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Published by Reuters (Reuters) – U.S. congressman Hakeem Jeffries of New York launched a bid on Friday to become the Democratic leader in the House of Representatives. If he succeeds in the Nov. 30 leadership elections, as expected, he would become the first Black party leader in either chamber of Congress. Here is a look at his background and political career. BROOKLYN NATIVE A 52-year-old native of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, Jeffries holds degrees from the State University of New York, Binghamton, Georgetown University and New York University Law School. He began his career as a lawyer before being elected to the New York state legislature, where he championed affordable housing and worked on policing issues, notably the controversial practice known as “stop and frisk.” He is married and has two children. CONGRESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS Jeffries was first elected to Congress in 2012. He played a leading role in winning passage of the bipartisan First Step Act of 2018, a law that reduced sentences for some drug crimes. He also worked on legislation to bar police “chokeholds” and certain other tactics following the 2020 murder of George Floyd, who was Black, by a white Minneapolis police officer. In 2020, he was one of seven House “managers” who served as prosecutors in the first of the two Senate impeachment trials of former President Donald Trump. The House impeached Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress after he asked Ukraine to investigate then-candidate Joe Biden and his son on unsubstantiated corruption accusations and withheld aide to Kyiv. The Senate fell short of the two-thirds majority vote needed to convict Trump. CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP Jeffries has co-chaired the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, the party’s messaging arm, and has been a leader in the Congressional Black Caucus. In 2018, he was elected chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, making him the fifth highest-ranking Democrat in the chamber. Jeffries also is a member of the left-leaning Congressional Progressive Caucus. He is not particularly close with Kevin McCarthy, the California Republican who is tipped to replace Democrat Nancy Pelosi as House speaker. (Compiled by Makini Brice in Washington; Editing by Andy Sullivan and Will Dunham) View the full article

Published by OK Magazine Dear Brad Pitt, can Martha Stewart please get your number? On Thursday, November 17, the celebrity chef made a guest appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and revealed which Hollywood hunk she has her eyes on these days. “I’ve been sort of fascinated with this very handsome young boy on Instagram called Brad Pitt,” Stewart confessed to Jimmy Fallon, 48, adding her desire to finally meet him one day. mega “I just sort of melt when I look at those pictures. He is so cute!” the 81-year-old exclaimed of Pitt’s abnormally attractive features. Although the Bullet Train actor, 58, does not have his own Instagram account, Stewart admitted to following certain accounts, which are dedicated to Pitt. BRAD PITT LOOKS SUAVE AT MOVIE EVENT AS BUZZ BUILDS OVER HIS NEW ROMANCE WITH INES DE RAMON: PHOTOS “They’re fan pages I guess, I don’t know, but whatever it is he looks better and better as the years go by,” Stewart continued before urging Fallon to “check it out” for himself. It seems the Martha Bakes star’s celebrity crush changes from one talk show to the next, as OK! previously reported Stewart’s original romantic interest in Pete Davidson, 29, after her appearance on The Drew Barrymore show. Last month, the lifestyle icon sat down with Drew Barrymore, 57, to play a a fan-favorite game called “Red Flag, Yellow Flag, Green Flag.” BRAD PITT & INES DE RAMON HAVE BEEN DATING ‘A FEW MONTHS’ AFTER MEETING ‘THROUGH A MUTUAL FRIEND’ The talk show host began the activity with the first scenario, stating, “Your date has as many tattoos as Pete Davidson,” which prompted the cookbook author to hold up her green flag. “OK, your date is Pete Davidson,” Barrymore continued, to which caused Stewart to swiftly raise her green flag high and proud, while stating, “I mean, he has dated so many women.” mega “So what?” a confused Barrymore responded, but Stewart quickly followed up to clarify, stating, “No, I’m not saying that’s bad. I think that’s good and he’s sort of cute.” The two continued to chat about the time the expert chef and Davidson participated together in the Justin Bieber roast and gossiped about how “good” of a man he is. Stewart concluded her thoughts about the Saturday Night Live alum with a charming statement, “Very good guy and he knows how to get in and get out.” Maybe the famed chef will have better luck scoring a date with Pitt than she did with the comedian. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jody Godoy and Dan Levine SAN JOSE, Calif. (Reuters) -A federal judge on Friday sentenced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes to 11 years and three months in prison for defrauding investors in her now-defunct blood-testing startup that was once valued at $9 billion. In San Jose, California, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila sentenced Holmes, 38, on three counts of investor fraud and one count of conspiracy after a jury convicted her last January following a trial spanning three months. The prosecution had recommended a sentence of 15 years in prison, while the defense had urged the judge to impose no prison time. Holmes, dressed in a dark blouse and black skirt, hugged her parents and her partner after the sentence was handed down. During the sentencing hearing, Holmes cried as she said she was “devastated” by her failures and would have done many things differently if she had the chance. “I have felt deep shame for what people went through because I failed them,” Holmes said. Before handing down the sentence, Davila called the case “troubling on so many levels,” questioning what motivated Holmes, a “brilliant” entrepreneur, to misrepresent her company to investors. “This is a fraud case where an exciting venture went forward with great expectations only to be dashed by untruths, misrepresentations, plain hubris and lies,” the judge said. Davila set an April surrender date for Holmes. Her lawyers are expected to ask the judge to allow her to remain free on bail during her planned appeal. They are expected to appeal the judge’s decisions to uphold the jury’s conviction of Holmes as well as her sentence at the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Schenk told Davila during the hearing that a 15-year sentence would be “making a statement that the ends don’t justify the means.” Holmes’ attorney Kevin Downey sought home confinement, saying leniency was justified because unlike someone who committed a “great crime” she was not motivated by greed. The federal probation office had recommended a 9-year prison sentence, according to court papers. U.S. Attorney Stephanie Hinds said the sentence for Holmes “reflects the audacity of her massive fraud and the staggering damage she caused.” Downey declined to comment as he left court. Prosecutors said during the trial that Holmes misrepresented Theranos’ technology and finances, including by claiming that its miniaturized blood testing machine was able to run an array of tests from a few drops of blood. The company secretly relied on conventional machines from other companies to run patients’ tests, prosecutors said. Holmes testified in her own defense, saying she believed her statements were accurate at the time. She was convicted on four counts but acquitted on four other counts alleging she defrauded patients who paid for Theranos tests. Theranos Inc promised to revolutionize how patients receive diagnoses by replacing traditional labs with small machines envisioned for use in homes, drugstores and even on the battlefield. Forbes dubbed Holmes the world’s youngest female self-made billionaire in 2014, when she was 30 and her stake in Theranos was worth $4.5 billion. Theranos collapsed after a series of Wall Street Journal articles in 2015 questioned its technology. Actress Amanda Seyfried in September won an Emmy Award for portraying Holmes in the limited series “The Dropout.” Before sentencing Holmes, Davila asked if any of her victims were in the courtroom. Alex Shultz, whose son Tyler Shultz worked at Theranos and whose father, former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, invested in the company, told the judge how a family member once heard Holmes describe her supposedly revolutionary technology. “What’s the hitch?'” the family member asked Holmes, according to Shultz. “There is no hitch,” Holmes responded. (Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York and Dan Levine in San Jose; Editing by Noeleen Walder, Diane Craft and Will Dunham) View the full article

Published by AFP Members of the upcoming House session on the steps of the Capitol on November 15, 2022 Washington (AFP) – President Joe Biden, who turns 80 on Sunday, doesn’t stick out in a US political class where young faces are so rare it has been called a gerontocracy — though a changing of the guard may soon be afoot. The outgoing speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, is 82. On the Senate side, gray hair prevails. Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will soon turn 72. Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is 80. But a light breeze of change is blowing in Washington, where Pelosi just announced she will not seek reelection as speaker to make room for “a new generation,” and the second and third ranking House leaders, both in their 80s, are also stepping back from leadership — though not resigning their seats. Hakeem Jeffries, a frontrunner to replace Pelosi, is 52. That is a full generation younger than some of his colleagues on Capitol Hill. At 89, Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa just won election to his eighth term. At the start of his career in politics, in 1959, World War II hero Dwight Eisenhower was president. Another senator, Richard Shelby, was born the year Adolf Hitler declared himself Fuhrer of Germany, in 1934. Now 88, he will retire at the end of the year. And the case of Dianne Feinstein, an 89-year-old senator from California, has triggered debate on when it is time for aged politicians to call it quits. Feinstein is widely respected for her legislative career but she is said to have lost cognitive abilities and some wonder if she can still do her job. If Biden runs and is re-elected as president in 2024, he could still be leading the country aged 86. Sea of gray The full makeup of the next Congress after the November 8 midterms is not yet known, as vote counting continues in some House races. But the average age of lawmakers in the outgoing legislature was one of the highest in US history: 58 in the House and 64 in the Senate. The election has certainly ushered in some young new faces. Maxwell Frost, a 25-year-old from Florida, will be the first House member representing Gen Z, whose interests he has pledged to defend. “I think it’s important that we have a government that looks like the people,” he told AFP in October. Answering to those who say his generation is impatient, he said: “I’d just say we know what we want.” He joins a small but energetic squad of young lawmakers on Capitol Hill. One of the best known is 33-year-old Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, darling of the party’s most progressive wing and a lightning rod for criticism from conservatives. But these young people are a tiny minority in a sea of older lawmakers, who also hold the most powerful positions in the legislature. Age limits Nearly three quarters of Americans think there should be an age limit for people serving in Congress, according to a CBS News poll published in September. That sentiment is shared among Democrats and Republicans, and among younger and older people who took part in the poll — a rare consensus in a deeply divided country. “People do seem to be pretty positive toward having a younger representative,” said Damon Roberts, a political scientist at the University of Colorado Boulder, but they “aren’t really willing to translate that into votes.” There are built-in reasons why Americans have a tendency to elect people way past retirement age. Consider these institutional barriers: you have to be at least 25 to serve in the House, 30 in the Senate and 35 to be president. Americans also tend to see younger candidates as “less qualified to serve in office relative to a middle-aged or older candidate,” as well as “more ideologically extreme,” according to Roberts. In 1984, Ronald Reagan wielded this argument with some wit as he sought reelection against the Democrat Walter Mondale, who was much younger. During a presidential debate a journalist noted to Reagan that, at 73, he was then the oldest president in US history. Biden has since overtaken that title. “I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience,” Reagan said to loud laughter, even from Mondale. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Paul Burrell used to urge Princess Diana to keep her head “held high.” The 64-year-old star served as butler to the late Princess – who is the mother of Princes William and Harry through her former marriage to King Charles – and would always urge her to remember that she would always be the mother of the future King of England. He said: ” You would have most likely heard me giving the Princess advice, such as, ‘When you go out, hold your head high. Remember who you are – you are the mother of the future King. no one can ever take that away from you. And I’d tell the boys to, ‘Keep quiet, because Mummy is trying to have a rest.’ They were always noisy, running around the palace and playing war games!” The former ‘I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!’ contestant is now married to Graham Cooper and has sons Alex and Nick with him and went on to add that since the loss of the late Princess of Wales – who was kiled in a car accident in 1997 before King Charles went on to marry Queen Consort Camilla in 2005 and acceded to the throne upon the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth in September 2022 – he now uses his time to remind others how “precious” life is. He told Heat magazine: “You’ll hear me urging people to enjoy every single day, because having experienced that tragedy 25 years ago, I realise how precious life is. I took everything for granted, really. I was a very lucky man to have lived with the Queen for 11 years, and Diana for ten years. I took it all in my stride, and I should have enjoyed it more.” View the full article

Published by AFP NASA's Orion spacecraft en route for the Moon, with the Earth in the background, in a photo released by NASA in November 2022 Washington (AFP) – On the third day after lifting off from Florida bound for the Moon, the Orion spacecraft is “exceeding performance expectations,” NASA officials said on Friday. The spacecraft is to take astronauts to the Moon in the coming years — the first to set foot on its surface since the last Apollo mission in 1972. This first test flight, without a crew on board, aims to ensure that the vehicle is safe. “Today we met to review the Orion spacecraft performance… it is exceeding performance expectations,” said Mike Sarafin, head of the Artemis 1 mission. The spacecraft’s four solar panels, about 13 feet (four meters) long, deployed correctly and are providing more energy than expected, said Jim Geffre, the Orion manager at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. It is from that control center in Texas that the spacecraft is being piloted. Orion is already some 200,000 miles (320,000 kilometers) from Earth and preparing to perform the first of four main thrusts scheduled during the mission using its engines. This maneuver, which will take place early Monday morning, will bring the spacecraft as close as 80 miles (130 kilometers) from the lunar surface, in order to take advantage of the Moon’s gravitational force. Since this will take place on the far side of the Moon, NASA is expected to lose contact with the spacecraft for approximately 35 minutes. “We will be passing over some of the Apollo landing sites,” said flight director Jeff Radigan, although they will be in darkness. Footage of the flyover will be released by NASA. Four days later, a second thrust from the engines will place Orion in a distant orbit around the Moon. The ship will go up to 40,000 miles beyond the Moon, a record for a habitable capsule. It will then begin the journey back to Earth, with a landing in the Pacific Ocean scheduled for December 11, after just over 25 days of flight. The success of this mission will determine the future of the Artemis 2 mission, which will take astronauts around the Moon without landing, then Artemis 3, which will finally mark the return of humans to the lunar surface. Those missions are scheduled to take place in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Sarafin also said Friday that 10 scientific micro-satellites had been deployed when the rocket took off, but that half of them were experiencing technical or communication problems. Those experiments, carried out separately by independent teams, will have no impact on the main mission, however. View the full article

Published by Radar Online mega It looks like Donald Trump and Dr. Mehmet Oz won’t be friends going forward — especially after the latter lost the midterm election to John Fetterman. “Trump has told advisors he wants nothing to do with Dr. Oz in his bid for reelection. He is furious. Trump can’t believe Dr. Oz had fame and fortune and was still beaten by a ‘blue-hoodied Shrek-like’ monster. Trump once firmly believed the cult of pop culture would catapult people like him and Oz into office. He’s second guessing everything after the midterm disaster. One thing is certain: Oz will be nowhere near Trump on the road to 2024,” the source exclusively tells Radar. After the TV star didn’t come out on top against Fetterman in the Pennsylvania Senate race, New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman gave insight on what the former president was thinking. “Trump is indeed furious this morning, particularly about Mehmet Oz, and is blaming everyone who advised him to back Oz – including his wife, describing it as not her best decision, according to people close to him,” she tweeted. mega “There are people pushing Trump to reschedule his announcement next week, and several Rs have texted asking whether he will, but it’s risky and would be acknowledging he’s wounded by yesterday, something that some of his advisers insist is not the case,” she added. “Worth remembering that Trump is a grown man who endorsed Oz over the objection of some of the people closest to him, and instead went beyond just endorsing and attacked Dave McCormick from the stage at a rally.” Trump endorsed a slew of candidates that didn’t end up winning. However, he claimed he was not upset at how the results shook out. “For those many people that are being fed the fake narrative from the corrupt media that I am Angry about the Midterms, don’t believe it,” the ex-POTUS wrote. “I am not at all angry, did a great job (I wasn’t the one running!), and am very busy looking into the future,” he continued. “Remember, I am a ‘Stable Genius.’” mega As Radar previously reported, Trump made his announcement earlier this week, revealing he will be running again for president in 2024. “America’s comeback starts right now. In order to make America great and glorious again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for President of the United States,” he said. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Kate Abnett, Shadia Nasralla and Gloria Dickie SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (Reuters) -Negotiators at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt neared a breakthrough deal on Saturday for a fund to help poor countries being ravaged by the impacts of global warming, but remained locked over how to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions driving them. With a final climate accord already more than a day overdue, representatives of nearly 200 nations were anxious for an agreement they could bill as a step forward in the fight against climate change. “We have to be fast here now, but not fast towards a bad result. Not fast in terms of accepting something that we then spend years regretting,” said Eamon Ryan, Ireland’s environment minister. Frans Timmermans, the European Union’s climate policy chief, said ministers from the regional bloc were prepared to “walk away” if the accord is not ambitious enough. “We’d rather have no decision than a bad decision.” The outcome of the two-week summit in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh is a test of worldwide resolve to fight global warming, even as a war in Europe and rampant consumer inflation distract international attention. A COP27 draft agreement released on Saturday reaffirmed past commitments to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius to prevent the worst of climate change, but offered little evidence of increased ambition to make the emissions cuts needed to reach that goal. ‘SMALL VICTORY’ Days of tense bargaining between wealthy and developing nations at the summit yielded a proposal on Saturday to set up a fund to benefit countries coping with irreparable damage from severe storms, floods, droughts and wildfires. Rich countries, including the United States and those in Europe, have for decades resisted the idea of a so-called loss and damage fund for fear it would open them up to legal liability for their historic greenhouse gas emissions. Barbados negotiator Avinash Persaud called the proposal a “small victory for humankind” that had resulted from leadership by small island nations and solidarity from the rest of the world recognizing the increasing impacts of warming. “Now we need to redouble efforts behind an energy, transport and agriculture transition that will limit these climate losses and damages in the future,” said Persaud, referring to a shift to cleaner forms of energy and sustainable farming. Negotiators said the idea had won broad support, but would need to be coupled with increased ambition to cut the emissions that are driving global warming. “It is not acceptable that we will fund the consequences of climate change while not also committing to working on the actual consequences of the emissions,” said Romina Pourmokhtari, Sweden’s climate minister. China and the United States, the two biggest greenhouse gas emitters, have so far been mum on the proposal. FOSSIL FUELS The EU had boosted the discussions earlier in the week by offering to support the loss and damage fund, provided large polluters including China pay into it and that countries also ramp up efforts to cut emissions. It was not yet clear if the EU’s conditions would be met. The COP27 draft agreement released by the U.N.’s climate office on Saturday, for example, did not contain a reference requested by India and the EU to phase down use of “all fossil fuels.” It instead asked countries to phase down only coal, the most polluting fossil fuel, as agreed under last year’s Glasgow Climate Pact. “That is certainly a disappointment, given the importance of doing so with all fossil fuels to stay below 1.5C,” said David Waskow, international climate director for the World Resources Institute. The EU renewed its request to add the language in negotiations late Saturday, according to a source familiar with the matter. Oil and gas rich African and Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia, have opposed the idea. In an attempt to close the yawning gap between current climate pledges and the far deeper cuts needed to avert disastrous climate change, the draft also requested that countries which have not yet done so upgrade their 2030 emissions-cutting targets by the end of 2023. But some negotiators are keen to see the draft require upgrades not just next year, but every year for the rest of the decade to ensure emissions drop as quickly as scientists say is needed to avert the worst impacts of climate change. Some campaigners said the draft offered some positive elements, but was still wanting in ambition. Complicating matters, U.S. Special Climate Envoy John Kerry, a powerful force in climate diplomacy, tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday after days of bilateral in-person meetings with counterparts from China, the EU and others. Kerry could not attend in-person negotiations on Saturday, but was participating in bilaterals by video phone, the U.S. State Department said. For daily comprehensive coverage on COP27 in your inbox, sign up for the Reuters Sustainable Switch newsletter here. (Additional reporting by Valerie Volcovici and Jake Spring; Writing by Richard Valdmanis and Dominic Evans; Editing by Katy Daigle, Janet Lawrence and Chris Reese) View the full article

Published by AFP Naomi Biden, 28, granddaughter of US President Joe Biden, is seen during her wedding to Peter Neal, 25, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on November 19, 2022 Washington (AFP) – President Joe Biden welcomed guests to the White House Saturday for the wedding of his granddaughter Naomi — an unprecedented ceremony that was closed to the press. The 28-year-old Washington-based lawyer married Peter Neal, 25, a law graduate, on the mansion’s South Lawn in an 11:00 am ceremony witnessed by about 250 guests, according to the White House. The grounds were suitingly decorated with white flowers, as invitees in rows looked on, according to photos taken from far away by AFP. Naomi Biden is the daughter of the president’s son Hunter. “It has been a joy to watch Naomi grow, discover who she is, and carve out such an incredible life for herself,” the president and First Lady Jill Biden said in statement. “Now, we are filled with pride to see her choose Peter as her husband and we’re honored to welcome him to our family,” they added. “We wish them days full of laughter and a love that grows deeper with every passing year.” It is not unheard of for the presidential mansion with America’s most stately address — 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue — to be decked out for nuptials. The White House Historical Association says 18 weddings have been performed at the mansion, including those of Richard Nixon’s daughter Tricia in 1971 and Barack Obama’s official photographer, Pete Souza, in 2013. The association says four times the White House has also hosted receptions for weddings held elsewhere, for instance that of George W. Bush’s daughter Jenna in 2008. But this is the first time a president’s granddaughter is getting hitched there. ‘Pop’ The White House in its brief statement said the Bidens hosted a wedding luncheon for family and the wedding party in the State Dining Room, and a reception with dancing was planned for later Saturday. But otherwise the president’s office has given few details on this wedding, which is classified as strictly private and is closed to the press. This has raised some eyebrows. “The White House press has covered weddings held there through history because the space belongs to the American people and a president’s participation is an event of national interest,” Kelly O’Donnell, an NBC reporter slated to become the next president of the White House Correspondents Association, said Thursday on Twitter. Naomi Biden announced her wedding plans in September on her Instagram account, which features photos of vacations, the Biden clan and her day-to-day life. Biden is very close to his grandchildren, who call him Pop and are often seen with him, even at some official events. Naomi is named after the president’s first daughter, who died as a baby in a car crash in 1972 that also claimed the life of his first wife. US press reports have said Naomi Biden plays an important role in the president’s inner circle and pressed him, for instance, to run for president in 2020. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Matt Spetalnick and Laura Sanicola WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A New York Times report of a former anti-abortion leader’s claim that he was told in advance about the outcome of a major 2014 U.S. Supreme Court case involving contraceptives triggered calls on Saturday for an investigation of a court still reeling from the leak of landmark abortion rights ruling. Rev. Rob Schenck was quoted by The Times as saying he was informed weeks before the public announcement of the 2014 ruling shortly after two conservative allies had dinner at the home of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and his wife. Alito wrote that majority opinion as well as a recent one overturning the Roe v. Wade decision that had legalized abortion nationwide, both of which were victories for the religious right. Schenck, who used to lead an evangelical nonprofit in Washington, said in a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts and in interviews with The Times that he was informed ahead of time about the ruling of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, a case involving contraception and religious rights, the newspaper said. Schenck used his knowledge of the ruling to prepare a public relations campaign and he also tipped off the president of the Christian evangelical-run craft store chain Hobby Lobby that he would win the case, according to The Times. Alito said in a statement that any allegation that he or his wife leaked the 2014 decision was “completely false.” Neither Schenck nor Chief Justice Roberts immediately responded to requests for comment. “Today’s well-sourced NY Times article strongly suggests Justice Alito leaked the 2014 opinion in Hobby Lobby, and describes a conspiracy by the far-right donor class to influence the Supreme Court Justices,” U.S. Representative Mondaire Jones, a Democrat from New York, wrote on Twitter. “The House Judiciary Committee must investigate this while we still can.” Brian Fallon, executive director of the progressive judicial group Demand Justice, called on the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate, saying The Times’ report was “the latest proof that the Republican justices on the Court are little more than politicians in robes.” “The first step to recovery is to admit you have a problem. At SCOTUS, the problems run deep,” Democratic U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island wrote on Twitter. COURT UNDER SCRUTINY A draft of the majority opinion to overturn Roe, reversing five decades of abortion rights, was leaked in May, spurring scrutiny of the court’s procedures at a time when critics were accusing its conservative majority of politicization. Polls show that the court’s public approval has reached record lows. Alito had called the Roe leak, which was confirmed when the ruling was announced in June, a “grave betrayal.” Schenck was quoted by The Times as saying he had worked for years to gain access to the court and that in early June 2014 two of his star donors, Ohio couple Donald and Gayle Wright, ate a meal with Justice Alito and his wife, Martha-Ann. Schenck said one of the Wrights then told him that Alito had authored the Hobby Lobby opinion and that it would be in its favor, The Times said. The decision announced three weeks later held that requiring family-owned businesses to pay for insurance covering contraception violated their religious freedoms. In his statement, Alito said: “The allegation that the Wrights were told the outcome of the decision in the Hobby Lobby case, or the authorship of the opinion of the Court, by me or my wife is completely false.” “My wife and I became acquainted with the Wrights some years ago because of their strong support for the Supreme Court Historical Society, and since then, we have had a casual and purely social relationship,” Alito’s statement said. “I never detected any effort on the part of the Wrights to obtain confidential information or to influence anything that I did in either an official or private capacity, and I would have strongly objected if they had done so.” Gayle Wright, in a phone interview, denied obtaining or passing along any such information, The Times reported. She could not immediately be reached for comment. (Reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Laura Sanicola; Editing by Daniel Wallis) View the full article

Published by OK Magazine mega Stormy Daniels has a new project up her sleeve: she will be hosting a new gay dating series, For The Love of DILFs, on OUTtv, the world’s first LGBTQ+ television network and streaming service, when it premieres in early 2023. The show follows two groups of gay men — “Daddies” and “Himbos” — as they compete to find love and win a $10,000 investment into their relationship. Not only will Daniels be the host, but she also lives with the singles in a mansion and gives them advice throughout their journey to find the perfect partner. out tv “For years the internet has been obsessed with these two specific gay subcultures, which on the surface seem like total opposites. But if reality TV teaches us anything, it’s that sometimes opposites attract,”Topher Cusumano, Daddy TV’s co-founder, said in a statement. “There was no better person to help these men find love with each other than Stormy. She adds so much humor and heart to the show. You can tell just by watching how she was genuinely invested in the singles and their happiness.” Additionally, OUTtv COO Philip Webb shared why the TV star is important to the series. “We’re thrilled to be working with Stormy. She has a long public history of standing up for the LGBTQ+ community. That allyship, starpower, and relationship expertise makes her the perfect fit to helm a show about guys hunting for love,” he said. As OK! previously reported, the blonde beauty has been back in the spotlight ever since she appeared on The Surreal Life. mega “I initially repeatedly said no [when she was approached for the show],” the 43-year-old exclusively told OK!. “The entire universe knows what happened to me the last time I went into a stranger’s room. I apparently didn’t learn my lesson because I eventually caved and said yes. The show was pitched to me as you’re not going to have any scripts, you’re not going to be coached, producers aren’t going to lead you. You look at some reality shows and you can tell that they are definitely set up. They’re coached on what to say.” For The Love of DILFS is an OUTtv Original, produced by Daddy TV. The 8-episode season is set to premiere in early 2023. View the full article

Published by Raw Story The far-right group seeking to overturn the FDA’s approval of the abortion drug mifepristone has hand-picked a controversial Trump-appointed judge in Texas to rule on their argument. “The anti-abortion group behind the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade has now filed a federal lawsuit seeking to reverse the approval of the abortion drug, mifepristone,” Jezebel reported. “The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)—representing four Texas doctors and four anti-abortion groups—sued both the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services, claiming that the FDA excee… Read More View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Self-proclaimed Twit Chief Elon Musk announced he’s restoring several suspended accounts, including his number one impersonator, comedian Kathy Griffin. But when it comes to Donald Trump, he hasn’t decided on whether to lift the ex-president’s Twitter ban, RadarOnline.com can reveal. Elon — who has been making more enemies than friends at headquarters since taking the business over at the end of October — announced the news in a tweet on Friday, but the decision came with a warning. “New Twitter (TWTR) policy is freedom of speech, not freedom of reach,” the billionaire businessman, 51, wrote, revealing the new Twitter has standards contrary to belief. “Negative/hate tweets will be max deboosted & demonetized, so no ads or other revenue to Twitter (TWTR).” Mega Musk — who himself posted and deleted an unfound anti-LGBTQ+ conspiracy theory about Paul Pelosi’s hammer assault within 48 hours of his Twitter takeover — revealed Griffin will be welcomed back to the platform after she was suspended earlier this month for impersonating him. Of course, he misspelled her name, leaving Griffin to think it was a power play. He also restored Canadian podcaster Jordan Peterson and the right-leaning satire website Babylon Bee, both of which had been banned. “Kathie Griffin, Jorden Peterson & Babylon Bee have been reinstated,” Musk tweeted, also misspelling Peterson’s first name. Mega “Dear Eilon,” Griffin responded on her Instagram. “You f—– up, fool. I’m going downstairs to my basement of heads. You’re up. Xxoo, The Beheader,” she added, referencing her gruesome spoof photo of her beheading former President Trump. But when it came to #45, Musk stopped short of reinstating his account. “Trump decision has not yet been made,” he informed his followers ahead of the weekend. Trump — who announced he is seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 — was permanently banned from the platform after his right-winged supporters stormed the U.S. capitol on January 6, 2021. Mega Earlier this week, the former commander-in-chief — who is under investigation for the incident — asked the U.S. appeals court to reinstate his lawsuit against Twitter Inc, claiming the ban marked “overtly partisan censorship” and was “contrary to First Amendment principles deeply rooted in American history and law.” According to Musk, he will wait to make a ruling on whether Trump’s welcomed back until he can install a “content moderation council” that will review and make the call. View the full article

Published by uInterview.com Dustin Lance Black and his husband Tom Daley were glowing on the red carpet for the GQ Men of the Year Awards 2022 in London. Both wore stylish and sleek all-black ensembles with Daley going for a longer peacoat over a crew-cut shirt with white patterns at the collar, and Black wearing a more cropped suit on top of a black button-up with no tie. IN MEMORIAM 2022: 100 GREAT CELEBRITIES WHO DIED THIS YEAR! The pair met in 2015, over a year after Daley’s viral coming-out video where he came out as gay. They married at Bovey Castle in May of 2017 and had a son through a surrogate in 2018. Daley is… Read More View the full article

Published by AFP The reinstatement of accounts banned for violating Twitter's content moderation rules has been seen as a bellwether of where new owner Elon Musk, a self-described 'free speech absolutist,' wants to take the site San Francisco (AFP) – After turning Twitter upside down, Elon Musk on Tuesday tried to clarify his plans for content moderation, a key issue for the future of the influential platform after the departure of advertisers and top executives. Musk on Friday said he had reinstated certain banned accounts on his site, but added that no decision had been made on welcoming back former US president Donald Trump. Twitter watchers have been tracking closely to see whether Musk will reinstate Trump, banned for inciting last year’s attack on the Capitol by a mob seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The reinstatement of accounts ousted for violating Twitter’s content moderation rules has been seen as a bellwether of where Musk, a self-described “free speech absolutist,” wants to take the site. In the same blast of tweets, Musk unveiled a new method for handling future hateful or “negative” content that seemed to seek a balancing act between unadulterated free speech and some form of policing on the site. Finding a solution to content moderation became especially urgent after Musk’s fist major rejig to the site — expanding a paid subscription service — sparked an embarrassing spate of fake accounts that sent advertisers running. “New Twitter policy is freedom of speech, but not freedom of reach,” Musk tweeted on Friday. “Negative/hate tweets will be max deboosted & demonetized, so no ads or other revenue to Twitter,” he wrote. ‘Core principle’ In essence, Musk seemed to be pointing to a policy similar to strategies at YouTube, the Google-owned video platform, where some provocative content is given less priority in the site’s algorithm, but is not entirely taken down. “You won’t find the tweet unless you specifically seek it out, which is no different from the rest of the Internet,” Musk said. Ella Girwin, his newly installed chief of trust and safety, called Musk’s approach “a core principle for Twitter… helping us ensure we maintain a healthy platform.” To make his point, Musk then announced the reinstatement of three twitter accounts that had been banished for violating Twitter’s content moderation policies. Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson was suspended from Twitter in June, before Musk’s ownership, following a post about transgender actor Elliot Page that broke the site’s rules on hateful conduct. Peterson had often made comments against the rights of transgender people and was asked by Twitter to remove the post on Page. The Babylon Bee, a conservative parody site, was banned in March for similar tweets against Rachel Levine, a trans woman serving as US assistant secretary of health. The third account, belonging to comedian Kathy Griffin, was banned earlier this month when Musk cracked down on accounts that impersonated others. Griffin, who has two million Twitter followers, switched her username to Elon Musk, taking advantage of the website’s relaxed oversight under the billionaire. ‘Catastrophic’ In an opinion piece in the New York Times, Twitter’s former content chief Yoel Roth said it was a “near certainty” that Trump would be returned to the site. Expanding at length on why he had left Twitter last week after seven years, Roth said that Musk was facing a huge challenge to achieve his free speech vision. Roth warned his former boss that advertisers, which he “neither controls nor has managed to win over,” would pose a clear threat to his revenue stream if they were spooked by the site’s direction. And even if he found another way to make money, regulators in the United States, Europe and India were also wary, threatening Twitter with big fines or government interference if the platform fails to play by the rules. But most of all, Roth said it will be the app stores run by Apple and Google’s Android that hold the greatest sway over the future of Twitter. “Failure to adhere to Apple and Google’s guidelines would be catastrophic,” Roth warned. Their often vague rules on content could see access by users to Twitter’s phone app switched off immediately and by diktat from competing big tech companies. “Twitter will have to balance its new owner’s goals against the practical realities of life on Apple and Google’s internet,” said Roth. View the full article

Published by DPA FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks at a press conference ahead of the 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup. Tom Weller/dpa “Today I have strong feelings. Today I feel Qatari, I feel Arab, I feel African, I feel gay, I feel disabled, I feel a migrant worker.” FIFA president Gianni Infantino on his feelings ahead of the World Cup in Qatar starting on Sunday FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks at a press conference ahead of the 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup. Robert Michael/dpa View the full article

Published by 90min (EN) By Henry Burt FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s much-discussed speech on the eve of the World Cup has prompted a response from Amnesty International, who have accused the Italian of ‘brushing aside legitimate human rights criticisms.” In a sprawling and bizarre address, Infantino claimed that Europeans had no right to criticise Qatar for their human rights record and compared the treatment of foreigners in the country to being bullied for having red hair. Infantino also made headlines with the opening of his speech, saying: “Today I have strong feelings. Today I feel Qatari, I feel Arab, I fee… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Stephen Fry won’t “abandon” his friendship with JK Rowling – despite her controversial comments about the transgender community. The 65-year-old actor has called for the calm in the debate over transgender issues, even though the author’s remarks have upset some of his transgender friends. Asked if he wants to take part in the debate, Stephen explained: “I wouldn’t. I definitely wouldn’t because I am aware that you are talking about an issue where two sides are very sore and anxious about their enemies.” The actor admitted that he finds himself in an awkward situation, having friends on both dies of the debate. He said on the ‘Beeb Watch’ podcast: “She is a friend of mine and I have trans friends and intersex friends who are deeply upset by her. “That is a circle I have to square personally.” Stephen ultimately hopes to see an end to the fighting. The ‘V for Vendetta’ star – who married comedian Elliott Spencer in 2015 – explained: “I know that JK Rowling doesn’t want to see trans people bullied, alienated, shut out of society, made to feel ashamed, guilty, laughed at, all those things. “But I also know that there are people who believe that safe feminine spaces and the idea of difference between sex and gender is very important, and that they repudiate with all their strength the Judith Butler – the idea of created gender and so on. “It is not an argument I want to get involved in because it is upsetting to both sides and I would wish them both to retreat and to consider that is possible for trans people to live full, accepted lives according to their terms in society, and for women to have all the rights and dignities they demand. “But it isn’t possible if each side looks on the other as an enemy and the trans people just shout ‘terf’ and the feminists seem to, as it were, undermine the dignity and rights of the trans community, if I can use the word community – it is a bit of a greasy word, but there you go.” View the full article

Published by DPA Denmark's Christian Eriksen pictured prior to the start of the International friendly soccer match between Germany and Denmark at Tivoli Stadium. Eriksen said his team could stage further protests during the World Cup in Qatar. Federico Gambarini/dpa Denmark star Christian Eriksen said his team could stage further protests during the World Cup in Qatar. He confirmed that captain Simon Kjaer will wear the multi-coloured One Love armband in the opening game against Tunisia on Tuesday to promote equality and diversity. “And then we have to see if we will do more than that. We’ll do what we can,” Eriksen told a news conference on Saturday. This will be the first major tournament with the national team for the midfielder since he suffered a cardiac arrest at the Euros last year. Denmark asked football governing body FIFA to wear shirts carrying the slogan “Human rights for all” during training sessions, but the request was denied because it’s a “political message,” according to the federation. Qatar has been widely criticized for the human rights conditions in the country, the death of migrant workers and its handling of the LGBTQ community. Danish federation director Peter Möller said during the news conference that they are ready to take a fine for the armband in case FIFA decides to apply one. “I have no idea of what the penalty could be,” he said. FIFA hasn’t banned the One Love armband so far, but political statements are are prohibited by the statutes. Asked about the One Love armband during a news conference on Saturday, FIFA president Gianni Infantino was vague and didn’t say whether there will be fines. “We have regulations about the armbands, they are provided by FIFA,” the president said, adding that these regulations are based on universal campaigns and that “the field of play of the World Cup should really be about football and global causes.” View the full article

Published by Al-Araby British pop star Robbie Williams has hit back at critics of his decision to perform at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, saying it would be “hypocritical” of him not to go. Williams, 48, spoke to Il Venerdi di Repubblica to highlight the alleged double standards in singling out Qatar for criticism. The Gulf state has been targeted by a negative media campaign in the lead-up to the World Cup, focused on alleged mistreatment of migrant workers and persecution of the LGBTQ community. Qatari authorities say most of the claims are sensationalised or untrue, and that everyone is welcome at the World Cup … Read More View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Kanye West was spotted with the alt-right political commentator Milo Yiannopoulos this week despite the current controversy surrounding the embattled rapper and Milo’s own fall from grace roughly five years ago, RadarOnline.com has learned. In a surprising development to come in the wake of Kanye’s anti-Semitic remarks that cost him billions of dollars in contracts with brands like Adidas, Balenciaga and Vogue, the 45-year-old rapper and fashion designer was seen partying with Milo in Los Angeles on Thursday night. Mega Kanye, alongside Milo and an unidentified woman, was photographed sipping champagne outside the Beverly Hills Hotel while wearing his Balenciaga x Adidas collection. But even more surprising was Kanye’s decision to hang with the likes of Milo – who came under fire in February 2017 for a series of comments he made regarding sex, pedophilia and the age of consent. “No, no, no. You’re misunderstanding what pedophilia means,” the 38-year-old controversial alt-right commentator said at the time. “Pedophilia is not a sexual attraction to somebody 13 years old who is sexually mature,” he continued, seemingly condoning relationships between grown men and 13-year-old boys. “Pedophilia is attraction to children who have not reached puberty.” Mega In the wake of Milo’s concerning comments, the former Breitbart News editor lost a lucrative book deal and was uninvited from the Conservative Political Action Conference that year. Milo has since fallen into obscurity as a result of his provocative alt-right stance and widely condemned pedophilia remarks, and most recently signed on to become an unpaid intern for Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Kanye has recently been suffering the fallout from his own controversial comments that not only further damaged his reputation but also resulted in him losing upwards of $2 billion in the short span of 24 hours. “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” West wrote on Twitter in October, marking the first of many anti-Semitic remarks he would make in the days and weeks to follow. Mega “The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because Black people are actually Jew [sic] also,” he continued. “You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.” Besides losing billions of dollars in contracts with brands like Adidas and Balenciaga, Kanye has also been dropped by his lawyers, his bank and his record label. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Joseph Ax and Moira Warburton (Reuters) -U.S. Representative Lauren Boebert, the polarizing Republican who gained national notoriety during her first term with her combative brand of politics, won re-election in a surprisingly close race after her Democratic opponent conceded on Friday. Adam Frisch, a businessman and former city councilman in Aspen, Colorado, said he had called Boebert and conceded the contest, which appears destined for an automatic recount with Boebert leading by fewer than 600 votes out of more than 325,000 cast in the Nov. 8 midterm election. “The likelihood of this recount changing more than a handful of votes is very small,” Frisch said in a news conference streamed on his Facebook page, adding that he did not want to raise money from supporters for an effort that would not succeed. Republicans this week were projected to have won a narrow majority in the U.S. House, setting the stage for two years of divided government with Democrats still in control of the Senate. House Republicans will be able to block much of Democratic President Joe Biden’s agenda. Boebert’s victory gives Republicans 219 seats compared to 212 for Democrats, according to Edison Research, with four races still too close to call. Boebert rose to prominence in 2020 when she refused to close her gun-themed restaurant in accordance with Colorado’s COVID-19 restrictions, endearing her to many in a mostly rural district in southwestern Colorado where opposition to government efforts to contain the pandemic ran high. She went on to defeat a five-term incumbent Republican in that year’s primary and won the seat in the general election. Along with Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Boebert has developed a reputation as one of the most outspoken supporters of former President Donald Trump in Congress. She faced calls to resign after she posted on Twitter about the location of several members of Congress during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. This year’s unexpectedly close race – she was heavily favored to win after redistricting made her district even more Republican – was one of several across the country that raised questions about the depth of support that Trump and his loyal backers still enjoy with voters. Boebert, who has echoed Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent, repeatedly refused to say whether she would accept the results of the election if she lost. On Friday, Boebert wrote on Twitter that Frisch had called her to concede and added, “I look forward to getting past election season and focusing on conservative governance in the House majority. Time to get to work!” (Reporting By Christopher Gallagher and Moira Warburton; Additional reporting by Joseph Ax and Paul Grant; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Daniel Wallis) View the full article