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Jan 01, 2050
Chip Somodevilla/Getty
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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 17, 2024
Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesThe Donald Trump campaign is asking for political candidates who want to use his name, image, and likeness in fundraising pushes to pony up, kicking back at least 5 percent of any money raised as a result, according to a letter sent this week to Republican vendors.
"Beginning tomorrow, we ask that all candidates and committees who choose to use President Trump's name, image, and likeness split a minimum of 5% of all fundraising solicitations to Trump National Committee JFC," reads the letter, dated Monday and signed by co-campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivitae. "This includes but is not limited to sending to the house file, prospecting vendors, and advertising.
"Any split that is higher than 5% will be seen favorably by the RNC and President Trump's campaign and is routinely reported to the highest levels of leadership within both organizations," they promised.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Fox NewsJesse Watters on Wednesday fawned over Donald Trump's post-trial appearance at a Harlem bodega the day prior, highlighting onlookers' supportive chants and insisting that the limo-riding former president—who has repeatedly claimed that shoppers have to show photo ID to simply buy a loaf of bread—"still knows the cost of living."
The Fox News host opened his show with selected clips from Trump's stop at Sanaa Convenient Store. The location drew headlines two years ago when a clerk, who had fatally stabbed a man in apparent self-defense, was initially charged with murder. The Manhattan district attorney's office ultimately dropped the charges, but the incident has often been cited by Republicans in their criticisms of Alvin Bragg's prosecutorial decisions regarding violent crime.
Watters, reacting to how those gathered outside the store were chanting Trump's name, argued that Trump hasn't lost touch with blue collar workers.
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Apr 17, 2024
Gilles Mingasson/DisneyThe second coming of Christ has arrived on Abbott Elementary: Ava Fest is back. Now named "2 Ava 2 Fest," this year's celebration—which is just Abbott's Open House rebranded as a celebration of Ava (Janelle James)—plans to feature Questlove as a headliner. But after Lauryn Hill didn't show up at last year's festival, can anyone trust Ava to actually pull it off now?
No, of course not. But Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph), Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter), and Jacob (Chris Perfetti) are all aware of this and try to do damage control before too many parents get their hopes up. But Ava is so delusional that she thinks an appearance from Questlove is actually happening—they're friends! They go way back! Ava almost "Yoko Ono-ed" The Roots, and Questlove owes her for not following through. He'll show up.
But Melissa, Barb, and Jacob are still uncertain. To put a few fires out before they even start, Jacob whips out Canva—of course Jacob is a Canvanator—to make a new graphic. "QUESTLOVE WILL NOT BE PERFORMING," reads the new invitation for 2 Ava 2 Fest. They've saved th
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Apr 17, 2024
Scouted/The Daily Beast/Omnilux. Scouted selects products independently. If you purchase something from our posts, we may earn a small commission.
If you're into beauty, you've almost certainly seen Omnilux Contour Face on your social feeds—and you've probably considered investing in one if you haven't already. This game-changing, FDA-approved red light therapy face mask has been clinically proven to help reduce fine lines, minimize redness, and lift pigmentation with regular use—and it's got some impressive customer-submitted before-and-after photos to prove it. It's no wonder this red light therapy mask has quickly become one of the most popular models in the LED light therapy mask space.
I reviewed the brand's original Contour Face Mask previously and was thoroughly impressed with how well it improved my crepey, aging skin over the course of only a few weeks. While time is most certainly a thief, my skin looked like it had recaptured years with how smooth it was just by using it three to five times a week.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesOn the first day of former President Donald Trump's hush money trial, Judge Juan Merchan asked the prospective jurors if there was any reason they couldn't be impartial. More than half said yes, which surprised me. Who wanted out this early?
Then again, the jurors are from Manhattan. They're busy.
So far, this case has been Peak Manhattan. The charges themselves are a mix between very serious election interference and a salacious episode of Sex and the City. Mostly election interference, okay! I know it's a really big deal.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty ImagesAn Indianapolis Star sports columnist has apologized for his "clumsy and awkward" comment to Caitlin Clark, the former Iowa Hawkeye basketball star who was drafted first overall by the WNBA's Indiana Fever, during her introductory press conference Wednesday.
Gregg Doyel posted on X, formerly Twitter, a couple hours after videos of his comments to Clark went viral.
"Today in my uniquely oafish way, while welcoming @CaitlinClark22 to Indy, I formed my hands into her signature [heart-sign]. My comment afterward was clumsy and awkward. I sincerely apologize. Please know my heart (literally and figuratively) was well-intentioned. I will do better," Doyel wrote.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Mike Pont/WireImage via Getty ImagesThe former parent of a middle school whose board uninvited 30 Rock actor Maulik Pancholy from speaking at an assembly on anti-bullying is fighting back, starting a change.org petition demanding the openly gay actor be reinstated.
Trisha Comstock said she was "deeply saddened" by the decision of the Cumberland Valley School Board to cancel the assembly scheduled at Mountain View Middle School in Pennsylvania on May 22.
In her change.org petition, Comstock wrote that Pancholy was expected to talk about empathy, anti-bullying, and the books he authored, but when two board members raised concern over his "lifestyle" during an April 15 public meeting, the board unanimously overturned the appearance.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / GettyThere's certainly been a lot of talk about Barron Trump's impending graduation from his exclusive Florida high school, with daddy Donald complaining bigly that the criminal trial underway in Manhattan will keep him from attending the ceremony. We have many questions, including: Did Trump even bother to go any of his other kids' graduations? But even more intriguing is the matter of where Barron will be headed for college.
We hear that NYU is at the top of his list. The school is No. 35 on the U.S. News and World Report rankings, three miles from Trump Tower, and home to the John A. Paulson Center, which was built with a $100 million gift from the hedge-fund billionaire—who threw a fundraiser for Trump at his Palm Beach home in April and raised a whopping $50 million for the MAGA campaign. Tuition and fees for a 2024 freshman comes to $93,000—which Trump can probably afford, even with that $83 million judgment in his civil fraud case hanging over his head.
The Trump camp dodged repeated calls for comment on Barron's plans. NYU—whose notable alums include Martin Scorcese, Woody Allen, Alec Baldwin, Jack Dorsey, Anne Hathaway, Chris Sununu, and Ayo Edebiri—also declined to confirm or deny what we heard. We'
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Apr 17, 2024
Allison Bailey/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty ImagesThe U.S. Senate voted along party lines to dismiss two articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday, ending the proceedings before arguments began and bringing the first impeachment of a sitting cabinet secretary to an ignominious close.
The vote against the first article, which charged Mayorkas with "willful and systemic refusal to comply" with immigration law, was 51-48, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voting "present." For the second article, concerning "breach of trust," Murkowski joined her colleagues, bringing the final tally to 51-49.
It marks the first time in 225 years that the Senate immediately dismissed impeachment charges approved by the house, rather than holding a full floor trial or referring the issue to a special committee, according to The Hill.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Mariel Tyler/NBAE via Getty ImagesJoe Biden subtly called out the WNBA for Caitlin Clark's lowball rookie salary, writing Tuesday that "it's time that we give our daughters the same opportunities as our sons and ensure women are paid what they deserve."
That statement, posted to X, didn't mention Clark by name, but it was clear that the budding superstar—and her measly first-year WNBA salary of $76,535—were the reason behind his comments.
Since its inception in 1996, the WNBA has never come close to having comparable salaries to that of the NBA and other top U.S. professional men's leagues. But as word spread that even Clark wouldn't be paid a six-figure salary in her first year, ire and disbelief quickly spread.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty ImagesFor the second time in as many weeks, Arizona Republicans thwarted an attempt to kill a Civil War-era law that is poised to ban nearly all abortions across the battleground state. A Democrat-led bid to wrestle a repeal bill onto the floor of the state House during a Wednesday legislative session was repeatedly swatted down, with four votes failing in a deadlock.
An uproar over the decision by the Arizona Supreme Court last week to uphold the 1864 abortion ban prompted even some GOP figureheads, former President Donald Trump and Arizona U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake chief among them, to come out against its implementation. But Arizona lawmakers have held firm, with state Rep. Ben Toma (R), speaker of the narrowly divided House, signaling that he does not support repeal.
"The last thing we should be doing today is rushing a bill through the legislative process to repeal a law that has been enacted and reaffirmed by the Legislature several times," Toma said after the first vote's failure. He asked those present in the room "to respect the fact that some of us believe that abortion is in fact the murder of children."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Scouted/The Daily Beast/Retailers.Scouted selects products independently. If you purchase something from our posts, we may earn a small commission.
it's that time of year again—Mother's Day 2024 (Sunday, May 12) is just around the corner, and if you're like me, you're already struggling with a stubborn mom (and stepmom) who swears she doesn't want a gift this year. Whether for your biological mom, your new-ish mother-in-law, your not-evil-at-all stepmother, your wife, your grandmother, or a friend, it's not always easy to narrow down all of the options when you're scouring the web in search of the best Mother's Day gifts for someone who either has everything or says they don't want a gift at all.
Obviously, showing up to Mother's Day brunch empty-handed is not an option (in most cases), so coming up with a non-basic gift she never knew they needed but will absolutely love is the best route to go. Depending on your relationship with the giftee in question, the best Mother's Day gifts are usually equal parts sentimental, useful, and, of course, have a personal touch of some kind.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Reuters/Isaiah J. DowningThe NBA revealed Wednesday that Jontay Porter, a fringe power forward on the Toronto Raptors, had been issued a lifetime ban from the league after he was found to have wagered thousands on NBA games that included betting against his own team.
The permanent ban for Porter, 24, comes after a bombshell investigation alleged he manipulated his participation in some games to influence the outcome of bets for associates.
In a statement, the league said Porter placed at least 13 bets on NBA games between January and March. It added that Porter didn't personally wager on the outcomes of games he featured in, but he allegedly bet for the Raptors to lose a game he wasn't playing in as part of a failed parlay.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
GOP Oversight CommitteeReps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and James Comer (R-KY) got into a nasty screaming match Wednesday, talking over each other while asserting that the other needs therapy.
The spat occurred during a House Oversight Committee hearing on China, during which Raskin took issue with Republicans accusing Joe Biden of accepting bribes—unfounded allegations that remain at the center of the GOP's push to have Biden impeached.
The two began arguing during Raskin's allotted time, which he used to speak about Trump's slew of glowing comments about Chinese President Xi Jinping. Mid-way through, however, Comer, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, interrupted Raskin to assert that the GOP hasn't given up on its long-shot plans to oust Biden from office.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
VALERIE MACON / AFP"Genius" is a word that should be reserved for brilliant scientists and whoever created Dairy Queen's brownie earthquake. When the word gets tossed around as a descriptor for anything other than Darwin or Dilly Bars, it makes me irrationally angry. Genius, huh? So words just have no meaning anymore—got it. I'll file that away with "iconic" losing all significance, what with it applied online to classic films as often as it is to Lady Gaga's flying dress barely floating two inches off the ground on one random day in 2013.
I am, however, reconsidering my stance now that Sabrina Carpenter has defied even my own high standards for prodigiousness. With her latest single, "Espresso," the 24-year-old pop singer has fully come into the cheeky, overly literal lyricism and slinky throwback sounds that her debut album, Emails I Can't Send, promised last year. The single, released last Friday seemingly as a one-off gift to her fans before her first of two Coachella performances, is funky, flirty, and rocketing up the charts. It's already tracking for a big debut on next week's Billboard's Hot 100 chart when it finishes its eligibility period.
The song's equally coquettish video has been clogging up user timelines on X and Instagram, and Carpenter's doll-like
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Apr 17, 2024
Ken Cedeno/ReutersSeveral hours after students at Columbia University set up a "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" in the middle of campus on Wednesday—demanding "divestment and an end to Columbia's complicity in genocide"—the Ivy League school's president was questioned by a congressional panel in a fiery back-and-forth about antisemitism among the student body.
Members of the Republican-led House Committee on Education and the Workforce grilled Minouche Shafik, Columbia Board of Trustees co-chairs Claire Shipman and David Greenwald, and Columbia Law School Dean Emeritus David Schizer, a leader of the school's newly formed Task Force on Antisemitism, during the highly animated session. Jewish students have recently been assaulted and spat on by others at Columbia, and pro-Palestinian students have publicly chanted slogans such as ??"Death to the Zionist state." Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) called for the hearing after accusing Columbia's leadership of not doing enough to tamp down anti-Jewish sentiment.
The assembled administrators turned in a markedly more decisive performance than then-Harvard President Claudine Gay and then-University of
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Apr 17, 2024
Reuters/KCNASouth Korea's spy agency is examining whether North Korean technology was used in the ballistic missiles that Iran used in its attack against Israel last week.
"We are keeping tabs on whether the North Korean technology was included in Iran's ballistic missiles launched against Israel, given the North and Iran's missile cooperation in the past," the National Intelligence Service (NIS) said, according to Korea Times.
The United States has long been aware that North Korea's Kim Jong Un has provided missiles and ballistic missile technologies to Iran. Years ago, the commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Major General Yahya Rahim-Safavi, acknowledged that Iran had purchased Scud B and Scud C missiles from "foreign countries like North Korea" in the 1980s.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Getty/FBI Tyler Campanella, the stepson of former Real Housewives of New Jersey star Sigalit "Siggy" Flicker, was arrested Wednesday for his alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, according to court records.
An FBI affidavit states that phone records subpoenaed by the government show that Campanella's phone, which was associated with Flicker's account, was inside the Capitol on Jan. 6.
The FBI claims that an account linked to Flicker posted photos from inside the Capitol on the day of the riots, accompanied by a caption "I love patriots so much. Stay safe Tyler. We love you" and a "Stop the Steal" hashtag.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
James Devaney/GC ImagesNicki Minaj's husband Kenneth Petty has been granted permission by a California District Judge to travel internationally for Minaj's upcoming Pink Friday 2 tour.
Petty pled guilty to the attempted rape of Jennifer Hough in 1995, stemming from an incident that occurred in September 1994 when she and Petty were both 16 years old. Hough alleged that Petty tried to assault her at knife point, after which she escaped the attack by throwing a bottle of contact solution at his head.
As part of the sentencing, Petty served four years in prison and was ordered to register as a sex offender. In March 2020, he was arrested for failing to do so and was hit with a year of house arrest, a $50,000 fine, and three years of probation.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Mega/ Getty ImagesPrince Harry has publicly renounced his British residency, in paperwork coinciding with his first public appearance since his sister-in-law, Kate Middleton, was diagnosed with cancer.
Harry spoke via video link on Wednesday at the annual general meeting of Travalyst, the sustainable travel organization he founded in 2019, before quitting the royal family.
As part of the organization's year-end procedures, it also filed company returns in which Harry officially submitted "new details" in which he declared his "new country/state usually resident" was now the "United States."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
RSBNFor years now, right-wing media and conservative politicians have framed New York City as a Democratic-run "hellhole" full of violent migrant criminals and homeless drug addicts clogging up the streets in a zombified state.
Now that Donald Trump's hush-money trial is taking place in lower Manhattan and has brought an intense media spotlight with it, many in the MAGAverse are learning that the Big Apple isn't exactly the post-apocalyptic wasteland they've been led to believe.
During the opening day of the ex-president's criminal trial on Monday, Brian Glenn—a host for the aggressively pro-Trump streaming platform Right Side Broadcasting Network and MAGA Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's
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Apr 17, 2024
NBCA notorious animated series producer has filed a lawsuit against famed weatherman Al Roker and his production company for retaliation while neglecting diversity television hires.
In the suit that was filed this week and shared by The Hollywood Reporter, Al Roker Entertainment and its subsidiary WeatherHunters, Inc. "wrongfully and illegally" fired Bill Schultz, who is well-known for The Simpsons' golden years, King of the Hill, and countless children's cartoons like Ed, Edd, and Eddy and Courage the Cowardly Dog. Schultz, who is white, claimed that he blew the whistle on alleged racial discrimination directed towards people of color and was ultimately terminated.
"Surprisingly, here, where the control person is Al Roker, a leading African American media personality and the [Weather Hunters] concept is focused on an African American Family and was inclusively developed for PBS's importantly diverse children's audience, the issue that doomed Mr. Schultz and led to his wrongful termination and the wholesale breach of contract was the issue of racial diversity," read the lawsuit.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
AFP via Getty Images A Delaware judge nullified Elon Musk's whopping $56 billion pay package at Tesla in January, writing that the board had improperly granted him an "unfathomable sum" of money. But Musk still wants that cash. Now he is hoping Tesla shareholders will sign off on the payday, even as the company suffers from a sagging stock price.
The pay package, enacted in 2018, granted Musk 12 percent of the company's stock over 12 separate vesting tranches. The first tranche executed when the company hit a market value of $100 billion, while the last kicked in at $650 billion. Other revenue and profitability milestones were included in the calculations as well.
Tesla is currently worth $490 million; its stock has fallen close to 40 percent over the past six months.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Oklahoma State Bureau of InvestigationLoved ones of slain Kansas moms Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley had choice words in court for the quartet of suspects accused of killing the duo last month, reportedly yelling out Wednesday that one was a "fucking bitch" and the others were "sorry pieces of shit."
NewsNation added that the loved ones had to be held back from attacking the suspects as they entered a courtroom on Wednesday morning—the first time they've been seen in public since they were arrested Saturday on murder and kidnapping charges.
Those arraigned Wednesday included Tifany Adams, the grandmother and guardian of Butler's children, as well as her boyfriend, Tad Bert Cullum, and two of their friends, Cora and Cole Earl Twombly. An Oklahoma judge denied each of them bail.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Randy Holmes/GettyFollowing yet another thorough roasting Tuesday night by late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, Donald Trump launched a typically unhinged attack first thing Wednesday via his floundering Twitter clone, Truth Social.
This time, the former president turned criminal defendant decided to rail at Kimmel over his hosting gig at this year's Academy Awards, which took place over a month ago. Trump—who has regularly portrayed President Joe Biden as senile and in mental decline—also seemingly confused the comedian with Oscar winner Al Pacino.
"Stupid Jimmy Kimmel, who still hasn't recovered from his horrendous performance and big ratings drop as Host of The Academy Awards, especially when he showed he suffered from TDS, commonly known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, to the entire
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Apr 17, 2024
Saul Loeb/AFP via GettyA day after news of his suspension became public, NPR senior business editor Uri Berliner resigned from the network over the organization's rebuke of his complaints of its culture and its CEO's past criticisms of former President Donald Trump.
"I respect the integrity of my colleagues and wish for NPR to thrive and do important journalism," Berliner wrote in his resignation letter to CEO Katherine Maher, which he shared on X. "But I cannot work in a newsroom where I am disparaged by a new CEO whose divisive views confirm the very problems at NPR I cite in my Free Press essay."
Berliner was suspended last week for not seeking approval for writing his April 8 column in the Free Press. The five-day suspension was without pay, according to NPR.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
David Levenson/Getty ImagesBestselling author Sophie Kinsella, who penned the popular Shopaholic book series, announced on Wednesday that she has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer.
Kinsella posted the announcement to X, saying, "I've wanted for a long time to share with you a health update and I've been waiting for the strength to do so."
The author wrote that she had been diagnosed with glioblastoma at the end of 2022, but had been waiting to share the news until her family could adjust to their "new normal."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Anadolu via Getty ImagesCryptocurrency aficionados flying into Dubai this week were looking forward to a few days in the desert sunshine enjoying a series of high-profile crypto events and some glamorous afterparties.
Instead, many have been plunged into a nightmare. The United Arab Emirates has been lashed by the heaviest rainfall the country has seen for 75 years, with some areas seeing over 10 inches of precipitation in under 24 hours, the state's media office said in a statement Tuesday. Flash flooding around Dubai saw roadways completely submerged and the city's airport warned travelers to stay away while flights were delayed and diverted.
After the rains began late Monday, the downpour continued until more rain had fallen on Dubai in 24 hours than the region typically records in a year, according to the Associated Press. The timing coincided with the arrival of crypto enthusiasts heading to conferences including Blockchain Life and TOKEN2049 being held in Dubai this week.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Roland Weihrauch/Getty ImagesFor years, questions have lingered over the baffling disappearance of billionaire Karl-Erivan Haub in the Swiss Alps. The former managing director of the German retail giant Tengelmann, who vanished in April 2018, was officially declared dead three years later.
Now the state prosecutor's office in Cologne has opened an investigation into whether Haub's brother, Christian Haub, gave false information in an affidavit in May 2021 when he claimed to know of no information that his missing sibling could still be alive.
The prosecutor's office says there is currently no reason to begin the process for an annulment of Haub's death certificate, as there is not yet clear evidence that Haub survived. Christian Haub, who became the head of Tengelmann Group after his brother vanished, denies having given false statements.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
via VKThe tragicomic tale of a down-on-his-luck Texan who reinvented himself as a renegade war hero in a fake Russian republic took an unexpected turn this week when he was allegedly abducted by Russian troops—after apparently being accused of being a CIA spy.
Russell Bentley, also known as "Texas," is perhaps the last person one would expect to have pulled off cunning spycraft for the nearly 10 years he's been living among Russian fighters in Ukraine's occupied Donetsk region. A Dallas native with a conviction on drug charges back home, Bentley briefly seized international headlines back in 2014 when he was spotted in a cowboy hat with Russian fighters and spewing Kremlin propaganda about "Nazis" in Ukraine. He obtained Russian citizenship in 2020 after remodeling himself as a combat-vet-turned-"journalist" for Kremlin-controlled media.
News of his disappearance earlier this month largely went under the radar until his wife, Lyudmila Bentley, went public Tuesday with claims he'd been snatched and taken hostage by Russian troops.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
g1/YouTubeA woman was arrested in Brazil on Tuesday night after she used a wheelchair to take a dead man into a bank in an attempt to get a loan, according to local reports.
Employees at the bank in the Bangu neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro became suspicious of Érika de Souza Vieira Nunes and called the police, according to g1. Paramedics responding to the scene found that the man in the wheelchair—identified as 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga—had been dead for several hours.
Police are now investigating the circumstances of Braga's death. They're also checking to see if the woman is related to him—she reportedly told authorities that she is Braga's niece and his carer.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Randall Hill/ReutersFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Tuesday putting new restrictions on the number of challenges that residents without kids could lodge against books in public schools.
Speaking at an event in Jacksonville ahead of the signing, the former presidential candidate said the changes to the original law—which allowed anyone to make as many challenges as they like—were necessary because of people abusing the system. "The idea that someone can use the parents rights and the curriculum transparency to start objecting to every single book to try to make a mockery of this is just wrong," DeSantis said.
Under the new rules, which go into effect on July 1, Florida residents who don't have children in a school district will only be allowed to make one challenge per month.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily BeastAs the first criminal trial against a former President of the United States gets underway, the biggest question facing both sides is this: How do you find twelve impartial jurors when it comes to the subject of the twice-impeached sexual assailant, serial liar, fraudster, and Bible salesman who once held the highest elected office in the land?
At this point, is anybody impartial? How is true impartiality regarding Donald Trump even possible? If 12 such people even exist, I wouldn't trust them to sit on a toilet, let alone a jury.
Nevertheless, the Constitution demands we seat 12 Americans to sit in judgment, and so I tried to put myself in the shoes of a prospective juror. Could I set aside my own somewhat biased (I hate him) feelings regarding the defendant to ensure that he gets a fair trial?
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily BeastAs the first criminal trial against a former President of the United States gets underway, the biggest question facing both sides is this: How do you find twelve impartial jurors when it comes to the subject of the twice-impeached sexual assailant, serial liar, fraudster, and Bible salesman who once held the highest elected office in the land?
At this point, is anybody impartial? How is true impartiality regarding Donald Trump even possible? If 12 such people even exist, I wouldn't trust them to sit on a toilet, let alone a jury.
Nevertheless, the Constitution demands we seat 12 Americans to sit in judgment, and so I tried to put myself in the shoes of a prospective juror. Could I set aside my own somewhat biased (I hate him) feelings regarding the defendant to ensure that he gets a fair trial?
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesRep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) spent Tuesday offering his two cents on Republican speakers of the House—starting with Mike Johnson (R-LA).
Massie announced during a closed-door GOP meeting that he was joining perennial GOP agitator Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) in her crusade to oust Johnson. Massie said the current speaker has failed to deliver conservative wins and it's time to go, reciting a talking point that's bounced around right-wing circles for months but only animated a couple rebels to move against the speaker.
In Massie's assessment, Johnson's life experience simply hasn't "equipped him for this job." He's worse for the Republican conference, the hard-right libertarian maintained, than another beleaguered Republican speaker, Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesRep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) spent Tuesday offering his two cents on Republican speakers of the House—starting with Mike Johnson (R-LA).
Massie announced during a closed-door GOP meeting that he was joining perennial GOP agitator Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) in her crusade to oust Johnson. Massie said the current speaker has failed to deliver conservative wins and it's time to go, reciting a talking point that's bounced around right-wing circles for months but only animated a couple rebels to move against the speaker.
In Massie's assessment, Johnson's life experience simply hasn't "equipped him for this job." He's worse for the Republican conference, the hard-right libertarian maintained, than another beleaguered Republican speaker, Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/GettyNumerous prospective jurors have already been dismissed from Donald Trump's first criminal trial—some of them by just saying they did not think they could be impartial. With six seats still to be filled, along with alternates, here are a dozen creative things to say that might get you out of doing your civic duty.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Photo Illustration by Kelly Caminero / The Daily Beast / GettyMultimillionaire Dave McCormick put more than $14 million of his own money into his failed 2022 Senate campaign. But as he mounts a 2024 comeback, new disclosures this week reveal that, despite his enormous personal investment, his 2022 campaign still overspent money that his donors had contributed—in violation of federal law.
This time around—months before Donald Trump blessed him with an endorsement—McCormick was already under scrutiny for financing what legal experts said appeared to be a shadow campaign ahead of his 2024 revenge run.
That effort was peculiar because McCormick had kept his old 2022 campaign alive the whole time, even though he lost that primary to fellow non-Pennsylvanian Dr. Mehmet Oz.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/GettyFor at least the next two months, Donald Trump is stuck in a Manhattan courtroom as one of the most embarrassing stories of his life unfolds, likely accompanied by myriad unflattering visuals and detailed accounts of not only philandering, but hush money payments along with catch-and-kill schemes.
Yet his 2024 election opponent can't, or at least really doesn't want to, seize upon the salacious details that could otherwise be highly damaging in the context of a presidential campaign.
While it may seem paradoxical at first, President Joe Biden's campaign believes the Stormy Daniels hush money case can help them—as long as they don't talk about it at any length.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / GettyDemetri Martin just put out his first new stand-up hour in six years. But when he sits down for this interview with The Last Laugh podcast, he's about to tape the second of what will be a trilogy of specials for Netflix. It's quite a comeback moment for the (shockingly) 50-year-old comedian, who has remained mostly out of the spotlight in recent years as provocative and autobiographical stand-up comedy has overtaken the one-liner "joke machine" style that he has been honing for more than half his life.
In this episode, Martin breaks down the meta-concept behind his new Demetri Deconstructed special, reveals why he started bringing drawings on stage, shares his take on some of the more concerning comedy trends, and a lot more.
It was about two years ago that Martin challenged himself to write and perform three stand-up specials in succession that "each stand on their own but could have a narrative link that tied them together."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/A24(Warning: Spoilers for Civil War follow.)
Around 15 minutes into Civil War, we meet one of our protagonists: Jessie (Cailee Spaeny), a 23-year-old aspiring photojournalist trying to capture the ongoing clash between police and rebels in New York. Despite having no bullet proof vest, no neon "PRESS" jumper, and no hard hat, Jessie dives between an officer and a townsperson he's beating with a stick. Jessie shoves her camera into the melee and—no shock here—is smacked with the police baton in response.
Luckily, longtime photojournalist Lee (Kirsten Dunst) is able to pull her out of the skirmish just in time, pressing her to the side of a police car while an explosion goes off. After the close call, Lee scolds Jessie—next time, Lee expects to see Jessie sporting a helmet and some kevlar. Lee herself isn't wearing any protection. Why does Lee feel the need to scold Jessie when she hasn't even taken her own veteran advice?
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty Images/NeonIs this a safe space for a confession?
Well, thank you. Just between you and me: I never banged a pot or clanged a pan during the pandemic. I did not once go up to my rooftop, nor stick my head out the window, to slam two pieces of metal cookware together so that the brave—and I don't use that word sarcastically—health care workers might hear it and feel celebrated from afar. It's not that I think the show of appreciation and solidarity was corny, or that I didn't agree with the sentiment. I was just too preoccupied with stewing in my own psychological ruin. Every day was already spent worrying about masking, the health and safety of my family and friends, wiping down groceries (which I did for far longer than I ever needed to), and a litany of other microscopic inconveniences that had been completely unimaginable just weeks before March 2020.
And, on top of that, I was expected to fuck up my cookware every night at 7 p.m.? Not a chance.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty Images/Paramount As we're all well aware by now, Star Trek is at its best when it's horny. After all, if you dump a group of people on a tin can floating through space, you can bet they're going to knock space boots. With its return after a two-and-a-half year hiatus, it's a message that Star Trek Discovery now appears to understand—and it only took until its final season.
In Season 5, Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Book (David Ajala) find themselves on an awkward break, having hogged the romance limelight in previous seasons. In response, Discovery gives us not one, but two other couples to sustain us. The first is a budding-yet-fumbling relationship between the ever-flustered Lt. Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) and Lt. Jax (Gregory Calderone)—who does not have a first name and does not need one with that jawline—while the more interesting is Captain-cum-Ambassador Saru (Doug Jones) and Ni'var president T'Rina (Tara Rosling), who are now an item, having spent much of Season 4 side-eyeing each other.
Discovery is no stranger to relationships. The series has reveled in the enduring love of Doctor Culber (Wilson Cruz) and Commander Stamets (Anthony Rapp) in prior seasons. More recently, it's given us one of the Star Trek franchise's most affecting relationships in Adira (Blue del Barrio) and Gray (Ian Alexander), as their respective transitions have pushed love on Discovery to its most human. Y
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Apr 17, 2024
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty Images/Paramount As we're all well aware by now, Star Trek is at its best when it's horny. After all, if you dump a group of people on a tin can floating through space, you can bet they're going to knock space boots. With its return after a two-and-a-half year hiatus, it's a message that Star Trek Discovery now appears to understand—and it only took until its final season.
In Season 5, Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Book (David Ajala) find themselves on an awkward break, having hogged the romance limelight in previous seasons. In response, Discovery gives us not one, but two other couples to sustain us. The first is a budding-yet-fumbling relationship between the ever-flustered Lt. Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) and Lt. Jax (Gregory Calderone)—who does not have a first name and does not need one with that jawline—while the more interesting is Captain-cum-Ambassador Saru (Doug Jones) and Ni'var president T'Rina (Tara Rosling), who are now an item, having spent much of Season 4 side-eyeing each other.
Discovery is no stranger to relationships. The series has reveled in the enduring love of Doctor Culber (Wilson Cruz) and Commander Stamets (Anthony Rapp) in prior seasons. More recently, it's given us one of the Star Trek franchise's most affecting relationships in Adira (Blue del Barrio) and Gray (Ian Alexander), as their respective transitions have pushed love on Discovery to its most human. Y
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Apr 17, 2024
Comedy CentralWhenever the MAGA faithful gather together, you can rest assured that Jordan Klepper is probably not too far behind. That was certainly the case this week in New York City, where Donald Trump's biggest fans (but not his wife) gathered to show their support of the former president as jury selection continues in his criminal hush-money trial.
In the latest episode of "Fingers the Pulse," Klepper met all sorts of MAGA believers outside the courthouse where Trump's trial is being held. But even he seemed surprised to see a familiar face in the crowd.
"While there was more press than there were MAGA supporters, I did run into one January 6 B-list star," Klepper said of his encounter.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Fox NewsIt didn't take long after the general outlines of seven jurors in Donald Trump's New York criminal trial were made public Tuesday for Fox News host Jesse Watters to suggest that, based on that information alone, Trump wouldn't be acquitted.
While on air Tuesday night, Watters went through each juror, whose identities will remain anonymous in light of the potential for threats directed at them.
The second juror, Watters described, is "a nurse from the Upper East Side with a Masters degree."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 17, 2024
Scouted/The Daily Beast/Jim Spellman/Getty Images/Love Wellness.Scouted selects products independently. If you purchase something from our posts, we may earn a small commission.
When Lo Bosworth launched Love Wellness, a "female-first" lifestyle and supplement brand, in 2016, I was definitely surprised—even as a newly minted shopping writer with a budding wellness beat. Plus, as a middle-aged millennial, I knew Lo Bosworth as the Orange County ‘it girl' (the phrase du jour for stylish, quai-famous girls in the mid-aughts) who rose to fame on two of MTV's ubiquitous reality shows of the time, Laguna Beach and The Hills. To my knowledge, she had no connection to the supplement or women's health space, making it an interesting career shift.
As a tried-and-true skeptic with exceptionally high standards and a low tolerance for gimmicky, placebo-like ingestibles (being ultra-discerning about products is a prerequisite for my job, after all), I had written off the brand as a whole until my friend told me that the Love Wellness vaginal pH balancing formulas had changed her life. At the time, her life was being taken over by recurrent UTIs and non-stop issues with candida that were getting in the way of her sex life. As someone who had also been experiencing chronic issues of the same genre, I figured it couldn't hurt to try a few of its vaginal health products, including the
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Apr 16, 2024
Eric McCandless via Getty ImagesCheryl Burke is no stranger to heartbreak, not least when she was "not invited" to take part in a tribute performance on the last season of Dancing with the Stars dedicated to the late Len Goodman, the competition series' longtime head judge. It's still unconfirmed why Burke, a 26-season DWTS veteran, was snubbed, but she thinks she might know the reason.
In a Tuesday appearance on the Amy and T.J. Podcast, the 39-year-old speculated that her own podcast—a no-holds-barred iHeartRadio show—might have ruffled some feathers over at ABC.
"I would assume that some people may not be happy with my podcast that I have here with iHeart," she told hosts Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Fox NewsFormer White House adviser Stephen Miller took his usual Trump sycophancy to an odd place Tuesday, insisting on Fox News that the former president was a generation-defining fashion icon whose signature look set trends for years.
Prompted by Sean Hannity grumbling about an article Monday in The New York Times about President Joe Biden's "dapper" look, Miller went even further in praising the former president's sartorial flair.
"The most stylish president and first lady in our lifetimes are Donald Trump and Melania Trump, he insisted on Hannity. "Donald Trump is a style icon!" he added excitedly.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Fox NewsHours after the GOP-led House formally handed articles of impeachment against Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate, Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto told a top Senate Republican that the endeavor seems to be "political theater."
On Tuesday afernoon's Your World, Cavuto spoke with the Republican Senate Conference Chair, Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), indicating he was skeptical of having a full trial over the matter, as most Republicans desire.
"If the president likes his homeland secretary, [who] serves at the pleasure of the president—the president isn't going to do anything about him," Cavuto began. "You're not going to get these votes in the Senate. You don't even have all of your Republican colleagues going along. Six didn't even want to be any part of this. So, this seems more political theater than anything else. Disavow me of that notion."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty ImagesAfter the second day of his criminal trial in New York, Donald Trump headed Uptown to a Harlem bodega, where he bad-mouthed the judge in his case and tried to fear-monger about crime and "migrants," even tenuously connecting the two.
Once proceedings wrapped up in Manhattan Criminal Court, which saw the selection of seven members of the jury in his hush-money case, Trump stepped inside the Sanaa Convenient Store. There, clerk Jose Alba fatally stabbed a man in apparent self-defense two years ago, and was later charged with murder. The Manhattan district attorney's office later dropped the charge.
Alba was not present in the store Tuesday, but Trump did speak with the establishment's co-owner, Maad Ahmed, as well as Francisco Marte, a small business advocate, according to The New York Post. Ahmed told the outlet he will be voting for Trump "because he's a strong guy."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty ImagesAfter the second day of his criminal trial in New York, Donald Trump headed uptown to a Harlem bodega, where he bad-mouthed the judge in his case and tried to fearmonger about crime and "migrants," even tenuously connecting the two.
Once proceedings wrapped up in Manhattan Criminal Court, which saw the selection of seven members of the jury in his hush money case, Trump stepped inside the Sanaa Convenient Store. There, clerk Jose Alba fatally stabbed a man in apparent self-defense two years ago, and was later charged with murder. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office later dropped the charge.
Alba was not present in the store Tuesday, but Trump did speak with the establishment's co-owner, Maad Ahmed, as well as Francisco Marte, a small business advocate, according to The New York Post. Ahmed told the outlet he will be voting for Trump "because he's a strong guy."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty ImagesPresident Joe Biden indulged in some good old-fashioned Trump-bashing along the campaign trail on Tuesday, needling his rival about his media company's plunging shares during a speech in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
"You know, I have to say, if Trump's stock in Truth Social—his company—drops any lower, he might do better under my tax plan than his," Biden said to a surge of laughter and applause. "Possibly."
Stock in Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) has tumbled a staggering 68 percent since its initial offering in late March. Widely viewed as a meme stock, it was nevertheless snapped up by MAGA-loving day traders and quickly peaked at $80 a share on the second day of trading.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty/BravoTom Sandoval has spent this season of Vanderpump Rules oscillating between acting like a sad sack and an admitted villain, but he's held out hope it would all be worth it thanks to his one true love. That delusion came crashing down this week, as Rachel Leviss came out of the woodwork (via podcast) to burst Sandoval's bubble, leading to a series of unfortunate events for our illustrious antagonist. Sandoval got knocked down continuously this week, taking hits from all sides until he finally exploded.
The episode opens on Scheana's music video shoot for "Good as Gold," her decade-old single that is still one of the best pieces of music a Bravolebrity has ever produced. The video, on the other hand, doesn't appear to exist, according to a quick Google search. I suppose a well-timed drop to coincide with the episode is possible. It's also possible they were filming that Uber One commercial, but the outfits don't line up, as far as I can tell. This calls for an investigation… stay tuned.
It was a big week for Scheana's music career, too, as she dropped a new song, "Apples." It wasn't Scheana's new song that stirred up VPR nation this week, though. Rachel finally resurfaced (in podcast form) to deliver a final blow to Sandoval, while causing ire for James, Ariana and Scheana, too. The interview, with she who shall not be named (B*******y F*****l), has the entire group in a tizzy, especially Sandoval.
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Apr 16, 2024
AFP via Getty ImagesMAJD-AL-ZOUN, Lebanon—"If we went to an all-out war, it would be the end of both Lebanon and Israel," said a Hezbollah fighter in the battlefields of South Lebanon ominously.
While some in Iran and Israel seem hellbent on escalating the current Middle East conflict, the normally aggressive Hezbollah militia has been notably reticent to use its heavier weaponry and missiles in the aftermath of Oct. 7. That puts the militants—who themselves are heavily-funded by Iran—in a notably different position to their backers in Tehran, who launched an unprecedented aerial assault on Israel at the weekend.
The Daily Beast was granted rare access to Hezbollah controlled towns on the Lebanese-Israeli border shortly before that attack, and the difference in attitudes was stark.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Getty In his historic New York criminal trial, former President Donald Trump faces the prospect of some very real punishments—including fines and even prison time.
But in court in Manhattan on Tuesday, the former president was subjected to a different kind of punishment that seemed almost expressly designed to torment him: he had to sit silently as mean tweets about him were read aloud.
As prosecutors and defense lawyers sparred over the composition of the jury that will ultimately decide the hush money case, some of the prospective jurors' past social media posts about the former president were debated for evidence of possible bias. As a result, for more than an hour the notoriously thin-skinned Trump was forced to listen to jokes about his appearance, his likeability, his intelligence, and—to use a phrase Team Trump first popularized—whether prosecutors should "lock him up."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty ImagesDisgraced former North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn was allegedly involved in a car crash with a Florida State Trooper on Monday, according to witness video and local news reports.
Footage of the scene along the I-75 posted on X by a passerby appeared to show a visibly miserable Cawthorn in his wheelchair on the side of the road, speaking to a trooper just a few feet away from the crumpled hood of his luxury Mercedes.
The bystander said that the Mercedes had been "erratically & aggressively" tailgating her down the highway before she moved to let it pass. Minutes later, she said, traffic came to a standstill, and she realized that the sports car had slammed into a police cruiser up ahead.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Irakli Gedenidze/ReutersChaos erupted in the Georgian parliament on Monday when opposition leader Aleko Elisashvili took a running head start and slammed his fist into another lawmaker during a debate on a controversial new "foreign influence" bill.
The punch then spiraled into an all-out brawl between politicians over the controversial bill, which would require organizations with over 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence. Critics in Georgia have compared it to laws in Russia that Moscow has used to tamp down on dissent.
While politicians brawled inside parliament, another hectic scene unfolded outside, with thousands of demonstrations taking to the streets in protest of the law chanting "Russians! Russians!"
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Geert Vanden Wijngaert/Getty ImagesGrand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, the small European nation's head of state, says he plans to abdicate the country's throne—but won't say when.
The Grand Duke said it was "obvious" that he "intends to retire at some point" in a Tuesday interview with French publication La Libre, saying that he made the decision in consultation with his family, including his eldest son and heir apparent, the Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume.
"All this is planned in family consultation" he told La Libre. "I find that it is very important to give young people a perspective."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesDonald Trump sure looked lonely on Tuesday as he sat stone-faced and sleepy in a Manhattan courtroom for the second day of jury selection in his hush-money criminal trial. Gone were Trump's usual milieu of MAGA-manic supporters, replaced by a dour Supreme Court judge and a single protester who showed up outside the courthouse to defend the former president.
The trial partly centers on claims that Trump paid a former porn actress to keep quiet about their alleged affair. According to prosecutors, the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels in October 2016 amounted to a conspiracy "to corrupt a presidential election" and involved "lying in New York business records to cover it up." His former fixer, Michael Cohen, has previously said he made the payments on his boss' behalf.
In addition to Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, Trump was also allegedly involved in a $150,000 payment to former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who said she had an affair with him in 2006. The payment was made by tabloid giant American Media—an ally of Trump—which then killed the story.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Fox NewsDonald Trump's attorney Alina Habba said on Tuesday that if the former president is jailed for violating a limited gag order imposed on him in his hush-money criminal trial, he would "be like Nelson Mandela."
Habba's straight-faced invocation of the former South African president who spent 27 years in prison for his anti-apartheid activism mirrors Trump's own recent rhetoric, in which he's repeatedly used his criminal cases to portray himself as a martyr.
In a court filing on Tuesday, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office asked Judge Juan Merchan to hold the ex-president in contempt for repeatedly using social media to disparage two of the witnesses in his criminal trial—former Trump fixer Michael Cohen and ex-porn star Stormy Daniels. A gag order imposed by Merchan bans the former president from publicly attacking trial witnesses, as well as family members of the judge and prosecutors.
Read more at The Daily Beast
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Apr 16, 2024
Michael M. Santiago/Pool via ReutersFormer President Donald Trump was invited to headline a big-ticket fundraising gala for House Republicans' campaign arm later this month in Dallas—but was ultimately forced to decline because of his ongoing criminal trial in New York.
The event, dubbed the Majority Gala, is the National Republican Campaign Committee's biggest fundraiser so far this election cycle. The hope of GOP brass was to get Trump, their presumptive presidential nominee, to headline the April 23 event and juice fundraising interest, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
But because Trump is scheduled to be in court in Manhattan that day—and most weekdays until the trial ends, likely in June—the former president won't be able to travel to Texas and headline the fundraiser.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
NBC Montana via YouTubeA 58-year-old circus elephant caused quite a stir in Montana on Tuesday afternoon, escaping from its handlers and briefly roaming the streets of Butte while binging traffic to a standstill in the city of 35,000.
Little has been reported on how the elephant made its great escape, but NBC Montana shared a video of the enormous mammal crossing a highway while a handler desperately chased behind with a bullhook.
"A f----- elephant is going down the road, my God," a woman can be heard saying through laughter in a viral clip.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Laure Andrillon/ReutersRobert F. Kennedy Jr.'s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, has repeatedly insisted she does not oppose vaccines—though she continues to sow doubt about at least some of them.
In a post to X on Tuesday, the Silicon Valley lawyer opined about the "devastating reality" of Moderna's mRNA jab. "It is not a safe vaccine, and must be recalled immediately. Many people are suffering who took it," she wrote.
She added a picture of herself and her boyfriend, "reformed Wall Street guy" Jacob Strumwasser, and the caption, "One of us took 3 doses of the Moderna mRNA vaccine, and the other did not. Guess who?"
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty/ReutersAs the first-ever criminal prosecution of a former president has finally gotten underway, the big question remains: "Will he or won't he?" Will Donald Trump testify, that is.
His legal defense team may have little choice but to let its client put his right hand on the Bible and swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. But his truth might not exactly set him free.
Trump's serial incorrigibility, hair-trigger temper, and penchant for—shall we say—stretching the truth all make him any defense attorney's nightmare as a witness. We've already seen it in other cases. This is the first one where the stakes are criminal.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Curtis Means-Pool/Getty ImagesIt's the eye-roll inducing excuse every judge has heard: I simply can't be fair. Except with Donald Trump, it might be true.
The first day of Trump's criminal trial in Manhattan ran straight into that near-impossible challenge: finding a group of New Yorkers who could give a tabloid target and one of the most controversial presidents in recent history a fair hearing.
Of the 96 potential jurors brought into the courtroom Monday afternoon for screening, around half were immediately dismissed when they indicated to Judge Juan Merchan that—surprise, surprise—they would be simply unable to remain impartial in a trial involving Trump. Another two were later dismissed, with one woman concluding under questioning that she, too, couldn't be fair, while a man said the trial might end up clashing with his kid's wedding, according to The New York Times.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Melanie Fidler/NBAE via Getty ImagesCaitlin Clark is making how much?!
On Monday, Clark was selected No. 1 overall in Monday's WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever, a celebratory moment for the star which has now been punctuated by the proclamation of a pitiful paycheck.
Clark will be paid a base salary of $338,056 over the next four years, a number which is easily dwarfed by even the one year salaries of her male counterparts.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Melanie Fidler/NBAE via Getty ImagesCaitlin Clark is making how much?!
On Monday, the college basketball superstar was selected No. 1 overall in Monday's WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever, a celebratory moment for the star which has now been punctuated by news of a shockingly paltry paycheck.
Clark will be paid a base salary of $338,056 over the next four years, a number which is easily dwarfed by even the one year salaries of her male counterparts.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Images for HGTVA 58-year-old California man who starred in a renovation competition series for HGTV was sentenced to serve four years behind bars after being convicted of real estate fraud, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Charles "Todd" Hill was also ordered to pay back restitution to the tune of $9.4 million, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's office said in a news release.
After being indicted in 2019, Hill was convicted of committing "multiple fraud schemes" last September after he admitted to "grand theft against all victims and admitted the aggravated white-collar enhancements," prosecutors said.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times via Getty ImagesDespite a rage-filled, miserable set at this year's Coachella festival for British pop band Blur, the show will go on, according to the group's management.
On the first weekend of the festival, Blur played the first of two scheduled shows, which included a 13-song set—but the crowd was less enthusiastic than the group's frontman Damon Albarn would have liked. After attempting to get the crowd to sing along to the group's hit 1990s song "Girls & Boys" multiple times, he became fed up.
"You're never seeing us again so you might as well fucking sing it. Know what I'm saying?" he said on stage.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Fremont County SheriffThe day before Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow allegedly murdered her teenage daughter—before hiding her burned body in his Iowa backyard—the Doomsday author searched online about wind direction.
The Sept. 2019 Google searches for "ssw wind" and "what is the definition of ssw direction" were one of several suspicious searches from a Gmail account associated with Daybell that FBI Tactical Specialist Nicole Heideman highlighted for Ada County jurors on Tuesday at his murder trial.
Nine months after the wind search, and a lengthy investigation that gripped the nation, authorities found Tylee Ryan near Daybell's fire pit, so burned that her cause of death could not be determined. Nearby on the property, her 7-year-old brother, J.J. Vallow, was found with a plastic bag over his head and duct tape over his mouth after prosecutors say he was allegedly strangled to death.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
REUTERSScott Peterson, the California man convicted of killing his wife and unborn child in a case that garnered national attention in 2004, appeared in court Tuesday in another attempt to launch a new trial—this time with the Los Angeles Innocence Project representing him.
Peterson's lawyers have claimed they have new evidence that proves he didn't murder Laci Peterson on Christmas Eve in 2022, but have stopped short of sharing publicly what exact evidence they have.
Peterson appeared virtually from a prison outside Sacramento at Tuesday's hearing, the first court preceding to take place in his latest attempt to have his conviction thrown out. Defense attorneys and prosecutors attended the hearing in person at a courthouse in San Mateo County, between San Jose and San Francisco.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Mary Altaffer/GettyIt's only the second day of Donald Trump's New York trial, but the judge has already seen fit to sternly warn the former president to shut up in the courtroom, after New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan witnessed Trump mumbling something while facing a juror in the courtroom.
"Your client was uttering something in the direction of the juror," Merchan said to Trump's lead attorney, Todd Blanche. "I won't tolerate that. I will not have any jurors intimidated in this courtroom. I want to make that crystal clear. Take a minute with your client."
While the court proceeding quickly moved on as lawyers continued to debate the merits of knocking potential jurors off the panel, the brief lashing showed how the judge continues to wrestle with a former president whose courtroom behavior shows undeniable contempt for the nation's justice system.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Photo by Bob Riha, Jr./Getty ImagesOff-brand Botox products from unlicensed sources are causing adverse reactions and hospitalizations across the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration.
At least 19 women across nine states reported experiencing bad reactions to unlicensed Botox treatments or Botox treatments from untrained professionals, the CDC reported on Monday. Nine of those women were hospitalized, and four were treated with a botulism antitoxin.
The botulism-like sickness can occur when the botulinum toxin, which relaxes muscles when applied to a specific area, spreads throughout the body. The toxin can cause paralysis in the respiratory muscles, making it difficult to breathe. Five people were tested for botulism and all of them tested negative for the illness.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
ABC NewsAccording to The View's Joy Behar, Donald Trump nodding off during the first day of his hush money trial is proof that the former president is a "psychotic" and "true sociopath" who possesses a "psychopathic mentality."
While there were headlines galore that came out of the opening day of Trump's historic criminal trial, late-night comedy shows and cable news seemed especially fixated on court reporters' claims that the ex-president repeatedly dozed off during Monday's proceedings. "Imagine committing so many crimes, you get bored at your own trial," The Daily Show's Jon Stewart quipped on Monday night.
The View, naturally, kicked off its Tuesday telecast by mocking the 78-year-old ex-president catching some Zs during
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Apr 16, 2024
James DevaneyAlan Ritchson, the titular star of Prime Video's Reacher series, has been known to share his political opinions despite how they may conflict with those of the show's conservative fan base. And even though some viewers have threatened to stop watching the popular streamer series in protest of Ritchson's "woke" comments, he's doubling down on his message of police accountability in a post to Instagram this week.
The digs aimed at Ritchson were related to an interview he did with The Hollywood Reporter this month, in which he addressed the online stir among Reacher fans after an old photo of him wearing an "Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor" tee shirt resurfaced: "Cops get away with murder all the time, and the fact that we can't really hold them accountable for their improprieties is disturbing to me," he said in the interview. "We should completely reform the way that we do it. I mean, you shouldn't have to spend more time getting an education as a hairstylist than as a cop who's armed with a deadly weapon."
The National Fraternal Order of Police caught wind of Ritchson's comments and posted a photo of the actor to its Instagram page, calling him a "useless Hollywood actor" who is "virtue signaling for attention at the expense of brave police officers." Ritchson responded to
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Apr 16, 2024
Drew AngererRudy Giuliani on Tuesday joined the chorus of critics falsely claiming the New York judge presiding over Donald Trump's criminal hush-money trial won't let the former president attend his son's graduation, insisting Juan Merchan is "not a judge in the tradition of Anglo-American jurists."
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Giuliani slammed Merchan after Trump claimed the judge would not allow him to attend Barron Trump's high school graduation in May.
"By refusing to allow Donald J. Trump to attend his son Barron's graduation—something even guilty defendants would be allowed to do—he goes beyond the usual NYC judge selected by Democrat county bosses and is now making entirely political decisions," Giuliani wrote.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images, Rich Polk/Getty ImagesComedian Jerrod Carmichael is walking back his recent criticism of Dave Chappelle.
Carmichael had previously lamented in a GQ profile that Chappelle's "legacy is a bunch of opinions on trans shit" and called that "an odd hill to die on." After Chappelle demanded that Carmichael publicly apologize to him, Carmichael doubled down, telling Esquire that the controversial comic interpreted the comments "as ‘Fuck Dave Chappelle,' because he's an egomaniac."
Addressing those comments during an appearance on The Breakfast Club on Tuesday, Carmichael said, "I deeply regret saying anything about Dave Chappelle to the press. Honestly, from now on, any thoughts I have for Dave will be directed in a phone call to Dave."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Photo Illustration by Kelly Caminero / The Daily Beast / Photos by Getty / Emily ShugermanOne lonely supporter—a reformed Trotskyist with a hard-luck story and a Jan. 6 history—stood outside Manhattan Criminal Court as Donald Trump arrived for the second day of his trial on Monday morning.
It was quite a contrast from the scene a day earlier: about 50 MAGA fans waving flags and a 20-person anti-Trump contingent marching down the street. And even that was probably a letdown for the ex-president who loves crowds, and loves to overestimate them.
Gary Phaneuf, 68, didn't even have any reporters talking to him, except for The Daily Beast. He stood in a specially designated protest area across from the entrance to 100 Centre Street, wearing a New York baseball cap and carrying a "Trump 2024: Take America Back" banner.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesRepresentative Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-GA) crusade to politicize the murder of Laken Riley took an absurdist turn on Tuesday when the politician said the young American student would've been better off being deported.
Greene directed the strange comment to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who was appearing before the House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday to testify on the budget.
Greene used the opportunity to speak about what she called the "open border" which she said was allowing undocumented immigrants into the country. She tried to connect her argument to Laken Riley, the 22-year-old nursing student who police suspect was killed by an undocumented immigrant while out jogging, but even she couldn't keep her hateful tirade straight.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Lionel HahnJeff Bezos' fiancée, former news anchor Lauren Sánchez, has experienced the pros and cons of a much higher-profile lifestyle since she started dating the Amazon CEO in 2019. It's a truth universally acknowledged, though, that if you get famous enough, you become fair game for Keith McNally, the raconteur New York City restauranteur known for his staunch takedowns.
"Does anybody else find Jeff Bezos' New wife - Lauren Sanchez - ABSOLUTELY REVOLTING?" McNally wrote on Instagram late Monday evening. (For the record, Sánchez and Bezos are not yet reportedly married.)
"What an ugly and Fucking SMUG - LOOKING couple they make," McNally continued. "Is this what having 1000 Billion dollars does to people?"
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Harry How/Getty ImagesNBA star Blake Griffin announced Tuesday that his career as a professional basketball player has come to an end.
In an Instagram post, the six-time NBA All Star joked he never wanted to be "the guy who had a ‘letter to basketball' retirement announcement," before writing a salute to his 14-year career.
"I'm thankful for every single moment—not just the good ones," he wrote, thanking his parents, brother and agent, as well as his "haters."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Kevin Carter/GettyVoting software firm Smartmatic and pro-Trump conspiracy network One America News have reached a confidential settlement in the defamation lawsuit accusing OAN of peddling lies about the 2020 presidential election.
The dismissal of the complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia on Tuesday.
"The case has been resolved pursuant to a confidential agreement," OAN attorney Chip Babcock said about the settlement.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty ImagesThe University of Southern California (USC) faces backlash from the country's largest Muslim civil rights group after the school announced on Monday that its valedictorian will not be allowed to speak at her commencement.
Asna Tabassum, a first-generation South Asian-American Muslim biomedical engineering major, with a minor in genocide studies, was told by USC officials that the university would not accommodate her valedictory speech, after unprecedented threats were levied towards her and the institution.
In an email to students and faculty explaining the decision, USC Provost Andrew Guzman said discussion over her appointment took on an "alarming tenor," and had "escalated to the point of creating substantial risks relating to security and disruption at commencement."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoAs its stock price flounders, the parent company of Truth Social unveiled its latest grand plan on Tuesday: a streaming service that will specialize in religious and family-friendly content, along with material that has otherwise been "suppressed."
Should Netflix be worried? Based on Trump Media & Technology Group's share price after the announcement, the answer is resoundingly "no." By early afternoon on Tuesday, the stock had tanked more than 12 percent. It has now plummeted 65 percent since its peak in late March.
According to Tuesday's announcement, the streaming platform will be launched in three phases. First, the company will deliver live TV to its app, then it will release a standalone service for phones and other devices, and then it will bring its content to home TVs. Trump Media is majority owned by former President Donald Trump.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Darko Sikman / HuluTeenagers are horrific—that much, we know. They're a tornado of hormones, pheromones, acne, adolescence, mood swings, and frankly, bad taste. But, at least most of the time, teens are pretty harmless; most of the ones that I've met are too busy scrolling TikTok with the volume on its highest setting to be concerned with the matters of popularity and superficial beauty that preoccupied young people 20 years ago. (Unless you don't have a different color Stanley cup for every day of the school week, in which case, you're basically a microorganism in the eyes of the average teen.)
But things were different in 1997. Popularity was defined by who had the new Biggie CD and whose parents had the most money. Growing up in the '90s was brutal, and that all-consuming—and all-too-familiar—ferocity is on vivid display in Under the Bridge, Hulu's new limited series premiering April 17. The show, based on author Rebecca Godfrey's 2005 book retelling of the events, dramatizes the real story of a brutal crime that happened in fall 1997, one that captivated a sleepy Canadian province and ignited a firestorm of media attention that was laser-focused on the adolescents at the center of it all. And though its two adult lead actors, Riley Keough and Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone, are certainly compelling as the two adult women wrapped up in the investigation, it's the teen actors who run away
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Apr 16, 2024
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty ImagesThe push to oust Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House—only months after he first took the job—is gaining momentum and threatening to throw the GOP-led House into chaos yet again.
In a closed-door conference meeting on Tuesday morning, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) announced to his colleagues that he would be co-sponsoring Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-GA) resolution to vacate the speakership, according to a source in the room.
In a brazen challenge, Massie directly asked Johnson to resign—a request the Speaker declined.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Getty Images A day after encouraging members of the public to "take matters into their own hands" to deal with peaceful protesters, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) is doubling down on his endorsement of mob violence.
The Arkansas Republican shared a video on X on Tuesday morning of climate protesters who were blocking a road in France being grabbed and tossed on the side of the road by angry drivers. "How it should be done," he captioned the video.
Cotton was apparently unfazed by backlash he received over comments made a day earlier, when he said protesters who blocked part of the Golden Gate Bridge would've been tossed off the bridge if it had happened in Arkansas.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Mary Altaffer-Pool/GettyDonald Trump's campaign is circulating a document of talking points to allies on how to spin his New York hush-money trial.
Offering an array of one-liners, the document obtained by The Daily Beast refers to the trial as "a bogus case," "a weak case," and "not a ‘hush money' case."
The Trump talking points also repeatedly refer to the case as "the Biden Trial," though the former president's team later notes the case began with former Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance before President Joe Biden took office, with current DA Alvin Bragg later taking it to court after Vance passed on it.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Getty/Bill ClarkNPR suspended senior business editor Uri Berliner last week after his salacious column alleging his workplace's adoption of liberal values has alienated Americans and broken trust with the public radio organization's audience.
Berliner confirmed his five-day suspension to NPR on Monday, telling its media reporter that NPR's top brass chastised him for not seeking approval before penning his Free Press column last week. The suspension, which began on Friday, is without pay and was labeled as a "final warning."
Berliner admitted he had not gotten approval from NPR brass to write the column, but he did get approval for a TV appearance on NewsNation. His follow-up interview with The New York Times also went without approval—as did Berliner's interview with NPR confirming his suspension.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Sam LevyAn all-star production of Romeo and Juliet, retitled Romeo Juliet, is heading to Broadway this fall with the presidential election very much in its sights—and an accompanying tagline: "The youth are fucked."
The production will feature Emmy-winning Heartstopper star Kit Connor as Romeo and Golden Globe-winning West Side Story star Rachel Zegler as Juliet, with music by Jack Antonoff, who in February won his third consecutive Grammy Award for Producer of the Year. All three will be making their Broadway debuts.
In a statement, director Sam Gold said: "With the presidential election coming up in November, I felt like making a show this fall that celebrates youth and hope, and unleashes the anger young people feel about the world they are inheriting."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Jabin Botsford-Pool/GettyThe process of selecting the New Yorkers who will determine whether Donald Trump committed a criminal cover-up picked up the pace on Tuesday, as seven jurors were selected by the end of the trial's second day.
New York State Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan said he now aims to have attorneys deliver opening statements this coming Monday and finally get this show on the road.
But all that depends on whether lawyers can get through the slog of screening dozens of other prospective jurors to come up with the rest of the panel.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Jabin Botsford-Pool/GettyThe process of selecting the New Yorkers who will determine whether Donald Trump committed a criminal cover-up picked up the pace on Tuesday, as six jurors were selected by the end of the trial's second day.
New York State Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan said he now aims to have attorneys deliver opening statements this coming Monday and finally get this show on the road.
But all that depends on whether lawyers can get through the slog of screening dozens of other prospective jurors to come up with the rest of the panel.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Mary AltafferThe second day of jury selection for Donald Trump's hush-money trial hadn't even begun Tuesday when the former president embarked on his first angry tirade about his perpetual victimhood.
After firing off a caps-lock-ridden missive against the judge presiding over his case, Trump arrived at the Manhattan courthouse and complained to reporters outside that he should be campaigning instead of being in court. According to pool reports, he then walked into the courtroom and winked at a court officer before taking a seat between his lawyers, Emil Bove and Todd Blanche.
While preparing to stand trial on felony charges over a 2016 hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, the former president also found time to, once again, rant against the judge on social media.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Amir Levy/Getty ImagesMore than six months after Hamas slaughtered hundreds of people attending a music festival in southern Israel, survivors are unable to cope with what they witnessed and dozens have wound up committing suicide, according to one survivor.
Testifying at a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday, Guy Ben Shimon revealed that the death toll from the Oct. 7 Nova music festival massacre continues to climb long after the attack ended. Three hundred and sixty four people were killed that day, and those who survived bore witness to the carnage.
"Few people know, but there have been almost 50 suicides among the Nova survivors. This number, which was true two months ago, may have increased since," Ben Shimon said, according to i24 News.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/GettyA top adult film star alleges she was forced to participate in an onscreen orgy against her will and then became the victim of a vicious smear campaign after a fellow performer overdosed on prescription drugs and nearly died while on set.
Now, Melissa Hutchison, who is known to her fans as Phoenix Marie, claims to be out multiple millions and a deal with the Fleshlight brand of sex toys, according to a $30 million federal lawsuit obtained by The Daily Beast.
The situation has led to "anxiety, panic attacks, sleepless nights, and sexual dysfunction," Hutchison maintains.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Christ The Good Shepherd Church/AAP via ReutersA knife attack on a bishop and others at a church in Sydney on Monday was a religiously-motivated terrorist act, according to police in Australia.
A 16-year-old boy was restrained and arrested after he allegedly stabbed Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and others at the Assyrian Christ The Good Shepherd Church in the suburb of Wakeley. Footage of the alleged attack, in which at least four people sustained non-life-threatening injuries, captured by a church livestream spread rapidly online, sparking outrage and prompting an angry mob to descend on the place of worship.
The suspect was held inside the church for his own safety as hundreds of worshippers assembled outside demanding vengeance. The crowd violently clashed with police, throwing bricks and bottles at officers trying to maintain order. Two officers were hurt—including one who suffered a broken jaw—and 10 police cars were destroyed in the hourslong riot, according to the BBC.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 16, 2024
Gary Miller/ Getty ImagesInstagram has gone gaga for Meghan Markle's jam after top tastemakers received one of a limited edition of fifty pots of her new American Riviera Orchard conserve.
Like many who ditch big city life in favor of country living, Meghan has thrown herself into traditional rural pursuits such as hiking, keeping chickens and taking up jam-making as a hobby. But while regular homesteaders content themselves with an honesty box at the end of the drive to sell their sweet and sticky wares to passing travellers—along with a few eggs—Meghan is doing things rather differently.
First came the brand: American Riviera Orchard (already known affectionately as ARO to the Sussex Squad fanbase on social media) and a shiny new Instagram page with a promotional video featuring Meghan of Montecito wandering, artfully out of focus, in a ballgown through the cloisters of her home and cooking in her palatial kitchen. She was wearing white at the counter and got not a spot of cooking debris on her.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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