique.
Rushdie was violently attacked and stabbed 15 times in 2022 while giving a lecture in western New York. The acclaimed author was 75 at the time and narrowly escaped with his life. His assailant was motivated by an order for Rushdie's death by Iran's leader in the 1980s, who deemed Rushdie's novel Satanic Verses blasphemous. That assailant later admitted to only reading "a couple pages" of the novel before attacking him.
After experiencing the violence someone can be driven to based
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Apr 23, 2024
Courtesy of YouTubeThe campus of Cal Poly Humboldt, a public university in Arcata, California, has been shut down after a group of pro-Palestine protesters occupied a campus building and clashed with riot police late Monday.
Hundreds of students had gathered outside of Siemens Hall on Monday afternoon as part of a larger protest against Israel's brutal military campaign in Gaza. Several protesters entered the administrative building, which houses the office of Academic Personnel Resources and Human Resources, and attempted to create a barricade, blocking doors with furniture, and setting up tents.
Around 8 p.m. there was a tense encounter between police and protesters. As police armed with shields, batons, and helmets walked into the building, protesters pushed back. One protester used a large plastic water bottle to beat a police officer's helmet. The protesters were ultimately able to push the police back, and out the door of the building.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
PoolDonald Trump just can't help himself.
Moments after a contentious hearing about whether Trump should be held in contempt for violating his narrowly worded gag order, the former president took to his favorite social media platform to trash the judge who holds his fate.
"HIGHLY CONFLICTED, TO PUT IT MILDLY, JUDGE JUAN MERCHAN, HAS TAKEN AWAY MY CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH. EVERYBODY IS ALLOWED TO TALK AND LIE ABOUT ME, BUT I AM NOT ALLOWED TO DEFEND MYSELF," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
mikel roberts/Sygma via Getty ImagesShannen Doherty and Tori Spelling dug into the past on the latest episode of Doherty's podcast Let's Be Clear, as they tried to pinpoint "the pivotal moment" that changed between them in the 2000s, because, as Doherty said, "one minute we were friends and then one minute we weren't."
The former Beverly Hills, 90210 co-stars and close friends had a falling out while filming the series. And Doherty told Spelling on the podcast this week that the way she saw it, Spelling had been easily "swayed" against her by "two certain individuals," and Spelling admitted that she was right. "You know I'm a swayer," she said, "[that's] my downfall."
The two were inseparable in the earlier 90210 years, as Doherty recalled they were "like sisters, like best friends. We were always together." She added, "If I was late, you were late." Their being late brought up the differences in the way the two actresses were treated by their other co-stars. "I always got the brunt of [their complaints]," Doherty said, "Because they're not going to say something to the producer's daughter"—a reference to Aaron Spelling, who produced the show.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / GettyA New York judge did not hold back on Tuesday as prosecutors pushed to hold Donald Trump in contempt for attacking jurors and witnesses—just seven days into his landmark hush money trial.
"You're losing all credibility," Trump's attorney, Todd Blanche, insisted at one point, noting that the former president's team had presented no concrete evidence as they made their defense.
On top of the 34 criminal counts Trump is already facing, prosecutors say his "willful violations" of a limited gag order handed down last month by the judge have crossed the line into outright contempt.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Chris Parypa/GettyThe Federal Aviation Administration is investigating an incident at John F. Kennedy International Airport in which a Swiss Air passenger jet was put on a possible collision course with several other aircraft, reports say.
The Airbus A330-300 was cleared for takeoff on April 17 and was in the initial stages of its run when the crew spotted three planes crossing their path further down the tarmac, according to Simple Flying. The pilots aborted the takeoff and informed Air Traffic Control that there was traffic on the runway.
The three other aircraft—two Delta Air Lines planes and an American Airlines jet—had all landed on another runway and had been given permission to cross the one being used by the Swiss Air plane about 40 seconds before the Swiss Air crew were given clearance for takeoff, according to Aero Inside.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Rabbani and Solimene Photography/GettyA luxury handbag designer was sentenced to 18 months in prison Monday after pleading guilty to illegally importing merchandise that had been made using the pelts of protected wildlife.
Nancy Gonzalez, the 71-year-old founder of Gzuniga, was arrested in Cali, Colombia, in 2022 and later extradited to the U.S. Gonzalez and others had been charged with one count of conspiracy and two counts of smuggling for "illegally importing designer handbags made from caiman and python skin from February 2016 to April 2019," the Justice Department said in a press release.
The DOJ previously said the average retail price for the bags was more than $2,000, alleging that Gonzalez and others would ask friends, relatives, and employees of her manufacturing business in her native Colombia to smuggle the bags into the U.S. by carrying them "on their person or in their luggage while traveling on passenger airlines."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
AFP via Getty A Russian lawmaker took to the stage of a forum on internet safety Tuesday and briefly lost it, complaining that the younger generation should be ashamed for valuing their lives too much.
Alexei Zhuravlev, the first deputy chairman of the State Duma's defense committee, seemed disappointed that more young Russians weren't eager to be used as cannon fodder.
"What if there's a big war tomorrow? What if we go into battle tomorrow? Who will fight? Our generation has been raised for 30 years [like] ‘What is our main value? Life is the main value!' From childhood I was taught: first I have a country, then my family and friends, then some of my values, and only then my own life," he said, according to video of his remarks circulated in Russian media.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Nathan Howard/ReutersThe companies that own and operate the cargo ship that destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge last month were negligent and should be held legally liable for the disaster, the City of Baltimore argued in a legal filing Monday.
The Singapore-based firms said in their own filing last month that the March 26 bridge collapse—in which six construction workers were killed—was not "due to any fault, neglect, or want of care" on their part and asked a federal judge to impose a limit on their legal liability. Now lawyers for Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and the City Council have hit back, arguing that the companies should be liable for whatever damages may be awarded in a jury trial.
Grace Ocean, the Dali's owner, and Synergy Marine, the vessel's manager, had sought to limit their liability to around $43.7 million—the approximate total value of the vessel and its cargo at the time of the crash after deducting the costs of damages and repair work.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Raymond Hall/Getty ImagesBritish aristocrats were entertaining themselves with a furious game of Clue Tuesday, as they tried to figure out the identity of the minor royal who invited the actress Rebel Wilson to a lavish drug-fuelled orgy at a Californian mansion in 2014.
In her newly published memoir, Rebel Rising, Wilson, 44, said: "I got thrown a last-minute invite to a tech billionaire's party—the guy who invited me, who's like fifteenth or twentieth in line to the British throne, had said to my male friend, ‘We need more girls,'" she wrote.
"The party was insane. Men were jousting on horses in a field, girls dressed as mermaids were in the pool… The property was massive, and because it was quite a drive, people had been assigned rooms to sleep there overnight."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
HRH the Princess of Wales / Kensington PalacePrincess Kate is not putting down her camera—but she is leaving photoshop alone.
The Princess of Wales today published on social media a birthday photograph of her six year old son Prince Louis, a little over month after she blew up the internet by posting a badly photoshopped family photo that triggered a tsunami of conspiracy theories about her health.
Her aides told reporters that the image, which showed a smiling Louis relaxing in the garden of the family's Windsor home, had not been edited.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
via VKChechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has responded to a bombshell report that he is on the brink of death and the Kremlin is actively searching for his successor by doing exactly what Vladimir Putin himself would probably do: posting a cringe video of himself working out.
"Remember, taking care of your health is an investment in the future, and consistency and perseverance will lead you to success, both in sports and in life," the self-proclaimed Putin foot soldier wrote in a post on social media. Kadyrov squeezed himself into a bright blue jogging suit for an accompanying one-and-a-half-minute video in which he can be seen doing his stretches before lifting weights.
Tellingly, the video seemed to play up Kadyrov's aides struggling with the workout, before showing a clearly rehearsed-and maybe a little homoerotic-moment in which the Chechen tyrant easily tosses his aide to the ground.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
David Dee Delgado/ReutersA video posted online Monday night appears to show actor Alec Baldwin slapping a phone out of a woman's hand as she repeatedly demanded that he say "free Palestine" and heckled him about his ongoing manslaughter case.
The footage was posted on the X account of Crackhead Barney & Friends. "White devil Alec Baldwin attacked me While I was trying to get coffeee [sic]" a caption alongside the video read.
It's unclear when the incident took place, but it appears to have happened in a Maman coffee shop in New York City, according to the New York Post. The footage appears to show the 66-year-old being accosted by the woman as he stands near the cash register.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Shawn Thew/Getty ImagesRep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) thinks Donald Trump's opponents don't just want to see him jailed for his alleged crimes, they actually want him dead.
Joining conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on his Infowars show on Monday, the Georgia Republican said she believes Democrats are using "rigged" trials against Trump in the hope that he will be imprisoned for the rest of his life and possibly "murdered somewhere in jail." "This is how serious they are," she said.
Greene's comments came after the opening of Trump's trial in Manhattan where he faces 34 felony counts for allegedly falsifying business records in an effort to cover up an affair with porn star Stormy Daniels. Trump has denied the charges as well as all of the others in three other criminal cases.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesMelania Trump's soft launch back onto the campaign trail—or at least the fundraising circuit—began in earnest over the weekend, with the former first lady making an appearance for Log Cabin Republicans at a quiet Mar-a-Lago event.
Although she was with former President Donald Trump for a high-dollar soirée in Palm Beach earlier this month, Melania's Saturday evening cameo for gay Republicans was her first solo appearance this election cycle. And as far as headliners for LGBT conservatives, the former first lady was a major get, as the Log Cabin Republicans group officially kicks off its 2024 election season.
Melania—wearing a black Michael Kors pantsuit with a taut black belt and a pair of Christian Louboutin heels to match—was introduced by gay Republican Ric Grenell, who served in the Trump administration and is now a "shadow secretary of state" for Trump. (Grenell was Trump's U.S. ambassador to Germany before becoming acting Director of National Intelligence for three months, making him the first openly gay person to serve in a presidential Cabinet.)
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesCall them the FLEAS: Failed Leaders Exploiting America.
Much like the third-tier expat British bankers in Hong Kong once known as the FILTH (Failed in London, Try Hong Kong), a steady stream of disgraced British politicians are now beating a path across the Atlantic, reinventing themselves as political seers with the aid of a flattering chyron and a cut-glass British accent.
Take, for example, the latest of these arrivals, Liz Truss, the "former British Prime Minister" now flogging her book, Ten Years to Save the West, which she has not always managed to hold the right way up when she appears on TV, to the right-wing blogosphere on an American speaking tour.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/GettyPrince Louis turns 6 tomorrow and it's fair to say that the youngest child of the Waleses has vastly added to the gaiety of the nation, indeed the world, since he was introduced to the world on the steps of London's St Mary's Hospital's Lindo Wing in 2018 in the arms of his mom Kate Middleton, with dad Prince William standing by.
The child made his next appearance with his proud-as-punch family in July 2018, when he was christened in a small ceremony at St James's Palace. His full name? A very restrained Louis Arthur Charles.
Louis made his first cover when he was snapped with his grandpa, then-Prince Charles—aka Grandpa Wales—by trusted photographer Chris Jackson.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/GettyPrince Louis turns 6 Tuesday, and it's fair to say that the youngest child of the Waleses has vastly added to the gaiety of the nation, indeed the world, since he first appeared on the steps of London's St Mary's Hospital's Lindo Wing in 2018 in the arms of his mom Kate Middleton, with dad Prince William standing by.
The child made his next appearance with his proud-as-punch family in July 2018, when he was christened in a small ceremony at St James's Palace. His full name? A very restrained Louis Arthur Charles.
Louis made his first cover when he was snapped with his grandpa, then-Prince Charles—aka Grandpa Wales—by trusted photographer Chris Jackson.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty ImagesIn recent days, we have witnessed chaos on and around the Columbia University campus, as threats against Jewish students have created an intolerable and combustible atmosphere.
A woman attempting to hide her identity held up a sign with an arrow pointing toward pro-Israel students that read "Al-Qasam's Next Target," a reference to Hamas' military wing. Other protesters told students, "Go back to Europe. Go back to Poland."
Another protester shouted, "The 7th of October is going to be every day for you," in reference to Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Others sang a chant, which included the words, "We support Hamas' fight!" and "Hamas we love you. We support your rockets too!" An Arab-Israeli journalist was allegedly assaulted by agitators. These are just a few of the alleged threats and
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Apr 23, 2024
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/GettyThe below is an excerpt from Married… With Children vs. the World: The Inside Story of the Shock-Com that Launched FOX and Changed TV Comedy Forever by Richard Gurman.
Season 3 of Married… With Children was to the family sitcom what The Godfather Trilogy was to the gangster film, except Married had more senseless violence, gratuitous sex, and a less sympathetic family.
The blood started flowing early on Married when we shot what was supposed to be our third season (1998-1999) opening episode, "A Period Piece." The period in question was a shared menstrual cycle—Peggy, Kelly, and Marcy—which came, as fate and sitcom traditions would have it, at the worst possible time. Not only did it disrupt a temporary truce among the usually hostile Bundy/Rhoades neighbors who had decided to share a weekend vacation together in a one-room cabin in the wilderness, it triggered primal instincts in wild animals that surrounded the cabin, trapping the families in.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty/ReutersListen to this full episode of The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and Stitcher.
It may be early days, but the judge handling Donald Trump's historic hush money trial—in which the former president is accused of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 presidential election—has already made some important rulings.
That's according to The New Abnormal co-host Andy Levy, who explains on this week's episode that among those decisions from Judge Juan Merchan is a ruling that will allow prosecutors to ask Trump about both verdicts rendered against Trump in defamation cases brought by the writer E. Jean Carroll.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty/ReutersListen to this full episode of The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and Stitcher.
It may be early days, but the judge handling Donald Trump's historic hush money trial—in which the former president is accused of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 presidential election—has already made some important rulings.
That's according to The New Abnormal co-host Andy Levy, who explains on this week's episode that among those decisions from Judge Juan Merchan is a ruling that will allow prosecutors to ask Trump about both verdicts rendered against Trump in defamation cases brought by the writer E. Jean Carroll.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Courtesy of Paul BlumenthalFred Armisen. Kate McKinnon. Ryan Gosling…
Lots of actors have parodied, or at least played characters inspired by, Robert Durst, the real estate heir and convicted murderer who died in 2022.
But to actually play Durst in the miniseries that made him a household name, HBO's The Jinx?
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Ed Miller/NetflixBaby Reindeer is not the sort of show you'd necessarily expect to take over Netflix. It's not a sensational true-crime drama, a flashily produced adaptation of pre-existing IP, or a genre show about a gaggle of adorable kids venturing into the Upside Down. Instead, writer-actor Richard Gadd's surprise viral hit is a shattering, deeply humane, and personal story about his experience with a stalker.
Really, Gadd's seven-episode series unfurls two parallel narratives. In the present, he's dealing with Martha—a relentless stalker whom he met while working at a bar. At the same time, the ordeal also forces him to process an even more traumatic experience that happened five years beforehand, when he was an aspiring comedian in his early twenties.
In the series, which is currently the No. 1 show on Netflix in the U.S., Gadd plays Donny Dunn—a fictionalized version of himself. Speaking with the streamer's editorial site Tudum, Gadd confirmed the show's introductory text, which states that the series is a true story.
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Apr 23, 2024
MGM /Courtesy Everett CollectionThere are roughly 47,000—oh, wait, a new Netflix Original just dropped; make that 47,001—TV shows and movies coming out each week. At Obsessed, we consider it our social duty to help you see the best and skip the rest.
We've already got a variety of in-depth, exclusive coverage on all of your streaming favorites and new releases, but sometimes what you're looking for is a simple Do or Don't. That's why we created See/Skip, to tell you exactly what our writers think you should See and what you can Skip from the past week's crowded entertainment landscape.
See: ChallengersRead more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Comedy CentralIf loving a good David Pecker joke is wrong, Jessica Williams doesn't want to be right. The former Daily Show senior correspondent dropped by her old stomping grounds on Monday to weigh in on Donald Trump's hush-money trial—and to tell former boss Jon Stewart to stop complaining.
Stewart started off his Monday monologue by calling out the many media outlets who are tracking Trump's every move surrounding the trial, including his daily drive from Midtown to Lower Manhattan to simply arrive at the courthouse (with helicopters tracking his vehicle's every last turn).
"Seriously, are we gonna follow this guy to court every fucking day," Stewart wanted to know. "Are you trying to make this O.J.? It's not a chase. He's commuting."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 23, 2024
Brendan McDermid/ReutersOn the eve of Tuesday's contempt hearing in New York regarding whether Donald Trump repeatedly violated the gag order in his criminal trial, the indicted former president appeared to do so yet again, criticizing the jury as being from "a purely Democrat area" and lamenting that it's a "very unfair situation" for him.
Trump began by taking aim at Judge Juan Merchan, echoing comments he made last week. "This judge, who is a totally conflicted person, by the way—he should not be the judge of this case. He's so conflicted, nobody's ever been as conflicted as him, just about, but this judge said I can't get away from the trial. You know he's rushing the trial," Trump said Monday night on Outside the Beltway, a radio show on Real America's Voice, before moving on to the jury.
"That jury was picked so fast—95% Democrats. The area is mostly all Democrats. You think of it as just a purely Democrat area," the former president added. "It's a very unfair situation, that I can tell you." Trump did not cite a source for his claims.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
Reuters/Sam WolfeDonald Trump is poised to receive an additional 36 million shares of Trump Media on Tuesday—a so-called "earnout" bonus that'd be worth more than $1 billion at Monday's closing price.
To officially secure the earnout, the former president needs Trump Media, the parent company of his Truth Social app, to be trading at more than $17.50 per share when the closing bell rings on Tuesday afternoon.
With Trump Media trading at double that amount per share on Monday, it'd take a last-second implosion for Trump to not qualify for the share infusion that will add a significant chunk to his net worth.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
Getty Images/Faith AktasA New York University official confirmed the NYPD made "a number of arrests" on its campus Monday evening, claiming a demonstration in front of its business school spiraled into an impromptu encampment that included "intimidating chants" from hundreds of pro-Palestine protesters.
In a statement to The Daily Beast, NYU spokesperson John Beckman said the university called on cops—who, according to NYU's student-run newspaper, arrived in riot gear along with massive buses to whisk away detained protesters—for assistance after demonstrators refused to leave an on-campus plaza.
"Today's events did not need to lead to this outcome," Beckman said.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty ImagesColumbia Journalism School alumni descended into a heated row last week after a film director and producer who graduated from the school referred to some campus demonstrators as "murderous crackpots" and "pro-terror wack jobs," prompting fierce backlash from other alumni in a Facebook thread.
Norman Green, a 67-year-old Brooklyn-based producer and director who worked on True Life and Paranormal State—among other television shows, came under fire Thursday after responding to a message condemning the arrests of some 100 demonstrators protesting against the war in Gaza last week.
"These protesters are unhinged. Nihilistic, pro-terror wack jobs. I'll post a link," Green wrote on a Columbia alumni Facebook thread reviewed by The Daily Beast, linking to several videos from the campus protests. "Maybe murderous, genocidal narcissists merit a response"
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
Fox NewsJesse Watters on Monday lamented the "cruel and unusual punishment" inflicted on Donald Trump in the form of a mandatory court appearance four days a week.
In the latest instance of Watters dutifully having the indicted former president's back, the Fox News host spinned a woeful, hyperbolic tale of all that was unfair with Trump having to abide by the legal process.
"The guy needs exercise. He's usually golfing. And so you're going to put a man who is almost 80 sitting in a room like this on his butt for all that time? It's not healthy. You know how big of a health nut I am," Watters said on The Five.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/GettyThere is a simple solution to the student protests at Columbia University and a growing number of other campuses over the Israel-Hamas war: universities should enforce their own student conduct codes and only ask for police help when a crime has been committed.
The botched response that saw Columbia simultaneously seeking the arrest of students as well as imposing suspensions and expulsions without going through their normal disciplinary process reflects an abandonment of principles, as well as common sense.
The situation started with the pressure applied by loudmouth billionaires like Bill Ackman, whose selective outrage over students expressing their First Amendment rights ignored his own expressions of support for a the vigilante shooter Kyle Rittenhouse, who killed two unarmed people and maimed a third at a 2020 Black Lives Matter protest in Wisconsin.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesFor reporters at Columbia University's independent, student-run paper the Columbia Daily Spectator, covering the chaos flaming the university's metal gates over the Israel-Hamas war has become both a mission to get the first draft of history right and a quest to make sure the national press doesn't get it wrong.
"Our reporters have really been working overtime," said Esha Karam, the 21-year-old managing editor of the Daily Spectator. "We've been on the ground, covering protests both inside and outside of campus at all times and all hours. We've faced unique challenges both as students who are living on campus and reporting at the same time. We've tried to gain a diverse array of perspectives."
Columbia has had to deal with hordes of protestors in and outside its gates, an uprising from its staff and students, a shift to virtual classes, and calls for President Minouche Shafik to join other Ivy League leaders in resignation over her decision to allow the NYPD to clear out a "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" that resulted in the largest mass arrests on Columbia's campus since 1968, when officers used violence to clear out students protesting the Vietnam War. It followed her
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Apr 22, 2024
Tom Williams/GettyTony Bobulinski, the former Hunter Biden business associate who became the House GOP's "star witness" in its sputtering and largely evidence-free impeachment campaign against President Joe Biden, filed a $20 million defamation lawsuit against Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) on Monday.
Accusing the Maryland Democrat of "deliberately and maliciously besmirching the character" of Bobulinski, the latest complaint adds to a growing list of lawsuits filed by Bobulinski against Democrats and anti-Trump figures over allegations they've made about him and his impeachment testimony.
Much like previous suits he's filed in recent weeks, Bobulinski first demanded a complete retraction and deletion of the alleged defamatory remarks before filing his multi-million dollar complaint. In this instance, Bobulinksi sent his demand letter to Raskin on April 10, claiming that the congressman neither responded nor complied with the request.
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Apr 22, 2024
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty Images/Associated PressThose who've held the highest office in the U.S. have come from a number of different backgrounds and campaigned on myriad different issues over the centuries.
Behind closed doors, however, many shared a single scandalous trait—they cheated on their wives, both in and out office.
While some turned into legacy-defining scandals, like Bill Clinton, others remained largely a secret. Below is a list of eight presidents who (allegedly) cheated on their spouses.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for PEN AmericaWriters group PEN America has canceled its 2024 literary awards ceremony following months of protests by pro-Palestine writers who criticized its stance on Gaza as milquetoast and too sympathetic to Israel.
Instead of holding the planned April 29 Manhattan event, PEN America released the names of its finalists and winners. Some authors had chosen to withdraw their names from consideration in the nominee pool, but PEN said they had selected winners before the exits were made.
In a release, the organization's Literary Programming Chief Officer, Rosaz Shariyf, called it a "very difficult decision" not to move forward with the public celebration.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / GettyOn Monday—the first day of substance in the criminal trial of former President Donald Trump for alleged election interference—a few important aspects of the case started to come into focus.
Reading the tea leaves, the "You Can't Trust Michael Cohen" approach probably isn't going to cut it, and the defense will likely have to scramble to come up with at least a backup strategy to prevent a conviction. Trump's defense team is currently on a losing streak in a run of attempted procedural maneuvers designed to stymie the prosecution.
How has Trump's team fared, specifically, in its efforts to throw whatever roadblocks it could to try to impede this case?
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
David Dee Delgado/Getty ImagesA Jewish Israeli professor at Columbia found his access to campus denied on Monday morning as he attempted to join a planned counter protest, exacerbating tensions over competing pro-Israel and Palestine demonstrations even as the university tries to keep the pressure from spilling over.
Video of the incident shows Prof. Shai Davidai, who organized the counter-protest in support of Israel, attempting to access campus only to find his ID card deactivated.
"I am a professor here, I have every right to be everywhere on campus. You cannot let people that support Hamas on campus, and me, a professor, not go on campus," he says in the video, addressing Columbia's Chief Operating Officer Cas Holloway.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
Victor J. Blue-Pool/Getty ImagesDonald Trump just can't help himself.
New York State Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan handed down a gag order last month—which he expanded last week—barring the former president from badmouthing or threatening jurors, potential witnesses, attorneys, court staff, or their family members, due to Trump's penchant for making "threatening, inflammatory, [or] denigrating" statements about those who dare cross him.
Still, the 45th commander-in-chief—now facing 34 felony charges for falsifying business records related to, among other things, a $130,000 payoff to porn star Stormy Daniels to shut her up in the days leading to the 2016 presidential election about a one-night stand she says they had—was unable to hold back on Monday.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
Jane Rosenberg/ReutersFormer National Enquirer boss David Pecker may have once modeled his management style on Donald Trump, but on Monday, he locked his gaze firmly away from the former president as he testified against him in Manhattan Criminal Court.
Trump, on the other hand, stared a hole right through his old pal during his time on the stand, which ended abruptly in less than 30 minutes due to a juror's dental emergency.
The 72-year-old publishing magnate on Monday became the first-ever witness to appear in a criminal trial over alleged crimes involving a former U.S. president. He told the jury, in response to questioning by the defense, that he was there thanks to a subpoena requiring him to appear. Prosecutors say Pecker, who is not formally charged with any wrongdoing, was part of a conspiracy cooked up by Trump and his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to deep-six any unflattering news about the then-presidential candidate so as not to harm his chances of winning the 2016 election that put him in the Oval Office.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
Charles Sykes/Getty ImagesRebel Wilson claims a low-ranking member of the British royal family invited her to get down and dirty in a sex-and-drugs-filled, medieval-themed romp hosted by an unnamed U.S. tech billionaire.
In her memoir Rebel Rising—in which she's already dropped bombshell accusations against Sacha Baron Cohen and a number of other parties—the 44-year-old comedian recalled her unexpected invite to the lavish party by the mystery royal, whom she never names.
"I got thrown a last-minute invite to a tech billionaire's party - the guy who invited me, who's like fifteenth or twentieth in line to the British throne, had said to my male friend, ‘We need more girls,'" she wrote.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
Scouted/The Daily Beast/Marina Demidova/iStock.Scouted selects products independently. If you purchase something from our posts, we may earn a small commission.
Uncork the bubbly and draw an excessively sudsy bath, because we've officially made it to Taurus season. This year, the zodiac's most indulgent earth sign will reign from April 19 to May 20, and remind us all to celebrate life's creature comforts by sleeping in, eating out, and finally smashing the order button on a luxurious linen duvet cover.
If there's a Taurus or two in your life, congratulations. Not only do you have a stalwart friend and epicurean by your side, but you have the very sick task of finding the perfect birthday present for one of the most gift-able zodiac signs. Sure, Taurus has earned the reputation of being a human Snorlax, which is totally fair, but there's an intensity and drive behind the impeccable taste of this sign, repped by the bull, that also makes them a ride-or-die partner. In the words of our favorite Taurus diva, Cher, "I'm very chill, I'm really sweet, and if you fuck with me, I'll mop the floor with you."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
Drew Angerer/GettyFormer CNN star and ex-Meta executive Campbell Brown sparked confusion this week by saying she was going to Israel, where it would be safer for her Jewish children than her native Upper West Side, amid ongoing pro-Palestinian protests against the war in Gaza.
Brown's husband Dan Senor, the former Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq chief spokesman and Mitt Romney foreign policy adviser, reacted to his wife's X post with an emoji-filled tweet expressing solidarity with Israel.
While Brown's tweet (and her husband's reaction) seemingly suggested they are uprooting her family for a move to Israel, a source familiar with the situation told The Daily Beast that the ex-CNN anchor was merely traveling there to celebrate the Jewish high holiday of Passover and is not permanently moving there.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty Images/Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for CAARebel Wilson's memoir Rebel Rising has hit some legal snags in its journey to United Kingdom and her native Australian bookshelves, and now that the book has finally been released in the U.K. (the Australian release has been delayed until August 2024, according to the publisher's website), the Sacha Baron Cohen chapter looks a lot different from the one released in the U.S.
The book has been published in the UK with Wilson's claims against Baron Cohen—namely, that he'd asked her to perform a sexual act on him in front of other crew members on set of their film Grimsby—covered by black bars, The Daily Beast has confirmed. Getty photos of the book show the pages of the book with Wilson's Baron Cohen claims unreadable. According to U.K. paper The Telegraph, the redaction was the work of Baron Cohen's attorneys.
Reps for Cohen previously told The Daily Beast that Wilson's claims were "demonstrably false,
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Apr 22, 2024
ANTONIN UTZIn case you haven't noticed, Taylor Swift dropped a new album last week—a somewhat meandering yet genuinely surprising double album, in fact; called The Tortured Poets Department. The first half of the album leaked on the internet before it could be officially released, a near-unprecedented breach in the Swift canon.
Although Swift needs no help from conventional modes of promotion at this point, fans noticed over the weekend that Swift had enlisted the aid of big tech to disseminate her new tunes. Specifically, if you yell at your Amazon Alexa about Swift-related things, Swift herself will answer.
According to Variety, if you tell your Alexa, cloyingly, "I'm a member of the tortured poets department," Swift will reveal the inspiration behind the tracks "Fortnight," "Clara Bow," "Florida!!!," "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" and "My Boy Only Breaks His Favorit
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Apr 22, 2024
Amanda YenNew York University faculty members joined the pro-Palestine protest on campus Monday afternoon, just after the university ordered protesters to disperse.
Video from the scene showed faculty members forming a wall around student protesters as they defied the 4 p.m. order to leave.
Earlier, NYU students had joined a rapidly expanding pro-Palestine protest movement on Monday morning, pitching tents, waving flags, and raising megaphones as they launched their "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" to protest U.S. aid to Israel.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
Amanda YenStudents at New York University joined a rapidly expanding pro-Palestine protest movement on Monday morning, pitching tents, waving flags, and raising megaphones as they launched their "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" to protest U.S. aid to Israel.
"As of 6 am this morning, NYU students have occupied the Gould Plaza, launching our chapter of the Gaza Solidarity Encampment," an Instagram post by NYU's Palestine Solidarity Coalition announced.
"Standing in solidarity with Palestinians facing 75 years of occupation and 198 days of the ongoing genocide, we at NYU refuse to remain complicit."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
Victor J. Blue/ReutersOpening statements had not yet begun on Monday when former President Donald Trump dozed off for the first time.
He quickly opened his eyes when defense attorney Todd Blanche slid him a note, as prosecutors prepared to kick off opening arguments in the historic trial, which hinges on accusations that the former president falsified business records over a $130,000 hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in an effort to keep her quiet as the 2016 presidential election loomed.
The trial marks the first-ever criminal proceedings against a former commander-in-chief, who faces four years behind bars, if convicted.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
Eva Evans/InstagramTikTok star Eva Evans, who shared her fabulous life in New York City with hundreds of thousands of followers and created the Amazon series Club Rat, has died at the age of 29, her sister revealed on Instagram.
"please share this post so that it reaches everyone it needs to," Lila said in the Sunday post. "yesterday my family received news that our sweet, fabulous, creative, caring, hilarious Eva, my beautiful sister, has died. after 24 hours, i still find myself in a constant cycle of denial and acceptance, so i know how unbelievable and hard to process this news will be."
"we will be holding a celebration of Eva this coming Tuesday, 4/23, in the evening in lower Manhattan," Lila's post continued. "i wish i had Eva here now to refer to because she would have better words and know how to say what i don't."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
Chris Jackson/ReutersHuw Edwards, the veteran BBC host suspended amid allegations that he'd paid a teenager for sexually explicit images, has resigned, the broadcaster said Monday.
Edwards has been off air since July in the wake of the bombshell reports which, at first, did not name him as the host at the heart of claims being made against a well-known employee of the national broadcaster. After days of frenzied speculation in Britain, Edwards' wife revealed that her husband—the man the BBC chose to front major national events including the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II—was the person about whom the allegations had been made.
"Huw Edwards has today resigned and left the BBC," a BBC spokesman said Monday. "After 40 years of service, Huw has explained that his decision was made on the basis of medical advice from his doctors." The spokesperson said the BBC had accepted Edwards' resignation "which it believes will allow all parties to move forward."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
Hannah McKay/ReutersThe head of Israel's military intelligence stepped down on Monday in connection with Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks, the first resignation of a senior Israeli official over the failure to prevent the deadliest terror attack in the country's history.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva would be relieved of his duties and retire once a successor has been appointed. "The intelligence directorate under my command did not live up to the task we were entrusted with," Haliva wrote in a resignation letter.
Haliva publicly said soon after the rampage that he was partly responsible for failing to thwart the attacks. Hamas militants killed 1,200 people—most of whom were civilians—during the assault, while around 250 more were abducted and taken as hostages in Gaza, according to Israeli figures.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
Guglielmo Mangiapane/ReutersAustralian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday said he found it "extraordinary" that Elon Musk's X would choose to legally challenge an order to remove certain posts related to a bishop being stabbed on a church livestream.
Videos of the attack on Mar Mari Emmanuel at the Assyrian Christ the Good Shepherd church in Sydney spread rapidly online following the incident. Australia's eSafety commissioner issued orders to X—formerly known as Twitter—and Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, to remove posts including graphic footage of the attack.
While Meta complied with the order, X objected, saying on Friday that some of the posts that were ordered to be removed "publicly commented on the recent attack" but "did not violate X's rules on violent speech." The company also said it did not believe the order fell within the scope of Australian law and that the commissioner "does not have the authority to dictate what content X's users can see globally."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
Abigail Spencer / InstagramIt's all hands to the pumps at Meghan Markle's Montecito mansion when it comes to promoting her new jam.
The latest recruit to the American Riviera Orchard publicity train? Her rescue dog, Mamma Mia.
Mamma Mia—a Beagle who was rescued from an animal testing facility with eight pups—was adopted by Meghan and her husband Prince Harry in 2022, joining their other rescue dog, Guy.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
James D. Morgan/GettyComedian Arj Barker released a statement Monday defending his decision to ask a breastfeeding mother to leave his show in Australia over the weekend due to her baby allegedly disrupting the performance.
The American comic was on stage at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne on Saturday night as part of the city's international comedy festival when he asked the mother, Trish Faranda, and her 7-month-old daughter, Clara, to leave. Around 10 others also walked out of the show in solidarity, Faranda told The Age.
Faranda says her baby was giggling and gurgling occasionally during the show and that she began breastfeeding when Clara started to "whinge." It was then, she claims, that Barker stood in front of her and speaking on the microphone "was basically saying that I was interrupting his rhythm and I should leave," she told The Age. "Then he turned to the crowd to get support from them to say, ‘Get out.'"
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/GettyDonald Trump likes to project himself on the campaign trail as a tough, "law and order" president who always "backs the blue."
At nearly every campaign stop, his advance team arranges for law enforcement photo ops, and a central part of his campaign message is that he wants the law strictly enforced and is always on the side of the police.
After NYPD officer Jonathan Diller was shot and killed in the line of duty last month, Trump scrambled a flight from Florida up to New York City to attend the slain officer's memorial service. His campaign arranged for Diller's family to pose for pictures with the ex-president, while Trump complained that violence against police officers is "happening all too often and we're just not going to let it happen."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/GettyThe Russian who loaned Donald Trump's social media platform Truth Social $8 million previously set up websites selling dodgy sex pills, according to records seen by The Daily Beast.
The flagship product sold by these sites, Vimax—which promises longer sex and a firmer erection—has prompted warnings from health regulators in the U.S. for containing hidden ingredients that may endanger health. The Food and Drug Administration warned consumers not to buy the supposedly natural male enhancement supplements, and told anyone who had bought the tablets to throw them out.
The sites where the pills were sold included vimaxtrialoffer.com which was registered in the name of Anton Postolnikov, 40, according to public domain ownership records. The Gmail account used to set that up was also used for vimax-detox-trial.com and vimax-trials.com. For communications regarding the pills, a series of email addresses @vimaxgroup.com were also set up and registered in Postolnikov's name.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/GettyDonald Trump is on trial for his freedom, staring down the potential of years in jail, and he's got one big complaint about how it's going thus far: He's cold.
"I'm sitting here from morning 'til night in that freezing room. Freezing. Everybody was freezing in there," the former president said after exiting the courtroom Thursday.
Trump's attorney has pleaded with New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan to turn up the heat to no avail, with the judge explaining that the old courthouse can't control the temperature with exactitude, forcing them to either brave a mildly chilly courtroom or a sweltering one.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
Courtesy of Conaco / MaxEvery American late-night TV host has striven to follow Johnny Carson's path to success both in status and in ratings, but not a single one of them has managed to stick the landing quite like Carson.
Carson famously retired from The Tonight Show in 1992 and—despite living another 13 years—never looked back at the TV cameras. Neither Jay Leno nor David Letterman, nor any of their successors or competitors, can say the same.
And the opening sequence of the recently released Conan O'Brien Must Go even mocks its host for it.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily BeastBefore the Arizona Supreme Court ruled last week to let the state's Civil War-era abortion ban stand, the campaign to put abortion rights directly on the state's ballot this November was coasting along.
But with a stroke of a pen, the court enacted what could be the harshest abortion ban in the country—and also unleashed a tsunami of energy behind a ballot initiative that could reverse that ban by allowing Arizonans to vote to secure the right to abortion in the state constitution.
It also could sway a Senate election and be decisive in the presidential contest.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/GettyDo you know the lyric? The lyric heard round the world? You'll find it on the title track of Taylor Swift's new album, The Tortured Poets Department: "You smoked then ate seven bars of chocolate/ We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist," Swift croons on the second track. It's kind of a backhanded compliment: "We like you, Charlie, but those Grammy nominations and multi-platinum singles aren't really all that great."
Fans and haters of Swift alike have joined in harmony to ask: Where did this Charlie Puth infatuation come from? My follow-up question, of course: Does Swift know the phrase "I'm hungies?" Let's hope Travis Kelce doesn't get his hands on that one; seems like a phrase he'd quickly become a fan of.
The answer is that, the closer you look at Swift's interactions with Puth online over the years, the more obvious this connection should've been to the Swifties. In fact, it's perhaps a little shocking Puth himself doesn't cameo on "The Tortured Poets Department," harmonizing with Swift on the line following
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Apr 22, 2024
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/UniversalIt might be hard to imagine how any human character could steal the show in a movie all about a 12-year-old vampire-ballerina, but in the deliciously absurd horror movie Abigail, Angus Cloud does just that—even despite limited screen time.
(Warning: Spoilers for Abigail below.)
Before Cloud's tragic death by accidental drug overdose last summer, the ascendant actor had made a name for himself playing the soulful, empathetic drug dealer Fezco on Euphoria. In Abigail, which marks one of Cloud's last projects, he gets to flex a more comedic muscle as "Dean"—a getaway driver who might like drinking just a little too much. From his naturalistic stage presence to his impeccable comedic timing, Cloud makes a meal of this role, even if his character exits way too soon.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
HBOOrdinary Americans, military pilots, and even former President Jimmy Carter have claimed to have seen unidentified flying objects in the sky over the past 77 years, and on Sunday night, John Oliver said "it's both promising and long overdue" to see the U.S. government taking the issue of UFOs more seriously.
On this week's episode of Last Week Tonight, Oliver brought viewers up to speed on America's UFO obsession since the first public reports in 1947, alleging how both government officials and mainstream media either deceived or dismissed virtually all eyewitness testimonials.
"From the very beginning of our modern obsession with UFOs, there's been a belief that our government is keeping something from us, and that mistrust has been well-earned," Oliver said.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 22, 2024
Michael Hubrich via Getty ImagesA new report urges Europe to invest in more renewable energy after it was reveled the be the fastest-warming continent—heating up at approximately twice the global average.
According to the joint report by the U.N.'s World Meteorological Organization and the European Union's climate agency, Copernicus, Europe has seen a rise in renewable resources in 12 months-up to 43% in 2023 in comparison to 36% in 2022. More renewable energy has been generated than from fossil fuels in Europe for the second consecutive year.
But not all of the news is so good. 2023 was the second-warmest year on record for Europe, at 1.02-1.12°C above average, according to the report. Meanwhile, Europe has recorded the three warmest years on record since 2020, and the ten warmest since 2007. Temperatures in Europe were also above average for 11 months of the year, with September the warmest on record.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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