Tennessee ban on drag shows in front of children temporarily blocked by judge
A
federal judge in Tennessee
temporarily blocked a law that would have restricted drag performances in front of children from going into effect. The restraining order was issued Friday, with the judge saying the legislation was likely "vague and overly-broad" in its restriction of speech. The bill would have otherwise gone into effect on Saturday. Tennessee Republican Governor Bill Lee signed the bill in February after it passed through the state's legislature. The measure was designed to restrict drag performances in public or in front of children, as conservatives across the country argue that the shows are inappropriate for younger audiences. Lee previously said the law would protect children from potentially being exposed to "sexualized entertainment" or "obscenity."
TENNESSEE BECOMES FIRST STATE TO BAN DRAG SHOWS ON PUBLIC PROPERTY, NEAR SCHOOLS
There have been GOP-led efforts to limit drag in at least 15 states in recent months. The Memphis, Tennessee, judge sided with Friends of George's, a Memphis-based LGBTQ+ theater group that
filed a lawsuit
against the state. "At this point, the court finds that the statute is likely both vague and overly-broad," U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker said in the ruling.
JEAN-PIERRE LASHES OUT OVER TENNESSEE LAW BANNING DRAG SHOWS NEAR CHILDREN: 'WHAT SENSE DOES IT MAKE?'
Parker, who former President Donald Trump appointed, said the state had not justified with a compelling interest the restrictions it intended to impose. The debate about drag shows in Tennessee has largely centered on whether drag is inherently sexually explicit. Performers and civil rights groups have criticized the proposed drag restrictions, arguing that such regulations are unconstitutional, redundant under existing obscenity laws and would lead to more harassment and violence against LGBTQ+ people.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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Wall Street Journal reporter imprisoned in Russia hailed by colleagues for charisma, courage
Russia's arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has
rallied people around the world
to his cause, and a close friend said it's indicative of his character that he's inspired such a response. Pjotr Sauer, a reporter at The Guardian who met Gershkovich when they worked together at the independent Moscow Times, said they became fast friends from his first day on the job. He described Gershkovich as a person of unusual generosity and charisma, as well as an "old-school reporter" committed to professionalism. "I met him in my first day at work at the Moscow Times," Sauer told Fox News Digital. "He greeted me with an infectious smile, and I was a rookie in journalism... Evan took me under his wing and was so generous with his time." "It's harder to find a better guy than Evan," he said. "You can really see that in the responses we've seen right now." The 31-year-old Gershkovich, who speaks fluent Russian, is a first-generation American raised in New Jersey whose parents came to the U.S. from the former Soviet Union. Gershkovich has been
reporting on Russia
for six years, with stops at The New York Times (2016-2017), The Moscow Times (2017-2020) and Agence France-Presse (2020-2022) before joining the Wall Street Journal last year.
PUTIN USING WSJ REPORTER TO PUSH NARRATIVE US IS TRYING TO 'DESTABILIZE' RUSSIA, EXPERTS SAY
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, he decided to live in London but regularly traveled to Russia for reporting trips, according to Reuters. Gershkovich has since reported from Belarus and Russia's border regions, spoken to Russian soldiers about the invasion's shortcomings, and put a spotlight on the fledgling economy under President Vladimir Putin. Sauer said that while Gershkovich was a typical American-raised kid, he never lost his fascination with his parents' home nation. When an opportunity at The Moscow Times came about in 2017, he jumped at it. "He was always wondering about Russia and thinking about Russia," Sauer said, noting he took a risk to go from a giant like the New York Times to the lesser-known Moscow paper. The Moscow Times relocated its headquarters to The Netherlands after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and its website is banned in Russia.
Reuters reported
Gershkovich had told friends his job was dangerous on the heels of the Kremlin's strict censorship laws being passed last year, but he felt telling the story of how the ongoing war with Ukraine was changing Russia was critical. Because he was accredited by Russia's foreign ministry, he was allowed to return from London. He was arrested by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) Thursday while reporting in Yekaterinburg, which is roughly 800 miles east of Moscow, and detained on espionage charges. The FSB is considered the successor to the Soviet's notorious KGB. Russian state news agency TASS has reported that Gershkovich was ordered to be held in custody until May 29. The New York Times reported that if past cases are any indication, he could be held in a high-security prison for more than a year. Gershkovich is the first American journalist arrested in Russia and charged with espionage since U.S. News & World Report correspondent Nicholas Daniloff in 1986. Daniloff was released in a prisoner swap after being held captive for two weeks.
WALL STREET JOURNAL DEFENDS REPORTER AFTER HE'S ARRESTED BY RUSSIA ON SUSPICION OF ESPIONAGE
Mark Savchuk, who lives in Kyiv and works with the Ukrainian Volunteer Journalist Initiative, called the situation "absolutely horrible." "We wish Western journalists will talk about this more. I'm sure they will to elevate again the suppression of freedom of speech by Putin," he told Fox News Digital. The Wall Street Journal has forcefully defended Gershkovich at every turn. "The timing of the arrest looks like a calculated provocation to embarrass the U.S. and intimidate the foreign press still working in Russia. The Kremlin has cowed domestic reporting in Russia, so foreign correspondents are the last independent sources of news," the paper's editorial board wrote. The situation has also gotten the attention of the White House. "Let him go,"
President Biden said on Friday
when asked about Gershkovich's arrest. News outlets around the world have
condemned the arrest
and called for his release. Columnist Margaret Sullivan, who worked with Gershkovich at the New York Times, called his arrest "painfully personal" in a heartfelt tribute. "This was the fresh-faced young man in his early 20s, a recent graduate of Bowdoin College, often wearing a pine-green pullover sweater and with his hair in slight disarray, with whom I had worked so closely at the New York Times," she wrote in
The Guardian
, noting that Gershkovich was her assistant when she served as the Gray Lady's public editor. "Funny and helpful, hard-working, thoughtful beyond his years and idealistic about journalistic ethics, Evan was an utter pleasure to have around," Sullivan added. "Yet now he has become, essentially, a hostage." The New Yorker's Joshua Yaffa, a friend of Gershkovich,
penned a touching piece
about the "unimaginable horror" the Wall Street Journal reporter is going through.
RUSSIA DETAINMENT OF WALL STREET JOURNAL REPORTER ON SPYING CHARGES SPARKS OUTRAGE: 'UNJUST DETENTION'
"I met Evan five years ago, not long after he arrived in Moscow as a twentysomething reporter full of ideas, hustle, and smarts. He was funny, acerbic, and kindhearted, not to mention a skilled chef-he had spent several months in the kitchen of a serious New York City restaurant before he turned to journalism," Yaffa wrote. "He was happy; his friends were proud of him. He had pulled off what he had worked so hard for: a staff job with a major American newspaper, covering a place that meant so much to him," Yaffa continued. "Russia could be maddening and fascinating in equal measure, but never boring or unimportant." Yaffa said he and Gershkovich regularly spoke about his choice to cover Russia, where reporters face up to 15 years in prison if they report what authorities deem false reports about the military. "He felt that he had the rare journalistic privilege of reporting from the country that had launched the largest land war in Europe since the Second World War, and that understanding what both the élite and the wider population felt about that was an urgent journalistic assignment. The magnetic tug of duty and curiosity made sense to me," Yaffa wrote. "In fact, on some level, I was jealous." Sauer told Fox News Digital his friend would be amused at all the kind words being written about him, and he looked forward to the day they will reunite. "I know Evan will read them one day and will laugh about them, and I hope the day comes sooner than later," he said. "I just want to see him and have a beer with him and hug him," he said. "It's very important to keep it in the news. The more attention we give, the better, because this is important."
Fox News' Kristine Parks and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Rep. Rashida Tlaib urges fellow House members to demand DOJ drop charges against Julian Assange
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., is asking her fellow House members to sign a letter calling on the Justice Department to end its prosecution of Wikileaks founder
Julian Assange
, who is accused of publishing classified documents. The letter, which was obtained by The Intercept, is currently circulating among members as they are urged to sign it and has not yet been sent to Attorney General Merrick Garland. Democratic Reps. Jamaal Bowman, N.Y., Ilhan Omar, Minn., and Cori Bush, Mo., have signed the letter. The office of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said she intends to sign the letter. "I know many of us have very strong feelings about Mr. Assange, but what we think of him and his actions is really besides the point here," Tlaib's letter to her colleagues reads. "The fact of the matter is that the in which Mr. Assange is being prosecuted under the notoriously undemocratic Espionage Act seriously undermines freedom of the press and the First Amendment." The letter comes just ahead of the fourth anniversary of Assange's April 11, 2019, detention.
JULIAN ASSANGE SUPPORTERS GATHER IN LONDON FOR EXHIBITION OF LARGEST PHYSICAL SHOWING OF CLASSIFIED DOCS
Assange is facing a legal battle over his potential extradition to the U.S. regarding the publication of classified materials detailing war crimes committed by the U.S. government in the Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, detention camp, Iraq and Afghanistan. The materials also expose instances of the CIA engaging in torture and rendition. If he is extradited to the U.S., Assange would face 17 charges for receiving, possessing and communicating classified information to the public under the espionage act and one charge alleging a conspiracy to commit computer intrusion. He could be sentenced to as many as 175 years in an American maximum security prison. The Wikileaks founder has been held at London's high-security Belmarsh Prison since he was removed from the Ecuadorian Embassy in 2019 for breaching jail conditions. He had sought asylum at the embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden over allegations he raped two women. The investigations into the sexual assault allegations were eventually dropped. Tlaib's cites last year's open letter from the editors and publishers of U.S. and European news outlets that worked with Assange on the publication of excerpts from more than 250,000 documents he obtained in the Cablegate leak. "The New York Times, The Guardian, El Pais, Le Monde, and Der Spiegel have taken the extraordinary step of publishing a joint statement in opposition to the indictment, warning that it 'sets a dangerous precedent, and threatens to undermine America's First Amendment and the freedom of the press,'" Tlaib wrote to House members.
NEW YORK TIMES, GUARDIAN, OTHER MEDIA OUTLETS CALL ON US TO END PROSECUTION OF JULIAN ASSANGE
The congresswoman also warned that major news outlets could later be prosecuted for publishing accurate information using classified materials if the case against Assange is successful. "Mr. Assange's prosecution marks the first time in US history that the Espionage Act has been used to indict a publisher of truthful information," she wrote. "The prosecution of Mr. Assange, if successful, not only sets a legal precedent whereby journalists or publishers can be prosecuted, but a political one as well. In the future, the New York Times or Washington Post could be prosecuted when they publish important stories based on classified information. Or, just as dangerous, they may refrain from publishing such stories for fear of prosecution." The Cablegate documents for which Assange is facing prosecution were leaked to WikiLeaks by then-U.S. soldier Chelsea Manning, who was convicted in 2013 of violations of the Espionage Act and other offenses. The Obama administration did not indict Assange over Wikileaks' publication of the cables in 2010 because it would have also had to do the same to other journalists from major news outlets. But former President Trump's
Justice Department
later moved to indict Assange under the Espionage Act, and the Biden administration has continued pursuing his prosecution. The U.S. government has purported that Assange's publication of classified material put its sources and allies in danger, although this claim is without evidence. And the CIA during the Trump administration, reportedly had plans to kill Assange over the publication of sensitive agency hacking tools known as "Vault 7." The agency said this publication represented "the largest data loss in CIA history." According to a 2021 Yahoo report, the CIA had discussions "at the highest levels" of the Trump administration during this time about plans to assassinate Assange in London. Acting on orders from then-CIA director
Mike Pompeo
, the agency had drawn up kill "sketches" and "options." The agency had advanced plans to kidnap and rendition Assange and had made a political decision to charge him, according to the report. Many Democrats still hold a negative view of Assange over publications blamed for hurting Hillary Clinton's presidential chances in 2016. Wikileaks had published internal communications between the Democratic National Committee and then-presidential candidate Clinton's campaign. The communications revealed the DNC's attempts to boost Clinton in that year's Democratic primary. |
SEAN HANNITY: We are entering a dangerous new era in America
Fox News host Sean Hannity previewed what former President
Donald Trump's arraignment
in criminal court next week might look like.
SEAN HANNITY:
We have new details from Alvin Bragg's repulsive political witch hunt. According to sources that we have, Bragg demanded that Donald Trump turn himself in today, less than 24 hours after the grand jury voted unfairly to indict him. But because of security concerns, the arraignment won't take place until next week, probably on Tuesday afternoon.
Donald Trump
will be booked. He will be fingerprinted. There will be a mug shot. The media mob, they will get their so desired mug shot. Now, my gut instinct tells me that my friend, my colleague Pete Hegseth, who was on last time, he's going to be proven correct. That photograph will end up on more T-shirts and more hats that say MAGA and Trump 2024. It will also appear before Judge Juan Merchan, who, by the way, the very same judge who is accused of railroading the former CFO of the Trump Organization. Now, according to Trump, quote, 'The judge assigned to my witch hunt case hates me' Now at this point, would you expect anything less? This is not a criminal case. This is a political hatchet job. And by the way, there will be no settlement, according to a source close to President Trump. He plans to fight this to the very end.
TRUMP TO BE ARRAIGNED TUESDAY WITHOUT HANDCUFFS, SOURCES SAY
...
The first step will most certainly be a motion to immediately dismiss all of the charges on three separate grounds. We'll go over this with our attorneys tonight in the course of the program. One, the faulty legal theory. We don't know the exact charges, but allegedly what Bragg is doing is attempting to bootstrap a misdemeanor documents crime to an FEC charge that has never been done before and might not even be legal in and of itself. The second thing, Trump's lawyers will likely argue that the case is beyond the statute of limitations, which they are. After all, there is a two-year limit on charges related to mislabeling documents. Now, the third reason for a dismissal involves prosecutorial misconduct. Here you have a D.A. responsible for the charges. His name is
Alvin Bragg
. He ran on a campaign promise to go after one man, Donald Trump, one family, the Trump family, one organization, the Trump organization. Now, I think all of that clearly reeks of political bias, don't you?
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Tori Spelling steps out sporting a bright pink bejeweled eye patch after revealing cornea ulcer
Tori Spelling stepped out sporting a bright pink bejeweled eye patch when she attended the launch party for her best friend Laura Rugetti's new hair extension line on Monday night. The
49-year-old actress
and the celebrity hairstylist wore matching ensembles of bright pink cropped jackets and pleated black maxi shirts with thigh-high slits to the event at Hotel Ziggy in West Hollywood. On Thursday, Spelling shared photos from the event and explained the reason for her unusual eye accessory in the caption. "Bringing twinning back one fashion moment at a time... when your hair bestie @laurarugetti launches her clip in extension line ' California Blondes' and collab x @hiddencrownhair you support even with an ulcer on your eyeball," the "Beverly Hills 90210 alum wrote. She added, "Laura even bedazzled an eye patch for me. I'm proud of this #boss."
TORI SPELLING SAYS 'HITS JUST KEEP COMING' AS SHE REVEALS 14-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER STELLA IS IN HOSPITAL
"I love you!!!!!!!!! Thank you for being the most supportive best friend," Rugetti wrote in the comments. The
"Scary Movie 2" star's
post was met with praise and support from her fans. "I read that the patch was because of an injury, but my little one who has a condition called amblyopia requires a patch for that. She LOVED LOVED LOVED seeing this and said that it was a real life Barbie with a patch!" wrote one follower. "I'm sorry you have a cornea ulcer. Wishing you a very fast recovery. You both look amazing," commented another. "Only Tori can make an eye patch look amazing," one fan wrote, adding two fire and a clapping hands emoji. Meanwhile, Spelling shared an update to one concerned follower, writing that her eye was "healing thx to antibiotic drops."
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The
"Stori Telling" author
first revealed her eye injury in a post that she shared to her Instagram Story on March 24. Spelling uploaded a selfie in which she was seen laying in bed with a beige patch over one eye underneath her glasses. "Thx to all the well wishes and concern. Everyone is asking if I scratched my cornea. It's actually an ulcer on my eye. Antibiotic drops and Dr said it will 'hopefully' heal in 7-10 days," she wrote on the photo. Corneal ulcers are open sores on the outer layer of the cornea. According to WebMD, a corneal ulcer could be the result of an injury to the eye or a bacterial, viral or fungal infection. On Saturday, Spelling shared another selfie to her Instagram Story and wrote, "Still got the eye patch on...can anyone tell me online or in store where I can get my teen gifts and myself cute bathing suits for Spring Break!" Spelling shares sons Liam, 16, Finn, 10, and Beau, 6, and daughters Stella, 14 and Hattie, 11, with
her husband Dean McDermott
, 56. |
On this day in history, April 1, 1945, US forces invade Okinawa, last major battle of World War II
The United States launched a massive invasion of the
Japanese home island
of Okinawa, with an initial landing of 60,000 soldiers and marines, on this day in history, April 1, 1945. The Battle of Okinawa proved the last major engagement of
World War II
and the largest battle of the entire war in the Pacific Theater. Kamikazes, mass civilian suicide, the use of children in combat, the deaths of top-ranking officers and atrocious casualties on both sides defined the nearly three-month-long brutal engagement, which ended in U.S victory on June 22.
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, MARCH 31, 1943, 'OKLAHOMA!' DEBUS ON BROADWAY: 'DEEPLY FELT'
Its catastrophic battle had a dramatic impact on the shape of the world to come - convincing President Truman that the atomic bomb would hasten the end of the war and save millions of lives. "Although the joint
Army-Marine Corps landings
on Okinawa were initially unopposed, the well dug-in Japanese defenders soon put up fierce resistance," writes the National World War II Museum. "Taking Okinawa would provide Allied forces an airbase from which bombers could strike Japan and an advanced anchorage for Allied fleets. From Okinawa, U.S. forces could increase air strikes against Japan and blockade important logistical routes, denying the home islands of vital commodities." The conquest of Okinawa, with its population of about 300,000 people, proved a horrific challenge. "By the time Okinawa was secured by American forces on June 22, 1945,
the United States
had sustained over 49,000 casualties, including more than 12,500 men killed or missing," reports the National World War II Museum. It adds, "Okinawans caught in the fighting suffered greatly, with an estimate as high as 150,000 civilians killed" - about half the pre-invasion population of the island. American war planners were shocked by the fanatical suicides of both civilians on the island and kamikaze pilots attacking U.S. warships supporting the invasion.
D-DAY 78 YEARS LATER: HOW FDR'S POWERFUL PRAYER UNITED AMERICANS
Many GIs watched in horror as civilians leaped to their deaths over the cliffs of Okinawa, often with their children by their side or in their arms, rather than face U.S. troops. One area of Okinawa is still known today as Suicide Cliff. "Many civilians, often entire families, committed suicide rather than surrender to Americans, by some accounts on the orders of fanatical Japanese soldiers," Reuters reported in a 2007 anniversary story of the Battle of Okinawa. "We were told that if women were taken prisoner we would be raped and that we should not allow ourselves to be captured," one survivor told the news outlet. "Four of us tried to commit suicide with one hand grenade, but it did not go off." Japan launched it first kamikaze attacks in 1944 in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. But the horrifying suicide onslaught reached its deadliest fever pitch at Okinawa.
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, OCT. 25, 1944, FIRST KAMIKAZE SUICIDE PILOTS ATTACK US NAVY IN WORLD WAR II
The Japanese launched 1,900 kamikaze attacks during the Okinawa campaign, according to the
National Museum of the U.S. Navy
. They struck 149 American ships, leaving nearly 10,000 Americans dead, wounded or missing. The intense battle claimed the lives of the top-ranking soldiers on both sides of the conflict. "This was the only battle in the Pacific War [in which] both commanding generals were killed," wrote Michael A. Eyre for Texas A&M University Corpus Christi. "The Japanese commander, General Ushijima, committed harikari and his American counterpart, Lieutenant General Buckner, was killed by mortar fire. Buckner was the highest ranking American officer to be killed in World War II. This demonstrates the significance and ferocity of the fight for Okinawa." Perhaps the most famous person killed on Okinawa was celebrity U.S. war correspondent Ernie Pyle, who chronicled the war in both Europe and Asia and won the acclaim of American troops for his front-line reporting.
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The 44-year-old Indiana native was killed instantly when he was shot in the head by enemy machine gun fire on April 18. "Soldiers built a coffin for their friend and buried him along with the others killed on Ie Shima," reports the Indiana Historical Society. "About 200 men from all ranks and representing all parts of the armed forces attended the burial service held on April 20, which lasted about 10 minutes." The impact of the Battle of Okinawa is still being felt today. "The losses at Okinawa convinced U.S. war planners that any invasion of Japan would incur unacceptable casualties," writes the Imperial War Museum of London. "Their estimates, at worst as many as 1 million U.S. servicemen, were a key factor in President Truman's decision to
use the atomic bomb
." |
Bill Maher fears Trump indictment will spark 'cycle of revenge' for future presidents
"Real Time" host Bill Maher
did not pop the champagne following the historic criminal indictment of former President Trump. Maher kicked off the panel discussion on Friday night expressed how conflicted he is about the charges being brought from New York, calling it an "impossible choice" since "you can't not go after him because he's always guilty," pointing to both of his impeachments. "I always ask myself the question, 'What is actually better for the future of the country and my future?' Because I don't want to live in a country where we are one of these places where whoever is president, as soon as they get out of office, they go after them," Maher said.
BILL MAHER WARNS CHARGING TRUMP OVER HUSH MONEY PROBE WOULD BE 'COLOSSAL MISTAKE': 'ROCKET FUEL' FOR 2024
He continued, "It's almost Greek tragedy-like because you set off this cycle of revenge like The House of Atreus. And I guarantee you when Biden is out of office, Day Two, they will try to arrest him." Republican
Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears
called for due process and warned Trump's political adversaries "be careful that you don't dance on the grave of your enemy because you may fall in." Meanwhile, Tablet Magazine columnist James Kirchick told Maher that the "tragic part" that the three other criminal investigations hovering over Trump that are "far more serious than paying off a porn star."
BILL MAHER TORCHES SAN FRANCISCO'S 'CRAZY' REPARATIONS PLAN: 'THIS IS MADNESS'
"So if you're going to indict the first president ever in the history of this country for something... why couldn't it have been for one of these other investigations rather than this new one which is going on a novel legal theory that the D.A. in Manhattan has. It's unclear whether he'll even be able to get a conviction," Kirchick said. The other probes involving the former president include his role in the events leading up to the Jan. 6 riot., his handling of classified documents after leaving office and the effort to reverse the Georgia election results. Maher went on to insist that the Trump indictment "unites Republicans" behind the former president and will ultimately make him the 2024 Republican nominee. "I mean, DeSantis right now is saying, 'I can't get arrested. Will someone please arrest me?'" Maher quipped.
BILL MAHER RAILS AGAINST TRIGGER WARNINGS IN COLLEGES, ENTERTAINMENT: 'HOW WEAK MY COUNTRY HAS BECOME'
Last week, Maher urged
Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg
to not bring charges against Trump, saying it'd be a "colossal mistake." "Yes, he's done a lot of bad things, and I'm sure he did this - everything they accused him of [doing], he did. But first of all, it's not gonna work. It's gonna be rocket fuel for his 2024 campaign. And it's just gonna look to MAGA nation like, 'Oh, you know, you tried with Mueller, you tried with Ukraine, you tried with January 6. Now we go to the porn star? Really? You're down to that?!" Maher exclaimed. |
One dead, dozens injured in theatre roof collapse in Illinois
The Apollo Theatre in
Belvidere, Illinois
, reportedly suffered a marquee and a partial roof collapse Friday night during a tornado. The collapse left at least one person dead, dozens of others injured and debris scattered on nearby cars and street after the incident. More than 20 ambulances were called to the scene, according to Fox 32. People were seen removing the debris off the floor in search of anyone trapped underneath. Emergency responders took people out of the building on stretchers and loaded them into ambulances.
ARKANSAS 'CATASTROPHIC' TORNADO MOVES THROUGH LITTLE ROCK AREA; TENNESSEE, IOWA, ILLINOIS IMPACTED BY TWISTERS
MIDWEST, SOUTH BRACE FOR MASSIVE STORMS, POSSIBLE MISSISSIPPI-STYLE TORNADO REPEAT
Illinois Democrat Gov. J.B. Pritzker said his administration is closely monitoring the roof collapse. "I've been in touch with officials for updates and to direct any available resources we can," he wrote on Twitter. "As we learn more, please follow the guidance of all local authorities." The collapse was reported amid
severe storms
with 90 mph winds. The concert began at 7 p.m. local time Friday night. The bands scheduled to play were Revocation, Morbid Angel, and Skeletal Remains. A band was reportedly playing on stage when the collapse occurred. The incident happened about 30 minutes into the concert. Morbid Angel said in a statement that the concert was canceled "due to a Tornado that hit the Venue." "We ask anyone who is still traveling to the venue to please seek shelter and stay safe," the band posted on social media. "We are currently sheltering in place, and want to extend our support and hope that everyone at the show tonight is safe. Right now our focus is on making sure everyone in the venue tonight is ok and gets home." |
TUCKER CARLSON: Leaders turned the American legal system against their political opponents
The defining principle of the American legal system, really of American life, the principle that has kept us free, is equal justice - and the principle is fairly simple. No matter what you look like or who your parents were or what your politics might be, the law treats you exactly the same way as it would any other American. In this country, justice is blind. Now, that's a lofty standard, but because Americans have long believed in fairness and because most of the people in charge of administering that system have behaved in good faith, this country has, for the most part, lived up to its core ideal for 250 years, making it the greatest country in the world, but the populist surge of 2016 changed everything. Permanent Washington suddenly felt more threatened by its own voters, by American voters, than by any foreign adversary.
Donald Trump
, to them, seemed more dangerous than ISIS. They panicked, and in their panic, our leaders decided to turn the American legal system as well as the American intel agencies and if necessary the U.S. Army, against their political opponents. They felt they had no choice. In doing this, they abandoned the ancient principle of equality under the law and they replaced it with what is effectively a loyalty oath. Opponents of the regime became enemies of the state. That's a huge change and you're seeing the results of that change tonight. Just 24 hours after a Manhattan grand jury indicted Joe Biden's rival in the next presidential race, another jury also in New York convicted a Republican social media influencer called Douglass Mackey. What did Mackey do wrong? Well, Douglass Mackey's crime was mocking Hillary Clinton voters online. You're seeing on your screen the meme that Mackey posted on Twitter during the 2016 election. In that meme, Mackey suggests it's possible to vote for president by text message because only Hillary voters could be stupid enough to believe something so absurd, but of course, in real life, no one did believe that. Mackey's insult did not alter a single vote in the election and no one has proved otherwise. The government brought forth not a single victim of this crime. It couldn't. Douglass Mackey was joking. Nobody believed he was a federal election official and in fact, his social media profile picture had a Donald Trump hat. It was unmistakable. This was mockery, but in the wake of the 2016 election and the rising hysteria about Donald Trump, mocking the Democratic Party became a crime. So as a result tonight, Douglass Mackey faces 10 years in prison. The case against Doug Mackey is the most shocking attack on freedom of speech in this country in our lifetimes.
TRUMP INDICTED: NYPD ORDERS ALL OFFICERS TO REPORT IN UNIFORM FRIDAY 'IN PREPARATION FOR ANYTHING'
It's also a useful lesson in who will be allowed to speak going forward. As it turns out, a woman called Kristina Wong posted an almost identical meme the same year back during the 2016 election, but unlike Doug Mackey, Wong voted for Hillary Clinton. "Hey, Trump supporters," she wrote. "Skip poll lines and text in your vote." Same crime, but the Department of Justice under Joe Biden has shown no interest in prosecuting Kristina Wong. Do you see how this works? Have you internalized our new partisan legal standards? That would be the point of the exercise. They want you to know the rules. We'll have more on the Doug Mackey case and what it means for you and for America in just a moment and by the way, Douglass Mackey is not the only Trump supporter who's now going to prison because of how he voted. According to new reporting from Julie Kelly, the FBI's counterterrorism division just arrested a grandmother in the state of Virginia on four misdemeanors this week. What exactly did she do? She entered the Capitol with her elderly mother for a total of 15 minutes on January 6. She hurt no one. She destroyed nothing. She just stood there and yet, at the very same time, during the very same week, none of the transgender thugs who invaded the Tennessee State House yesterday have been rounded up by the FBI counter-terror division and, of course, they won't be. Joe Biden just honored them with a trans day of visibility. So, what we're watching here unmistakably is bigger than Donald Trump, but we're going to begin tonight with the latest on his case, and we're doing that because he is - and this is not at all incidental to his prosecution - he is the leading Republican candidate for president. Now, Trump apparently is being charged not with treason or insurrection or collusion or even shoplifting, but something much smaller: a slew of process crimes relating to a payment he apparently made seven years ago. In no fair system would that be a crime under the law seven years later, but the Soros-funded district attorney in Manhattan,
Alvin Bragg
, has stitched together a Frankenstein legal theory to justify this prosecution. Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible because the statute of limitations has passed, and as if all of that were not third-world enough, someone leaked the news of Donald Trump's grand jury indictment to the media. Now, that in itself is a crime under the law in New York. In fact, a much bigger crime than those under which Donald Trump is being charged.
DONALD TRUMP AND STORMY DANIELS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Will Alvin Bragg prosecute the leaker? Please. It's almost certainly someone in his own office. Nor will Bragg prosecute, as many people have pointed out today, the crimes of Hunter Biden or other Democratic partisans - those aren't rare or hard to find. Bragg will not prosecute Hillary Clinton, even though she just admitted to violating campaign finance law by paying for the fake Russian dossier. What's fascinating is that none of this has alerted the watchdogs to government abuse or media. No, just the opposite. The media are cheerleading our new standards of tribal justice.
DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, CNN:
The good news is here, it's our legal system in action saying nobody is above the law.
FORMER REP. ELIZABETH HOLTZMAN:
Nobody is above the law, not Republicans and not Democrats, not Donald Trump, not anybody.
ADAM KINZINGER, CNN:
I tend to think that nobody is above the law.
ARI MELBER, MSNBC:
No person above the law.
ANDREW WEISSMAN, MSNBC:
We have political leaders who are not above the law.
MSNBC GUEST:
We don't believe that anybody should be above the law.
SYMONE SANDERS, MSNBC:
They were all beating the same drum, if you will. No one is above the law.
MSNBC GUEST:
No one is above the law. Today's evidence is that that includes Trump as well.
GLENN KIRSCHNER, MSNBC:
New life has been breathed into that saying, "No person is above the law."
WILL CAIN: ALVIN BRAGG IS BEYOND THE LAW
Let's be completely clear. None of the people you just saw care a thing about justice. Let that word burn in their mouths. No, they are obviously bloodthirsty. They would cheer as you were necklaced in the street. "No one is above the law!" they would scream as you writhed on the ground. They would, but as long as they're still pretending that the old standards of fairness and equal application of the law apply, then what ever happened to Sam Bankman-Fried? Remember him? Largest financial crime in history? To this day, no one has explained or bothered to even try to tell us how Sam Bankman-Fried was able to make his bail that was set at $250 million. All that has been disclosed to us, the long-suffering public, is that a former dean at Stanford and a Stanford computer scientist put up $500,000 and $200,000 respectively, and his parents put up the value of their home. So that leaves quite a big gap. Where did the rest of the money come from? No one will tell us. No one in the media is asking because no one cared. Sam Bankman-Fried didn't pay off a former mistress. No, he defrauded a million people and ran off with houses in the Bahamas and yet the system is protecting him because he voted correctly.
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That's remarkable, but he's not the only criminal that Washington refuses to prosecute. There are so many of them. The people who destroyed the U.S. dollar, for example; the ones who degraded the United States military and turned it into a joke, which it is; the ones who flooded rural America with opioids and killed hundreds of thousands; the people currently selling our oil reserves to China. None of them have ever been prosecuted, in fact, they've all been promoted. We'll have more on them in just a moment, but for now, we'd like to start with
Donald Trump
, the Republican front-runner who has been indicted for non-existent crimes in the middle of a presidential race. We have a very specific question about how this is going to affect the race because, of course, affecting the race is the entire point. |
Heart disease, the silent killer: Study shows it can strike without symptoms
Heart disease is known as the "silent killer" for a reason - an estimated 45% of all
heart attacks
come without any of the classic symptoms, according to Harvard Medical School. Now, a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine has found that nearly half of the participants were found to have signs of coronary heart disease or atherosclerosis - a plaque build-up in the arteries that can restrict blood flow - despite having no prior symptoms. Researchers from Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark studied over 9,000 people age 40 or older who had no symptoms and no history of heart disease.
KETO DIETS COULD INCREASE RISK OF HEART ATTACK AND STROKE, SAYS NEW STUDY
Doctors used angiograms, which are medical images that show the inside of the heart, to determine the results. A little more than half of the participants had no sign of heart disease. However, 36% had "nonobstructive disease," which means there was some plaque buildup in the arteries but not enough to cause a blockage. Another 10% had "obstructive disease," which involves significant plaque buildup that could narrow or block the arteries. Those who showed obstructive and extensive disease were at the highest risk for future heart attacks, the findings stated. Within about 3.5 years, 193 people involved with the study had died and 71 had experienced heart attacks. Fox News Digital reached out to the study authors for comment. Dr. Adedapo Iluyomade, a preventive cardiologist at Baptist Health Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute
in South Florida
, was not involved in the study but reviewed the findings. "This study supports the importance of focusing on early prevention and early identification of patients who would be considered high-risk for future cardiovascular events," he told Fox News Digital in an interview. The primary risk factors for heart disease include smoking,
high blood pressure
, diabetes, obesity, high low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, unhealthy diet, a sedentary lifestyle and secondhand smoke exposure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Some risk factors, such as sex and age, can't be modified. "Males are at a higher risk, as are people who are over the age of 65," said Dr. Iluyomade. "But at the same time, studies have shown that the process of atherosclerosis begins very early on and very silently." The doctor warns that as early as age 10 or 11, fatty streaks can already be found in the arteries, which can develop eventually into
a significant buildup of plaque in the arteries. "There are some risk factors, such as genetics, environmental aspects and chronic inflammation, that can't be easily plugged into a risk calculator or assessment tool," he said. "Coronary atherosclerosis often develops in the absence of symptoms because the underlying risk factors, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, typically don't cause symptoms either," said Dr. Jim Liu, a cardiologist at
The Ohio State University
Wexner Medical Center. He was not involved in the study. "It's important for patients to see their health care providers routinely to make sure those risk factors are addressed." Dr. Iluyomade is hopeful that increasing the availability of heart health screenings for people without symptoms could help save lives. In particular, he recommends rolling out calcium-score screening heart tests, which use computerized tomography (CT) to detect any plaque buildup in the arteries.
5 SIMPLE WAYS TO HELP PREVENT HEART DISEASE THIS YEAR
"CT calcium scoring can detect whether plaque in the coronary arteries is obstructing blood flow or not," he said. "It takes just seven minutes and the radiation exposure is minimal." Insurance typically does not cover a CT calcium test; the cost is usually between $100 and $400, according to Healthline. Another screening option is CT angiography, which was used in the Copenhagen University study. This test involves injecting dye into the patient using an IV and then taking images of blood vessels to detect any potential blockages. In most cases, insurance will only pay for CT angiography if the patient has symptoms, said Dr. Iluyomade.
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The main limitation of the Copenhagen study is that only White people in Denmark were included in the research. Despite the challenges that remain, Dr. Iluyomade is encouraged by the progress that's been made. "I think it's a great day and age for preventive cardiology, in that we're able to detect disease before it becomes symptomatic and prevent it from causing issues," he said. In 2020, about 697,000 people in the U.S. died from heart disease, per CDC data. It's the leading cause of death for men, women and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the country. |
Ozzy Osbourne to headline first show this fall since announcing retirement
Ozzy Osbourne is among headliners announced this week for the first Power Trip Festival in Indio, California, this fall. The hard rock festival, which will also be headlined by legends Guns N' Roses, Metallica and AC/DC, marks the "Black Sabbath" frontman's return to performing after canceling all his 2023 tour dates and
announcing he would be retiring
from touring due to ongoing health issues. "I am honestly humbled by the way you've all patiently held onto your tickets for all this time, but in all good conscience, I have now come to the realization that I'm not physically capable of doing my upcoming European/UK tour dates, as I know I couldn't deal with the travel required," he posted on his
social media
accounts in February. He said his "singing voice is fine," but he remains physically weak after three operations, stem cell treatments, physical therapy and hybrid assistive limb treatment, which uses a robotic exoskeleton to help improve movement.
OZZY OSBOURNE SPOTTED LOOKING FRAIL AS HE REVEALS WIFE SHARON OSBOURNE 'PULLS MY STRINGS'
But he said he still wants to perform. "My team is currently coming up with ideas for where I will be able to perform without having to travel from city to city and country to country," he added in his statement. Later that month, during an episode of SiriusXM's Ozzy's Boneyard, he stressed, "I'm f---ing not dying," adding he was annoyed at seeing press reports suggesting he was "on his last legs." He revealed he underwent "life-altering" surgery in June 2022 and is still in "constant pain" related to a spinal injury four years ago.
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The rocker, who has been
seen recently with a cane
, opened up about his physical ailments and his ongoing battle with Parkinson's disease in an interview with The Observer last year. "With the pressing on the spinal column, I got nerve pain," Ozzy said. "I'd never f---ing heard of nerve pain! You know when you're a kid, and you're playing with snow and your hands get really cold? Then you go in and you pour on hot water, and they start getting warm? And you get those chills? And it f---ing hurts? It's like that." Osbourne was diagnosed with
Parkinson's disease
in 2003, and he was involved in a near-fatal crash on an ATV the same year. In 2019, he fell, which aggravated his neck and back injuries, requiring surgery. Osbourne posted about the festival on his social media accounts Thursday, writing, "One legendary weekend in the Desert." This week, Ozzy's wife, Sharon Osbourne, told Piers Morgan on his show "Uncensored" that the rocker's "doing so much better."
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"It's going to be a great show," she said of the Power Trip festival. Ozzy "never stopped. He's back."
The Power Trip Festival
comes from the founders of Coachella and will be set in Indio Oct. 6-8.
Fox News' Stephanie Giang-Paunon contributed to this report.
|
MLB admits wrong call was made against Mets amid new timer rules
Even
Major League Baseball
umpires are adjusting to the new rules. On opening day Thursday, the umpires called a strike against the
New York Mets' Jeff McNeil
because of a runner on first. The umps initially ruled Pete Alonso did not get back to first base in time after a pitch. That put McNeil in an 0-2 hole despite only one pitch being thrown.
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However, manager Buck Showalter said Friday the umps made a mistake, and a strike should not have been called. Under the new rules, pitchers have 15 seconds to deliver a pitch, 20 with one or more runners on base. Batters have eight seconds to be "alert" in the batter's box. But the umps admitted to Showalter that a strike should not have been assessed to McNeil, who hit an RBI single anyway.
ANGELS' ANTHONY RENDON AGGRESSIVELY SWINGS AT FAN DURING ALTERCATION; MLB INVESTIGATING INCIDENT
Showalter also said umps will start to issue warnings if baserunners are taking their sweet time. "When I refereed basketball, it's called preventive officiating, where you go, 'Hey, get out of the lane,' instead of blowing the whistle,"
Showalter said Friday
. "If they keep doing it, you pop them." The Mets won the game, but fell 2-1 Friday to the
Miami Marlins
. |
Daughter of former US intelligence director gets 35 years for deadly stabbing
The adopted daughter of former President George W. Bush's Director of National Intelligence
John Negroponte
was sentenced Friday to 35 years in prison for the stabbing death of a friend during a drunken argument in a Maryland home. Sophia Negroponte, 30, of Washington, D.C., was convicted in January of
second-degree murder
in the 2020 death of 24-year-old Yousuf Rasmussen. "That rage drove Ms. Negroponte to stab her friend in the neck," Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Terrence McGann said Friday.
DC RACIAL EQUITY PLAN MAY LAND NATION'S CAPITAL AS DEFENDANT IN COURTROOM: EXPERT
Negroponte and Rasmussen attended the same Washington high school and had been drinking with another person on the night of the February 2020 stabbing. They argued twice that night, prosecutors said,
Fox DC
reported. At one point, when Rasmussen returned to the home to get his phone, Negroponte stabbed him multiple times, including one blow that severed his jugular, authorities said. Negroponte, then 27, was found inside the home covered in blood and lying on top of Rasmussen yelling, "I'm sorry," according to charging documents previously obtained by Fox News Digital. She allegedly confessed to the killing to investigators. Defense lawyers argued their client was so intoxicated at the time that she could not have formed specific intent. "Alcohol pervades this case from the start; it pervades her life," he said, adding, "and it is absolutely at the heart of what happened there that night. And it's one of the major reasons that this is absolutely not a murder," defense attorney David Moyse told jurors. Sophia Negroponte was one of five abandoned or orphaned
Honduran children
who John Negroponte and his wife, Diana, adopted after Negroponte was appointed as U.S. ambassador to the Central American country in the 1980s. |
Philadelphia train passengers pin down alleged gunman until police arrive: Video
A group of Philadelphian train passengers held down an alleged gunman
after a Thursday shooting incident
until police arrived, video shows. A 19-year-old was shot in his left arm on a
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA)
train just before 8 a.m. The incident spilled onto the 52nd Street Station platform in West Philadelphia, with a few people detaining the suspected shooter before police arrived. Cellphone footage captured by witness Mark Krull shows Market-Frankford Line passengers holding the suspect down until police arrived on the scene.
PHILADELPHIA TEEN TOLD MOM 'I LOVE YOU' BEFORE BEING KILLED ON WAY TO SCHOOL
"Keep the kids down, keep the kids down," one man is heard saying in the video. "It looked like they were beating somebody up. You hear a muffled gun shot and we all ran out of the train and hid behind one of those blue storage things SEPTA has," Krull told
FOX 29 Philadelphia.
"I was a bit shaken up. I ride the train all the time and it's usually not violent." The victim is in stable condition. Police said that the shooting started with an argument between two male passengers.
PENNSYLVANIA CHOCOLATE FACTORY EXPLOSION LEAVES FIVE DEAD, TWO MISSING: REPORT
"That altercation was quickly joined by two additional males, erupting into a full-blown three to one assault," Acting Chief Chuck Lawson said. Authorities said that three men were taken into custody, with a fourth suspect still sought by police. Fox News Digital reached out to the Philadelphia Police Department for a statement, but no new details are available. |
Neil Diamond says he came to terms with Parkinson's diagnosis 'in the last few weeks': 'A calm has moved in'
Neil Diamond opened up about coming to terms his Parkinson's disease diagnosis, which he first revealed publicly in 2018. The 82-year-old legend admitted he struggled to accept his diagnosis and was in denial for a year or two during an interview on "CBS Sunday Morning," which will air April 2. "I'm still doing it. And I don't like it," the
music legend
said. "But ... this is me; this is what I have to accept. And I'm willing to do it. And, OK, so this is the hand that God's given me, and I have to make the best of it, and so I am. I am." Host Anthony Mason asked Diamond about the moment he accepted that he has Parkinson's, a progressive disorder of the central nervous system that affects movement.
NEIL DIAMOND HOSTS 'SWEET CAROLINE' GLOBAL SINGALONG TO INSPIRE PEOPLE TO COME TOGETHER
"I think this has just been in the last few weeks," the Grammy winner responded. "But somehow, a calm has moved [into] the hurricane of my life, and things have gotten very quiet, as quiet as this recording studio. And I like it. I find that I like myself better. I'm easier on people. I'm easier on myself. And the beat goes on, and it will go on long after I'm gone." The
singer announced
in January 2018 he was retiring from touring after being diagnosed with Parkinson's. The singer-songwriter also announced dates for the final leg of his 50th anniversary world tour were canceled. In December,
Diamond surprised the crowd
at the opening night of "A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical" with an impromptu performance of "Sweet Caroline." Written by Anthony McCarten and produced by Ken Davenport and Bob Gaudio, "A Beautiful Noise" is based on Diamond's life and musical career.
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Diamond and his wife Katie McNeil walked the red carpet ahead of the show's opening night and were met with a standing ovation when they entered the theater. While standing next to McNeil in their box seats, Diamond led theatergoers in a singalong of his 1969 megahit during curtain call at the Broadhurst Theatre in New York City. The audience erupted in cheers and applause as he began singing the classic tune with the crowd joining in for the chorus. The New York City native's last hometown performance was on New Year's Eve in Times Square at the end of 2017. The
"I'm a Believer" hitmaker
has made few public appearances since announcing his retirement. However, he joined Will Swenson, who plays the younger version of Diamond in the musical, for a performance of "Sweet Caroline" last June during a Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park in Boston. During Diamond's interview on CBS, Mason asked him about the hardest part of watching his life story portrayed in the
Broadway musical
. "It was all pretty hard," Diamond admitted. "I was a little embarrassed. I was flattered, and I was scared." Mason asked, "What were you scared of?" "Being found out is the scariest thing you can hope, because we all have a façade," he replied. "And the truth be known to all of 'em. I'm not some big star. I'm just me." |
Adam Schiff called out by MSNBC host for fundraising off Trump indictment
MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell appeared to call out
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.,
on Friday for fundraising off of the news that former President Trump had been indicted. The Manhattan grand jury voted to
indict Trump
on Thursday, making him the first former or current U.S. president to ever be indicted. Trump has been accused of making hush money payments leading up to the 2016 presidential election, a case which could have implications for his 2024 run. Mitchell spoke about the highly controversial legal case, noting that the partisan divide over Trump has caused many to question the case's legitimacy. "Has this criminal allegation, this indictment, already become too political? Donald Trump is raising, you know, a fortune, more than a million dollars - million and a half or more - just on the threat of the indictment," Mitchell said.
TRUMP INDICTMENT: LIVE UPDATES
"Large number of politicians, you know, are doing that. You are fundraising on it," she said to Schiff. Schiff defended himself and the case's legitimacy by saying it is a matter of accountability. "Look, I think that this is going to be certainly a political issue in terms of defending the rule of law on the one side, in terms of I think subverting the rule of law on the other, but the most important point for me is that this is affirmation of the fact that no one should be above the law, that we all held to account, that this is someone who has escaped accountability now for years and years," he said. "And yeah, so I'm going to speak out on it. Other people are going to speak out on it." He followed by claiming this case is an example of defending "our democracy" and slammed
Republican opposition
. "I'm going to be pushing back against what Kevin McCarthy and Jim Jordan are trying to do in the House by running interference and trying to stop or somehow impede or discredit this investigation," he said. "That's a continuing and important part of the work I've been doing to defend our democracy." |
Falcons coach Arthur Smith admits team discussed the possibility of signing Lamar Jackson
Free agent quarterback
Lamar Jackson
continues looking for a place to play, and the Atlanta Falcons have been linked to the quarterback for weeks.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank
said publicly the team planned on sticking with QB Desmond Ridder for 2023 and would not pursue 2019 NFL MVP Jackson. But during an appearance on "The Rich Eisen Show" Friday, head coach Arthur Smith suggested the organization did have discussions about adding Jackson to the roster.
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"Everything that becomes available around the league, if it can improve your roster, we discuss. That's at every position, whether that's the fifth corner or the backup gunner on a punt. We're always going to look to add at every position," Smith said when asked if the Falcons had discussed Jackson. "Those discussions happen all day, every day. I understand some players get more attention than others, but absolutely we did."
EX-PATRIOTS STAR ASANTE SAMUEL ISSUES WARNING TO LAMAR JACKSON: 'YOU DON'T WANT TO PLAY FOR BELICHICK'
After the discussions, the team ruled out trading for Jackson, according to Blank and Smith. Ridder, a 2022 third-round draft pick, completed 63.4% of his passes for 708 yards and two touchdowns in four games last season. Those numbers were apparently enough for the Falcons to name him the starting quarterback for 2023. Earlier this week, Jackson revealed he
requested a trade from the Ravens
just days before the team placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on him. The Ravens selected Jackson in the first round of the 2018
NFL Draft
. He is one of the most uniquely talented athletes in the league, rushing for 4,437 yards during his five-year career. He has the second-best winning percentage among active quarterbacks, behind only Patrick Mahomes. Prior to entering the NFL, Jackson was a unanimous All-American at Louisville and won the Heisman Trophy in 2016. Longtime Patriots owner Robert Kraft recently revealed that rapper
Meek Mill sent him a text
message urging him to sign Jackson. The main sticking point for any of the teams interested in Jackson seems to revolve around the amount of guaranteed money the quarterback is seeking. Jackson has not hired an agent and is representing himself in negotiations. |
Florence Pugh says she emotionally 'abused' herself while shooting horror movie 'Midsommar'
Florence Pugh
said she felt she had "abused" herself during the filming of the 2019 horror film "Midsommar" about a woman who gets swept up into a bizarre cult at a midsummer festival in Sweden. "When I did it, I was so wrapped up in her, and I've never had this ever before with any of my characters," she told the "Off Menu" podcast Friday. "I'd never played someone that was in that much pain before. And I would put myself in really sh---- situations that maybe other actors don't need to do, but I would just be imagining the worst things." She said the content got
"more weird and harder to do"
with each day of shooting. "I was putting things in my head that were getting worse and more bleak. I think, by the end, I probably, most definitely, abused my own self in order to get that performance."
FLORENCE PUGH TELLS CRITICS 'GROW UP' AFTER BACKLASH FOR SHEER DRESS: 'WHY ARE YOU SO SCARED OF BREASTS?'
The 27-year-old said she had to leave three days before shooting wrapped to start filming 2019's
"Little Women."
While she was on a plane flying to Boston, she said, she felt "immense guilt," like she had left her "Midsommar" character in the field where they were shooting after her character had what she described as a "psychotic break." "It was so weird. I've never had that before," she added. "Obviously, that's probably a psychological thing where I felt immense guilt of what I'd put myself through. But I definitely felt like I'd left her there in that field to be abused. She can't fend for herself, almost like I'd created this person, and then I just left her there when I had to go and do another movie." She said most of the time when she acts she feels like her characters would "be fine" and "know how to handle themselves" after the movie is over. But she felt strangely protective of the character she had created in "Midsommar." "I'd obviously created such a sad person and then felt guilty that I had created that person and then left her."
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Pugh praised "Midsommar" director Ari Aster as "peculiar in the mad genius kind of way" and a "stand-up comedian at heart," while acknowledging the arduousness of shooting the horror flick. "
We were shooting
in a very hot field with three different languages, so I wouldn't say that all of it was pleasurable," she told The New York Times recently. "Also, it shouldn't be. Why would making a movie like that be pleasurable?"
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But, she added,
when Aster makes you laugh
"at one thing, he will try and make you laugh at all the other things. He'll keep going, and everybody will be crying in fits of laughter." |
Bryce Dallas Howard recalls being given script in preschool for her dad Ron Howard that led to move out of LA
Bryce Dallas Howard remembered a specific preschool incident that prompted
her father Ron Howard
and mother Cheryl to move their family out of Hollywood. During an interview on "In Depth with Graham Bensinger," the 42-year-old actress and the 69-year-old director explained why they left Los Angeles and moved to Greenwich, Connecticut, in 1985. "Apparently, one day, someone - when I was at preschool - they gave me a script to bring home to my dad. I think assuming that maybe then my dad would read it and somehow turn around and be like, 'Yes! This is the movie I'm doing,'" the "Jurassic Park" star said. "Didn't quite have that effect. ""I think my parents realized that being raised in Los Angeles, so much of the culture of this city is centered around the entertainment industry. And they sort of didn't want to raise us in an environment that felt that singular."
RON HOWARD SAYS HE'S 'A LUCKY FELLA' IN 46TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE TO WIFE CHERYL
Ron and Cheryl, who married in 1975, share Bryce, twin daughters Jocelyn and Paige, 38, and son Reed, 35. The
Academy Award
winner recalled how he and his wife began to see LA as "pretty constricting, emotionally reductive." "We were hearing stories about kindergarten kids being taunted by other kindergarten kids saying, 'My dad's hotter than your dad,'" the
"Happy Days" alum said
. "Cheryl did not want the kids subjected to that on a regular basis. "She really began to feel passionate about that, particularly as I also started building a company. But it was a big leap, and it meant a lot of travel time for me. The year we launched Imagine was the year I actually moved out of LA." Ron and producer Brian Grazer founded the film and television company Imagine Entertainment in November 1985. The "A Beautiful Mind" director remembered how his business partner was always trying to convince him to move back to Los Angeles. "He would say, 'We had a terrible earthquake, and you know property prices are really going to crash now that we've had this earthquake. This might be the time for you to buy, Ron. And what do you think? Come on back," Ron recalled with a laugh. Bryce explained that her memories of growing up in
Los Angeles
were "very limited" due to her young age and because her parents kept her out of the spotlight. "My parents were very protective. They weren't bringing me to premieres or anything like that," she said. "When we moved out to the East Coast, I was in nature and I grew up on a 'farm,' which was not really a farm. It was just some land with a lot of pets." Bryce explained that her mother was "very, very focused on creating a childhood that wasn't a reflection of the privilege that I was being raised in."
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"The Help" actress
told Bensinger she and her siblings had chores and that Cheryl believed it was important for children to do "a lot of physical labor, but not for their own means, physical labor in service." Ron added that Cheryl was "very focused on trying to somehow imbue the kids with an understanding of real value." While reflecting on the impact that her upbringing had on her, Bryce noted that her mother was preparing her and her siblings to be independent. "My mom was really strict, and she was strict for good reason," she said. "My parents weren't going to give us their money. They don't believe in that. So they knew that, when we were 18, we were going to need to take care of ourselves." Ron said he was happy with the way he and Cheryl raised their children, saying, "I'm really proud of them and of who they are, the way they live. "They're very principled. They're creative. They're engaged. They're good problem solvers. So, I'm really proud of them." During the interview, Ron recalled a time when he and
his late father Rance Howard
attended one of Bryce's college plays in which she performed nude. "Within seven or eight minutes into the show, nobody had any clothes on," he said. "It was experimental theater. And I was sitting next to my dad. You know, I wasn't sure what he would think. And when it was over, he turned to me and he said, 'I think that's just great. That's what college is all about. She's never going to be afraid onstage again.' That's just the way he viewed things. So, he was proud of her, of her courage as an artist." When asked if he considered not attending the performance, Ron responded, "No, because, first of all, I knew there was nudity. "I didn't realize it was full-body, nonstop," he added with a laugh. "It was a complete assault on a father's psyche. "It was quality. But it was bold." Bryce studied drama at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts for three years before taking a leave of absence to pursue Broadway acting roles. In 2020, the actress returned to finish her degree and
graduated 21 years
after she first enrolled. |
DHS OIG finds millions in American Rescue Plan funds misused by NGOs, given to 'gotaway' illegal immigrants
The Department of Homeland Security's
Office of Inspector General found that some of the $110 million from the American Rescue Plan for migrants encountered at the southern border was misspent by nonprofits. In some cases, it was given to illegal immigrants who had evaded Border Patrol. The report outlines how the
Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) awarded $110 million in humanitarian relief funds appropriated under ARPA to "provide services to families and individuals encountered by DHS in communities most impacted by the humanitarian crisis at the Southwest border." As of the time of the audit, $80 million had been awarded to 25 organizations in border states, and the IG reviewed $12.9 million in spending.
HAWLEY PUSHES DHS FOR ANSWERS ON MIGRANT APP HE BRANDS 'CONCIERGE SERVICE' FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
The office
found that the money was not always used consistently with guidelines, that organizations did not provide required receipts and documentation and that some did not provide supporting documentation for those to whom it gave services. It determined that 18 groups that received $66 million in funding did not always comply with funding and application guidance. Organizations were required to maintain documents related to costs, migrants served each day, expenses incurred and proof of payment for purchases. In one sample, the IG said 58% of the amount reviewed was missing documentation. Additionally, it determined some of those migrants did not have a
DHS encounter record,
meaning they were "gotaway" illegal immigrants who had evaded Border Patrol agents instead of turning themselves in after crossing illegally. The IG said that of the 824 names it tested as a sample, 197, or 24%, were ineligible to receive humanitarian services, and 154 did not have an encounter record. "These issues occurred because FEMA did not provide sufficient oversight of the funds and instead relied on local boards and fiscal agents to enforce the funding and application guidance," the report said. "As a result, FEMA, as the National Board Chair, cannot ensure the humanitarian relief funds were used as intended by the funding and application guidance."
FLORIDA GRAND JURY ACCUSES BIDEN HHS OF 'COMPLETE ABDICATION OF RESPONSIBILITY' FOR MIGRANT CHILDREN WELFARE
Multiple Republican lawmakers
have raised concerns about the use of non-governmental organizations at the border, suggesting such groups are misspending money and are encouraging or facilitating illegal immigration. Amid a historic migrant crisis that has overwhelmed authorities and saw more than 2.3 million encounters in fiscal year 2022 alone, migrants are frequently processed and then released and handed over to NGOs who will provide care, services and transportation. In its report, the IG warned that, without additional oversight, organizations may "continue to use the funds for services without providing the required supporting documentation for reimbursement, increasing the risk of misuse of funds and fraud." It made two recommendations related to increasing oversight and implementing oversight measures for future appropriations. FEMA concurred with the recommendations and said it has since issued guidance to crack down on reimbursements of unsupported costs. In a response to the OIG, the agency said it has also instituted quarterly reporting to "provide more oversight and updates on how funds were spent, thus reducing risk and increasing transparency." It is also creating funding request templates, providing additional requirements for definition and clarity on funding guidance and creating a method for random site visits to organizations in addition to other policy moves to verify funds are used as intended. Those moves are due to be completed by June 30.
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Army IDs 9 soldiers killed in crash involving Black Hawk helicopters
The U.S. Army on Friday identified the
nine soldiers killed
in a crash involving HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters flying out of Kentucky's Fort Campbell. Maj. Gen. JP McGee, commander of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), said the deaths "will reverberate through our formations for years to come." "Now is the time for grieving and healing," he added. "The whole division and this community stand behind the families and friends of our fallen soldiers."
ARMY BLACK HAWK HELICOPTERS CRASH, KILLING 9 SERVICE MEMBERS: OFFICIAL
The two helicopters were conducting an exercise around 10 p.m. Wednesday when they went down in an open field next to a residential area, killing everyone on board. The soldiers killed were identified as: Warrant Officer 1 Jeffery Barnes, 33, of Milton, Florida.; Cpl. Emilie Marie Eve Bolanos, 23, of Austin, Texas; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Zachary Esparza, 36, of Jackson, Missouri; Sgt. Isaac J. Gayo, 27, of Los Angeles; Staff Sgt. Joshua C. Gore, 25, of Morehead City, North Carolina; Warrant Officer 1 Aaron Healy, 32, of Cape Coral, Florida.; Staff Sgt. Taylor Mitchell, 30, of Mountain Brook, Alabama; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Rusten Smith, 32, of Rolla, Missouri. and Sgt. David Solinas Jr, 23, of Oradell, New Jersey. The Army has not disclosed the cause of the crash. An Army aviation safety team from Fort Rucker, Alabama is conducting an investigation into the accident. On Friday, the 101st Airborne Division posted photos of the fallen soldiers on its Twitter account. |
Trump to travel to New York City Monday before Tuesday arraignment, return to Florida hours later
Former President Trump is expected to travel from Florida to New York next week, as he
faces an indictment
for his alleged 2016 hush money scandal. The former president plans to depart Mar-a-Lago for New York City Monday and will stay at Trump Tower that night. Trump's courthouse appearance is expected to happen early Tuesday morning. Previous reports said that he is expected to be arraigned at 2:15 p.m. before Judge Juan Merchan. The Secret Service will ensure that Trump is safely brought in. The Secret Service is working with the
New York Police Department,
FBI, New York State court officers and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office to finalize the security and logistics of Trump's arraignment and booking.
TRUMP INDICTED AFTER MANHATTAN DA PROBE FOR HUSH MONEY PAYMENTS
The former president will return directly to Mar-a-Lago after the arraignment. A source told Fox News Digital that Trump will not be arrested in handcuffs, having made an arrangement with the DA's office.
TRUMP TARGETED: A LOOK AT THE INVESTIGATIONS INVOLVING THE FORMER PRESIDENT; FROM RUSSIA TO MAR-A-LAGO
The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been investigating the alleged hush money scandal for five years. The purported payments include the $130,000 sum given to Stormy Daniels, plus the $150,000 given to former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Hush money is not illegal, but prosecutors are expected to argue that the payments were improper donations to the Trump campaign, as they helped his candidacy. Trump has slammed the indictment, calling it a witch-hunt. "This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history," Trump said in a statement. "From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical Left Democrats- the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this Country- have been engaged in a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement."
Fox News' Marta Dhanis and Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
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Florida man, right-wing online personality, convicted in voter suppression scheme
A self-styled far-right propagandist
from Florida
was convicted Friday of charges alleging that he conspired to deprive individuals of their right to vote in the 2016 presidential election. Douglass Mackey, 33, of West Palm Beach, Florida, was convicted in Brooklyn federal court before Judge Ann M. Donnelly after a one-week trial. On the internet, he was known as "Ricky Vaughn." In 2016, Mackey had about 58,000 Twitter followers and was ranked by the MIT Media Lab as the 107th-most important influencer of the then-upcoming presidential election, prosecutors said. He had described himself as an "American nationalist" who regularly retweeted Trump and promoted conspiracy theories about voter fraud by Democrats.
NEW JERSEY CAMPAIGN WORKER CHARGED IN BALLOT FORGERY SCHEME
Mackey, who was arrested in January 2021, could face up to 10 years in prison. His sentencing is set for Aug. 16. His lawyer, Andrew Frisch, said in an email that the
2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
in Manhattan will have multiple reasons to choose from to vacate the conviction. "We are optimistic about our chances on appeal," Frisch said. U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a release that the jury rejected Mackey's cynical attempt to use the First Amendment free speech protections to shield himself from criminal liability for a voter suppression scheme. "Today's verdict proves that the defendant's fraudulent actions crossed a line into criminality," he said. The government alleged that from September 2016 to November 2016, Mackey conspired with several other internet influencers to spread fraudulent messages to
Clinton supporters
. Prosecutors told jurors during the trial that Mackey urged supporters of then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to "vote" via text message or social media, knowing that those endorsements were not legally valid votes.
PHILADELPHIA POLITICAL CONSULTANT PLEADS GUILTY TO FORGING SIGNATURES FOR DEMOCRATS
At about the same time, prosecutors said, he was sending tweets suggesting that it was important to limit "black turnout" at voting booths. One tweet he sent showed a photo of a Black woman with a Clinton campaign sign, encouraging people to "avoid the line" and "vote from home," court papers said. Using social media pitches, one image encouraging phony votes utilized a font similar to one used by the Clinton campaign in authentic ads, prosecutors said. Others tried to mimic Clinton's ads in other ways, they added. By Election Day in 2016, at least 4,900 unique telephone numbers texted "Hillary" or something similar to a text number that was spread by multiple deceptive campaign images tweeted by Mackey and co-conspirators, prosecutors said. Twitter has said it worked closely with appropriate authorities on the issue. |
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