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Published by Al-Araby A Tunisian court has dropped a long-running, symbolic case against a gay rights activist who faced prison for alleged homosexual acts, a court official and a rights group said. The appeals court in the central city of Kairouan ruled that the case against activist “Daniel” was null and void, rights group Damj said. “It’s a victory for Daniel and a victory for us,” the group told AFP. Court spokesman Riadh Ben Halima confirmed the ruling, saying it was on the basis of “procedural irregularities, as police had searched his computer without a warrant”. Daniel, along with five other men, had origin… Read More View the full article

Published by AFP Amber McLaughlin, seen in this photo released by the Missouri Department of Corrections, is scheduled for America's first execution of a transgender person Washington (AFP) – A transgender woman convicted of murder was scheduled to be put to death Tuesday in the first such execution in the United States. Barring clemency from the governor of Missouri, Amber McLaughlin, 49, would be the first transgender person of either sex to be executed in the country, and also the first person to die by capital punishment this year in America. McLaughlin was scheduled to receive a lethal injection for a killing before her transition. She was convicted of murdering a former girlfriend in 2003 in a suburb of St. Louis. McLaughlin stalked the victim to the point where the ex-partner sought a restraining order. The day of the killing, McLaughlin waited for the woman — named Beverly Guenther — as she left work. Guenther was raped and stabbed to death with a kitchen knife. Her body was dumped near the Mississippi river. In 2006 a jury found McLaughlin guilty of murder but was deadlocked on what her punishment should be. The trial judge stepped in and imposed the death penalty. Such intervention is allowed in Missouri as well as in Indiana. Citing the fact that a jury did not sentence McLaughlin to death, her lawyers asked Governor Mike Parson to commute her sentence to life in prison. “The death sentence now being considered does not come from the conscience of the community — but from a single judge,” her attorneys argued in their clemency request. They also argued that McLaughlin had had a troubled childhood and suffers from mental health issues. Her cause has drawn support from high-profile people including two Missouri members of the US House of Representatives, Cori Bush and Emanuel Cleaver. In a letter to the governor they said McLaughlin’s adoptive father used to beat her with a baton and even tasered her. “Alongside this horrendous abuse, she was also silently struggling with her identity, grappling with what we now understand is gender dysphoria,” the letter states. The condition describes people feeling their sex at birth and gender identity do not match. Press reports say McLaughlin began her gender transition in recent years but has remained in the men’s section of death row in Missouri. The Death Penalty Information Center, which works to abolish such punishment in America, said there is no known case of an openly transgender person being executed in the United States. The issue has drawn more attention in recent months, with the supreme court of Ohio upholding a death sentence against a transgender woman and Oregon state commuting one, the center said. Since taking office in 2018, governor Parson has never granted a clemency request. View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Marjorie Taylor Greene and her husband finalized their divorce months after he first filed for a formal separation earlier this year, RadarOnline.com can confirm. The former couple’s divorce was reportedly finalized on December 22, three months after Marjorie’s now ex-husband Perry Greene filed for separation in September following 27 years of marriage together. Mega According to court records obtained by Daily Mail, the former couple’s multi-million-dollar marital assets were divided in a secret out-of-court agreement between the two. Although the terms of the agreement have not been disclosed, the assets reportedly included Marjorie’s stock portfolio, the former pair’s two homes in Alpharetta and Rome, Georgia and the congresswoman’s father’s construction company. Marjorie’s ex-husband, who will continue to run the million-dollar construction company despite the couple’s divorce, reportedly earns upwards of $200,000 a year. Marjorie’s thousands of shares in different corporate stocks, such as Apple, AFLAC insurance, and an alternative energy company named NextEra Energy, were also reportedly divvied up amongst the pair’s marital assets. Mega “You can go f— yourself and hope I never meet you in person!” the GOP congresswoman’s ex-husband reportedly told Daily Mail when the outlet requested details about the pair’s secret settlement. Perry Greene also refused to disclose the reasoning for his separation and subsequent divorce from Marjorie, although reports suggest the pair’s split was a result of the GOP congresswoman’s multiple alleged affairs over the past ten years. As RadarOnline.com previously reported, the couple’s relationship first started to deteriorate in 2012 when it was revealed MTG was involved in an alleged extramarital affair with her “polyamorous tantric sex guru” Craig Ivey. She was also suspected of being involved in yet another extramarital affair with the manager of her fitness gym, Justin Tway. Mega Most recently, the controversial GOP and Donald Trump-supporting congresswoman was linked to right-wing reporter Brian Glenn. Photos of the 48-year-old congresswoman and Glenn first surfaced in early November, just weeks after Marjorie’s ex filed for separation and days after the Republican reporter filed for divorce from his own wife. “My divorce has nothing to do with Marjorie Taylor Greene,” Glenn told reporters after the pair were spotted having dinner together in Georgia. “No, I do not have a romantic relationship with Marjorie Taylor Greene.” “We have video stuff we do,” he continued. “She’s in politics, I’m in politics. That’s what’s going on.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Ruggero Deodato, renowned as the director behind the “most controversial film ever”, has died aged 83. An inspiration for filmmakers including Oliver Stone, Eli Roth and Quentin Tarantino, his most infamous release was the 1980 horror ‘Cannibal Holocaust’. Italian news outlet Il Messaggero reported he had passed away on Thursday (29.12.22), but a cause of death has not yet been released. ‘Cannibal Holocaust’ was so gruesomely realistic it saw Ruggero put on trial for murder. The shocker featured acts of sadomasochism and real-life animal slaughter, leading to the film being banned in several countries. To make it feel more authentic, Ruggero also convinced the actors to fully disappear for one year – but police seized all copies of the film and prosecuted the filmmaker for allegedly killing his cast. While facing 30 years in jail, the director convinced the stars of the film to appear in court to prove they were still alive and save him from a sentence. He claimed the film was a satire on the exploitative violence shown on Italian news at the time, adding about improvising most of the film’s plot on set: “Tomorrow we’ll impale a girl, tomorrow we’ll kill the unfaithful wife… tomorrow we’ll kill a pig, because a crew member is fed up with eating fish. “I couldn’t kill real people, so the animals got killed, but all the animals were eaten. They didn’t just die for the film.” The plot sees an academic who heads into the Amazon forest in search of a missing American documentary crew feared to have been eaten by a cannibal tribe. He discovers a film they recorded before their deaths, which is said in the movie to be “authentic” footage. The film is hailed as the inspiration for the “found footage” horror genre that includes ‘The Blair Witch Project’ and ‘V/H/S’. Ruggero accused the makers of ‘Blair Witch’ of stealing his idea and said he “didn’t like” the hit 1999 horror. He also accused Oliver Stone of copying a village burning sequence in ‘Cannibal Holocaust’ “almost exactly” for his Vietnam film ‘Platoon’. Ruggero started his career as an assistant director for Roberto Rossellini and worked for Sergio Corbucci on spaghetti western Django. He also made a cameo appearance in Eli Roth’s 2007 ‘torture porn’ sequel ‘Hostel II’. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English The Spice Girls are said to have been left mortified after their infamous unreleased song with an X-rated title leaked online. Their cheeky ‘C. U. Next Tuesday’ track emerged after nearly three decades of being hidden, The Sun reported on Thursday. (29.12.22) The publication said bandmates Mel B, 47, Mel C, 48, Victoria Beckham, also 48, Emma Bunton, 46, and Geri Horner, 50, are “baffled” by the “major security breach” after the sing was this week uploaded. A music insider told The Sun: “The Spice Girls are all at a very different place in their lives now than they were when this song was first written as a tongue-in-cheek track in the Nineties. “It is obviously a bit embarrassing given the cringeworthy title, as they wouldn’t use the c-word in their own lives. “It is a bit of a mystery how on earth it has got out but they aren’t going to dwell on it. “The group have other projects they are looking forward to in 2023 so are focusing on them and hoping this song – which they were never particularly fond of – is forgotten.” The hidden track was written and recorded 27 years ago for their debut album ‘Spice’ but the group hated it so much they refused to allow it to be included as a bonus track when they re-released their first record in 2021. It’s understood the Spice Girls believe it would be a futile waste of time to try and track the source of the leak. Fans have known about the song’s existence for years as the band have mentioned it in interviews, but it appears this is the first time it has been publicly leaked. Mel C has said: “‘C.U. Next Tuesday’ was never used because it’s a pile of s***.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Kristina Cooke, Mike Spector, Benjamin Lesser, Dan Levine and Disha Raychaudhuri (Reuters) – Lawmakers around the United States have tried to grant justice to victims of decades-old incidents of child sexual abuse by giving them extra time to file lawsuits. Now some of the defendants in these cases, including church and youth organizations, are finding a safe haven: America’s bankruptcy courts. In New York, nearly 11,000 cases flooded state courts, many seeking to hold Catholic dioceses responsible for sexual abuse by clergy, after a 2019 law suspended statutes of limitations that would have otherwise barred many of the lawsuits. In response, four New York dioceses that collectively faced more than 500 sexual-abuse claims filed for bankruptcy. That halted the cases — and blocked those from anyone who might sue later — and forced the plaintiffs to negotiate a one-time settlement for all abuse claims in bankruptcy court. The pattern has taken hold across the United States, a Reuters review of bankruptcies precipitated by mass child sexual-abuse litigation found. Many of the defendants turning to bankruptcy court are nonprofit organizations. In court filings dating back to 2009, the Boy Scouts of America, a New York boys & girls club and 13 separate Catholic institutions each have cited state laws extending abuse victims’ right to sue as factors in their decisions to seek bankruptcy protection. Such bankruptcies are “the counterpunch” to the state laws enabling more victims to seek justice and compensation through lawsuits, said Stephen Rubino, a lawyer who’s represented clergy abuse victims for more than 30 years. In all, 23 states, two territories and Washington, D.C., have passed laws that suspend statutes of limitations for sexual-abuse victims who were previously prevented from suing over older cases. The suspensions typically last a year or more, allowing plaintiffs to file new lawsuits involving old abuse cases during that period. California, New York and several other states passed such laws in 2019. Bankruptcy courts are undermining the impact of the statutes, some legal experts and victims’ advocates say. Judges overseeing these Chapter 11 filings set their own deadlines to file a sexual-abuse claim for compensation from the bankruptcy settlement. Victims who miss the bankruptcy claims-filing deadline receive nothing or are forced to compete for limited funds set aside for unknown future claimants, the Reuters review of bankruptcies found. “As we dramatically increase access to justice through statutes-of-limitations reform, we have more organizations going into bankruptcy because, frankly, bankruptcy law favors the organizations,” said Marci Hamilton, the founder of Child USA, a group that has advocated for laws expanding sexual-abuse victims’ rights to sue. Child sexual-abuse victims often don’t come forward until much later in life, sometimes past the age of 50, according to several victims’ lawyers and studies on abuse disclosure. Some are not aware of bankruptcy proceedings that affect them until it is too late. Bankruptcy claims-filing deadlines can force victims to come forward before they are ready, Hamilton said. And abuse claimants have limited leverage in Chapter 11 cases that halt their litigation and shield organizations such as dioceses, schools or youth organizations from current and future lawsuits, she said. “The federal bankruptcy law is just defective when it comes to sexual-abuse victims,” Hamilton said. “Their voice is just stolen from them.” Reuters identified settlements in 23 bankruptcies precipitated by child sexual-abuse scandals that halted current and future lawsuits and forced claimants to seek compensation from a trust. The cases involved the Boy Scouts, 21 Catholic organizations and USA Gymnastics. The youth gymnastics organization filed for Chapter 11 protection in 2018 amid a surge of lawsuits alleging abuse by convicted child sexual abuser Larry Nassar. (Now in prison, Nassar could not be reached for comment.) The Boy Scouts and USA Gymnastics did not comment for this story. The Boy Scouts and others have argued that their bankruptcy plans seek to pay claimants fairly and equitably, whereas civil litigation can result in some victims winning large jury verdicts and others receiving smaller judgments or nothing. USA Gymnastics has said it sought bankruptcy protection “to pave the way toward a settlement” with abuse survivors, who last year approved a plan paying them $380 million. The organizations also often conduct extensive marketing campaigns to ensure that potential victims know they can seek compensation in the Chapter 11 cases, a review of the cases shows. The Boy Scouts, for instance, said on a website the group set up for restructuring that it launched a “comprehensive noticing campaign” in the media. The Madison Square Boys & Girls Club in New York City referred Reuters to a bankruptcy-court declaration filed in June by its chief financial officer, Jeffrey Dold. Dold said the organization sought Chapter 11 protection after trying and failing to resolve about 140 pending claims of sexual abuse by club employees and volunteers between the 1940s and 1980s, all filed after the passage of New York’s claims-revival law. The club filed bankruptcy, Dold said, “to provide a forum to address those claims fairly and equitably.” The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops had no comment on the new state laws or their impact nationwide on Catholic organizations facing sexual-abuse lawsuits. In a statement to Reuters, it said it defers to state and local catholic leadership organizations on state laws and bankruptcies. The conference noted the importance of “pastoral outreach” to abuse victims and said that local dioceses have victim assistance coordinators to “assist survivors and accompany them as they seek healing.” The nonprofit organizations’ bankruptcies don’t protect the individual abusers themselves, whom victims can still sue. But they do grant lawsuit immunity to the entities that oversaw employees or volunteers accused of abuse. Lawyers defending organizations targeted by sexual-abuse claims, along with some plaintiffs lawyers, say bankruptcy provides a fair way to compensate victims, many of whom want to avoid the ordeal of a lawsuit and a potential trial. Moreover, organizations and insurers paying the settlements won’t agree to any deal that doesn’t shield them from additional liability, said Susan Boswell, a retired lawyer who represented dioceses in bankruptcies from Arizona to Minnesota. “If you can’t have finality,” she said, “then you are not ever going to be able to get one of these cases done.” America’s federal bankruptcy courts play a critical role in justice and commerce by giving businesses overwhelmed by debt an orderly process to settle with creditors during a reorganization or liquidation. Those debts can include liability from lawsuits over deadly products, fraud, sexual abuse or other wrongdoing. The power of U.S. bankruptcy courts to grant lawsuit immunity to organizations in bankruptcy, their leaders and affiliated entities has expanded over time. And so have the legal tactics of entities seeking Chapter 11 protection: Some corporations engulfed in scandals are now creating subsidiaries solely to absorb their lawsuit liability and declare bankruptcy. Nonprofit organizations facing sexual-abuse lawsuits have pulled another page from the corporate bankruptcy playbook: In striking settlements, they typically seek “nondebtor releases” for their associated entities, such as religious schools and individual parishes. Such releases shield people and entities from lawsuits over issues taken up in bankruptcy settlements. By piggybacking on a nonprofit’s Chapter 11 filing, its affiliated organizations or leaders often get these liability shields without having to file for bankruptcy themselves. Judges often appoint someone to advocate for the interests of potential victims who have not yet sued or made a claim in bankruptcy court. Known as future claims representatives, these appointees are often lawyers or financial professionals who are paid by the debtor and tasked with estimating the number of future claims and the funds needed to cover them. The reality, however, is that late filers often end up competing for smaller amounts than those who meet the deadline, according to court records reviewed by Reuters and attorneys involved in the proceedings. Unknown claimants become “numbers on a chart,” Rubino said. JUSTICE DENIED A former Boy Scout, C, alleges a Scout leader abused him when he was a teenager. Reuters agreed to identify the former Scout, now 40, only by his first initial. He sought compensation in the Boy Scouts bankruptcy in June, long after a deadline of November 16, 2020 for filing claims. C is now unlikely to recover much, if anything, from the $2.46 billion settlement the Boy Scouts reached with claimants alleging sexual abuse, his lawyer said. That’s because claimants who miss the deadline face a gauntlet of additional hurdles and conditions, according to C’s lawyer and a review of the Boy Scouts settlement terms. The Boy Scouts bankruptcy reorganization plan, approved by a judge in September, halts all lawsuits against the Boy Scouts, local councils, churches and other organizations that chartered scouting activities. The bankruptcy’s claims-filing rules take precedence over a recent law passed in California, where C says he was abused, that expanded sexual-abuse victims’ rights to sue. The bankruptcy proceedings generally trump state laws because bankruptcy courts are federal, and typically have the power to override state statutes and halt state lawsuits or court orders. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein reasoned in approving the Boy Scouts settlement that it was a better solution for victims than seeking compensation in trial courts. Silverstein declined to comment for this story. In a July opinion approving aspects of the Scouts’ reorganization plan, she noted that insurance carriers, local Scouts councils and chartered organizations would not contribute to the settlement without receiving nondebtor releases from liability. She agreed with lawyers for the Boy Scouts and some claimants that the only alternative to a settlement was a “‘death trap’ of litigation with minimal recoveries in sight.” “These boys–now men–seek and deserve compensation,” the judge wrote, for “abuse which has had a profound effect on their lives and for which no compensation will ever be enough.” Beyond questions of fair compensation, C said the bankruptcy is preventing him from getting his day in court against the Boy Scouts to present what happened to him. C grew up in an unstable home in northern California. His mother considered the Boy Scouts a safe environment for her son. For years after a Scout leader allegedly abused him and other boys, C struggled with acknowledging that what had happened to him was wrong, he told Reuters. He had trusted his Scout leader. Within the past couple of years, he spoke at length with another former Scout about the leader’s behavior, he said. The emotional conversation prompted C to reflect on the damage in his own life stemming from the abuse. He said in an interview that his own struggles relating to others began to make more sense. C lives with his mother, sometimes sleeps in his car and has struggled to find a steady career. “I’m waiting to stand in front of a judge,” C said, and hoping for that judge to say: “‘What happened to you was wrong.’” ‘THE PRIEST WOULD NEVER DO THAT’ Some plaintiffs’ attorneys say bankruptcy proceedings can provide a better way to compensate many sexual-abuse victims than trial courts. Victims often don’t want to go through the ordeal of suing their abusers or the organizations that may have enabled them, said Dan Lapinski, a Motley Rice LLC lawyer representing Boy Scouts claimants. For them, seeking compensation through bankruptcy can allow victims to file a claim confidentially and avoid reliving their trauma in open court. “I have clients who fall into that category” in the Scouts matter, Lapinski said, noting that these victims might not have pursued their claim at all outside of bankruptcy court. Financial coffers of individual dioceses are usually smaller than those of large corporations, said Boswell, the retired lawyer who has represented dioceses facing abuse allegations in bankruptcies. Expensive litigation cuts into the money available for compensation, she said, but a bankruptcy reorganization can attempt to pay all claimants equitably. Still, there is often little left for claimants who come forward later, after bankruptcy filing deadlines pass. In January 2020, a 59-year old former altar boy named Henry attended a church service in Minnesota on a visit back to the state to see family. After the service, Henry said, the priest spoke to parishioners about the financial impact of the 2018 bankruptcy of the local Winona-Rochester diocese, caused in part by sexual-abuse claims. Henry knew the abuse first-hand. When he was 17, a priest assaulted Henry in a pool shower after swimming, he said in an interview. He had kept what happened to himself in part because he thought nobody would believe him, said Henry, who spoke on condition that he be identified only by his middle name. Before clergy sexual-abuse scandals emerged worldwide, his community’s attitude was “the church would never do that, the priest would never do that,” he said. “You’re kind of squelched from the get-go.” Finding out about the bankruptcy in church that day emboldened Henry to come forward, too, he said. Two days after the priest’s comments, he contacted a lawyer who filed a late claim on his behalf. But relatively little money — a maximum of $750,000 — had been set aside for claimants who came forward after a 2019 deadline. Henry received $20,000, which he described as “an almost laughable“ amount. Henry could receive more money later, depending on how many additional claims are filed and how a trustee who determines payouts views his claim. But a final determination won’t be made until a deadline for filing late claims passes several years from now, according to documents Reuters reviewed. The judge in the case declined to comment. By comparison, the settlement covering the 145 sexual-abuse claimants who filed on time was nearly $28 million. That would equate to about $190,000 per victim. The amount individual claimants might receive varies, depending on factors including the duration, severity and impact of their alleged abuse, according to court documents. “What I don’t like is that they put some arbitrary cap on anybody who filed after” the deadline, Henry said. Peter Martin, a spokesperson for the Winona-Rochester diocese, declined to comment on its bankruptcy proceedings. Martin did not respond to inquiries about Henry’s allegations of sexual abuse. POWER AND TRUST Statutes of limitations exist for good reason, some legal scholars say. Historically, states enacted them to encourage plaintiffs to file timely lawsuits based on “reasonably fresh” evidence, said Marie T. Reilly, a professor at Penn State Law in University Park, Pennsylvania. Reilly argues that allowing victims to sue long after their alleged abuse threatens the integrity of the legal system in the name of exacting retribution against institutions such as Catholic dioceses. Over time, memories deteriorate, witnesses die and documents can go missing, she said. “The ability to mount a defense deteriorates with the passage of time,” Reilly said. New York State Senator Brad Hoylman, a Democrat, sponsored the state’s bipartisan legislation reviving child sexual-abuse claims. He told Reuters he pushed the bill because it can be especially difficult for individuals to come forward with allegations against abusers who are often “in positions of power and trust.” For thousands of victims with revived legal rights to seek accountability from institutions in trial courts, bankruptcy filings can be crushing. Doug Kennedy was a teenage Boy Scouts camp staffer in upstate New York when a camp director raped him repeatedly and forced him to engage in other sexual activity, according to a lawsuit he filed. His case was halted by the Boy Scouts bankruptcy. In the years after the assaults, he told Reuters, he buried his memories of the abuse. The man Kennedy accused of abuse, Bruce DeSandre, declined to comment through his attorney. In a court filing, DeSandre denied Kennedy’s allegations of sexual abuse and argued that New York state’s revival law was unconstitutional. When Kennedy, now a college professor, finally came to grips with his abuse, the statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit had passed. In January 2019, he retreated to his office at Virginia Wesleyan University, drew the shades and watched a streaming feed of the New York state legislature’s vote to change the law and allow victims like Kennedy to file lawsuits over abuse that occurred long ago. “I broke down, completely broke down,” he said. He thought he would finally get a chance to get accountability for what was allowed to happen to him. Later that year, in August, he filed his lawsuit against defendants including a Boy Scouts local council and DeSandre. About six months later, the Boy Scouts filed for bankruptcy. Kennedy said his feeling of hope drained away when he heard the news. “Bankruptcy is not justice,” he said. “Bankruptcy is business.” (Reporting by Kristina Cooke, Benjamin Lesser, Dan Levine, Mike Spector and Disha Raychaudhuri; editing by Janet Roberts and Brian Thevenot.) View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Scientology leader David Miscavige is apparently “nowhere to be found” as prosecutors search to serve the controversial figure with a federal child trafficking lawsuit, RadarOnline.com has learned. Federal authorities have reportedly attempted to serve the mysterious 62-year-old Scientology leader 27 separate times over four months in Los Angeles, California and Clearwater, Florida. Mega According to Daily Mail, security guards on duty at the California and Florida Scientology properties were “clueless” when lawyers arrived in search of Miscavige. The three plaintiffs in the lawsuit – Gawain and Laura Baxter and Valeska Paris – have also since hired a private investigator in an attempt to track down the evasive church leader. Although Miscavige does not have a recorded permanent address, his last known address was the church’s international headquarters in Los Angeles. In court filings connected to the federal child trafficking lawsuit against him, two former Scientology members said Miscavige lives in a gated church community called Hacienda Gardens just outside of Clearwater. Mega “Miscavige cannot be permitted to continue his gamesmanship,” said Neil Glazer, a lawyer representing one of the plaintiffs in the case. Glazer also said Miscavige is taking part in an “intentional concealment of his location and evasion of service.” The Baxters and Paris filed the lawsuit against the church leader earlier this year and claim they were forced to work on Scientology boats after signing a one-billion-year contract in exchange for no money. Paris also claims she was a victim of sexual assault by church members while still a minor and that she was locked inside an engine room when she was 17 as punishment for her mother leaving Scientology. A Scientology spokesperson has since slammed the allegations against Miscavige and the church, calling the accusations “ridiculous” and the federal lawsuit “a scam.” Mega “The allegations are both scurrilous and ridiculous and the lawsuit is both a sham and a scam,” the spokesperson said. “Valeska Paris already wasted the time of law enforcement when she made these fraudulent claims years ago.” “It is public record they closed her file stating: ‘There are no corroborating witnesses or evidence provided to support the allegations.’” Miscavige is due in court on January 20, but the charges remain pending until the church leader can properly and officially be served with the summons. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Trevor Hunnicutt WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday pardoned six people who have already served time for crimes, including five convicted of drug or alcohol-related offenses and a woman who killed her allegedly abusive husband nearly five decades ago. The latest pardons showed Biden nudging U.S. criminal justice policy away from the war-on-drugs ethos that he and other liberal lawmakers once championed. Now gearing up for a possible re-election bid in 2024, the Democratic president faces pressure to show progress on racial and criminal justice issues. The United States has less than 5% of the world’s population but a fifth of its prisoners. A disproportionate share are people of color, who make up a sizable chunk of Biden’s base of support. All three of Biden’s uses of the pardon power so far in his term have involved reducing the sentences of people convicted of drug-related offenses. In October, he dismissed the sentences of thousands of people with federal offenses for simple marijuana possession and launched a reexamination of how the drug is classified by federal officials. All of the people pardoned on Friday were convicted and served a sentence for the crime, some of which happened decades ago, when they were young. In the years since, they have developed careers and been involved in community service. One of those pardoned was Beverly Ann Ibn-Tamas, now 80, who shot and killed her neurosurgeon husband while she was pregnant in 1976. The case of Ibn-Tamas, who said she was abused and acted in self-defense, became a model for using a woman’s history of abuse in legal arguments. After she was released, Ibn-Tamas worked in healthcare and raised the two children fathered by her husband as a single mother, the White House said. Her daughter is now an attorney. Others on Biden’s list included Vincente Ray Flores, an active-duty Air Force service member, now 37, who was convicted for consuming ecstasy and alcohol while serving at age 19, according to the White House. Biden also pardoned Edward Lincoln De Coito III, a decorated U.S. Army veteran, now 50, who was briefly a courier for marijuana at age 23 and served more than a year in prison. Among the others was a 66-year-old convicted of a crime related to a cocaine deal at age 22; a 77-year-old man who sold whiskey without tax stamps at age 18; and a 72-year old who rented space that was used to grow marijuana nearly 30 years ago. (Reporting by Trevor HunnicuttEditing by Frances Kerry) View the full article

Published by Reuters (Reuters) – A Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives committee on Friday released former President Donald Trump’s tax returns from 2015 through 2020. Below are highlights from his personal tax returns. 2015 Wages $14,141 Taxable interest $9,393,096 Dividends $1,729,897 Business income -$599,030 Rental real estate, -$7,882,011 partnerships, etc. Taxable income $0 Net tax $641,931(Congressional tax panel says this could drop to $750, if a claim of previous losses is approved) 2016 Wages $978 Taxable interest $8,994,141 Dividends $337,938 Business income $8,797,393 Rental real estate, -$15,939,523 partnerships, etc. Taxable income $0 Net tax $750 2017 Wages $373,629 Taxable interest $6,758,494 Dividends $21,984 Business income $1,433,030 Rental real estate, -$16,746,815 partnerships, etc. Taxable income $0 Net tax $750 2018 Wages $393,957 Taxable interest $9,435,377 Dividends $60,254 Business income -$430,408 Rental real estate, -$11,992,220 partnerships, etc. Taxable income $22,951,389 Net tax $999,466 2019 Wages $393,928 Taxable interest $11,332,436 Dividends $71,921 Business income -$225,560 Rental real estate, -$16,472,951 partnerships, etc. Taxable income $2,975,173 Net tax $133,445 2020 Wages $393,229 Taxable interest $10,626,179 Dividends $25,347 Business income -$29,686 Rental real estate, -$15,676,469 partnerships, etc. Taxable income $0 Net tax $0 (Reporting by Moira Warburton in Vancouver; Editing by Daniel Wallis) View the full article

Published by Radar Online Romanian Police Controversial media personality Andrew Tatewas detained on December 29 at his sprawling compound in Romania, where he resides with brother Tristan Tate after moving to the southeastern European country nearly five years ago. Known for leading an opulent lifestyle with wads of cash, a bevy of women, and a fleet of supercars, the former Big Brother star and famed kickboxing world champion spent his time in a luxurious mansion protected by a hi-tech CCTV control room and gun-toting guards. MEGA Aerial shots of the property, reported to cost $722k and published by Daily Mail, show where his top-of-the-line vehicles are parked, as well as where Andrew records his podcast. “I like the idea of just being able to do what I want. I like being free,” he said of Bucharest in a YouTube video, also revealing that he felt “safe there” during another interview. In one image released by authorities, next to what appeared to be an elaborate home security system, was a statue of a gorilla made of American dollars. Another showed a wood-paneled room where Andrew appears to have filmed a video taunting 19-year-old climate control activist Greta Thunberg following their social media feud. As he puffed on a cigar, Andrew could be seen alongside a Romanian pizza box, potentially confirming his location to authorities. “This is what happens when you don’t recycle your pizza boxes,” Thunberg quipped after his arrest. Images released by authorities showed police seizing guns, electronics, and weapons from the compound. MEGA RadarOnline.com can confirm the Tates were taken into custody on Thursday — having since been released — as part of a rape and human trafficking probe after cops raided the luxury home and other properties. Prosecutors said the famous brothers are suspects in an alleged organized crime ring that sexually exploited at least six women. It is alleged the women were recruited, housed and forced into performing pornographic videos for sale online. “We cannot provide any details at the moment regarding alleged reports that they have been detained,” a spokesperson for the brothers said in a statement on Thursday. “However, Andrew and Tristan Tate have the utmost respect for the Romanian authorities and will always assist and help in any way they can.” Since then, Andrew has returned to social media. “The Matrix sent their agents,” he wrote via Twitter on Friday. View the full article

Published by OK Magazine mega More details about what went down on January 6 are coming to light after transcripts were released in late December. Donald Trump Jr.‘s fiancée, Kimberly Guilfoyle, demanded $60,000 to speak at former President Donald Trump‘s “Stop the Steal” rally, where he claimed he won the 2020 election. In the new documents, which were released after the former president was investigated for people storming the U.S. Capitol in January 2021, the TV host, 53, asked for a certain amount of money to make an appearance at the event. “You will pay us that’s the deal so don’t even think about it,” Guilfoyle allegedly texted Trump campaign deputy Caroline Wren before the rally took place. “You will send the funds as promised.” “That is not fair I can’t pay [you] for a speaking engagement you aren’t speaking at and are refusing to allow me to publicize,” Wren reportedly replied, according to the transcript released by the House Select Committee on Tuesday, December 28. mega But Wren pushed back, explaining that she couldn’t pay her that much to not end up talking at all. “Bull,” Guilfoyle reported replied, adding that she deserves the cash because “Don Jr. is speaking.” After all, Guilfoyle ended up getting $60,000 from Wren. As OK! previously reported, Donald, 76, was being investigated for his part in the Capitol riot attack, but House Select Committee withdrew their subpoena they issued. “Was just advised that the Unselect Committee of political Thugs has withdrawn the Subpoena of me concerning the January 6th Protest of the CROOKED 2020 Presidential Election,” Trump stated. “They probably did so because they knew I did nothing wrong, or they were about to lose in Court,” he continued. “Perhaps the FBI’s involvement in RIGGING the Election played into their decision. In any event, the Subpoena is DEAD!” FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP OFFERS SUPPORT FOR JANUARY 6 CAPITOL RIOTERS IN CONTROVERSIAL NEW CLIP mega After the announcement, one of Trump’s lawyers wasn’t surprised about the outcome. “After my firm filed suit on separation of powers grounds to block January 6 House Select Committee’s illegitimate subpoena to President Trump over his activities while president — the committee waved the white flag & withdrew subpoena,” Harmeet K. Dhillon wrote in a statement. “We were confident of victory in court, given precedent & refusal of prior presidents to testify in Congress. J6 committee wasted millions for a purely political witch-hunt, total abuse of process & power serving no legitimate legislative purpose.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English King Charles will knight Queen guitarist Sir Brian May in his first New Year’s Honours. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s ex-PR boss who accused the duchess of bullying has also been recognised in the list, while four of England’s Lionesses football team will get gongs following after their Euros football triumph. Jason Knauf, who initially worked as joint head of communications for both the Sussexes and the now Prince and Princess of Wales, has been made a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order, entitling him to put the letters LVO after his name. He made serious allegations about Meghan, Duchess of Sussex’s alleged bullying of junior royal family staff before he stepped down and became a special adviser to Prince William and his wife Catherine, and then chief executive of the Royal Foundation, the charitable arm of their official operations. He said on Friday night (30.12.22): “Working for the Prince and Princess of Wales was the honour of a lifetime. “Receiving this recognition means more to me than I can say. I am incredibly grateful.” He gave evidence during Duchess Meghan’s High Court privacy case against The Mail on Sunday. Sir Brian, 75, guitarist on Queen hits such as ‘We are the Champions’, pledged to “do the things one would expect a knight to do” including “fight for justice” and for “people who don’t have any voice”. Lionesses skipper Leah Williamson, 25, is getting an OBE following the team’s 2–1 extra-time win over Germany in July’s Euros. Her teammates Beth Mead, 27, defender Lucy Bronze, 31, and goal scorer Ellen White, 33, are receiving MBEs, with Lucy telling The Sun on Friday: “To be on this list because I’ve just been doing something that I love is amazing.” The women’s coach Sarina Wiegman, 53, gets a CBE on the overseas list, and said: “I feel privileged and humbled and would like to dedicate this to the players, support team and others within the Football Association who have worked tirelessly for our shared success.” Dame Denise Richards, 51, who helped organise the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and won gold at the Sydney Olympics 2000, was another of the athletes to be honoured. She said: “It’s an incredible honour. I’m trying to take it in and its enormity.” “I recognise I’m one of very few women in athletics that have received a damehood. I’m just so proud and incredibly beside myself.” More than 1,000 are honoured on Charles’ first New Year’s list. Other famous faces included are actors Stephen Graham, 49, David Harewood, 57, who are getting OBEs, while stand-up comic Frank Skinner, 65, is made an MBE. ‘Dennis the Menace’ illustrator David Sutherland, 89, who has been drawing for The Beano for 60 years is getting an OBE. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Kate Bush is being urged to share one of her uplifting Christmas messages every year. The reclusive singer, 64, told fans in her 2022 festive note life had become “incredibly frightening”, while backing the work of nurses and reflecting on the death of Queen Elizabeth aged 96 on September 8. It has prompted her followers to share Kate’s 2021 message, which talked of the devastating effects of Covid, with fans of the musician saying they hope she makes it a tradition of sharing a hopeful message on her official website each year as many of her followers said it gave them comfort in an uncertain world. Kate has made a return to the spotlight this year after her 1985 ‘Running up that Hill’ track featured in Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things’ show before the Official Charts Company announced in September it had become the UK’s biggest song of the summer. She said alongside a picture of a goldcrest bird perched on a frost-covered branch in her resurfaced 2021 festive message: “With nearly two years of Covid, are any of us the same people we were before? It’s left everyone confused and uncertain of the future. “It’s been a terrible time of loss for so many. I want to say a big thank you to all the people on the front line and in the NHS. “I have such huge respect for all the nurses and doctors who’ve already been working flat out for nearly two years. “These caring people are showing such extraordinary acts of kindness to others. Let’s hope they get the pay rises they rightly deserve. “I’d like to mention something that happened a few weeks ago on a walk; stopping to look at the view, I noticed something moving in a tree right beside me. It was a Goldcrest – the smallest bird in Europe, even smaller than a wren. I stood still, hoping not to frighten it away. “Its colouring is beautiful – a peacock’s eye on each wing and a striking yellow streak on its tiny head. This gorgeous little ball of fluff flew away after ten minutes or so. “I’ve only ever seen one once before and very briefly. It made my day. In these strange times, I really hope you can get the chance to stop for a moment and feel nature around you. “Please stay safe. Wishing you a restful Christmas and hoping 2022 is a happier year for everyone. With love Kate.” View the full article

Published by OK Magazine Mega Despite being known as a Hollywood heartbreaker, it seems artist John Mayer is pretty in-tune with his feelings — at least according to longtime pal Andy Cohen, who praised the singer’s Emotional Intelligence during a podcast appearance earlier this week. “John Mayer is someone who is very in touch with his emotions,” Cohen explained of his pal while appearing on “Table for Two with Bruce Bozzi” on Wednesday, December 28. “He very quickly in our friendship started saying, ‘You know what, I gotta tell you something — I love you.'” Mega And it seems Mayer kept that energy throughout their entire friendship, with Cohen detailing how the musician doesn’t mince words when it comes to his emotions. JOHN MAYER REVEALS HE DOESN’T ‘DATE THAT MUCH’ ANYMORE DESPITE WOMANIZER PAST “He is someone to say, ‘I love you and I cherish you and I cherish our friendship,’” recalled the Bravo icon. “Just this stuff that straight guys aren’t necessarily supposed to say.” mega Cohen’s comments come days after the “Gravity” singer got candid about his past playboy reputation, revealing that he doesn’t “date that much” despite rumors of his womanizer ways. “Dating is no longer a codified activity for me, it doesn’t exist in a kind of … it’s not patterned anymore,” Mayer explained to radio personality Alex Cooper while appearing on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast last week. “That is what that is. That’s the role I play on the big TV show I didn’t write, but that’s fine,” he said. “Maybe I had a hand in it or something.” Beyond public perception, it seems this shift seemingly stemmed from his decision to give up alcohol in 2016, one he hinted has made him confront his emotions and desires more candidly. THE NEW JAKE GYLLENHAAL! TAYLOR SWIFT’S FANS WARN JOHN MAYER TO BE ‘SCARED’ OF HER WRATH AFTER NEW SONG RELEASE “I quit drinking like six years ago,” he explained. So I don’t have the liquid courage. I just have dry courage.” As such, Mayer said he seemingly felt more pressure “to be honest” in his romantic pursuits. “You have to be really, glaringly honest,” he explained. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Courtney Love claims Brad Pitt “stalked” her about Kurt Cobain. Earlier this week, Courtney, 58, claimed on Marc Maron’s ‘WTF’ podcast that she was fired from the 1999 movie ‘Fight Club’, starring Brad because she refused to let the actor make a movie about her late husband, Nirvana frontman Kurt, who died by suicide in 1994 at the age of 27. And Courtney later took to her Instagram account to double down on her claims. She wrote: “Hi. Regarding a story I told on the @marcmaron #wtf podcast. A story I was never going to tell. Brad pushed me a bridge too far. I don’t like the way he does business or wields his power. It’s a simple fact, and it started during the production of Fight Club. “I understand how much of a game of roulette casting is. I am not here 22 years later b******* about losing a part playing someone’s side piece in a movie. “On the podcast, I recount the day Brad Gus Van Sant called me from lunch and tried to blackmail me over my role, for the rights to a film about Kurt. I lost my s*** on them, and by 7pm I was fired from Fight Club. Every word of this is factual. This was always a secret that I was fine keeping. “It’s a movie. Indeed, I passed on better roles that that. Who cares? “The point is Brad kept stalking me about Kurt.” Courtney also said she took a call with Brad in 2020 about another film about Kurt but turned him down again. However, she has now decided to speak openly about it because she feels that Brad will not stop “pursuing” Kurt until she made it public. She explained: “With all this resentment in our history, one might ask why I took yet another pitch for Kurt’s film from Brad after all these years? It’s because I’m in recovery. And resentment is like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies. “I was over being mad about it. Plus, I heard Pitt was dealing with the same demons. So, we might both have changed our spiritual world views. Not to be. “It’s not just the Zoom I had with Brad in 2020 where I said no to @planbfilms Brad producing it. It’s that I said NO on the Zoom and that was not enough, and I was not heard. I was ignored. “I had no plans to bring it up with Marc Maron but up it came. “I told the story because I felt Pitt would not stop pursuing Kurt – unless I said it in public. “I don’t want Brad to be p***** off at me and become his resentment. I want him to do better. I’m not into assault. Cmon brother Pitt. I wish you well, truly. “If he’s mad at me, that’s his problem. I enjoy him as a movie star immensely. Not so much as a biopic producer. “Hope this clarifies, and thanks for your time. “I’m sure Helena Bonham Carter was utterly meant to be Marla Singer and I do not bear her or Edward Norton or David Fincher or Art Linson all people whose work genius I respect immensely any ill will. “Xx. Nmrk. “#GENTLEMAN? #IMNOTAREALBLONDE! Shall we get started xC.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Sam Asghari has addressed speculation he “controls” his wife Britney Spears. The 28-year-old model spoke out after fans claimed Britney, 41, was not in charge of her own social media accounts following a post on her birthday in December when she gushed about her estranged sister Jamie Lynn Spears. Sam told TMZ: “I don’t even control what we have for dinner. “In the past, there has been a lot of stuff going on so I understand where [some fans are] coming from. They’re just being protective. If anything they’re being good fans.” Sam – who tied the knot with Britney in June – previously admitted he was not a fan of the racy content his wife posts on Instagram, but insisted he would never try to censor her posts as she was previously under a conservatorship for 13 years. He wrote on his Instagram Story: “The only person in the world that gets bullied for posting things like this. I personally preferred she never posted these but who am I to control someone that’s been under a microscope and been controlled for most of her life.” Meanwhile, it was recently revealed that Britney’s former husband Kevin Federline, is planning to write a tell-all book about the star. The 44-year-old dancer was married to popstar Britney from 2004 until 2007 and was granted custody of their sons Sean, 17 and Jayden, 16, upon their divorce but is now reportedly set to be “writing a book on his experience of fatherhood” as a nondisclosure agreement is set to come to an end along with child support payments. A source said: “He turned down multimillion-dollar book deals in recent years. Kevin’s divorce settlement and child support payments include a nondisclosure agreement. But that expires when the boys turn 18. Once that happens, Kevin is free to tell all — and he knows everything.” The ‘…Baby One More Time’ hitmaker was placed under a conservatorship governed by her family in 2007 following a personal breakdown and although she regained control of her fortune upon its termination in 2021, she has since become estranged from her parents and children. Kevin has reportedly teamed up with Britney’s father Jamie Spears – who headed up the conservatorship arrangement and allegedly put his daughter under various restrictions and dictated her professional obligations – for the book now that the “are now speaking to each other once again” following a fallout. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Kate Hudson thinks Liv Tyler was her best on-screen kiss. The 43-year-old actress singled out her ‘Dr. T and the Women’ co-star as being her favourite person to have locked lips with on camera over the years and joked she and her friend always regret not “going for it” more when they made the 2000 film. Sitting down for Vanity Fair magazine’s lie detector test video series, Kate said of kissing Liv: “She beats them all. We, to this day, are like, ‘Why didn’t we go for it more with our making out?’ She has the softest lips of them all. Oh my God. Those lips? Those Tyler lips!” Kate also joked she had “done well” after kissing Billy Crudup in ‘Almost Famous’ in 2000 and Matthew McConaughey in 2003’s ‘How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days’ and 2008’s ‘Fool’s Gold’. Holding up photos of them both, she joked: “I’ve done well, guys. I feel like I’ve done well… “I think Billy is a gentler kisser. I wouldn’t say better, but definitely just gentler. It’s a more sophisticated version of a kiss. It’s like theatre. It’s like Stanislavski and like Longhorns. You know what I mean?” But when it came to Dane Cook, Kate joked of her ‘My Best Friend’s Girl’ co-star: “No. No. Cancelled”. In 2014, Dane claimed his smooch with the actress in the 2008 movie was his worst on-screen kiss. He said: “I think she purposely ate a feast of onions right before the scene. I had to burn her on that one.” Elsewhere in the interview, despite being best known for her rom-coms, the ‘Mother’s Day’ actress admitted she doesn’t watch many. She said: “I don’t watch that many rom-coms. I love rom-coms, but sometimes for me the rom-coms that people are seeing are not movies that I… I’d probably choose something else.” View the full article

Published by AlterNet Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is by Fox News for the thousands of canceled Southwest flights that left millions stranded in airports, Huffpost reports. During the busiest travel period of the year, multiple airlines suffered delays and cancellations due to a winter storm, but Southwest has and continues to suffer with the highest cancellation rate. “Mayor Pete Leaves Southwest Customers Stranded” is the headline that appeared on-screen during a Fox News “Ingraham Angle” segment, fully blaming the former 2020 presidential candidate for Southwest’s shortcomings. READ MORE… Read More View the full article

Published by OK Magazine mega Not having it! Tom Cruise is apparently irked that rival Brad Pitt landed a Golden Globe nomination for his latest flick, Babylon, but he didn’t get one for appearing in the box office hit Top Gun: Maverick. “Tom expected to walk away with the award for best actor, so you can imagine his reaction when he wasn’t even on the list — he totally blew a fuse!” a source said, according to Radar. “This was the first time in years that Tom was so sure he had a slam-dunk win he was fine-tuning his acceptance speech.” mega An insider noted that Cruise, 60, previously handed back his three Golden Globe trophies for Born on the Fourth of July, Jerry Maguire and Magnolia to prove that Hollywood Foreign Press Association lacked diversity. “He took a stand and no doubt it didn’t go over well with them,” the source shared. “A lot of people are convinced that’s the real reason he was snubbed.” CHRIS ROCK DECLARES ‘UGLY’ WILL SMITH IMPERSONATED ‘A PERFECT PERSON FOR 30 YEARS’ BEFORE OSCARS SLAP But theTop Gun star believes Pitt, 59, is to blame. “It stinks that Brad, once again, seems to have milked his relationship with the foreign journalists at the Globes to get his own movie — which many consider way inferior to Top Gun — a ton of nods,” the insider said, adding that Cruise is still “obsessed” with beating the Fight Club alum, who won his first Oscar in 2020. “As far as Tom’s concerned, this snub is all Brad’s fault!” mega The two Hollywood hunks previously starred in the 1994 flick Interview with the Vampire, but they never got along. “You gotta understand, Tom and I are… we walk in different directions. He’s the North Pole. I’m South. He’s coming at you with a handshake, where I may bump into you, I may not, you know? I always thought there was this underlying competition that got in the way of any real conversation. It wasn’t nasty by any means, not at all. But it was just there and it bugged me a bit. But I’ll tell you, he catches a lot of s**t because he’s on top, but he’s a good actor and he advances in the film. He did it. I mean, you have to respect that,” Pitt previously said of Cruise. View the full article

Published by Taste of Country Dolly Parton is readying her next children’s book with a very special main character. Dolly Parton’s Billy the Kid Makes It Big will feature her God-dog, Billy the Kid. It is set to hit store shelves net spring. “Guess what! My new book Billy the Kid Makes It Big featuring my god-dog @btkthefrenchie hits stores April 25, and you can pre-order it right now through the link in my story! I think it’s pretty cute,” Parton writes in announcing the book on social media, along with a dog paw print emoji. The book follows the French bulldog as he pursues his dreams of being a country music sensation i… Read More View the full article

Published by The San Diego Union-Tribune What decade is this again? It’s a fair question for a number of reasons, including the droves of recordings released in 2022 that prominently sampled, repurposed or recycled hits and obscurities from bygone decades. Consider SZA’s “SOS,” which samples both Beyonce’s 2007 song “Listen” and The Gabriel Hardeman Delegation’s 1976 gospel chestnut, “Until I Found the Lord (My Soul Couldn’t Rest).” Or consider Nicki Minaj’s “Super Freaky Girl,” which builds on both Rick James’ 1981 funk-rock classic “Super Freak” and the 1815 children’s rhyme “Eenie, Meenie, Miny, Moe.” Then there’s Taylor Swift, wh… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Darren Hayes felt a “sense of sadness” he could never be himself in public. The 50-year-old singer came out publicly as gay in 2005, after the break-up of his band Savage Garden, and he admitted he envies artists such as Sam Smith and Olly Alexander who have never had to hide away who they really are. He said: “I know that a lot of younger people might think ‘Why?’ or would even be in disbelief at some of the stories that I’ve experienced especially at a record label. Even now, in a world where we have amazing artists that are so fully our or not even out, it’s not even a question. I’m so excited at the new Sam Smith video and it’s that we’re so much more nuanced. “The queer community becomes more and more detailed and less put into boxes. That word is so constricted and has so many negative connotations in that it used to be used by a psychologist to diagnose someone with mental illness. “It’s just beautiful and I think the newer artists today who are just so interesting and brave and complex and…layered. That gave me inspiration in the 10 years I was away and I remember feeling a sense of sadness that I had never been myself in a public eye. “That was a huge part of why I wanted come back to make a record and show people that I’m not ashamed of who I am.” Darren admitted he was in a “challenging dark period” before writing his latest album ‘Homosexual’, particularly because he’d just turned 50 and was questioning his “legacy”. He exclusively told BANG Showbiz: “I live with a major depressive disorder and I was in the middle of a pretty challenging dark period before I made the record. I’d also just turned 50 and I was having a moment in my life where I was really questioning my self-worth and what the next part was going to be and what my legacy was supposed to be. “If I wasn’t singing, I started to think ‘Who am I if I’m not singing?’ and ‘Do I still matter?’ ‘What does that mean as a human being if I’m not contributing music?’ ‘Am I of no value if I’m not doing this?’ ” View the full article

Published by AlterNet United States Congressman-elect George Santos (R-New York) may be able to dismiss criticisms about his fake résumé, his spurious claims about being “Jew-ish,” his nonexistent college education, and his sketchy finances as mere “embellishments.” But what New York Magazine and Huffington Post contributor Yashar Ali pieced together late Wednesday night revealed that nothing is sacred for the embattled freshman lawmaker. Ali noticed two tweets written by Santos in 2021, which are still active on his profile, contain conflicting accounts of his mother’s death. READ MORE: Marjorie Taylor Greene crit… Read More View the full article