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Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon said on Wednesday it assessed that Ukraine could win the war against Russia, even as U.S. officials speak of the risk of a protracted conflict. “Of course they can win this,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told a news briefing. “The proof is literally in the outcomes that you’re seeing everyday … absolutely they can win.” (Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Howard Goller) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Kris Jenner is “still friends” with ex Caitlyn Jenner. The 66-year-old matriarch was married to Caitlyn – who was known as Bruce Jenner before transitioning into a woman – from 1991 until 2015 and admitted that they still see each other and that things have “settled down” since the divorce. She said: “We’re fine. We’re friends. I see her when she’s at a family thing. It’s settled down a lot.” Kris – who has daughters Kylie, 24, and Kendall, 26, with Caitlyn, as well as Kourtney, 42, Kim, 41, Khloe, 37, and Rob, 35, from her marriage to the late Robert Kardashian – went on to explain that Caitlyn’s transition in 2015 came as a “shock” because it was a subject she didn’t understand at the time. Speaking on the ABC interview special ‘The Kardashians’, she told Robin Roberts: “I think it was a big shock. It’s a scary thing to go through, because you know nothing about it. It’s a subject that I never thought I would have to directly deal with, confront, be understanding about something that I didn’t understand.” Caitlyn – who also has Burt, 43, and Cassandra, 41, with first wife Chrystie Scott, and Brandon, 40, and Brody, 38, with second spouse Linda Thompson – recently opened up about life since her transition, noting that these days her relationship with her family is “fine.” She said: “My relationship with the family is, you know, fine. I mean, we do things together, my kids, this and that. I just had my 20th grandchild a couple weeks ago and that’s my son, Burt, the oldest son. Of course, when you have 10 kids, you have different relationships with all of your children. Obviously, Kendall and Kylie, my flesh and blood, I’m very close to them. On the Kardashian side, I see them here and there, but I’m not really close. Kim is probably the closest. My other side, my other kids, my sons, Brandon, Burt, the whole group, they’re all there.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Betty White’s personal belongings are expected to fetch $1 million to $2 million at auction. The iconic actress passed away at her home in Los Angeles on December 31, at the age of 99, and in honour of her “incredible life and career”, a number of items, including awards, jewellery, scripts and her clothes are being sold. Among the lot is a “14-carat gold watch that was gifted to Betty Dec. 25, 1940 with the initials T.C.W. which, of course, is Tess White, Betty’s mom.” Martin Nolan, the executive director of Julien’s Auctions, said: “This is an auction representing an incredible life and career. It’s a lifestyle auction. “All these items came from her home in Brentwood or her residence in Carmel in northern California, where she lived with her husband Allen Ludden.” The screen legend received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960, and a replica given to the actress will be part of the sale. There are also several paintings of animals and, the most unique of the lot, three paintings by a gorilla called Koko. The auction will take place between September 23 and 25 in Beverly Hills. Meanwhile, Jamie Lee Curtis just paid tribute to the ‘Golden Girls’ star during the Oscar’s In Memoriam segment. The 63-year-old actress – who starred alongside Betty in the 2010 movie ‘You Again’ – came on stage at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood with a puppy. She said: “She was not only a Golden Girl, she was a legend who brightened every room she walked in and brought a smile to the faces of all who watched on her on the screen and day in and day out for almost a century, she was a woman who cared not just for her two-legged friends but for animals just like this. “So the greatest gift you could give Betty White is to open your heart and home and adopt a rescue dog just like Mac’N’Cheese from Paw Works. Thank you Betty, for being a friend to us all.” View the full article

Published by DPA Jude Law stars as a younger Albus Dumbledore in "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore". Warner Bros. Entertainment/dpa Mads Mikkelsen is great at playing the bad guy. After much-acclaimed performances in incredibly successful films like “Rogue One: The Star Wars Story” and “Another Round”, the Dane now plays Grindelwald, the dark wizard in the “Fantastic Beasts” world. In the series’ latest sequel, “The Secrets of Dumbledore”, Grindelwald has set himself no lesser task than wiping out the muggles – as people without magical abilities are called in the Fantastic Beast universe. Not everyone was happy about the prospect that Mikkelsen would replace Johnny Depp who had starred as Grindelwald in the first two spin-off films, which also serve as prequels to the Harry Potter saga. However, the famous Hollywood star was asked to step back due to domestic violence allegations. Artistically speaking, stepping into Depp’s shoes is no simple task, but Mikkelsen seems to be doing it with ease. His portrayal of Grindelwald in “The Secrets of Dumbledore” is characterized by a cool malice that will have viewers paralyzed in their chairs. The third “Fantastic Beasts” film, out in Britain and the US in April, generally manages to emotionally engage the viewer more than its predecessor, “The Crimes of Grindelwald”. While many fans found the second film’s plot too complex, this time Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, together with Steve Kloves, managed to write a more coherent screen play. “The Secrets of Dumbledore” is directed by usual suspect David Yates, who already directed four Harry Potter films and the first two Fantastic Beasts films. In one of the first scenes, a young Albus Dumbledore, played by Jude Law, meets his then-friend Grindelwald, who doesn’t conceal his hatred for muggles. They are smelly creatures and he will destroy their world, Grindelwald tells his friend. Dumbledore, who later becomes Harry Potter’s most important mentor, is prevented from fighting with Grindelwald himself as the film proceeds, due to a blood pact they agreed on in the early years of their friendship. While we already know from the Harry Potter series that the friendship with Grindelwald took a dark turn at some point in Dumbledore’s life, the latest Fantastic Beasts film takes a closer look at this complex relationship between two of the greatest wizards of all time. And more of Dumbledore’s secrets will be revealed, as he recruits a group of outsiders to thwart Grindelwald’s plan for world domination. Once again, oddball magizoologist with a suitcase full of magical animals Newt Scamander, played again by Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne, takes a leading role. At his side is his friend from the first two films, muggle baker Jacob (Dan Fogler). Initially reluctant to join them, he is won over by the witch “Lally” Hicks, whose dry sense of humour adds a bit of levity to the film. Of course, other magical creatures from the first parts are also back, like the popular mole-like Niffler and Pickett, who resembles a green stick insect. In the end, many of Dumbledore’s secrets are revealed, and there is still time for feelings, friendships and even a wedding that no one expects. View the full article

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Former President Donald Trump said he did not destroy records of phone calls from the official White House log or use so-called burner phones during his supporters’ deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, The Washington Post reported on Thursday. Trump, a Republican, told the newspaper he has not been contacted by congressional investigators about the assault, which occurred as then-Vice President Mike Pence and lawmakers gathered to certify the Nov. 2020 election won by Democrat Joe Biden. Just before the crowd marched to the Capitol, Trump repeated his false claims about election fraud at a raucous rally outside the White House. The Washington Post reported last week that there was a gap of nearly eight hours in the White House record of Trump’s calls as the rioting unfolded a few miles away. Trump told the newspaper he had a “very good” memory but could not remember whom he talked to that day. “From the standpoint of telephone calls, I don’t remember getting very many,” he said, according to the Post. “Why would I care about who called me? If congressmen were calling me, what difference did it make? There was nothing secretive about it. There was no secret.” Several U.S. lawmakers, including House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, have said they talked to Trump during the riot. Trump did not speak out until hours into the violence. Four people died on the day of the attack, and one Capitol Police officer who fought with rioters died the next day. On Wednesday, he defended his public silence and told the Post he did not regret urging supporters to come to Washington. The House of Representatives’ Democratic-led Jan. 6 Select Committee has interviewed about 800 people before expected public hearings in May. Trump, who has invoked executive privilege to try to block the Jan. 6 committee from White House records, said he did not know what he would do if contacted. “It depends what the request is,” he told the Post. The committee recently interviewed his daughter, Ivanka Trump, and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, his top White House advisers. Trump confirmed reporting that he spoke with Ginni Thomas, a conservative activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, during his presidency. He declined to comment on whether former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows should have given the panel text messages in which she urged Trump to work to overturn the election. (Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Frank Jack Daniel) View the full article

Published by AFP Former US President Donald Trump blamed Democrats for not stopping the violence at the Capitol Washington (AFP) – Former President Donald Trump defended his conduct during the US Capitol assault in an incendiary interview published Thursday, saying he did not regret summoning his rioting supporters to Washington. He told The Washington Post he would have accompanied his ultra-loyal followers as they marched on the complex on January 6 last year, but was stopped by his security detail. He offered no contrition for whipping up the crowd with bogus claims that victory was stolen from him through widespread fraud — although he was clear in his condemnation of the violence that ensued. “Secret Service said I couldn’t go. I would have gone there in a minute,” he said, in the wide-ranging interview, adding that it was the largest crowd he had ever spoken to. Thousands of Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol last year in an effort to halt the peaceful transfer of power after Joe Biden won a decisive victory in 2020, described by the government as one of the most secure elections in US history. Trump repeatedly boasted about the “tremendous” size of the crowd at his rally ahead of the riot and glossed over his explosive rhetoric that whipped up the crowd. “I don’t know what that means, but you see very few pictures. They don’t want to show pictures, the fake news doesn’t want to show pictures,” he said. The ex-president defended his long silence during the attack, deflecting blame to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, even though she isn’t responsible for policing at the Capitol and was a target of the mob herself. He also pointed a finger at Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, who “furiously tried to reach Trump’s team that day,” according to the Post. “I hated seeing it. I hated seeing it. And I said, ‘It’s got to be taken care of,’ and I assumed they were taking care of it,” Trump said of the violence, which has been linked to at least five deaths. The interview came after the House of Representatives voted to refer ex-Trump aides Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino for criminal contempt charges on Wednesday for defying congressional subpoenas to testify about the riot. View the full article

U.K. Trans Rights Protest80-Plus LGBTQ Orgs Pull Support The continued response to the Conservative Party-led U.K. government’s decision to exclude conversion therapy for transgender people from its proposed ban on the controversial practice has now claimed the nation’s dedicated LGBTQ rights conference. The “Safe To Be Me” conference that was scheduled to take place in London this June was canceled this week after more than 80 U.K. LGBTQ advocacy organizations (approximately 20% of the total membership of the umbrella consortium) pulled their support for the conference in response to the conversion therapy ban restructuring. People involved in organizing the conference labeled the entire event as “pinkwashing” and stated that they wished the government “would just cancel it.” “We’re less than three months away, and we have no speakers, no sponsorship, no budget. It’s a mess,” one planner told Vice. Vice also reported that an organizer at one LGBTQ advocacy group was told by government officials that the LGB Alliance “will take our space” if it didn’t participate in the conference. Conversion Therapy: Previously on Towleroad UK Cancels Global LGBTQ Conference After 80 UK Groups Refuse to Attend With Trans Conversion Therapy Left Out of Proposed Ban Brian Bell April 7, 2022 Read More Stonewall UK Critic Joins Equality Commission; Quidditch Renaming After J.K. Rowling’s Transphobia; Chile Elects Pro-LGBTQ President Brian Bell December 21, 2021 Read More UK Government Denies Request to Make Gay Conversion Therapy a Crime Michael Fitzgerald December 4, 2017 Read More Gay Moroccan Man Faces Deportation From the UK Michael Fitzgerald October 31, 2017 Read More Family Claims Hate Crime After British Man Left For Dead with Fractured Skull, Bleeding Brain Adam Rhodes August 21, 2017 Read More Survey: 31 Percent of British People Think Being Gay is a Choice Michael Fitzgerald February 27, 2017 Read More Photo by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash View the full article

Published by Al-Araby The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is calling on the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) to cancel an event in May in Budapest featuring as its keynote speaker Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The Hungarian leader, who was re-elected earlier this month, is known for his xenophobic, Islamophobic, anti-Semitic and homophobic rhetoric and policies, as well as has friendly relations with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. During his time in office, Orban cracked down on the press, rolled back protections for the LGBTQ community, instituted policies that have helped erod… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Biden administration is expected to announce on Wednesday an extension of the student loan repayment pause through Aug. 31, an administration official familiar with White House’s decision making said on Tuesday. The repayment moratorium has been extended multiple times since it was first put in place in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The current pause was set to expire on May 1. Nearly 41 million borrowers have benefited from a freeze on interest accruals and about 27 million borrowers have not had to pay their monthly bills since the forbearance began. (Reporting by Jeff Mason; Writing by Eric Beech; Editing by Tim Ahmann and Aurora Ellis) View the full article

Published by OK Magazine MEGA Magic Johnson is reflecting on one moment in his career where he wanted to get physical — but luckily held himself back. In 1998, the NBA superstar, 62, hosted a short-lived late night show entitled The Magic Hour where shock jock Howard Stern — who publicly criticized the program — made a much talked about appearance. During the sit-down, the “King Of All Media” made horrific comments about race and more specifically, Johnson’s HIV diagnosis. MEGA “The thing you need to work on, in my estimation, is that you’ve gotta stop trying to talk like the white man,” Stern, 68, told the former Los Angeles Lakers player 24 years ago, per Variety. “Everybody’s anti-Ebonics. I say, let it fly! What you need to do, ‘my brotha,’ is to really get down with it. You talk Ebonics all you want.” HOWARD STERN DECLARES AARON RODGERS SHOULD BE THROWN OUT OF THE NFL FOR VACCINATION STANCE: ‘NO TIME FOR IDIOTS’ The radio DJ reportedly continued his out-of-touch remarks stating: “Listen, you’re a Black man. I grew up in a Black neighborhood. I’m Blacker than you are, trust me. I’m the Blackest Black man you’ll ever meet. And I’m telling you right now, when I lived in Roosevelt, Long Island, which is a Black ghetto, everybody talked like this.” Stern then delivered the most shocking statement of the interview, where he told Johnson — who went public with his HIV diagnosis in 1991 — “You had the life I wanted. These were white chicks? Black chicks? What do we got? What did you prefer? You would have sex with everybody?” “At least you had fun getting AIDS,” Stern concluded. MEGA Johnson corrected the out-of-line Private Parts actor, noting he had HIV, not AIDS, and that “nobody has fun” contracting it. Stern smugly responded, “Believe me, brother, you did. It sounds like fun to me.” ANDY COHEN TO THE RESCUE! BRAVO STAR ‘PITCHING HIMSELF’ TO FILL IN FOR HOWARD STERN WHILE SIRIUS XM HOST TAKES SUMMER BREAK Johnson looked back on the controversial chat with Stern during a recent interview with Variety, confessing to the outlet that he was so furious over Stern’s disastrous appearance that it almost got physical: “So many times, I wanted to say something and hit him at the same time — on air.” MEGA “I was mad when they booked him. But there’s nothing you can do. When people look for ratings, this is what happens,” the Michigan State University alum noted. “It is what it is. I learned a lot from that. I’ve never put myself — or HIV and AIDS, or my race — in that position again, ever again.” Johnson — who has been promoting his Apple TV documentary, They Call Me Magic — confirmed he has not spoken to the SiriusXM star since the shocking interview. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Ahmed Aboulenein and Julie Steenhuysen WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced a national action plan to be developed by the U.S. health department to tackle the looming health crisis of long COVID, a complex, multi-symptom condition that leaves many of its sufferers unable to work. Long COVID, which arises months after a COVID-19 infection, affects nearly 7% of all U.S. adults and 2.3% of the overall population and has cost an estimated $386 billion in lost wages, savings and medical bills, according to an analysis by the Solve Long Covid Initiative, a non-profit research and advocacy group. More than 200 symptoms – many lasting for months – have been associated with the condition, including pain, fatigue, brain fog, breathing difficulty and exhaustion after minimal amounts of physical activity. The plan will expand research, care and disability services for people suffering from the condition, the White House said. Secretary Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra will release the jointly developed National Research Action Plan within 120 days, Biden said in a presidential memorandum. It addresses some concerns raised by patient advocacy groups, which have criticized the slow speed of the National Institutes of Health’s $1.15 billion RECOVER research program, and aims to accelerate the enrollment of 40,000 people with and without long COVID. Under the plan, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will invest $20 million next year to investigate how healthcare systems can best help those with long COVID, mentor primary care practices, and develop multi-specialty clinics across the country. The plan calls for allocating an additional $25 million to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from Biden’s 2023 budget – in addition to the agency’s $50 million investment – to better understand and find solutions to characteristics, risk factors, underlying mechanisms, and health impacts of long COVID. Other provisions include adding more long COVID programs to the 18 Department of Veterans Affairs facilities that already offer them. HHS also will launch a new project, Health+, aimed at gaining insights into the experiences of those living with the often debilitating condition to help inform high-quality care and contribute to standardized best practices at long COVID clinics. The plan also aims to translate its findings into actionable disability policies with the Social Security Administration, and work with the Department of Labor on helping affected workers who are deciding if they are able to return to their jobs. (Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein in Washington and Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien) View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Magic Johnson said he almost pulled a Will Smith whenHoward Stern was on his short-lived show, The Magic Hour. The 62-year-old NBA legend spoke out about Stern’s off-color remarks during their 1998 sitdown in which the shock jock threw out comments about the Black community and hurled jokes about Magic’s HIV diagnosis, as well as incorrectly referring to his condition as AIDS. “The thing you need to work on, in my estimation, is that you’ve gotta stop trying to talk like the white man,” Stern told Magic more than two decades ago. “Everybody’s anti-Ebonics. I say, let it fly! What you need to do, ‘my brotha,’ is to really get down with it. You talk Ebonics all you want.” Stern then declared he was “Blacker” than the athlete. Mega “Listen, you’re a Black man. I grew up in a Black neighborhood. I’m Blacker than you are, trust me. I’m the Blackest Black man you’ll ever meet. And I’m telling you right now, when I lived in Roosevelt, Long Island, which is a Black ghetto, everybody talked like this,” Stern stated. The controversial Sirius XM host followed his crude comments with the biggest insult of all — poking fun at Magic’s diagnosis. The Basketball Hall of Famer was diagnosed with HIV in 1991, just 7 years before Stern appeared on his show. “You had the life I wanted. These were white chicks? Black chicks? What do we got? What did you prefer? You would have sex with everybody?” Stern asked intrigued. “At least you had fun getting AIDS,” he said. Mega When Magic corrected him by stating he had HIV, not aids, and “nobody has fun” contracting the condition, Stern doubled down. “Believe me, brother, you did. It sounds like fun to me,” he responded. Looking back on that interview, Magic confessed to Variety that it took major self-control not to punch Stern over his insensitive remarks. “So many times, I wanted to say something and hit him at the same time — on air,” he recalled. “I was mad when they booked him. But there’s nothing you can do. When people look for ratings, this is what happens,” Magic told the outlet, vowing, “It is what it is. I learned a lot from that. I’ve never put myself — or HIV and AIDS, or my race — in that position again, ever again.” The retired pro-athlete said that was the last time he ever spoke to Stern. Mega Magic’s confession comes just weeks after Smith slapped Chris Rock during the live broadcast of the 94th annual Academy Awards. The comedian joked about Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head during the Oscars, causing her famous husband to lose his cool. Smith jumped up on the stage, smacked Rock, and when screamed profanities at the shocked comedian when he returned to his seat. Smith now faces backlash for not having control over his emotions like Magic. He has already resigned his membership from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, but now the organization is meeting with its board members to discuss to future in Hollywood. Several of Smith’s projects have been put on hold as his career sits in limbo. View the full article

Published by AFP A red fox is captured by DC animal control officers outside the US Capitol in Washington on April 5, 2022 Washington (AFP) – Being outfoxed in Congress usually means losing a vote on an amended resolution or being too late for the donut line in the Senate cafeteria. So spare a thought for the politicians and staff at the US Capitol in Washington, where a highly aggressive red fox spent at least two days stalking frightened humans, including a Democratic congressman. Police officers warned Tuesday that they had received multiple reports of people “being attacked or bitten” by an aggressive canine at the seat of US democracy — in a statement first reported by none other than… Fox News. The force quickly dispatched animal control officers to “trap and relocate” any foxes they found — and within hours they posted pictures on social media of the beast, finally taken into custody, sitting in an animal cage above the caption: “Captured.” Online political magazine Punchbowl News reported that congressman Ami Bera had to be rescued by police late Monday after squaring up to a fox that had just bitten him in an “unprovoked” attack. “I didn’t see it and all of a sudden I felt something lunge at the back of my leg,” Bera, a physician by profession, told Punchbowl. The 57-year-old Sacramento Democrat wasn’t hurt, but agreed “out of an abundance of caution” to get a series of rabies shots. Bloodlust sated “I expect to get attacked if I go on Fox News, I don’t expect to get attacked by a fox,” he told Punchbowl. Ximena Bustillo, a Congress reporter for Politico, said she was bitten on the ankle from behind as she was leaving the complex. “I’m from Idaho. I know to not try and pet it!!” she tweeted. Witnesses flooded social media with sightings, with several reporting seeing it munching on a squirrel or merely enjoying the sun — its bloodlust apparently sated — in the Senate gardens. Fifteen months after a violent mob stormed the Capitol to disrupt the certification of last presidential election, one wag even referred to the ongoing animal threat as an “infurrection.” Inside the Capitol, reporters spent the weekly leaders’ press conferences in a breathless interrogation about possible action on the four-legged menace. Top Republican Mitch McConnell ignored the inquiries, but Iowa’s intrepid two-term senator Joni Ernst was proud to report that she had spotted the animal, without revealing how close the encounter was. Red foxes — the most common of several North American species — are regularly found in towns and cities but tend to avoid people, according to the city environmental department. They typically eat insects, small birds, squirrels and rabbits, and are not known for their predilection for legislators or their intimidated staffers. The species has thrived during the pandemic, according to wildlife experts in the nation’s capital. “Less ambient noise, less traffic, less interference… right now, life is better for them,” Bill McShea, a wildlife ecologist with the Smithsonian National Zoo, told DCist magazine. “If there’s an upside to Covid, it’s on the wildlife.” View the full article

Published by OK Magazine MEGA The White House is divided into two — Team Biden and Team Harris — but one was left “peeved” at the other after former President Barack Obama’s visit on Tuesday, OK! has learned. As we previously reported, the fight inside the West Wing for who is the No. 1 woman has exploded into a battle royale between First Lady Jill Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris. Both have accused each other of destabilizing the administration, OK! has learned. MEGA Harris chuckled as Obama made his first public appearance at the White House since leaving office in 2017, telling the crowd: “Feels good, doesn’t it?” VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS WASN’T HAPPY WITH ANNA WINTOUR OVER VOGUE COVER: ‘SHE FELT BELITTLED,’ NEW BOOK REVEALS Said one source: “It was a comment that simply wasn’t needed. Peeved? Yes, I think many aides to Biden were. That the Vice-President would undercut the credibility of President Biden with the suggestion that it feels good to have him back in the most powerful place in the United States truly does beggar belief. She was fawning over him.” The tension rising comes just days after Harris refused to support Biden, who advocated for regime change in Russia. As OK! previously reported, while talking with MSNBC host Joy Reid on Friday, April 1, the Veep attempted to avoid the direct question about whether she agreed with the head of the nation. MEGA “Listen, I think you frame the point quite accurately and well, which is America’s policy has been and will continue to be focused on the real issue at hand,” Harris noted. “There are serious consequences for Vladimir Putin and Russian aggression as it relates to Ukraine.” FLORIDA NURSE PLEADS GUILTY TO THREATENING TO KILL VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS, FACES UP TO 5 YEARS IN PRISON After Reid pressed her yet again, the Democrat emphasized, “Listen, let me be very clear, let me be very clear, we are not into regime change and that is not our policy. Period.” As far as the rift between Harris and the first lady of the U.S., a source exclusively told OK! last month, “Jill despises Kamala — make no mistake about it.” MEGA “Dr. Biden told her husband that he should never have chosen Kamala as his running mate, and she believed he would have won regardless of who else was on the ticket,” the insider detailed. “When the new administration started, Dr. Biden tried to reset but soon realized the Vice-President had not changed,” the source went on to note. “The Vice-President has been cantankerous and constantly raising race as an issue for her failings as a leader.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Nandita Bose and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Former President Barack Obama returned to the White House on Tuesday for the first time since leaving office in 2017 to tout the benefits of his signature healthcare law and bolster his friend and former governing partner, President Joe Biden. Obama arrived in the East Room to robust cheers from the assembled crowd of Congress members and administration staffers, and remarked on the changes that had been made in the White House since he was last there – notably the arrival of a feline. “There’s a cat running around,” he said to laughter, “which I guarantee you Bo and Sunny would have been very unhappy about,” referring to his family’s dogs. Obama jokingly referred to Biden as “vice president” before correcting himself, inspiring a salute from Biden, then offered broad praise of the Affordable Care Act, whose passage he described as a “high point” of his time in office. “If you can get millions of people health coverage and better protection, it is, to quote a famous American, a pretty … big deal,” Obama said to hoots of laughter from the crowd, referencing an off-color Biden remark picked up by a hot mic when the law was signed. Biden, who hosted Obama for lunch, joked that the two men did not know who should sit where when they dined, and lauded Obama for his leadership on the healthcare law. “The Affordable Care Act has been called a lot of things but Obamacare is the most fitting,” Biden said. While Obama remains a popular figure, Biden faces moribund public approval ratings thanks in part to high inflation and the lingering COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, Democrats risk losing control of at least one, if not both, chambers of Congress in November, which would bring Biden’s legislative agenda to a halt. Biden unveiled a measure to fix an element of the healthcare law known as the “family glitch” that left family members of those with access to employer-provided health plans ineligible for certain subsidies, and he signed an executive order directing federal agencies to do all they could to expand healthcare coverage. Before signing and as he finished his remarks, he quipped: “Barack, I’m going to remind you: it’s a hot mic.” Focusing on healthcare has helped Democrats politically in the past. Obamacare was the former president’s top legislative accomplishment, and Republicans have repeatedly tried and failed to repeal it. “But what the Affordable Care Act shows is that if you are driven by the core idea that, together, we can improve the lives of this generation and the next, and if you’re persistent … you can have an impact on millions of lives,” Obama said. Obama and Biden became friends during Obama’s time in office, meeting for lunch weekly. Their families became close and Obama spoke at the funeral of Biden’s son, Beau. White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said Obama and Biden had an expansive conversation and a walk. “They did go take a look at the Oval Office and take a walk around, and I know they enjoyed spending time together,” she said. The White House said the proposed adjustment to the Affordable Care Act, put forward in a rule by the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service that must be finalized, would save hundreds of dollars a month for hundreds of thousands of families. It said the “family glitch” affects some 5 million people and “has made it impossible for many families to use the premium tax credit to purchase an affordable, high-quality Marketplace plan.” (Reporting by Jeff Mason and Nandita Bose; Editing by Heather Timmons, Bill Berkrot and David Gregorio) View the full article

Published by Reuters (Corrects description of Texas ban in 4th paragraph) By Gabriella Borter (Reuters) -Oklahoma lawmakers on Tuesday passed a bill that would make it illegal to perform an abortion in the state except in medical emergencies, penalizing those who do with up to $100,000 in fines and 10 years in prison. The Republican-controlled state House of Representatives brought the bill to a vote this week, after it was passed last year by the Midwestern state’s Senate. It now heads to the desk of Republican Governor Kevin Stitt for signing. Stitt has signaled his support for anti-abortion legislation. If he signs the measure, it would take effect this summer unless blocked by courts. An abortion ban in Oklahoma would widen a swath of the country where there is little to no legal abortion access. The state has become a destination for Texas women seeking abortions since Texas in September banned abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. “These harmful bills are an alarming reminder that the days of access to safe and legal abortion may be numbered, and we must continue to fight to guarantee all people have access to the essential health care they need, including abortion,” Tamya Cox-Toure, director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma, said in a statement. The measure passed by the Oklahoma House on Tuesday is one of several anti-abortion bills making its way through the state’s legislature. Separate legislation introduced this year proposes banning almost all abortions and relying on private citizens to sue any person who “aids or abets” abortions, similar to Texas’ six-week abortion ban. That bill contains an emergency clause, which would allow it to take effect immediately once it is passed and signed by the governor. The measure approved on Tuesday states, “a person shall not purposely perform or attempt to perform an abortion except to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency.” Republican-governed states like Oklahoma have passed a series of restrictive abortion measures in recent years. The U.S. Supreme Court is due to rule by the end of June in a case involving a Republican-backed Mississippi law that gives its conservative majority a chance to undermine or even repeal the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. During arguments in the case, the conservative justices signaled a willingness to dramatically curtail abortion rights in America. (Reporting by Gabriella BorterEditing by Colleen Jenkins and Jonathan Oatis) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Mark Zuckerberg is nicknamed Eye of Sauron by his Meta employees. The CEO of the social media network has revealed his “unending” energy levels are compared to those of the ‘Lord of the Rings’ villain, which he doesn’t see as a negative thing. He said: “Some of the folks who I work with at the company say this lovingly, but I think that they sometimes refer to my attention as the Eye of Sauron. “They’re like, ‘You have this unending amount of energy to go work on something. And if you point that at any given team, you will just burn them.'” He added in an interview on ‘The Tim Ferriss Show’: “I just think the engagement that you get of having, like, an immediate feedback loop around thinking about something and then getting to go talk to the people who are working on this is so much better than going and scheduling a meeting that you’ll have three weeks later.” In the same podcast chat, the billionaire – who co-founded Facebook, now Meta, in 2004 – revealed he goes surfing each day to avoid feeling “punched” in the face by the news. The 37-year-old internet entrepreneur told the host: “When you’re out there in the water, it’s pretty hard to focus on anything else. “When you’re on the board, you’re focused on making sure you stay on the board and don’t mess something up.” Zuckerberg also goes foiling, surfing but using a hydrofoil board. View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Twitter employees are taking to social media to voice and express their concerns regarding the recent announcement that Elon Musk is not only the company’s new majority shareholder, but has also been named a company board member. Company employees are also apparently worried that Musk will drastically change their previous goals and operations after the billionaire businessman promised to make “significant improvements” to the social media giant once he is in charge. Mega According to Daily Mail, after it was announced on Tuesday that Musk will be taking on an active role in Twitter’s top management, a slew of his now-employees took to the social media giant to both voice their frustrations as well as mock the Tesla founder. “Good morning to our new overlord!” Twitter’s Global Head of Partners Lara Cohen wrote Wednesday morning. “Elon Musk just (temporarily at least) made me a lot of money. And I still dislike him,” wrote Twitter team leader Haraldur Thorleifsson, referencing the fact that Twitter stock increased by almost 30% following the announcement Musk is set to join the company. But while Twitter employees were expressing their uneasiness regarding Musk’s new role at Twitter, other platforms also took to social media to poke fun at the company’s workers who are now forced to either walk away or stay and work for the controversial billionaire. Mega “If you’re a Twitter employee who’s considering resigning because you’re worried about Elon Musk pushing for less regulated speech…please do not come work here,” Lulu Cheng Meservey, the Vice President of Communications at subscription newsletter platform Substack, taunted on Tuesday. “But for everybody else, we really are hiring! Join a talented, determined, passionate, motley team of all backgrounds and beliefs,” Meservey continued. “We debate respectfully, execute maniacally, and live to serve writers and podcasters. Long live independent publishing.” Prior to becoming Twitter’s top shareholder and joining the company’s board on Tuesday, Musk regularly came under fire for his own tweets posted to platform – including when he tweeted “FREE AMERICA NOW” in response to the Covid-19 lockdown in April 2020, “Sorry pedo guy, you really did ask for it,” regarding a diver trying to rescue stranded children in Thailand, and even going so far as to call Elizabeth Warren “Senator Karen” after she highlighted the fact that the billionaire paid $0 in income taxes in 2020. Naturally, employees and users of the social media giant are worried that Musk’s new active role in the company will mean the platform’s previous policies and rules might change – which is why Twitter spokesperson Adrian Zamora recently released a statement reassuring the platform’s users that no previously established policies will be reversed in light of the billionaire’s new position. Mega “Twitter is committed to impartiality in the development and enforcement of its policies and rules,” Zamora announced on Tuesday. “Our policy decisions are not determined by the Board or shareholders, and we have no plans to reverse any policy decisions.” “As always, our Board plays an important advisory and feedback role across the entirety of our service. Our day-to-day operations and decisions are made by Twitter management and employees.” View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega The Pentagon has released over 1,500 pages of previously classified documents about a secret government UFO program which could supplement another few seasons of the X-Files. Mega After nearly four years of news organizations asking for information in regards to confirmed UFO sightings by military and government officials, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) released 1,574 pages of records and documents commissioned by scientific experts as well as letters directly connected to the Pentagon. The documents include a wide range of info never before known to the general public, which includes records of several different flying crafts officially labeled as “UFOs” and even reports on research conducted into the biological effects of UFO sightings on humans. Mega Last year, the U.S. government admitted to over 100 unidentifiable flying objects, without committing to giving them the title of “UFOs” — but videos of unexplained UFO sightings by US military personnel, investigated by AATIP, have also been slowly leaking out since 2017. UFO Report Released: Congress Can’t Explain More Than 100 Mysterious Objects In Sky, Won’t Rule Out Aliens Just Yet Now, the Department of Defense is claiming that the DIA “has not withheld any reasonably segregable non-exempt portions of the records,” as they’ve now released jaw-dropping information with only “some portions” of the reports being withheld due to “privacy and confidentiality concerns.” Mega The Freedom of Information haul includes reports on the DIA’s research into the biological effects of UFO sightings on humans, including burns, heart problems, sleep disturbances, and even cites bizarre occurrences such as “apparent abduction” and an “unaccounted for pregnancy.” The injuries are reported to be related to possible radiation as many of the objects are suspected to have “energy-related propulsion systems,” which the DIA warns could make the objects a “threat to United states interest. “ A study into the crafts also shows a contract between the Pentagon and the Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies investigating the study into “advanced aerospace weapon threats,” which are estimated up to “40 years” beyond our understanding. Mega One of the documents included in the report sets out how to categorize “anomalous behavior” mentioning encounters with “ghosts, yetis, spirits, elves and other mythical/ legendary entities” classed as “AN3.” Seeing a UFO with signs of life onboard is listed as “CE3.” With poltergeists, crop circles, spontaneous human combustion, alien abductions, and other paranormal events are also categorized under the same moniker. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives is expected to approve “contempt of Congress” charges on Wednesday against Peter Navarro and Daniel Scavino, two former aides to ex-President Donald Trump, over their failure to cooperate with the probe into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Navarro, a former trade adviser to Trump, and Scavino, who was a deputy chief of staff, did not comply with subpoenas to appear before the House Select Committee probing the attack. Approval by the House, where Democrats hold a slim majority of seats, would refer the matter to the Department of Justice for a decision on whether to press criminal charges. Contempt of Congress bears a penalty of up to a year’s imprisonment and a fine up to $100,000. The House backed contempt of Congress charges last year for Steve Bannon, a Trump advisor. He was charged in a case set to go to trial in July. The House also voted in favor of a contempt charge for Mark Meadows, a former House member who became Trump’s chief of staff, but there has been no word from Justice on whether charges will be filed. The Democratic-led Select Committee has been investigating events leading to the assault on the seat of the U.S. government by thousands of Trump supporters on Jan. 6, 2021, when Vice President Mike Pence and lawmakers gathered to certify Democratic President Joe Biden’s victory in the November 2020 election. Mobs rampaged through the Capitol, injuring police officers and sending Pence, lawmakers, staff and journalists scurrying for safety, after Trump repeated his false claims at a raucous rally that his defeat was the result of fraud. Four people died on the day of the riot, and one Capitol police officer who fought with rioters died the next day. Four officers have since taken their own lives. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Scott Malone and David Gregorio) View the full article

Published by New York Daily News AOC is slamming Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., for the GOP lawmaker’s sexist attack on people who identify as transgender. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., called out MTG late Tuesday for defining a woman as “the weaker sex” and “our husband’s wife.” Greene pushed the right-wing talking point that the only person who can be considered a woman is one who was defined as a female at birth. “I’m going to tell you right now what is a woman… We came from Adam’s rib,” Greene said. “We are the weaker sex, but we are our husband’s wife.” Hitting back hard, AOC accused the GOP of “incit(ing… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Lea DeLaria have lent each other thousands of dollars over the years. The ‘Modern Family’ actor was struggling to “live” when trying to make it in showbiz so his 63-year-old pal offered to give him money to stop him having to give up on his career aspirations. Speaking at the premiere of Jesse’s Broadway show ‘Take Me Out’, Lea told the New York Post newspaper’s Page Six column: “I gave him $4,000 so he could live. Maybe it was $2,000, now that I think about it. He was going to get a day job and I said, ‘I will pay you not to get a day job because you need to be concentrating on what you’re doing.’” Years later, the 46-year-old star – who met Lea when they performed in ‘On the Town’ together in 1998 – was able to return the favour when his friend was having some tax issues. The ‘Orange Is the New Black’ star explained: “We’ve always gotten each other’s backs. It’s always been that way with the two of us. I know that I can call Jesse at 2 a.m., 3 a.m., even if he’s in LA and Jesse will be on the first plane back to NY, it’s that kind of friendship.” After his performance in ‘Take Me Out,’ Jesse confirmed the money loaning between the pair, though he remembered different numbers than Lea had said. He revealed: “For some reason, I remember [the amount she lent] it being like $50,000.” Jesse added that he’s not sure when he got around to paying Lea back, but it probably took him longer than it should have. He said: “Probably it was a longer time than I should have paid it back. It was probably the third season of ‘Modern Family.’ No, I probably gave it to her before that. It was probably when I made my first pay cheque in TV that I was able to pay her back. It was a hefty sum she lent me.” When asked how much money he later lent Lea, he revealed: “It was more than she lent me, that’s for sure!” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Dan Levine (Reuters) – Democrats in the U.S. Congress proposed a raft of new rules for the federal judiciary on Wednesday including a formal mechanism to remove judges from hearing cases in the event of a conflict of interest and another intended to reduce secret court filings. The legislation was being introduced in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Among its sponsors are House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler and Senate Judiciary Committee members Sheldon Whitehouse and Richard Blumenthal. The bill comes as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has faced calls by some Democrats to recuse himself from any cases involving the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by former President Donald Trump’s supporters, citing the activities of the justice’s wife Virginia Thomas, a conservative political activist. Under current practice, the nine Supreme Court justices individually decide whether to recuse themselves from a case because of a conflict of interest. Under the proposed legislation, the full Supreme Court would be required to review requests for recusal. The proposed legislation also would require all federal judges to announce a compelling reason for sealing any document, and would require that the secrecy would last “no longer than necessary.” The bill would mandate public notice when a party has requested records to be sealed in a case and would direct judicial leaders to devise an inexpensive process for someone outside the case to contest a secrecy motion. Reuters revealed in a 2019 series “Hidden Injustice” how U.S. judges routinely allow makers of consumer products to file under seal information that is pertinent to public health and safety. (See Hidden Injustice series https://www.reuters.com/investigates/section/usa-courts-secrecy) The Reuters investigation found that hundreds of thousands of Americans have been killed or seriously injured in recent decades by allegedly defective products – including drugs, cars and medical devices – while evidence that could have alerted consumers and regulators to potential danger remained hidden. Though they are required in most of the regional circuits of the federal judiciary to explain why they allow records to be sealed, judges in cases involving defective products rarely do so, Reuters found. In addition, the legislation would require the Supreme Court to provide live video of its oral arguments on the internet as well as other ethics guidelines for judges. The Supreme Court has not allowed video of its arguments but began allowing live audio in 2020 at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued that practice. It is the latest legislation pursued by some Democrats that would make changes in the federal judiciary. Legislation unveiled last year that would expand the U.S. Supreme Court to 13 justices from the current nine – in a bid to erase its current conservative majority – drew an unenthusiastic response from the White House and top congressional Democrats and was denounced by Republicans. (Reporting by Dan Levine in San Francisco; Editing by Will Dunham and Janet Roberts) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Nandita Bose, Matt Spetalnick and Alexandra Alper WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States targeted Russian banks and elites with a new package of sanctions on Wednesday, including banning Americans from investing in Russia, in response to what President Joe Biden condemned as Russian “atrocities” in Ukraine. The new sanctions hit Russia’s Sberbank, which holds one-third of Russia’s total banking assets, and Alfabank, the country’s fourth largest financial institution, U.S. officials said. But energy transactions were exempted from the latest measures, the officials said. The United States is also sanctioning Russian President Vladimir Putin’s two adult daughters, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s wife and daughter, and members of Russia’s security council, the officials said. “I made clear that Russia would pay a severe and immediate price for its atrocities in Bucha,” Biden said in a message on Twitter, referring to the town retaken from Russian forces where civilians were found shot at close range. “Today, along with our Allies and partners, we’re announcing a new round of devastating sanctions,” Biden said. Russia, which says it launched a “special military operation” in Ukraine on Feb. 24, denies targeting civilians and said images of the deaths were a “monstrous forgery” staged by the West. State-run Sberbank, Russia’s largest lender, and Alfabank said the new sanctions would not have a significant impact on their operations. The White House also said Biden was signing an executive order that “includes a prohibition on new investment in Russia by U.S. persons wherever located, which will further isolate Russia from the global economy.” This will include a ban on venture capital and mergers, officials said. As part of a package coordinated with allies, the United States is “dramatically escalating” the financial shock on Russia by cutting off that country’s largest banks, a senior administration official told reporters. “The reality is the country is descending into economic and financial and technological isolation,” the official said. “And at this rate, it will go back to Soviet-style living standards from the 1980s.” Also on Wednesday, the U.S. Justice Department charged Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev with violating sanctions imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Attorney General Merrick Garland said authorities had also disrupted a type of global malicious computer network known as a “botnet” controlled by a Russian military intelligence agency. Seeking to further ratchet up pressure on Putin, the United States is also imposing full blocking sanctions on what the White House called “critical major Russian state-owned enterprises,” which it said would damage the Kremlin’s ability to fund its war effort. The U.S. Treasury Department will name those entities on Thursday, the White House said in a statement. The U.S. government took action amid mounting accusations of war crimes by Russia in Ukraine. Grim images emerging from Bucha include a mass grave and bodies of people shot at close range, prompting calls for tougher action against Moscow and an international investigation. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday said the killings were part of a deliberate Russian campaign to commit atrocities. Neither Blinken nor Russia provided evidence to support the assertions. A senior French official said the European Union would also likely impose new sanctions on Wednesday. (Reporting by Matt Spetalnick, Alex Alper, Nandita Bose; editing by Heather Timmons, Howard Goller, Mark Porter and Jonathan Oatis) View the full article