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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 24, 2024
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/GettyAn Arizona grand jury indicted seven attorneys and aides linked to Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign on Wednesday, including his onetime Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, and his former lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.
The felony charges are tied to their alleged efforts to overturn Joe Biden's victory in the state and have Trump be named winner—despite him losing the state by 10,000 votes.
The state's attorney general announced the indictments, which were obtained by The Daily Beast. Others charged alongside Meadows and Giuliani were Jenna Ellis, a Trump campaign lawyer; John Eastman, a Trump lawyer who presented him with the now-infamous "coup memo," which included a roadmap to implementing the fake elector plot and overturning the election; Christina Bobb, a Trump lawyer; Boris Epshteyn, a top campaign adviser; and Mike Roman, a campaign aide.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
Reuters/Radovan StoklasaHackers broke into a Czech news service site and spread a fake story about an assassination plot against the newly elected president of Slovakia on Tuesday.
"BIS prevented an assassination attempt on the newly elected Slovak President Peter Pelligrine," the fraudulent headline said, referring to a Czech spy agency, the Security Information Service (BIS). In their rush to post the story, the hackers apparently got a little sloppy: they misspelled the politician's last name, Pellegrini.
The fake story suggested that Ukrainian citizens, including Ukrainian Chargé d'Affaires Vitaliy Usatyy, planned the murder attempt. It also claimed Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský had commented on the fake plot as well.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
John Chapple/ShutterstockPrincess Beatrice's former boyfriend turned up dead in a Miami hotel earlier this year from a suspected drug overdose, Florida cops confirmed to The Daily Beast on Wednesday.
Cops said they were called to a downtown hotel room on Feb. 7 at the citizenM Miami Worldcenter, where the 41-year-old Paolo Liuzzo was discovered and pronounced dead at 3:34 p.m.
An official cause of death is yet to be released, but Miami cops said his death is being "investigated as an overdose death." Cops did not say whether foul play was suspected or not.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
John Taggart/Pool via ReutersOn Wednesday morning, The Daily Beast published a report detailing how Donald Trump's presidential campaign and four associated PACs have been using a GOP compliance firm to pay legal fees, obscuring who is the ultimate recipient of millions of dollars in legal payments.
By Wednesday night, the Trump campaign and the four PACs were facing a new ethics complaint over the arrangement.
The complaint, which nonprofit watchdog Campaign Legal Center filed with the Federal Election Commission Wednesday afternoon, argues that Trump and his associated PACs aren't just violating federal reporting rules; they're also violating the ban on corporate contributions.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
Reuters/Yuki IwamuraThe latest fallout of Donald Trump's election lies arrived Wednesday, with prosecutors in Michigan revealing that the former president, along with his onetime Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, and his former lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, are unindicted co-conspirators in the criminal case concerning the state's false elector plot which sought to overturn the state's presidential election results in 2020.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel charged 16 Republicans with forgery and conspiracy to commit election forgery for allegedly attempting to swap Michigan's electoral votes from Joe Biden to Trump on Jan. 6, 2021.
The Michigan special investigator Howard Shock subtly revealed Wednesday that Trump was a co-conspirator, answering "yes" when asked by a defendant's attorney if the ex-president was considered to be one.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
Oklahoma State Bureau of InvestigationA fifth suspect has been arrested in connection with the deaths of two women who went missing last month and were later found buried in a rural Oklahoma cattle pasture.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation announced it picked up 31-year-old Paul Grice on Wednesday, who was booked into the Texas County Jail on two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping, and one count of conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree. He and four others are accused of killing 27-year-old Veronica Butler and 39-year-old Jilian Kelley, who disappeared on March 30.
The two were driving to pick up Butler's two kids for a weekly visit amid an intense custody battle between Butler and the youngsters' grandmother, 54-year-old Tifany Machel Adams, when they were ambushed and murdered, according to police.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesA corporate restructuring attorney at a high-powered New York City law firm is suing his ex-boyfriend for allegedly dognapping his beloved miniature poodle and holding her hostage at an apartment in Midtown Manhattan, plunging him into a grievous state of emotional distress.
In a six-figure civil lawsuit obtained by The Daily Beast, Akin Gump associate Taylor Leighton says he wants back his pet—who is named for onetime child actress Raven-Symoné and a member of The Real Housewives of New York City cast—plus more than $200,000 in damages.
"Raven is more than a dog to me," Leighton wrote in an affidavit submitted alongside a complaint filed Tuesday in New York State Supreme Court. "I consider her to be my child. As an illustration to this Court of my love for Raven, I planned an extravagant first birthday party for her in the apartment. I spent several days planning and decorating, including blowing up hundreds of balloons and placing decals on the wall to give Raven a special day. Defendant, of course, participated in the festivities but it was me who took the lead on all planning and implementation."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
Reuters/David Dee DelgadoNEW YORK — House Speaker (R-LA) Mike Johnson trekked to Columbia University's New York City campus on Wednesday—and was immediately greeted with a chorus of boos.
The crowd loudly heckled and booed Johnson as he approached a podium and launched into his speech, railing against "antisemites" who "gnash their teeth and demand to wipe the State of Israel off the map and attack our innocent Jewish students."
Moments after making that declaration, a loud chant broke out of "we can't hear you," to which Johnson responded, "Enjoy your free speech."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times via Getty ImagesAt universities across the United States, students launched protest encampments on Wednesday, as part of a wave of demonstrations meant to urge schools to divest from military contractors supplying Israel with weapons.
The surge in activity comes the wake of a controversial ongoing "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" at Columbia University, where House Speaker Mike Johnson made a lackluster appearance on Wednesday afternoon. Students at other high profile schools like Yale and NYU have held their own protests, but the elite East Coast schools are only the tip of the dissent iceberg.
As these protests took shape, many institutions called for law enforcement to break up the protests and, in many cases, arrest the students.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
Christopher LohThe World Bank has decided to pull funding for a controversial tourism project following accusations it has led to extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and sexual assaults abuses of local villagers in Tanzania.
The years-long program, which was launched in 2017 and aimed at improving management of natural resources and tourism in Southern Tanzania, including Ruaha National Park (RUNAPA), has been tied to a cascade of human rights abuses, according to the Oakland Institute, a California-based advocacy group.
The World Bank has already disbursed $100 million of the $150 million project, known as REGROW, according to The Oakland Institute.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
Hannah McKayHamas released a video of American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin on Wednesday, as Israel's brutal military campaign in Gaza passes its two hundredth day, with dozens of hostages still missing.
Goldberg-Polin was among those in attendance at the Nova Music Festival, only a few miles away from Israel's border with Gaza. In the video, Goldberg-Polin is missing his left hand and arm below the elbow, which is consistent with a report that his arm was blown off while trying to throw grenades out of a bunker while he and other attendees hid from insurgents.
While the video is undated, Goldberg-Polin said that he'd been abandoned by the Israeli government for "almost 200 days." As of Wednesday, the hostages were kidnapped 201 days ago.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
Kevin Mazur/MTV1415/WireImageEight years ago, Taylor Swift and Kanye West shared a phone call that would later go down in infamy. Somehow, we still haven't heard the end of it, and at this rate, we probably never will. Ask five people who's in the wrong in this scenario, and you're liable to come back with five different answers.
Now, thanks to two pointed tracks on Swift's newly released The Tortured Poets Department, the drama is being revived—despite nearly a decade having passed since it first started—and West's ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, is at the center. Swifties are passionately divided in their reaction to the star bringing up the whole ordeal again after it had seemingly simmered. The discourse has evolved into one of the most talked about aspects of TTPD's release, raising the question: What was the point behind Taylor Swift resurfacing the Kim Kardashian drama all over again?
First, a refresher: During the now-curséd 2016 call, Swift and Kanye discussed the rapper's then-forthcoming song, "Famous." From here, the narratives completely diverge. Swift's camp initially claimed after the song's release that West had not called her for approval and that she had "cautioned him about releasing a song with such a strong misogynistic message, adding: "Taylor was never made aware of the actual lyric, ‘I made that bitch famous.'"
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
Fox NewsFox Business Network anchor Charles Payne blew a gasket on Wednesday when a liberal pundit attempted to defend President Joe Biden's gaffes, calling his on-air colleague's comments "dumb" and "insulting."
During the Fox News midday panel show Outnumbered, Payne blasted the president for repeating his oft-told false claim that he had previously driven an 18-wheel big rig.
"It's interesting. I saw someone complaining about Donald Trump exaggerating," Payne groused. "There's a big difference between exaggerating and just lying. Maybe it's his memory, but it's one after another."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
Daniel Shirey/GettyA young George W. Bush was apparently so rattled by his wife's brutal honesty about a subpar speech that he accidentally crashed their car.
That's according to Jenna Bush Hager, who had the Today show crew in stitches on Wednesday when she shared the hilarious bit of family lore.
"It's funny that you bring up speeches because when my parents were first married, my dad gave a speech in Midland, Texas, and they were driving up and he thought [that was] pretty good. And he said, ‘Laura how do you think I did?'" she said.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
The Daily Beast/Minnesota SenateA Minnesota state senator charged with burglarizing her stepmom's home, is denying that she wanted to steal anything, instead claiming that police were called after she startled a family member suffering from Alzheimer's.
Police officers in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota discovered Democrat Nicole Mitchell, clad in all black and armed with a DIY dampened flashlight, in her stepmom's basement, after receiving a call at 4:45 a.m on Monday morning, claiming that someone had broken into the residence.
Mitchell was allegedly trying to retrieve some of her recently deceased father's personal effects after her stepmom stopped all communication with her and other family members, according to the statement of probable cause. As she was being detained, officers said Mitchell said something to the effect of, "I was just trying to get a couple of my dad's things because you wouldn't talk to me anymore."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
Michael Buckner/Getty ImagesBillie Eilish, I love you dearly—but what in the world are you talking about when it comes to technology?
In an interview with Rolling Stone ahead of Eilish's third studio album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, the singer went deep on her sexuality, masturbation, and upcoming new songs. That's all fine and dandy; we love to see a woman confident about sex and her work! Eilish is (and always has been) an icon on that front. But there's one quote in the interview that is so bizarre, so incorrect, so unsettling, that I have to point it out: Eilish claims that Gen Z doesn't know how to operate a computer keyboard.
At one point in the profile, Eilish sits at her home studio in Los Feliz, working at her brother Finneas' laptop. Eilish—who was born in 2001—says she struggles with computers. But it's not just that; Eilish states that the entirety of Gen Z is lost on the matter.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Rexburg Police DepartmentWhen Fremont County Coroner Brenda Dye arrived at Chad Daybell's Idaho home in October 2019, she immediately had questions about how the prominent Doomsday author's wife had died.
Just 45 minutes earlier, Daybell's son had called 911 in a panic after finding his mother, Tammy Daybell, "stiff" in her bedroom. Daybell then told officers that his wife of nearly 30 years was "clearly dead" and that she was "frozen."
Dye entered the home to find Daybell "very upset and distraught," Dyle told Ada County jurors on Wednesday. She then walked into the couple's room, where Tammy had been moved to the bed—and wrapped in a blanket.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
Ruby May Courtesy of The Girth MasterThe former president of the United States may be on trial for the first time ever, but one man dominated the internet this week—and it wasn't Donald Trump.
Instead, Twitter feeds on Tuesday were dominated by a 90-second, man-on-the-street interview with a man who calls himself "The Girth Master." Sporting a red baseball hat and small green shorts and absolutely towering over the woman holding the microphone, the Girth Master casually explained that he works as an OnlyFans creator and makes $40,000 to $80,000 a month.
The shocking salary—mixed with the ready availability of the Girth Master's highly explicit Twitter account—made the video an instant hit. Originally uploaded by the job search app Getahead on TikTok, it has now been viewed more than 87 million times on Twitter alone.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
Ruby May Courtesy of The Girth MasterThe former president of the United States may be on trial for the first time ever, but one man dominated the internet this week—and it wasn't Donald Trump.
Instead, Twitter feeds on Tuesday were dominated by a 90-second, man-on-the-street interview with a man who calls himself "The Girth Master." Sporting a red baseball hat and small green shorts and absolutely towering over the woman holding the microphone, the Girth Master casually explained that he works as an OnlyFans creator and makes $40,000 to $80,000 a month.
The shocking salary—mixed with the ready availability of the Girth Master's highly explicit Twitter account—made the video an instant hit. Originally uploaded by the job search app Getahead on TikTok, it has now been viewed more than 87 million times on Twitter alone.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/GettyThree months after signing off from MSNBC for the final time, Mehdi Hasan believes he is proving all of his "doubters wrong."
Weeks after announcing the launch of his new media venture, Zeteo, the unapologetically progressive Hasan will on Thursday debut the company's flagship podcast, We're Not Kidding. The podcast will air twice a month and feature new Zeteo contributor Bassem Youssef as its first guest. Youssef, known as the "Jon Stewart of the Middle East," will, in fact, be a fixture on the show and appear on every other broadcast.
In its infancy, Zeteo has already become a rousing success on Substack, a platform that has become a primary hub for independent writers and commentators. Hasan boasts that it's already hit over 160,000 total subscribers on Substack, with 20,000 of those paid. Besides We're Not Kidding, he also has a weekly political podcast, titled Mehdi Unfiltered, as well as a growing list of newsletters from established left-leaning authors and journalists.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
HandoutThe women of the Supreme Court—including conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett—tore into a lawyer for Idaho on Wednesday over the state's law allowing for abortions only when a woman is at imminent risk of death.
Lawyers for the state and the federal government were before the court to debate whether Idaho's law contradicts a federal law requiring hospitals to provide stabilizing treatment to patients in emergency condition.
The female justices wasted no time digging in on Idaho's lawyer, Joshua Turner, asking him about various cases in which women would and would not be entitled to an abortion under Idaho state law.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
Momodu Mansaray/WireImageMegan Thee Stallion's former cameraman Emilio Garcia, who's suing the rapper for creating a hostile work environment along with various other labor and wage violations, included the accusation in the suit that the rapper had sex with someone in a vehicle they were sharing as Garcia was trapped inside. However, Garcia's own statement in the lawsuit implies that the rap star was not aware that he was in the car at the time.
It had been reported this week in an exclusive interview with Garcia for NBC News that he had been "forced" to watch the star have sex while "trapped" in a moving vehicle. Garcia told the outlet, "I felt uncomfortable," in the car, "I was kind of frozen, and I was shocked at kind of just the overall audacity to do this right, right beside me." It was then reported that Megan Thee Stallion told Garcia, "Don't ever discuss what you saw," the next day.
However, an important point in Garcia's story that could get lost in translation is that "[Megan Thee Stallion] inquired whether [Garcia] was in the SUV the previous night," of the incident in question, the court docs say, after which "[Garcia] confirmed that he was."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
AFP via Getty ImagesPresident Joe Biden signed a bill Wednesday that is likely to result in a nationwide ban of TikTok.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate voted in favor of the bill, which will require the company to part with its parent company, ByteDance, within a year or risk becoming illegal in the U.S.
The president's signing of the bill is a veritable death sentence for the app, as ByteDance has made no indication it intends to part with its social network baby. Now, the company has 270 days, or roughly nine months, to change its position, a deadline which Biden can extend by 90 days if he so chooses.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
ABC 6 WPVIIn a pre-taped interview with a local Philadelphia news station that aired on Tuesday night, former President Donald Trump attacked one of the key witnesses in his hush-money criminal trial—an act that would seem to be yet another violation of the court's gag order.
During his conservation with WPVI's Walter Perez, which was taped Tuesday morning just ahead of a fiery hearing on whether Trump is guilty of contempt for willfully violating the gag order, the ex-president blasted his former fixer Michael Cohen as a "liar" with "no credibility."
Prior to the former president's latest broadside against Cohen airing, Judge Juan Merchan scolded Trump's lawyers for failing to offer up any evidence in defense of their client's repeated attacks against jurors and witnesses. Complaining that Trump has breached the order at least ten differe
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Apr 24, 2024
ABC/Randy HolmesLike hundreds of thousands of other rapt viewers, comedian Wanda Sykes is getting a lot of mileage out of the Manhattan criminal trial of Donald Trump, the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records connected to his sexual relationship with adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Podcaster Ben Meiselas insisted this week that Trump, present this week in-person for the beginning of the trial, had suffered a spate of audible flatulence in the courtroom.
"I am enjoying the Trump trial, I really am," Sykes told Jimmy Kimmel on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Tuesday evening. "I know they say he's passing gas and everything, so I like that I'm watching it from home, you know? I don't think I wanna be in that room."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
via VKThe widow of a Texas man who spent years aiding Russia's war against Ukraine only to apparently get murdered by Russian troops is now appealing directly to Vladimir Putin to find his mutilated remains.
Lyudmila Bentley, the wife of Dallas native turned Putin fanboy Russell Bentley, appeared in a new video Wednesday in which she speaks in front of a flag of the Donetsk People's Republic, the unrecognized territory in eastern Ukraine where Bentley first joined forces with Russian proxies back in 2014.
Bentley, who obtained Russian citizenship in 2020 and had been working closely with Kremlin-controlled media, was "abducted" earlier this month by Russian troops and later reported dead by local officials and the battalion with which he'd fought. RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan also confirmed his death, without providing details on how he died. Unconfirmed reports circulated among Russian military bloggers suggested Bentley had suffered a gruesome death at the hands of Russian troops who mistook him for a spy.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
The Daily Beast/Marin County SheriffThe child of billionaire businessman Stewart Butterfield is missing, and authorities believe the teen may have run away to San Francisco's seedy Tenderloin district.
According to the Marin County Sheriff's Office, Mint Butterfield, 16, was last seen around 10 p.m. Sunday night in Bolinas, a coastal community of roughly 1,500 people. They were reported missing early the next morning by their mother, entrepreneur Caterina Fake.
"Mint has brown/reddish curly hair and their eyebrows are pierced," Deputy Jose Suarez posted to neighborhood networking site NextDoor. "They were last seen wearing a black sweatshirt, flannel pajama pants, and black boots. They possibly had a gray suitcase with them. Mint is approximately 5'0" tall and 100 lbs."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
Mario Anzuoni/ReutersThe Sydney church leader who was stabbed during a livestreamed service last week supports Elon Musk's view that footage of the attack should remain accessible on X, a court in Australia heard Wednesday.
A lawyer representing the platform formerly known as Twitter claims Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel—a controversial Assyrian Orthodox leader who was allegedly stabbed by a 16-year-old boy—has written an affidavit arguing against the position of Australia's eSafety commissioner, which ordered the removal of the graphic videos. "He's strongly of the view that the material should be available," Marcus Hoyne, an attorney for X, told a federal court, according to The Age.
The bishop was seriously injured in the attack at the Christ the Good Shepherd Church in the Sydney suburb of Wakeley on April 15. His alleged attacker reportedly cited Emmanuel's previous comments about Islam in the moments after the assault. Australian authorities are treating the matter as a religiously-motivated terrorist act.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Mondelez InternationalIs there even a reason to eat a classic Oreo anymore? For the flavor-curious, the taste connoisseurs, the palatally adventurous, it's hard to argue that the standard-edition black-and-white cookie is worth the purchase these days. Buying a regular pack of Oreos seems like a waste when you can sample an Oreo that tastes like coffee, toffee, lemon, tiramisu, or Dirt Cake—a somewhat meta-flavor, considering the ingredients of the beloved dessert.
But these flavors also prompt an interesting, almost existential question: What defines an Oreo, anyway? With the brand's latest and perhaps strangest limited-edition flavor now on shelves, considering the makeup of that classic Oreo becomes all the more intriguing. Because, as buyers will soon learn for themselves, ensuring an Oreo still tastes like an Oreo when it's also Sour Patch Kids-flavored—yes, the newest Oreo is supposed to taste like the fan-favorite, deliriously sour gummies—is a tall order.
Mondelez International, the parent company of America's most popular cookie, has pumped out the flavor varieties in increasing succession over the last 15 years. Starting in 2012, in tandem with the brand's 100th birthday, Oreos have dabbled in all matters of flavors multiple times a year. There have been more than 80 flavors released since then, and in 2024, there will be about 11 different flavors of Oreo released, as both permanent introductions to the selection and for a limited time only. And that's not even including the other varieties, like Golden, Double (or Mega) Stuf, Thins, Oreo minis, O
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Apr 24, 2024
Curtis Means/ReutersDonald Trump may well have had the Republican nomination in the bag for weeks now, but legions of GOP voters are still apparently unable to stomach the idea of casting their ballots for him.
The former president was given another reminder of the scale of his problem on Tuesday with the Pennsylvania primary. Nikki Haley, who axed her own campaign over a month ago, managed to take 16.5 percent of the vote.
Trump, the only candidate still actually running, therefore easily won the primary with 83.5 percent, according to the Associated Press. But the problem for Trump is that Haley's 16.5 percent amounts to more than 155,000 votes. In other words, 155,000 Republicans chose to support a defunct campaign instead of Trump in a key battleground state where, in 2016, he beat Hillary Clinton by fewer than 45,000 votes.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
Curtis Means/ReutersDonald Trump's criminal trial in Manhattan will be on hiatus Wednesday as Judge Juan Merchan takes the day to work on other cases—which is probably just as well, as it gives the public a chance to digest some of the most explosive claims made so far in the first trial ever of a former U.S. president.
After just two days of testimony, prosecutors have already asked the judge to hold Trump in contempt for violating a gag order with a series of social media posts. While the judge has held off on ruling so far, he tore into Trump's lead lawyer Tuesday in a scene that may spell trouble for the former president's defense, telling attorney Todd Blanche: "Mr Blanche, you're losing all credibility, I have to tell you right now."
When the trial resumes Thursday, we'll be getting more from David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer. Pecker, the CEO of American Media Inc. during the 2016 presidential election, was grilled for around two-and-a-half hours on Tuesday about how he offered to act as Trump's "eyes and ears" during the Republican's campaign, using his tabloids to buy the exclusive rights to potentially damaging stories about Trump in an effort to make sure they never saw the light of day—a practice known as "catch and kill."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
Moscow City Court Press Office/Handout via Reuters Russia's deputy defense minister was arrested Wednesday just hours after attending a meeting of top military brass, according to federal investigators.
Timur Ivanov is officially charged with accepting a massive bribe—but some sources say that's just for show.
"The bribe-that's for the public. So far they don't want to talk publicly about treason, it's a big scandal. After all, it's the deputy minister of defense," one unnamed source close to the Federal Security Service told the independent Russian news outlet iStories.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Apr 24, 2024
Jordan Pettitt/PA Images via Getty ImagesThere were scenes of panic and confusion in central London on Wednesday morning after five horses belonging to a regiment closely associated with the king, the Household Cavalry, threw their riders off and bolted through the city, smashing into cars and buses, knocking down pedestrians and streaming with blood.
The Daily Telegraph said the horses, which are kept in stables in Central London near Hyde Park, bolted at about 8:40 a.m. local time during a regular exercise session on Horseguards Parade in London's civil service district, Whitehall.
The Daily Mail said five people, including a serviceman, were injured in three separate incidents.
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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