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Published by Reuters By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) – Monkeypox cases in some large U.S. cities appear to be declining, matching trends seen in Europe, and experts are cautiously optimistic the outbreak may have peaked in places hit hardest hit by the virus. The World Health Organization earlier on Thursday said monkeypox cases reported globally declined 21% last week, after a month-long trend of rising infections, but noted that U.S. cases continued to rise. Nevertheless, some U.S. experts believe cases are starting to decline based largely on immunity from prior infection and behavior changes as awareness of the disease has grown. That does not mean the disease will be contained, they cautioned. Since late May, the United States has recorded nearly 17,000 monkeypox cases. The outbreak, which so far has reached 80 countries outside of Africa, where the virus is endemic, is largely being transmitted among gay and bisexual men. Monkeypox, which is spread through close contact with an infected individual and the pus-filled sores common to the disease, is rarely fatal. Rollout of Bavarian Nordic’s Jynneos vaccine has been slow because of low supplies of the shot, which is also approved to prevent smallpox. But heightened awareness of the risks and increased immunity appear to be slowing the spread. “It’s very likely that the epidemic peaked as of last week,” said Dr. Gerardo Chowell, an infectious disease modeler at Georgia State University School of Public Health. Chowell’s latest model, released on Thursday, forecasts a continued slowdown in new infections in the United States over the next four weeks. The declines may not be enough to extinguish the outbreak, but should bring infections to “very low levels,” he said. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) did not respond to requests for comment about the apparent trend. Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease epidemiologist and an editor-at-large at Kaiser Health News, said she believes behavior change is driving down monkeypox transmission, but cautioned that “people get fatigued by behavior change” and transmission may go up again. “I suspect behavior change will stick only until folks get two doses of the Jynneos vaccine,” she said. For the moment, cases appear to be dropping in some large U.S. cities hardest hit by the outbreak. New York City’s health commissioner, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, in a tweet on Thursday acknowledged the declining cases. “We are cautiously optimistic about this data, but will be closely following to ensure it is a sustained trend.” Likewise, data tracking monkeypox infections in San Francisco and Chicago show cases starting to drop over the past few weeks. Chicago Department of Public Health spokesman James Scalzitti said the city may be turning a corner but that more data is needed to confirm a downward trend. There are other signs as well. According to data on the CDC’s website, the percentage of positive tests in public health and some commercial labs – an indicator of transmission rates – has fallen sharply, from 55% positive on July 16 to 24% on Wednesday. “I think there likely has been some bending of the curve,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. He too attributes the change to a combination of increased immunity, particularly among high-risk individuals who got infected early in the outbreak, behavior changes and increased awareness. Howard Brown Health, a system of 10 federally-funded clinics in Chicago that has treated a third of Illinois’ monkeypox cases, has seen decreases in both the number of cases and percentage of positive tests. “I think that reflects a true decrease in incidence,” said Laura Rusie, Howard Brown’s director of epidemiology. “It’s hard to say it’s going to stick, but it’s promising.” (Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Caroline Humer and Bill Berkrot) View the full article

Published by AlterNet By Brandon Gage Teachers in Florida are growing increasingly frustrated over how to manage their classrooms following Republican Governor Ron DeSantis’s signing of House Bill 1557 – the Parental Rights in Education Act, otherwise known as the “Don’t Say Gay” legislation – into law this past March that took effect in July. “HB 1557 is at the epicenter of a raging debate over what should be taught to children in America’s public school systems. Debates over teaching the nation’s history of systemic racism have roiled school districts and elections, and a now growing number of states are consider… Read More View the full article

Published by AlterNet By Alex Henderson Although Democrats have won the popular vote in seven of the United States’ last eight presidential elections, the U.S. Supreme Court certainly doesn’t reflect that. Six of the High Court’s nine justices were appointed by Republican presidents, and three of those six were appointed by one-term former President Donald Trump — who lost the popular vote in 2016 and lost both the popular vote and the electoral vote in 2020. Moreover, the Court’s socially conservative supermajority is way to the right of such GOP-appointed justices of the past as Sandra Day O’Connor and libertaria… Read More View the full article

Published by AlterNet By Alex Henderson In 2022, the political divisions in the United States run so deep that some mobile/wireless companies are trumpeting their political views in order to draw customers. The San Francisco-based Credo Mobile, formerly Working Assets Wireless, specifically markets itself as a wireless provider that supports liberal and progressive causes. But the Texas-based Patriot Mobile, on the other hand, openly markets itself as “America’s only Christian conservative wireless provider” — and its conservatism isn’t libertarian right, but Christian fundamentalist/theocrat/MAGA far right. Patrio… Read More View the full article

[This post contains video, click to play] Published by OK Magazine chemicalXrecords/youtube Blazing her own trail! Madonna’s 25-year-old daughter Lourdes Leon proved that musical talent most definitely runs in the family, releasing her debut single and accompanying music video for “Lock&Key” on Wednesday, August 24. A dreamy pop song with callbacks to Lady Gaga, Leon, who released the single under the moniker “Lolahol,” can be seen throughout the video sporting several futuristic outfits, including a skin-tight neon pink dress and a bikini made of what appears to be rope. chemicalXrecords/youtube Garnering nearly 100,000 views in its first few hours on YouTube, Madge took to social media to congratulate her daughter on her musical debut. “I Am So Proud of You Lola !” the “Material Girl” songstress wrote on her Instagram Story shortly after the single went live. GIVING MOM A RUN FOR HER MONEY!: LOURDES LEON TOP SOCIAL MEDIA THIRST TRAP MOMENTS: PHOTOS chemicalXrecords/youtube The star’s introduction to the music world comes just shy of a year after she teased expanding her career horizons in a conversation with actress Debi Mazar for InterviewMagazine. “I don’t have a specific goal,” Leon explained when probed about her professional aspirations, adding that she “probably should” have clear-cut objective. “Financially, modeling is a smart decision,” she continued. “I enjoy being very hands on with the campaigns I do.” chemicalXrecords/youtube But it seems Leon was well aware that she was more than just her modeling chops. LOURDES LEON INDULGES MOM MADONNA SPORTING SEXY COSTUMES DESPITE OBJECTING TO QUEEN OF POP SHOWING TOO MUCH SKIN “I dance, I have a very specific sense of style, and I’m interested in aesthetics, so I like to incorporate all those parts of myself into my projects,” she said. While at the time, Leon said she was unsure of how she felt about acting — “I think it’s about finding a role that wouldn’t be too far off from who I am already,” she spilled at the time, adding that “honestly, actors really annoy” her — she said she felt indifferent when it came to releasing music of her own. “As for music, I can sing. I just don’t care about it,” she shared. “Maybe it’s too close to home,” she continued, seemingly referencing her famous family. View the full article

Published by OK Magazine mega Former Playmate Holly Madison is letting everyone in on what really went down behind closed Playboy Mansion doors. In the premiere episode of her and ex-Playmate Bridget Marquardt‘s podcast, “Girls Next Level,” the former dished on the cringe-worthy details about what it was like to be intimate with late Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. Madison, 42, admitted that when it came to sleeping with Hefner — who passed in 2017 — she and the other girls tried to get it over “with as quickly as possible” since no one wanted to actually participate. “We thought of it as a chore that we had to do or else we’ll get kicked out of the house,” she confessed. “He wouldn’t move. He would be like a bump on the log in the middle of the bed.” Making matters worse, other Playmates were asked to be in the room while it was happening. HUGH HEFNER’S FORMER GIRLFRIENDS KRISTINA & KARISSA SHANNON REVEAL LIFE IN THE PLAYBOY MANSION LEFT THEM WITH PTSD & SEVERE DEPRESSION “I can’t explain to you how embarrassing the whole routine was,” she insisted. “You’re literally sitting there naked having sex in front of a group of people who hate you and talk s**t about you while you’re having sex — and you can hear it. It was just like hell.” mega The mom-of-two summarized her entire experience as a Playboy bunny as “traumatic,” having previously revealed that things went downhill the very first time she went out with Hefner. “I wasn’t necessarily expecting to have sex that night. I thought it would be more of a first date — even though, obviously, it’s not a very traditional first date,” she recalled. “I thought it would be more the type of thing where I saw what happened, saw what was going on. If I wasn’t comfortable with it, I wouldn’t have to do anything and I could make my decision on whether I wanted to come back for date No. 2 or not.” After sleeping together the Girls Next Door star felt like she had to stay the night, as she knew it would improve her chances of being allowed to live at the swanky pad. “I felt like, ‘There’s no taking that back, so I might as well get what I came for,'” said Madison. “I felt like by moving myself in and getting what I wanted from the situation, that was demanding respect in a way. I felt like if I didn’t do that, I was just going to be haunted by this experience.” View the full article

Published by OK Magazine mega Donald Trump may be in crisis mode after his Mar-A-Lago home was raided by the FBI, but daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner seemed free of any worry while going for a walk in Miami. On Saturday, August 20, the pair — whether intentional or not — wore very similar outfits: the mom-of-three wore a black tank and grey shorts while her beau donned a black tee and coordinating shorts. They both tired to hide their identities via a pair of sunglasses and baseball caps, but of course, they couldn’t escape the paparazzi. NEW BOOK CONTAINS PHOTOS OF THE DOCUMENTS DONALD TRUMP ALLEGEDLY TRIED TO FLUSH DOWN TOILETS The outing comes shortly afterOK! reported that the blonde beauty, 40, pleaded with her father, 76, to not run for the White House in 2024. mega “Ivanka pulled Donald aside at a family gathering and had a heart-to-heart with him. She said, ‘Please dad, don’t do it.’ Ivanka detests the fact the spotlight is on her family and worries the impact it could have on her three children,” the source explained. “Soon, the kids will be old enough to ask all about what’s going on with their grandfather. Ivanka cannot fathom having to answer their questions. It’s really sad.” Ivanka’s begging went into overdrive after it was reported that Trump may have illegally brought home multiple classified documents. “Ivanka thinks the raid on their Mar-a-Lago home is just the start As someone who has lived in D.C., and witnessed the viciousness of politics, Ivanka is convinced the establishment won’t rest until her dad is silenced,” shared the insider. “She just can’t keep upbeat about the prospect of a 2024 bid (for the White House), especially with all that is going on.” mega AnotherOK!insider revealed Ivanka “basically dumped her brothers,” Eric, 38, and Donald Jr., 44, as “she doesn’t want to be part of the family business anymore or even the controversial family.” Added the source, “Her future is with her husband and her kids. They are out of politics and won’t be campaigning with her father anymore or defending him on TV.” Daily Mail obtained the photos. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have adopted a new rescue dog. Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex have taken in a seven-year-old beagle named Momma Mia who was rescued from a US breeding centre owned by an animal research company last month and the couple have been praised for opting for an older dog rather than a puppy. Animal rights attorney Shannon Keith who helps run the Beagle Freedom Project told People.com: “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are the most loving, sensitive and caring adopters I have ever met! We were so honoured that they have been supporting Beagle Freedom Project and chose to adopt a dog who has been abused. “They made a point to adopt a rescue named Mia, who most would overlook because she is older, has health issues and is traumatised by her past. I was so impressed by their commitment to animal welfare! They have been following up letting us know how well Momma Mia is doing in her new, amazing home!” Shannon went on to reveal she got a personal phone call from Meghan asking about adopting a beagle – but she mistook her for another actress – Megan Fox – and it took her half an hour to realise the mistake. She told the Los Angeles Times: “The duchess called me personally. She calls on my cell with no Caller ID and says, ‘Hey Shannon, this is Meghan’. We talked for 30 minutes, and I thought, ‘Is this Megan Fox?'” She went on to reveal Meghan visited the Beagle Freedom Project rescue centre in the San Fernando Valley, California and was determined to give a home to the older dog rather than her puppies, adding: “The duchess is holding Mia and was like, ‘We’re adopting her’. She was like ‘No, we don’t want a Christmas puppy … We want ones we can help who are older’.” The Duchess previously adopted another Beagle named Guy back in 2015 after he was taken in by a rescue centre called A Dog’s Dream Rescue. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Vanessa Bryant has been awarded $16 million in damages after a jury found graphic photos of the helicopter crash which killed her husband Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna Bryant were shared. The pair died in the January 2020 incident along with seven others, and a Los Angeles jury has now found the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) and Fire Department (LAFD) shared photos of Vanessa and her co-plaintiff Chris Chester’s loved ones’ bodies, and caused emotional distress by doing so. According to PEOPLE, the LASD were told to pay Vanessa $10 million and Chris – who tragically lost his wife Sarah and their 13-year-old daughter Payton in the crash – $9 million, and the LAFD were ordered to fork out $6 million each. After the verdict was reached on Wednesday (24.08.22), Vanessa shared a picture of herself alongside basketball legend Kobe and her daughter Gigi on Instagram, and she added the caption: “All for you! I love you! JUSTICE for Kobe and Gigi! #Betonyourself #MambaDay 8 24 22 #MambaMentality (sic)” The verdict also happened to come on Kobe Bryant Day, also known as Mamba Day, on August 24th, due to his shirt numbers for the Los Angeles Lakers being eight and 24. Vanessa got emotional as the verdict was read, and she embraced her attorneys. Her attorney Luis Li said in a statement: “This case has always been about accountability. And now the jury has unanimously spoken.” Attorney Mira Hashmall, the lead outside counsel for the county, said in a statement: “While we disagree with the jury’s findings as to the county’s liability, we believe the monetary award shows that jurors didn’t believe the evidence supported the plaintiffs’ requests for $75 million for emotional distress. “We will be discussing next steps with our client. Meanwhile, we hope the Bryant and Chester families continue to heal from their tragic loss.” In October, Vanessa revealed she first learned of Kobe’s death online. Vanessa was asked during a deposition by a county attorney when she was first made aware of the accident, and confirmed that a family assistant informed her that Kobe and Gianna had been in an incident, but she suspected that they were among the survivors. However, the tragic truth was revealed as messages popped up on her phone. According to a transcript of the deposition, Vanessa said: “I was holding onto my phone, because obviously I was trying to call my husband back, and all these notifications started popping up on my phone, saying ‘RIP Kobe. RIP Kobe. RIP Kobe’. “My life will never be the same without my husband and daughter.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Jonathan Knight has married his boyfriend Harley Rodriguez. The New Kids on the Block star has confirmed he’s a married man after tying the knot with his longtime partner in secret after getting engaged but they were unable to celebrate with a lavish wedding reception due to restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jonathan confirmed the happy news to Etonline.com when asked if the ring on his left hand meant the couple had exchanged vows, with the star admitting: “We did (get married). But everybody just assumed we’re married, so, I never say yes or no ’cause I don’t wanna lie.” Despite being unable to celebrate the nuptials in style, Jonathan revealed they are planning to throw a big wedding part soon. He added of the celebration: “It’s coming.” Jonathan and Harley have been together since 2008 and took part in a reality show called ‘The Amazing Race’ together in 2015. They got engaged a year later in 2016 when the singer-turned-TV star proposed during a holiday in Africa. The 53-year-old former pop star is currently working on a TV show called ‘Farmhouse Fixer’ in which he can indulge his passion for property renovations. He told Etonline.com of the project: “It’s such a passion of mine, fixing up houses. I would post on Instagram pictures of projects I did, and fans would always ask me, ‘What is your other job besides the New Kids?’ and I just think it’s so great to be able to showcase what I do, and people can watch.” Jonathan added that he’s currently in a very happy place in his life, saying: “I’m about to turn 54, and I would have never thought in my 20s that at 54, I’d still be touring with the New Kids, and I would have a hit TV show on HGTV.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden on Thursday will stage his first political rally in the final stretch to the November midterm congressional elections, looking to give Democrats a boost and prevent Republicans from taking control of Congress. The Democratic National Committee event at Richard Montgomery High School, located in a Maryland suburb of Washington and featuring a host of Maryland political leaders, will begin for Biden what the White House has billed as a coast-to-coast tour to help Democratic candidates. He is to speak at 7 p.m. EDT. A party official said Biden will be “highlighting the choice voters will have in the upcoming midterms.” Republicans are hoping to ride voter discontent with inflation and high gasoline prices to victory in November, and they have history on their side. The party that controls the White House usually loses seats in Congress in a new president’s first midterm elections, and political analysts are predicting Republicans have a solid chance to take control of the House of Representatives and possibly even the Senate. Democrats hold only a thin majority in the House while the Senate is evenly divided, with the vice president’s tie-breaking power giving Democrats control. Republican control of one or both chambers could thwart Biden’s legislative agenda for the second half of his four-year term. Heavy losses could also intensify questions about whether Biden, 79, should run for re-election in 2024 or hand over to a younger generation. But Biden and his team hope that a string of recent legislative successes, and voters’ outrage at the Supreme Court’s overturning of the 1973 ruling that recognized women’s constitutional right to abortion, will generate strong turnout among Democrats. A White House memo circulated to Democratic activists earlier in August said the midterms will offer a choice between Democrats working to overcome the influence of special interests like the gun lobby and the pharmaceutical industry and Republicans devoted to former President Donald Trump. Democrats want the trip to boost the president’s poor poll numbers and draw attention to his achievements. But some candidates for Congress worry that campaigning with Biden will hurt them in the Nov. 8 election. Biden, whose latest approval rating is 41%, is polling lower than most, if not all, Democratic candidates in competitive races, often by double digits, Democratic pollsters said. (Editing by Leslie Adler) View the full article

Published by Reuters By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican hopes of taking control of the U.S. Senate in November could hinge on former football star Herschel Walker, a first-time candidate endorsed by Donald Trump, whose campaign appears to be lagging behind other Republicans in Georgia. A sports legend, the 60-year-old Walker secured the Republican nomination to run for the Senate for the state in May, seeing off five contenders. Republicans hoped his popularity and name recognition would translate into victory in what is likely to be a close race. But he has been trailing Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock in most opinion polls, his campaign rocked by repeated policy gaffes and a string of controversies about his past, including allegations of domestic violence. Walker is one of a handful of Trump-endorsed first-time Republican Senate candidates, also including TV personality Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania and author J.D. Vance in Ohio, who even senior Republicans say are weighing on the party’s changes of recapturing Senate control. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, without naming individuals, has cited “candidate quality” as a reason why Republicans may struggle to capture the Senate, putting his party’s odds of winning a Senate majority at 50-50. Analysts say Walker has made himself an easy target for political attacks, with disjointed comments on issues from COVID-19 to climate. For instance, he attacked the recently-passed $430 billion climate and drug bill on Sunday, saying a lot of the money is “going to trees” and asking, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Don’t we have enough trees around here?” “Every time he opens his mouth about a policy issue, it sounds like a word salad. It’s very convoluted and doesn’t make sense sometimes,” said Trey Hood, a political science professor at the University of Georgia. The Republican Accountability political action committee, run by anti-Trump Republicans, has tried to put domestic violence allegations front and center in the campaign. It released a 30-second ad in which Walker’s ex-wife Cindy DeAngelis Grossman says “he held the gun to my temple and said he was going to blow my brains out.” Walker responded with his own video, saying Grossman’s comments were taken out of context but that he was “glad they did this ad, because it gives me an opportunity to end the stigma around mental health.” The Walker campaign and local Republican Party leaders say the former sports star has been the target of unfair news coverage, insisting that his interactions with voters at campaign events have been overwhelmingly successful. “The whole situation is quite aggravating to me, because Herschel Walker is an extremely intelligent man who has a full grasp of the issues,” said Salleigh Grubbs, who chairs the Republican Party in Cobb County, just outside Atlanta. With the 100-seat Senate currently split 50-50, Republicans need only a net one-seat gain to take the majority. Georgia was Republican territory until Biden won the state by a thin margin in 2020, and Warnock and fellow Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff unseated two Republican incumbents in a 2021 run-off. Opinion polls suggest the gap between Walker and Warnock is very narrow, and some have had Walker ahead. But he is considerably less popular in surveys than other Georgia Republicans, including Governor Brian Kemp, who is up for re-election this year. That, analysts said, suggests that some Republican voters who cast ballots for Kemp could just opt not to vote for a Senate candidate — or to back Warnock instead. Warnock was well known in the state, too, before he was elected to the Senate, as senior pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, where slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King once preached. Strategists say that could appeal to Georgia’s large Christian electorate. Warnock has also used recent Democratic legislative victories to fortify his appeal to voters. “Reverend Warnock is focused on fighting for hardworking Georgia families, leading the effort to successfully cap the cost of prescription drugs for seniors, protect Georgia jobs and hold corporations accountable for price gouging,” Warnock campaign communications director Meredith Brasher said in a statement. Democratic strategists expect Warnock to emphasize his policy message to try to overcome Walker’s name recognition as a former NFL player who led the University of Georgia to its first national football title in 1980. Both Walker and Warnock are Black. And Atlanta-based Democratic strategist Fred Hicks said Warnock could improve his ground game against Walker by driving up turnout among Black male voters with concrete appeals on policy issues including jobs and healthcare. But Republicans argue that the close poll numbers bode well for Walker, given the controversies and political attacks he has weathered. “Beating an incumbent senator is never easy. But Herschel is a good candidate and is he going to win,” said Walker campaign communications director Will Kiley. The Georgia Senate race is already expected to be the nation’s most expensive, according to research firm AdImpact, which forecasts $276 million in ad spending. Spending could intensify even further if the Nov. 8 election proves inconclusive and a Georgia run-off becomes the deciding factor for Senate control. (Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Scott Malone and Rosalba O’Brien) View the full article

Published by OK Magazine mega August 31 marks the 25th anniversary of Princess Diana’s tragic death — and her only brother, Charles, proudly spoke out about his sister! “I’m always surprised by how difficult August 31 is each year actually,” he said. “I always slightly brace myself for it and it does take me out at the knees. It is a very poignant time. “Diana was the very essence of compassion, of duty, of style, of beauty. All over the world she was a symbol of selfless humanity.” Charles, who is the 9th Earl Spencer, is Diana’s younger brother by three years. They share dad John Spencer, the 8th Earl (who died in 1992), and mother Frances Shand Kydd (who died in 2004), along with two older sisters, Jane, 65, and Sarah, 67. Although they were immensely wealthy, titled and lived on the 13,000-acre Althorp Estate, the Spencers had a troubled marriage and their kids suffered through a heart-breaking childhood. Their mother left and gave up custody of her four kids to marry her lover. Charles was two and Diana was five. The older sisters were at boarding school. “When she was packing her stuff to leave, she promised Diana she’d come back to see us,” said Charles, 58. “Diana used to wait on the doorstep for her, but she never came. She could hear me crying down the corridor but was too scared of the dark to come to me. Our father was a quiet and constant source of love, but our mother wasn’t cut out for maternity. Not her fault, she couldn’t do it.” Spencer said even in his earliest memories of Diana, “she always had a sort of natural star quality,” but “it would be wrong to think of Diana as a saintly child. I mean, she was quite naughty, never with malice, you know, just sort of pushing the boundaries.” mega Diana, a shy 18-year-old teenager, met Prince Charles, who had dated older sister Sarah a few years before. They became engaged after only 12 dates, but a day before the July 29, 1981, nuptials, she tried to call it off when she realized he was in love with Camilla Parker-Bowles. When she told sisters Sarah and Jane, they allegedly urged her to go through with it, and told her it was too late to “chicken out.” Her younger brother, Charles, held his tongue, but years later got into a “massive fight” with Prince Charles. The two almost came to blows just days after Diana’s shocking death at age 36 after the 1997 car crash in Paris. Her brother was outraged that Diana’s sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, were going to walk behind their mother’s casket in her funeral procession. “Spencer felt quite sure that Diana would have been horrified at the idea of her sons having to endure such an ordeal,” said an insider. “He had already told Charles as much.” When the argument continued, Prince Charles made a “particularly offensive comment” about Diana, and her brother couldn’t bear to hear another word. “That all but sealed the ill-fated label on his [Prince Charles] relationship with the Spencers,” added the insider. Charles Spencer was later proven right. Prince Harry says the 34-minute march, which he did alongside Spencer, dad Prince Charles, grandfatherPrince Philip and brother Prince William, was excruciating. “I don’t think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances. I don’t think it would happen today,” said Prince Harry, now 37. Prince William, now 40, added that it was “one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.” Spencer said it wasn’t easy for him either, even as a grown man. While he walked, “I could hear people in the crowds sobbing, wailing and shouting messages of love to Diana … I still have nightmares about it today.” Publicly, Spencer won’t say which of Diana’s lovers was the man she loved the most, but says Diana’s true love was not for one man, but two — her sons, William and Harry — and after she died, he said, “I pledge that we, your blood family, will do all we can to continue the imaginative and loving way in which you were steering these two boys.” Privately, insiders say out of all of Diana’s affairs — including Dodi Fayed, who died with her — there was only one man she fell head over heels for: Hasnat Khan, a Pakistani heart surgeon, who she called “The One.” “I found my peace,” Diana told a friend after falling for him. “He has given me all the things I need.” mega But Khan dreaded being in the public eye and had no desire to live the high life. He always refused Diana’s generous gifts, including a new car. As for the blame for Diana’s death, Spencer puts that squarely on the shoulders of “deceitful” Martin Bashir, who “tricked” his sister into her most explosive TV interview with fake bank statements saying those close to her were blabbing about her so she should be the one to talk. Spencer says Bashir’s lies made her lose faith in those around her after taking part in the 1995 BBC television news bombshell. Diana sat down with the then-unknown journalist and famously revealed, “There were three of us in this marriage.” She also admitted to her infidelity with Army captain James Hewitt, and questioned Charles’ suitability as the future king. Fumes Spencer: “This is a young girl in her mid 30s who has lived this extraordinarily difficult and turbulent time in the public eye — she didn’t know who to trust — and in the end when she died two years later, she was without any form of real protection.” Later, Bashir admitted his duplicity. Spencer has said he still feels “very passionately” that he has an obligation to “honor her memory.” “I feel it is my duty to stand up for her when I can,” he said about correcting inaccuracies about her life. “If you grow up with somebody they are still that person — it doesn’t matter what happens to them later.” Diana is buried on the Althorp estate on a small island that Spencer and his sisters can visit — and speak to her — privately. For more on the royal family’s trials and tribulations, tune into the new podcast “The Firm: Blood, Lies and Royal Succession.” Listen below! View the full article

Published by Reuters By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Justice Department on Wednesday released under court order all of a 2019 memo https://www.justice.gov/file/1528466/download in which two top officials advised then-Attorney General William Barr not to charge then-President Donald Trump with obstructing Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. Barr’s decision to clear Trump after receiving the memo drew criticism from many Democrats and some former Justice Department lawyers, who accused the top U.S. law enforcement official of protecting his boss. Mueller himself did not exonerate Trump of committing obstruction of justice in trying to impede the probe. The department had released parts of the nine-page memo while keeping other portions secret. The government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) sued to challenge those redactions, leading a federal appeals court in Washington last week to order its full release. “The memo presents a breathtakingly generous view of the law and facts for Donald Trump,” CREW said in a statement. “Among many other problems, it is premised on the fact that there was no underlying criminal conduct, which is not what Mueller found, and waives its hand at there being no exact precedent to compare it to.” The March 24, 2019, memo was written by Steven Engel, then head of the department’s Office of Legal Counsel, and Edward O’Callaghan, another top department official. They wrote that charging Trump with obstruction would be problematic because the entire first section of Mueller’s report did not find sufficient evidence that Trump or any member of his campaign team had illegally conspired with Russia. “Given that conclusion, the evidence does not establish a crime or criminal conspiracy involving the President toward which any obstruction or attempted obstruction by the President was directed,” the memo concludes. It also said Mueller’s investigation was not “similar to any reported case that the department has previous charged” using obstruction statutes. “The memo supports the chilling conclusion that any president can interfere with any investigation if they believe it could damage them politically,” CREW said. Mueller, a former FBI director appointed as special counsel by then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, released a 448-page report documenting Russia’s election interference to sow U.S. discord, boost Trump’s chances and disparage his Democratic opponent Clinton. The report detailed numerous contacts between Trump campaign figures and Russians. It also laid out 10 episodes in which Trump sought to impede Mueller’s probe including firing then-FBI Director James Comey and directing then-White House counsel Don McGahn to tell Rosenstein that Mueller must be dismissed, which McGahn declined to do. After reading Mueller’s report, Barr decided it was up to him as attorney general to decide whether to charge Trump with obstruction, and he sought input from Engel and O’Callaghan, leading to the memo. Barr also has faced criticism from U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who first ordered the department to release the memo after concluding he had been “disingenuous” in the way he described Mueller’s findings to the public when he issued his own summary of the special counsel’s findings ahead of the full public report. Trump, considering another presidential run in 2024, is facing a slew of federal and state investigations into other matters including his removal of classified records after leaving office in 2021. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Will Dunham) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English The Queen is said to love DJs as long as they obey the order of ending their sets with the National Anthem. Her Majesty hires them for the enormous parties she throws for her staff at Buckingham Palace, William Orbit has revealed. The DJ and music producer for Madonna claimed he has spun tunes for Her Majesty for her Christmas staff party at the Palace, and said she was “evidently fascinated”. But the 65-year-old told the Daily Mail on Thursday (25.08.22) DJs who aspire to perform for her will have to agree to end their set with the National Anthem. William also said the monarch, 96, does not take to the dance floor herself, and she “goes to bed at nine because she’s a bit old for dancing”. He added: “Then everyone starts going nuts.” William said about the conversations he’s had with the Queen: “She’s lovely. She always chats to you. She’s so beautiful and charismatic. We had a nice chat about DJing. “At the end, I had my own butler. He says, ‘Mr Orbit, sir, I’m going to give you this CD of the National Anthem and when you play that, on my signal, the party’s over. “‘Because the Queen is in the house, you play the whole thing and the flag rises, but when she’s not there they only play half it’.” Elaborating on bashes at Buckingham Palace, he added: “Her parties for Palace staff are enormous. Every gardener, every security guard – it’s all in the Palace, in the ballroom. “You have to be working for Her Majesty for a year to be invited, and two years if you want your spouse to come.” It comes after the Duchess of Kent, 89, revealed she enjoyed gangster rap music, with Ice Cube among her favourites, along with Eminem. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Sir Rod Stewart has taken another cheeky dig at his long-time pal Sir Elton John by doing an impersonation of him on stage. The 77-year-old ‘Maggie May’ singer stuck on a spangly pink jacket and wacky sparkling sunglasses more suited to Elton’s wardrobe, stuck out his front teeth and mimed playing the piano. He shared the moment as a meme to his 1.2 million Instagram followers just after midnight on Wednesday (24.08.22) but affectionately captioned the clip of his gag: “Still love you, Elt.” During the live performance, Rod giggled to the audience after his mockery. It marks the latest in a series of pranks and ‘feuds’ between Rod and Elton, which have stretched over their 55-year friendship. The friendly rivalry appears to have started when Rod put up billboards to promote his 1970s ‘Blondes ’ave More Fun Tour’ – prompting Elton to place rival boards opposite them showing his face and the message: “But Brunettes make more money.” The humour came to a head in 2018 and threatened to turn nasty when Rod branded Elton’s tour “dishonest” and said it “stunk of selling tickets”. He made the remarks during an appearance on ‘Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen’. It led to the pair not being on speaking terms, with Elton raging in his autobiography ‘Me’: “I thought he had a f****** cheek, complaining about me promoting a tour while he was sat on a TV show promoting his own tour.” Rod later apologised and said he had been “bang out of order”. View the full article

Published by Orlando Sentinel The dust from Florida’s primary elections hasn’t yet settled. But to hear Marco Rubio tell it, his November campaign is already in trouble. On Monday, the eve of the primary elections, Florida’s senior GOP U.S. senator sent supporters an email saying his current campaign situation was “a disaster.” Rubio said his opponent, Democratic U.S. Rep. Val Demings, had raised more money last month than he’d raised in the past three months combined and cited a recent poll that showed Demings beating him. “My opponent is gaining momentum and I desperately need your support,” Rubio said before ending the … Read More View the full article

Published by Raw Story By Travis Gettys A data hack reveals the right-wing Liberty Counsel may have violated IRS rules against political activity. The hacktivist site Enlace Hacktivista released a 25-gigabyte Liberty Counsel database containing nearly seven years of donor records, which show that 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations controlled by the evangelical organization encouraged supporters to vote for Donald Trump — an apparent violation of IRS rules prohibiting those entities from endorsing political candidates, reported The Intercept. “Noticing a worrying trend of far-right and anti-abortion activists alignin… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Roman Catholic cardinals from around the world gather for events at the Vatican starting this weekend that could amount to a dress rehearsal for an eventual conclave to choose a successor to Pope Francis after he dies or resigns. On Saturday Francis will induct 20 prelates into the College of Cardinals, the exclusive group whose members serve as the pope’s top advisors and administrators at the Vatican and around the globe. Sixteen of the newcomers are under 80 years old and thus join the even more exclusive inner sanctum known as cardinal electors, eligible to enter a secret conclave to choose the next pope from among themselves. Saturday’s ceremony – known as a consistory – is the eighth time Francis has named new cardinals, again putting his stamp on the Church’s future by choosing men who mostly agree with his vision of a more inclusive Church. “The odds are now in favour of having another pope who will continue Francis’s policies, but you never know how cardinals will vote once they enter a conclave,” wrote Father Tom Reese, a Church historian and columnist for Religion News Service. One significant appointment in the richer countries is that of Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego, California, who is seen as a progressive. By giving San Diego its first cardinal, Francis bypassed conservative archbishops in San Francisco and Los Angeles. McElroy has been an outspoken ally of Francis’ pastoral approach to social issues, such as protection of the environment and a more welcoming approach to gay Catholics. McElroy also has opposed conservative U.S. clergymen who want to ban Catholic politicians, including President Joe Biden and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, from receiving communion because of their support of abortion rights. Francis, elected as pope in 2013, has now chosen 83 of the 132 cardinal electors, or about 63%. Church law stipulates a maximum of 120 electors but popes regularly ignore that, mostly because the numbers go down as other cardinals turn 80 and lose their voting rights. The 85-year-old pontiff told Reuters in an interview last month that if he does resign in the future for health reasons – instead of dying in office – he has no plans to do so anytime soon. This means he could name even more cardinals as soon as next year. GETTING TO KNOW YOU Perhaps more significant than the consistory itself will be two days of closed door meetings of cardinals on Monday and Tuesday. The meetings, officially to discuss the Vatican’s new constitution, will give cardinals a rare opportunity to size each other up in person without being under the pressure of gathering to elect a new pope. “For the majority of the cardinals, it will be the first time they can get to know each other personally,” wrote Luis Badilla, head of the Il Sismografo website that specialises in Church issues. He said they would be a “rehearsal for a conclave”. Since his election as the first Latin American pope, Francis’ has mostly broken the mould used by his predecessors in picking cardinals. Often he has preferred men from far-flung places or smaller cities, rather than from big capitals of the developed world where having a cardinal was considered automatic. Archbishop Leonardo Steiner of Manaus, Brazil, becomes the first cardinal from the Amazon region, underscoring Francis’ concern for indigenous people and the environment. Another unexpected new cardinal elector is Archbishop Giorgio Marengo, an Italian who is the Catholic Church’s administrator in Mongolia. At 48, he is the youngest of the new cardinal electors. Mongolia has fewer than 1,500 Catholics but is strategically significant because it borders with China, where the Vatican is trying to improve the situation for Catholics. With each consistory, Francis has continued what one diplomat has called a “tilt towards Asia,” increasing the likelihood that the next pope could be from the region that is a growing economic and political powerhouse. Other new electors come from Singapore, India and East Timor. (Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Frances Kerry) View the full article

Published by Euronews (English) Twitter has been accused of failing to tackle the spread of anti-LGBTQ hate speech and misinformation about monkeypox. A study by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) found that online discussions linking the virus to the LGBTQ community skyrocketed following the outbreak of the virus in May. False claims have suggested that monkeypox was pre-planned by the world’s elite as part of the so-called “plandemic”. But other Twitter users have predominantly used the outbreak to spread online hate and disinformation targeting the LGBTQ community. Social media platforms have increasingly been acc… Read More View the full article

Published by Orlando Sentinel It’s a rare talent, for a politician’s actions to appear both chilling and silly at the same time. Gov. Ron DeSantis — who from the start has built his personal political brand by resurrecting and weaponizing bigotry that most people believed had been laid to rest —pulls it off regularly. But he hit a new benchmark with a recent speech, which he wrapped up with a polemic featuring his favorite word, one he apparently assumes Floridians don’t know the meaning of. The word, of course, is “woke.” “The state of Florida is the state, is the place, where woke goes to die,” DeSantis said at the end o… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Robbie Williams says he no longer craves sex with strangers since finding love with his wife. He also admitted he is still a “s******” and reckons he would be “naked all the time” if he had a “bigger c***”. In an interview with Grazia over Zoom while naked in bed, the 48-year-old singer also said his wife of 12 years Ayda Field, 43, gives him everything he wants. He said about his love for her and their four kids: “It’s amazing for somebody built like me – to put it in vulgar terms – a sh*****. She gives me everything I want. “I don’t mean sex-wise. My thing in the ’90s was sex with strangers, I didn’t know whether I’d be able to give that up… I was saying to her (Ayda) last night, it’s really special that we’re around a lot of really good looking people, all the way through the summer – and I feel no longing to be up to the nefarious stuff. “She’s really empathetic, really kind, incredibly smart and very, very funny – and I trust her. “The thing with sex with other people is very much like cocaine. I’m not looking for cocaine anymore and therefore I don’t find it.” Robbie, whose exes include Melanie C, Geri Horner, Lindsay Lohan and Nicole Appleton, met Ayda in May 2006 when she appeared on a UFO documentary that he produced for the BBC, and they married in 2010. The pair share children Theodora, 10, Charlton, seven, Coco, three and two-year-old Beau. His family life is a long way from his past excesses, with Robbie renowned for his previous addictions to drink, drugs, sex and later food. The ex-Take That singer has admitted he “kind of broke the ’90s” due to “self-medication, due to some sort of –ism, and mental illness”. View the full article

Published by DPA Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin speaks during the summer conference of the Social Democratic Party of Finland at the Lahti Market Square. She moved to tears as she was talking about how the debate on leaked party videos have affected her over the past week. Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva/dpa Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin has justified her behaviour at a recent party by saying that she missed “joy, fun and brightness,” resulting in a standing ovation from members of her own party. Marin came under fire last week over videos of a private party which she had attended the week before, showing her exuberantly dancing and singing with friends. She subsequently underwent a drug test which came back negative. “I am human and I too sometimes miss joy, fun and brightness in the midst of these dark clouds,” the Social Democrat said at an event hosted by her party in Lahti, Finland, resulting in a standing ovation from the audience. She said the past few days had not been easy for her, but that she trusted in the public to value what politicians do professionally, not privately. “I haven’t missed a single day of work and I haven’t left any tasks undone,” the 36-year-old said. “I am learning and I am doing my job just as well as always.” Helsinki police said Wednesday that they had received three complaints about the videos, adding that they would not be investigating as they saw no evidence of criminal activity. Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin (C) meets with people at a public event in connection with the summer meeting of the Social Democratic Group of Ministers, the group leadership and the party government. Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva/dpa View the full article

Published by Reuters (Reuters) – Russia has launched missiles at a railroad station in Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told a Ukraine-focused meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday. “This is our life every day. This is how Russia got prepared for this U.N. session,” Zelenskiy said over video link. There were deaths and injuries in the missile strikes, Zelenskiy said, warning that the death toll could rise. (Reporting by Rami Ayyub and Arshad Mohammed) View the full article