Tools
Change country:
The Daily Beast Latest Articles
The Daily Beast Latest Articles
The Cynical Hypocrisy Behind Trump’s Visit to an NYPD Officer’s Wake
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/GettyNYPDAnybody who imagines that Donald Trump is attending the wake of fallen NYPD Police Officer Jonathan Diller with genuine respect for those who routinely risk their lives should think back to a campaign rally in Ohio earlier this month.At the start of that March 16 event in Vandalia, Trump solemnly saluted as the sound system played a recording of the J6 Prison Choir singing the national anthem inside the District of Columbia jail.The producers who had spliced in a recording of Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and marketed the song as “Justice for All” have never identified the particular singers. But an analysis by Just Security found that 17 of the 20 Jan. 6 prisoners in the facility around the time of the recording had been arrested for assaulting law enforcement officers.Read more at The Daily Beast.
thedailybeast.com
Cops Shut Down Versace Sale After All Hell Breaks Loose
Pau Barrena/Getty ImagesA Versace sample sale was temporarily shut down in New York City after more than 1,000 shoppers rushed the designer store for discounts, forcing the NYPD to intervene.Shoppers wrapped around a block in Chelsea Wednesday morning to cash in on designer goods at massive markdowns. Advertisers for the event promised up to 80 percent off for the famed fashion house’s goods, according to social media and Eventbrite posts. Some people camped out for hours before the sale was set to open, multiple media outlets reported.But deal-hungry shoppers found themselves faced with intense crowds that packed the block and eventually swarmed the glass doors of the building, prompting the NYPD to get involved. One video from the scene posted to TikTok shows shoppers shoving each other to get a foot through the door. Read more at The Daily Beast.
thedailybeast.com
Boston University Suggests Replacing Striking Grad Students With AI
Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/GettyBoston University administrators recommended that faculty members use generative AI tools in classrooms due to the BU Graduate Workers Union strike.In an email sent to faculty members on Wednesday that was seen by The Daily Beast, the BU Dean of Arts & Sciences Stan Sclaroff provided recommendations for staff to “manage course discussion sections and labs that are impacted by the BUGWU strike.”“Given the disciplinary and pedagogical breadth across the College, there are a wide-range of approaches that can be taken,” Sclaroff wrote. “We know that one size does not fit all. However, in the hope that they can be useful and serve as inspiration for brainstorming, we have provided below some general guidance and examples of approaches that could be utilized during this time.”Read more at The Daily Beast.
thedailybeast.com
Trump Tells Atlanta Judge Lies Help Get to the Truth
Michael M Santiago/GettyImagesDonald Trump tried to convince a state judge to drop his Georgia election interference case on Thursday, summoning a tortured relationship between falsehoods and truths to make his case.Trump’s lawyers argued that lies aren’t just protected by the First Amendment; lies are sometimes essential, his lawyers said, at getting to the truth.The morning’s court hearing could prove a pivotal step as Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis works her criminal case against the former president to trial. Judge Scott McAfee, who recently delivered a blow to the DA’s office by probing her romantic relationship with a prosecutor she supervised, is now considering whether Trump’s persistent lies about 2020 election fraud are constitutionally protected under the First Amendment.Read more at The Daily Beast.
thedailybeast.com
50 Cent Mocks Ex Daphne Joy Over Diddy Sex Work Claims
RB/Bauer-Griffin/GC ImagesCurtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson’s ex Daphne Joy was accused of being a sex worker for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in the latest bombshell lawsuit against the rapper— to the apparent surprise of her famous rapper ex.The mother of 50 Cent’s child was named in a sexual assault lawsuit brought against Diddy by music producer Rodney Jones. In the lawsuit, Jones claimed that Diddy “bragged about having several women on a monthly stipend” for sex work. Joy was named as one of those women.Diddy posted his apparently incredulous reaction to the news in an Instagram post late Wednesday night.Read more at The Daily Beast.
thedailybeast.com
Florida Official Hit With Elder Abuse Charges After Alleged $100K Spending Spree
Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/GettyOrlando Commissioner Regina Hill was indicted Thursday by grand jury on charges of elder abuse and fraud, according to court records filed in Orange County, Florida.The commissioner was hit with three counts of first-degree elder abuse resulting in damages of more than $50,000, three counts of fraud including personal identity and mortgage fraud, and one count of scheming to commit fraud. The alleged abuses took place from April 2021 to August 2022.Hill is accused of financially exploiting 96-year-old Annie Mae Curtis, a woman who lived in her district, Florida Department of Law Enforcement records show. After gaining power of attorney over the woman, Hill allegedly stole more than $100,000 from the elderly woman’s savings account to use for personal benefit. Authorities say she used the money to buy her own house, settle her son and his girlfriend into a home owned by Curtis, and purchase other personal luxuries like vacations, facelifts, and dental surgery.Read more at The Daily Beast.
1 h
thedailybeast.com
Judge Rips Bankman-Fried, Throws Him in Prison for DECADES
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesU.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan excoriated FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried during his sentencing hearing on Thursday, declaring that the convicted fraudster had perjured himself on the stand and attempted to commit witness tampering. Kaplan then sentenced Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison, capping a stunning downfall for the former public face of crypto.Bankman-Fried, who was convicted on seven fraud and conspiracy counts in November, has been locked up since August, when Kaplan got fed up with his pretrial antics and remanded him into custody.During Thursday’s hearing, Kaplan rejected Bankman-Fried’s claim that he deserves a lighter sentence because many of his victims may be made whole on their lost investments. That may happen, the judge noted, but only because cryptocurrencies have skyrocketed in value. He offered an analogy to explain why Bankman-Fried is still culpable: If a thief steals money, takes it to Las Vegas, and earns a handsome profit by gambling, he is still a thief, even if the funds are repaid. Read more at The Daily Beast.
1 h
thedailybeast.com
Maya Rudolph Calls Fake ‘Golden Girls’ Reboot a ‘Great Idea’
Lloyd Bishop/NBC/GettyMaya Rudolph has weighed in on the viral poster for a fake Golden Girls reboot, calling it “fascinating”—even though the proposed show definitely isn’t happening.In case you missed it, earlier this week, a poster for a new version of The Golden Girls featuring Rudolph, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Lisa Kudrow started making the rounds on the internet. The self-proclaimed “graphic design nerd” behind the poster told The Daily Beast that they got death threats from angry fans, even though they made the Photoshopped edit just “for fun.”Rudolph, for her part, had a laugh about it while appearing on Late Night With Seth Meyers on Wednesday. When the host pulled out the poster for Rudolph to ogle, she poked fun at the image-altering choices, quipping, “I’m—so which one am I?”Read more at The Daily Beast.
1 h
thedailybeast.com
Cardi B Now Says She Was Joking About Being Strip Searched by LAPD
Shareif Ziyadat/Getty ImagesCardi B took to the Instagram comments of The Breakfast Club’s account on Wednesday to reveal that her wild story about being stripped naked and accused of trafficking fentanyl by two LAPD officers was, in fact, a “joke.”On Monday, over Instagram Live, Cardi B threatened to sue the LAPD over an alleged traffic stop that she claimed evolved into a strip search that left her “butt naked” on the sidewalk. “I got stopped by the cops yesterday,” Cardi B alleged. “They thought I was trafficking fentanyl, and they thought I had a gun in my car, so they stopped me and everything. All the helicopters in L.A., they was outside. Yo, I was freaking out.”Read more at The Daily Beast.
2 h
thedailybeast.com
Karlie Kloss and a Kushner Plan to Revive Life Magazine
Santi Visalli/GettyIn a year when news outlets have been shedding staff, getting sold for parts, or shutting down altogether, Joshua Kushner and Karlie Kloss have an idea: resurrect a 141-year-old magazine that’s been dormant for about 20 years.Kushner and Kloss announced Thursday that they’ve purchased the publishing rights to Life from Dotdash Meredith (currently owned by IAC, which is also parent company to The Daily Beast), with plans to resurrect the magazine’s print and digital publication. The deal was finalized by Bedford Media, a start-up led by Kloss; Kushner, her husband and brother to Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, will serve as publisher.“LIFE’s legacy lies in its ability to blend culture, current events, and everyday life—highlighting the triumphs, challenges, and unique perspectives that define us,” Kushner wrote in a statement. Read more at The Daily Beast.
2 h
thedailybeast.com
LGBTQ Americans Say They Are Facing ‘National State of Emergency’: Survey
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/ReutersOver two thirds—70 percent—of LGBTQ+ adults, including 85 percent of transgender adults, say that LGBTQ+ Americans are facing “a national state of emergency,” according to a new survey.Ahead of the annual International Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV) on March 31, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 873 LGBTQ+ adults across the country, including an oversample of transgender adults, to examine the gravity and collective impact of recent anti-LGBTQ+ policies and rhetoric. According to the ACLU, nearly 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced in state legislatures nationwide so far this year, many focused on trans people.“What we found is alarming,” Data for Progress reported. “A worse quality of life and mental health, experiences of discrimination and harassment, and difficulties accessing health care.”Read more at The Daily Beast.
4 h
thedailybeast.com
‘Gaunt’-Looking King Charles, Stricken by Cancer, Shares His Sadness
Handout / ReutersKing Charles avoided referring directly to his or Kate Middleton’s recent health travails in a special Easter message broadcast Thursday, but praised those who “extend the hand of friendship” in times of need and overtly extolled “Christian” virtues.The pre-recorded audio message was played at the traditional Maundy Thursday service at which the monarch hands or symbolic alms called “Maundy money” to individuals who have performed “outstanding Christian service.”The king did not attend in person this year as he is under doctor’s orders to avoid crowds while being treated for an undisclosed form of cancer. The queen stood in for him. Read more at The Daily Beast.
4 h
thedailybeast.com
DeSantis Takes Shots at Liberal States With Squatter Crackdown
Pedro Portal/Miami Herald via Getty ImagesFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law Wednesday aiming to crack down on residential squatters in his state by radically shortening the process by which homeowners request the removal of unauthorized people from property.“The squatter scam ends today with my signature on this piece of legislation and the state of Florida will be better for it,” DeSantis said, according to WTVJ. As well as making it simpler to evict squatters, HB 621 also “creates harsh penalties” for people who take part in squatting and “those who encourage squatting and teach others the scam,” DeSantis’ office said in a news release.The law, which comes into effect on July 1, means that homeowners will now be able to “fill out a form, give it to your local sheriff and the sheriff is instructed to go and remove the people who are inhabiting your dwelling illegally,” DeSantis said. Before the bill, squatters were afforded certain rights as tenants that meant a longer process was required to evict them.Read more at The Daily Beast.
5 h
thedailybeast.com
Putin Vows to Blast the West’s F-16s Out of the Sky in Ukraine
Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik via ReutersRussian President Vladimir Putin says his forces will shoot down any Western-supplied F-16 fighter jets given to Ukraine, claiming that the nuclear-capable aircraft wouldn’t change the situation on the battlefield.Speaking to Russian air force pilots late Wednesday, Putin said Moscow has no intention of attacking any countries in NATO but that F-16s could be targeted wherever they’re located if they’re being used against Russian forces. “Of course, if they will be used from airfields in third countries, they become for us legitimate targets, wherever they might be located,” Putin said, according to Reuters.Earlier in the day, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said F-16s were on schedule to be in the skies over Ukraine by mid-summer. He added that “pilot training is going well” but acknowledged that much more training for both pilots and engineers would be required “because the transition from Soviet-type aircraft to Western-type aircraft... requires major changes in everything.”Read more at The Daily Beast.
7 h
thedailybeast.com
Suspect Arrested After 4 Killed, 7 Injured in ‘Heinous’ Stabbing Spree
Winnebago County Sheriff’s OfficeA man was arrested Wednesday after four people were killed and another seven were injured in a stabbing spree across several locations in Rockford, Illinois, authorities said.Christian Soto, 22, was booked at the Winnebago County Jail early Thursday on 11 charges ranging from first-degree murder to attempted murder, along with another two charges of home invasion, according to online jail records. Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd, who did not name Soto, said: “Right now, we don’t have a clear motive as to what caused this individual to commit such a heinous crime.”One of those injured in the rampage was left in critical condition, according to Redd. She also confirmed that not all of the victims were stabbed and said none of them were shot. Police said the deceased included a 15-year-old girl, a 22-year-old man, a 49-year-old man, and a 63-year-old woman. Three died at the scene of their attack while a fourth passed away at a hospital, according to the Associated Press.Read more at The Daily Beast.
8 h
thedailybeast.com
Meet the Subreddit Roasting Your Kid’s Hilariously Awful Name
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / GettyThe Reddit community r/tragedeigh is probably not a place you want to see screenshots of your social media posts or text messages ending up—especially if you have children.Here’s what makes a good post “tragique,” as they like to call it: It must be about a given name that’s either been deliberately misspelled to make it seem more unique than it is (e.g. Emmaleigh instead of Emily) or original in the sense that it’s a name that seems completely made up (e.g. Dugsly, Brylie, Kaydynce). The more tragique the name, the better.Poking fun at the more unique names isn’t the only thing to do on the subreddit. You can ask other users whether they think a certain name you’re considering for your own kid is a “tragedeigh” or even ask other users to roast your name.Read more at The Daily Beast.
8 h
thedailybeast.com
James Comer Creates New LLC While Blasting Biden LLCs
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesPay Dirt is a weekly foray into the pigpen of political funding. Subscribe here to get it in your inbox every Thursday.As the impeachment inquiry into the Biden family’s business dealings came crashing down around his ears, House Oversight chair James Comer—who for months has made overblown claims about the Bidens’ limited liability companies—was launching an opaque new LLC of his own.Comer registered the new company, called “Gamaliel Stargazer LLC,” in Kentucky on March 14, as House Republicans were scrambling to find a way to end their disastrous impeachment probe with dignity.Read more at The Daily Beast.
8 h
thedailybeast.com
Even Without Much Godzilla, the 2014 ‘Godzilla’ Still Rules
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Everett CollectionIt took 70 years, but Godzilla finally has an Oscar. The big guy’s latest rampage, Godzilla Minus One, picked up Best Visual Effects at the 96th Academy Awards a few weeks ago—a long-overdue honor for a movie monster who’s been wreaking resourceful, frugally realized mayhem since the days when he was still a stuntman trampling model cities. Incidentally, one of the movies Minus One beat was The Creator, a lavish sci-fi epic from writer-director Gareth Edwards. Something tells us that Edwards didn’t take the loss too hard. After all, he’s had nothing but nice things to say about the film that bested his own. “It’s what a Godzilla movie should be,” he gushed in a recent interview.Edwards should know: He, too, has made a Godzilla movie. That movie, titled simply Godzilla, was released 10 years ago this May. A box office success, it did what Roland Emmerich couldn’t and finally ushered the skyscraping Japanese star into an ongoing Hollywood franchise. Multiple sequels have followed; the latest, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, stomps into multiplexes this Friday. The series has even expanded into television via an Apple TV+ spinoff set before, during, and after the events of the monster movie that inspired it.For all the groundwork it’s laid, the 2014 Godzilla occupies an unusual place in the oeuvre of everyone’s favorite radioactive reptile. It’s not nearly as acclaimed as its recent Japanese cousins, Minus One and 2016’s satirical Shin Godzilla. (Fans from that side of the world had a field day, in fact, with the portliness of the creature design, joking that of course an American take on the G-man would be fatter.) And even within its own so-called MonsterVerse, Edwards’ hit now looks like something of an outlier: In response to complaints that there wasn’t enough Godzilla in his Godzilla movie—a reservation echoed by a recent Variety ranking of the entire canon—the sequels have offered much more kaiju bang for your buck, as if apologizing for their own ground zero.Read more at The Daily Beast.
8 h
thedailybeast.com
The 21 Wildest ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Scenes
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/ABC/Getty ImagesGrey’s Anatomy is the definitive primetime soap opera of the 21st century. Plot twists lurk around every corner. For every calm stretch of episodes the writers graciously grant these surgeons, there next comes a seismic event so crushing, it reverberates through the show’s core. With 20 seasons under its belt, Grey’s is home to the iconic, the absurd, and everything in between. So we thought, now that the show has returned for Season 20, we’d rank the 20 wildest moments from across the series—plus another, for good measure.We’re going to start with the moments that are head-scratchers, and so-bad-it’s-good, before moving into the serious shocks and twists that have defined Grey’s Anatomy as a TV legend.21. Erica Hahn Disappears Into a Parking Lot (Season 5)Read more at The Daily Beast.
8 h
thedailybeast.com
The Andrew Tate-Loving Misogynist Who’s Now a Breakout Star
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/AlamyMeet Bobita. Bobita is a foul-mouthed, Andrew Tate-loving misogynist with a bald head and goatee who brags about his Maserati and pretends to roar as the MGM lion saying “Blow me.”He is also the alter ego of Romanian actress Ilinca Manolache, and the alter ego of her character in Radu Jude’s new film Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World, out now in limited release.In the film Manolache plays Angela, an overworked and exhausted production assistant, who drives around Bucharest trying to recruit victims of on-the-job accidents to appear in a PSA for an exploitative company. Every so often she stops and makes a video as Bobita, standing on the side of the road or in bathrooms to turn the camera on herself as she describes sex acts in wildly profane ways. While most of the film is in black and white, Bobita appears in glorious color. It’s utterly hilarious, and one of the most unique uses of social media aesthetics in a film to date.Read more at The Daily Beast.
8 h
thedailybeast.com
Jordan Klepper Takes on America’s Ronna McDaniel Problem
Comedy CentralIn the span of just five days, Ronna McDaniel has seen her career as a television pundit be both born then brutally executed for all the world to see. And while Jordan Klepper says he doesn’t “really give a shit,” there is one issue it brings to light for The Daily Show correspondent and guest host.On Friday, NBC News announced that they had hired McDaniel as an on-air contributor, which resulted in an immediate backlash among many of the network’s VIPs, including Morning Joe’s Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow.McDaniel, the former Republican Party leader, has attempted to distance herself from efforts she made to overturn the 2020 election, however reports indicate her close ties to Donald Trump ahead of the violent insurrection as he attempted to maneuver his way back into the White House.Read more at The Daily Beast.
thedailybeast.com
Larry David Blasts ‘Sociopath’ Donald Trump in CNN Interview
CNNCNN on Wednesday aired a portion of Chris Wallace’s interview with Larry David, in which the Seinfeld co-creator doesn’t hold back much when talking about “sociopath” Donald Trump.David, who has been making media rounds—in one instance beating up Elmo—as Curb Your Enthusiasm wraps up its final season, was asked about his response to political events from 2020 onwards.“How much as the 2020 election—and everything that has flowed from it—pissed you off?” Wallace asked.Read more at The Daily Beast.
thedailybeast.com
2 Bodies Recovered From Submerged Truck Amid Baltimore Bridge Wreckage
Mike Segar/ReutersThe bodies of two workers who fell into the Patapsco River after a massive container ship slammed into and destroyed Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge earlier this week were recovered on Wednesday morning, authorities confirmed. The search for four others was suspended, with authorities citing conditions in the water that made it too dangerous for dive teams to continue.The two men were found around 10 a.m. in a red pickup truck submerged in 25 feet of water, Col. Roland L. Butler Jr., secretary of Maryland State Police, said at an evening news conference. They were identified as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, of Baltimore, originally from Mexico; and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, of Dundalk, Maryland, who was from Guatemala.Both were part of a construction crew fixing potholes on the bridge, as were the four men who remain missing, Butler said. He explained that the missing are believed to be “encased” within the mangled debris of the 1.6-mile-long bridge. “We have exhausted all search efforts in the area around this wreckage,” he said.Read more at The Daily Beast.
thedailybeast.com
Baltimore Mayor Turns the Tables On Racist Bridge Collapse Conspiracy Theorists
MSNBCBaltimore Mayor Brandon Scott (D) responded to some of the bizarre criticisms coming from conservatives following the cargo ship-induced collapse of the city’s Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday morning by saying the term DEI—when applied derogatorily to him—means “duly elected incumbent.”On MSNBC’s The Reid Out, host Joy Reid prefaced her interview with Scott, who is Black, by calling attention to a tweet describing Scott as “Baltimore’s DEI mayor.” That post, which references the acronym that stands for diversity, equity and inclusion, has generated more than 25 million views, along with a clarifying community note on X.“I cannot believe I have to say this,” Reid began. “Brandon Scott was elected with 70 percent of the vote in 2020 in a city that is 61 percent Black. So by right-wing logic, a ‘diversity hire’ would have been a white man.”Read more at The Daily Beast.
thedailybeast.com
King Charles’ Easter Message: I’m Still Here, and Still in Charge
Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/GettyKing Charles’ decision to issue a pre-recorded address to the nation at this year’s Maundy Thursday service and attend another service on Easter Day in person is “a clear statement that he is still in charge,” a source has told The Daily Beast.The king, who is under doctor’s orders to avoid large crowds while being treated for cancer, which was discovered when he was being treated for a benign enlarged prostate, will deliver a pre-recorded speech, which sources say will not touch on his recent health travails, to be played on big screens at Worcester Cathedral.Parts of the audio message were revealed late Wednesday, with the king noting how Jesus set an “example of how we should serve and care for each other,” and how “we need and benefit greatly from those who extend the hand of friendship to us, especially in a time of need.”Read more at The Daily Beast.
thedailybeast.com
Jon Stewart Mocks New York Post Story Questioning His Penthouse Sale
Carlos Barria/ReutersJon Stewart responded with characteristic wit Wednesday after a New York Post story, centered around a right-wing commentator’s tweet, tried to depict the Comedy Central host as a hypocrite after he criticized Donald Trump’s justification of bank fraud as a “victimless crime.”The Post quoted podcaster Tim Pool, who baselessly wondered whether Stewart committed “fraud” when he sold the penthouse for $17.5 million in 2014. The publication based its conclusion on the fact that assessor records from that year showed the property’s estimated market value sitting at $1.882 million. According to the Post, the property’s assessor valuation was under $850,000.On Monday’s episode of The Daily Show, Stewart explained why Donald Trump’s claim that his bank fraud judgment for inflating property values to secure better loans—and then using lower values for tax purposes—was not a “victimless crime.”Read more at The Daily Beast.
thedailybeast.com
Hamas’ Oct. 7 Attack Wasn’t Mainly About Israel, It Was About Defeating Its Palestinian Political Rival
Hazem Bader/Getty ImagesThe Oct. 7 attacks on southern Israel—and the subsequent Gaza war—are rarely understood in their primary political context, which is the power struggle among Palestinian factions.The near-universal assumption is that Hamas viewed its surprise offensive as another phase in a long-term war against Israel. There’s some truth to it, but that misreads why Hamas decided now to deliberately provoke a massive Israeli response—which is the long-standing power struggle between the Islamists in Hamas and their smaller ally, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), against the secular nationalists of Fatah who control the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank and, more importantly, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) which represents Palestinians diplomatically.Fatah, of course, knows this full well, but a surge of nationalist sentiment and shared outrage at the mass killing and suffering of the 2.2 million Palestinian civilians in Gaza muffled nationalist leaders like President Mahmoud Abbas (also the chairman of the PLO) in publicly acknowledging Hamas’ breathtaking cynicism.Read more at The Daily Beast.
thedailybeast.com
Matt Schlapp’s Accuser Was Paid to Drop Sexual Assault Suit
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/GettyWhen conservative icon Matt Schlapp announced Tuesday that the sexual battery and defamation lawsuit against him was dropped, he and his allies were quick to note that the ordeal ended without him or the American Conservative Union—the right-wing organization he runs—paying his accuser a single dollar.But what Schlapp didn’t disclose was that the Republican operative who sued him was, in fact, paid to drop the lawsuit, according to two people with knowledge of the payout. It was just that the money came from ACU’s insurance company, these two people told The Daily Beast. (Minutes before this article published, CNN ran a story also revealing that the lawsuit was dropped only after Schlapp’s accuser was paid $480,000 from ACU’s insurer—an amount one of the sources confirmed to The Daily Beast.)Read more at The Daily Beast.
thedailybeast.com
Palace Releases New Picture of King Charles Ahead of Easter
BBC/Sky/ITV News/Handout via ReutersIn an audio message to mark Maundy Thursday, King Charles will say how Jesus set an “example of how we should serve and care for each other,” and how “we need and benefit greatly from those who extend the hand of friendship to us, especially in a time of need.”Charles’ words—which come after daughter-in-law Kate Middleton revealed her cancer diagnosis, and as he himself undergoes treatment for the disease—do not directly refer to either her or his current medical challenges, but may be seen by some as an oblique reference to the supportive responses to both. Kate, Prince William, and Charles have all thanked the public for their well-wishes in the wake of announcing their diagnoses. In a previous statement, Charles said he was “so proud” of Kate following her public announcement.Read more at The Daily Beast.
thedailybeast.com
California Man Sentenced Over Threatening Calls to Pelosi, Mayorkas
Alex Wong/Getty ImagesA man who made threatening phone calls to Nancy Pelosi and United States Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas was sentenced to 11 months in prison on Wednesday.David Allen Carrier, 44, pleaded guilty to two counts of making threats against a federal official, according to a press release from the United States District Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of California.In Jan. 2021, when Pelosi was still the House Majority Speaker, Carrier left a voicemail on her office line in which he threatened to assault her. The call came within a month of the Capitol riots, at which point Pelosi was directing criticism toward Donald Trump for being an “accessory” to the incident which left five people dead. At the time, Pelosi had been inexplicably identified by the far-right as the villain of the riot.Read more at The Daily Beast.
thedailybeast.com