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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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New Probe Into Disgraced Andrew Casts Long Shadow Over Warring Royals
Phil Noble/ReutersPrincess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie will likely skip the wedding of their cousin Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling after it was revealed that their father, ex-Prince Andrew, is being investigated over a suspected sexual offense at Royal Ascot in 2002.The Royalist hears that the two princesses have been left mortified “all over again” by the latest developments, and do not want to overshadow the bride and groom’s big day.Although it has been widely reported in recent days that the princesses would attend the wedding, a source said this was “never as concrete” as portrayed. The source said that while they had indeed RSVP’d to say they intended to come, and those RSVPs had not as yet been canceled, they would “never want to overshadow the bride and groom’s happy day.”Read more at The Daily Beast.
Chilling New Details Revealed About Suspected White House Gunman
Roberto Schmidt / Getty ImagesThe suspected White House gunman was reportedly no stranger to the Secret Service before he opened fire on Saturday.Nasire Best, a 21-year-old Maryland man, had been barred from returning to the White House after a previous arrest for entering a restricted area, according to The New York Times.Authorities said Best approached a Secret Service checkpoint near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW shortly after 6 p.m., pulled a gun from a bag, and began firing at officers.Read more at The Daily Beast.
Trump, 79, Makes Bonkers Claim About His Looks in Wild Posting Spree
Aaron Chown / via REUTERSPresident Donald Trump is clinging to claims that he looks younger than ever as he approaches his 80th birthday. On Sunday, the near-octogenarian posted an image of himself sporting his signature orange glow and a wide grin alongside Chinese leader Xi Jinping beneath a banner declaring: “President Trump gets YOUNGER.”Trump captioned the Truth Social photo: “President Xi and President Trump are AMAZING!”Read more at The Daily Beast.
The Real Housewives Insult So Wild Fans Had to Google It
Bravo / Seacia Pavao/BravoNever say that the Real Housewives series has no educational value. Following the last episode of The Real Housewives of Rhode Island, scores of people were inspired to expand their vocabulary. A Google search query for the phrase “slam pig” spiked immediately after the episode aired and the several days that followed. (Seriously, I looked it up.) Searches for “slam pig meaning” were up 80 percent. Bravo fans, always willing to expand their minds. Read more at The Daily Beast.
MAGA Star Candidate Gets Flamed in Hometown Paper
Roy Rochlin / Getty ImagesSpencer Pratt, the MAGA-coded reality TV star turned mayoral hopeful, was roasted over his campaign run in his local Los Angeles paper.In a Saturday article for The Los Angeles Times, journalist Steve Lopez urged Pratt to call him so he could ask whether he truly understands what he is getting himself into by running as a registered Republican to unseat Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.“We should talk,” Lopez wrote, directly addressing The Hills alum.Read more at The Daily Beast.
Vance Humiliated After He Crashes SCOTUS Dinner
Kevin Lamarque / REUTERSJD Vance is officially a party crasher. The vice president was a surprise guest at a private dinner hosted by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., the New York Times reported Sunday. The 41-year-old tagged along as a plus-one to his pregnant wife, Usha Vance, who previously clerked for the George W. Bush appointee.Roberts, however, appeared indifferent to the unexpected addition. According to the Times, neither Vance nor his wife received special seating accommodations, and the chief justice omitted the vice president from remarks delivered during the evening.Read more at The Daily Beast.
John McCain’s Son Dies Suddenly
ROBYN BECK / AFP via Getty ImagesDoug McCain, the eldest son of the late Sen. John McCain, has died suddenly at age 66. His cause of death has not been disclosed. “I am deeply saddened to share the news of my brother Doug McCain’s sudden passing,” his sister, Meghan McCain, 41, announced in a statement on Instagram. “He was a truly wonderful, joyful man who supported me throughout my life. He brought humor, fun and great conversation to every room. I will cherish our memories together. Our prayers are with his wife Ashley and children Caroline and Shepp.” Doug was the son of John McCain’s first wife, Carol Shepp, and the late Arizona senator adopted him after the two married in 1965. Doug had a long career as a pilot, joining the Navy after graduating from the University of Virginia and then becoming a captain with American Airlines, according to his obituary. Doug is survived by his mother Carol, his wife, Ashley, and their two children. Read it at New York PostRead more at The Daily Beast.
GOP Senator Revolts Against ‘Stupid on Stilts’ Trump Plan
CNNRepublican Sen. Thom Tillis says heads should roll over the “horrible politics” of the Trump administration’s so-called “anti-weaponization fund,” which could see convicted Jan 6. rioters get payouts.Tillis, 65, appeared on State of the Union Sunday, and summarized to host Jake Tapper: “As I said earlier, I stand by it, it’s stupid on stilts.”“Look, you’re talking about people who assaulted Capitol police officers on January the 6th, were then convicted. Many of them pled guilty, or they were convicted by a jury of their peers. They could be eligible for this.”Read more at The Daily Beast.
Opinion: What a Trump Judge’s Ruling in My Melania Lawsuit Really Means: Wolff
Photo Illustration by Victoria Sunday/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesLast September, Melania Trump threatened me with a ten-digit lawsuit for publicly saying that she and her future husband, Donald Trump, moved in the same social circles as Jeffrey Epstein in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Rather than cave to her threat, I filed a suit against her in New York State, where we both reside, under the state’s laws that proscribe the use of libel suits and threats for the sole purpose of intimidating speech. Melania’s lawyers subsequently sought to move the case to federal court, where it drew as its judge Mary Kay Vyskocil, a longtime Federalist Society member appointed in New York’s Southern District by Trump in his first term. Obviously, this is the last place a Trump-appointed judge, at least one with any hopes for advancement, would want to be; Judge Vyskocil was no doubt aware that even permitting the neutral (and typical) step of allowing parties to gather admissible evidence would have incurred the president’s wrath. But her decision—and the dubious loophole allowing her to render no decision at all—affords new avenues: My lawyers can now ask the Second Circuit to grant us the discovery that Melania’s lawyers desperately do not want. Our case is not over, and here’s what we’ll do next.Click through to Michael Wolff’s HOWL to read more on his legal battle with the White House.Read it at SubstackRead more at The Daily Beast.
Megyn Kelly Declares MAGA on Life Support
Caitlin O'Hara / REUTERSMegyn Kelly has revealed that President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement is now little more than an “increasingly tiny group” of diehards.The former Fox personality said Trump’s decisions are driving away all but those who are extremely loyal to him.“MAGA is not what it was. MAGA is now this very small group of Trump die hard loyalists who have to love Mark Levin,” she said Friday on the Hodgetwins podcast.Read more at The Daily Beast.
Second Shark Attack in a Week Claims Life of Spearfisher
REDA / REDA/Universal Images Group via A man has died overnight from injuries sustained during a shark attack off the coast of far north Queensland, Australia. The 39-year-old was spearfishing with three friends around midday Sunday, Australian time, in waters near Hull Heads, around 100 miles south of Cairns. At least two of the men, who were fishing off a boat at popular reef site Kennedy Shoal, were in the water when the shark attacked one of them, police said. “I would assume they would be pretty traumatized, that’s quite a terrifying thing to see happen right in front of you,” Inspector Elaine Burns said. The fatally injured man was pulled from the water by one of his friends, who police said had been right next to him when he was attacked. He was declared dead by emergency services around 1 p.m. There has been a higher than average number of shark attacks so far this year along Australia’s vast coastline. A 12-year-old boy died in January following a shark attack off the New South Wales coast, and just over a week ago, on May 16, a man was mauled to death near Rottnest Island. Read it at ABC NewsRead more at The Daily Beast.
MAGA Warmongers Turn on Trump Over Betrayal
Eric Lee/ReutersDonald Trump is being pelted with criticism as he boasts that he’s very near a deal with Iran that would open the oil-critical Strait of Hormuz.That’s infuriating MAGA warmongers. “Finish the job,” barked Mississippi Republican Senator Roger Wicker, who urged Trump to stop talking and keep military pressure on Iran for an all-out victory.Read more at The Daily Beast.
White House Buried in Construction Chaos in Wild New Photo
Photo Illustration by Victoria Sunday/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesThe White House is once again thrust into construction chaos. New photos show the scale of upheaval as Donald Trump treats the people’s house like a pet project.The president is preparing the White House for his all-American UFC extravaganza on June 14—a night of cage matches on the South Lawn celebrating both the nation’s 250th birthday and Trump’s 80th.But the cage construction, combined with the 79-year-old’s ongoing $400 million White House ballroom blitz, has turned the White House grounds into an eyesore.Read more at The Daily Beast.
‘Star Wars’ Spinoff Soars to Top of the Box Office
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/LucasfilmStar Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu topped the box office this weekend, earning $82 million in its debut, with analysts expecting it to reach $102 million by Monday. The film, starring Pedro Pascal as Din Djarin, had a $165 million budget. While this performance is strong compared to most movies, it is the weakest opening in the Star Wars franchise since Disney acquired it in 2012. The Mandalorian and Grogu performed worse than 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story, which opened with $84 million and ultimately lost money during its theatrical run due to mediocre reviews, among other issues. Michael maintained a top spot, coming in at third place, earning an additional $20 million this weekend. The movie has grossed $788 million globally since its release five weeks ago. The horror film Obsession by YouTuber Curry Barker performed even better on its second weekend. It has grossed $22 million this weekend following its $16 million debut.Read it at VarietyRead more at The Daily Beast.
Why I Know Trump’s Favorite Dem Is ‘Unfit’ for Office
Photo Illustration by Victoria Sunday/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesJohn Fetterman’s mental health has reportedly declined to the point that he has turned to MAGA for validation, according to political strategist Steve Schmidt.“I think he’s unfit for office,” Schmidt, a former adviser to George W. Bush, told host Joanna Coles on The Daily Beast Podcast about the Democratic Pennsylvania senator.The co-founder of The Lincoln Project and the Save America Movement then went on to explain that he believes Fetterman, 56, has not fully recovered from an “incapacitating stroke” he suffered in 2022, shortly before he was elected to the Senate.Read more at The Daily Beast.
Opinion: Why Trump’s Iran Mess Is Undeniable Proof of His Mental Unraveling
Photo Illustration by Victoria Sunday/The Daily Beast/Getty Images/ReutersFor some among the community of the elderly and infirm, signs of decline might include physical traits like swollen ankles or bruising associated with intravenous medical treatments. For others, they might include the slurring of words or the inability to maintain a train of thought or control one’s emotions. Emitting odd smells or unsteadiness walking might be still other clues of the toll aging is taking.But when you are president of the United States, there are more ominous clues that you are losing it, no longer being up to the job. The most troubling and damaging among these might be destroying the world order, attacking vital alliances, aiding enemies, and seeking to serially conquer other lands as if one were a king or a Caesar from another era.Read more at The Daily Beast.
Rubio Accidentally Groups Trump in With ‘Stupid People’
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFPMarco Rubio seemingly forgot about his own boss’ online vitriol as he shrugged off “racist comments” towards India as nothing more than chatter from “stupid people” during a press conference in New Delhi.The secretary of state appeared stunned when a reporter asked him about the “endorsement” of anti-Indian remarks “coming from the U.S.,” apparently in reference to a diplomatic scandal last month after President Donald Trump shared comments on Truth Social branding India a “hellhole.” “Who made those comments?” Rubio asked. Read more at The Daily Beast.
MAGA Bishop Revives Trump’s Feud With Pope Leo
Andrew Harnik / Getty ImagesA MAGA-friendly Catholic bishop has reiterated Trump’s main point of contention with Pope Leo XIV and called on the pontiff to speak out on the president’s policies.“What I don’t want from the Church is a kind of demonization of the Trump administration,” Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota told Fox News Digital.Barron, who serves on President Donald Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission, said he wants Catholics on all sides to “talk” about “points of disagreement” such as the Iran war and immigration enforcement, but added that such discussions are “not always met with success, frankly, from the ecclesial side.”Read more at The Daily Beast.
Grinning Trump Goon Says Shooting Settles Debate Over $1B Ask
Face the Nation/CBSA shooting outside the White House on Saturday should put to rest any questions about the president’s funding request for his East Wing makeover, Donald Trump’s top economic adviser says. A bill that would provide $1 billion dollars in taxpayer funds to cover security enhancements related to the $400 million ballroom was the cause of a rift in the GOP this week that led to the funding being shelved.Now, Kevin Hassett, the director of the president’s National Economic Council, says the case has been made for the funding to be approved. Read more at The Daily Beast.
Trump, 79, Brags About Deal That Doesn’t Exist Yet
Carlos Barria / REUTERSPresident Donald Trump is putting the cart before the horse.Trump, 79, boasted on Truth Social on Sunday afternoon that his peace deal with Iran, which, by his own admission, “isn’t fully negotiated yet,” is already leagues better than former President Barack Obama’s 2015 nuclear agreement with Tehran.“If I make a deal with Iran, it will be a good and proper one, not like the one made by Obama, which gave Iran massive amounts of CASH, and a clear and open path to a Nuclear Weapon,” Trump wrote. “Our deal is the exact opposite, but nobody has seen it, or knows what it is. It isn’t even fully negotiated yet.”Read more at The Daily Beast.
Rogue Republican Massie Drops Melania Epstein Files Bomb
NBC NewsRep. Thomas Massie has claimed that Melania Trump “knows” Jeffrey Epstein wasn’t running his child sex abuse ring alone.Massie, 55, appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday and confirmed that he personally planned to reveal more names from the Epstein files after a lack of clear action from the acting attorney general.“Todd Blanche is violating the law. There’s still millions of files they haven’t released,” he said.Read more at The Daily Beast.
Leader of Famous Rock Band Comes Out as Gay
Erika Goldring / Getty ImagesSinger and musician Caleb Shomo came out as a “proudly gay man” on Instagram. Shomo, 33, is best known as the lead vocalist of the band Beartooth. “This is something I’ve been unpacking and reckoning with in my life for quite some time now,” he wrote on Instagram on Saturday. The singer has been married to Fleur Shomo since 2012, and his wife also took to Instagram to express her support, writing that it has been “a very disorienting and hurtful time to navigate” for both her and her husband. “I spent a decade burying feelings with alcohol, and honestly when I decided to put it down and focus on exploring why I felt this way for so long, it’s been a direct path to me reconciling with my sexuality in hopes that it will eventually lead to me experiencing self love,” Shomo wrote. The vocalist thanked those who have supported him throughout his journey and vowed to express himself “whole heartedly and fully” on his upcoming album. “Love you all, and hopefully this is a step in the right direction to loving myself one day,” Shomo concluded his post.Read it at Page SixRead more at The Daily Beast.
CDC Announces Enhanced Screenings at Busiest U.S. Airport
Eva Korinkova / REUTERSSome travelers passing through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport will now be subject to enhanced Ebola screening measures. In a Saturday press release, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that travelers arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan will be required to undergo additional screenings for the disease. As of May 24, there have been 83 confirmed cases of Ebola and nine deaths in the DRC. An estimated 176 people are suspected to have died from the Bundibugyo strain of the disease, with 750 suspected cases in the DRC and a handful of confirmed cases in Uganda. Before the CDC’s announcement, all flights carrying passengers from the listed countries were diverted to Washington’s Dulles International Airport, the sole designated landing site for further screening. The CDC says this step is just one part of their plan to prevent the spread of the disease to the United States, which also includes overseas exit screening, airline illness reporting, and post-arrival public health monitoring. The Trump administration has already banned non-citizens who have traveled to the DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan in the past few weeks from entering the country.Read it at PeopleRead more at The Daily Beast.
Pop Star Reveals Secret Birth of First Baby
InstagramGirls Aloud star Nicola Roberts has given birth to her first child. “Our beautiful baby girl is here. We haven’t stopped staring at her perfect little face or kissing her softest little head,” Roberts, 40, announced on Instagram. “She arrived healthy and content a couple of weeks ago at 38 weeks weighing 6.5lbs and is thriving. It’s heaven on earth with her and we can hardly believe she’s ours.” Roberts is engaged to Mitch Hahn, a businessman and semi-professional soccer player, who she has been dating since 2022. They got engaged in 2024. The couple first announced the pregnancy in a Christmas post last year. “Mitch and I have had the most magical Christmas Day sharing the most precious news with our families. We’ve been keeping a secret. We are five months pregnant! We can’t wait to meet our little one in the spring,” she said. The ‘Love Machine’ singer revealed that she had undergone surgery at 22 weeks to prevent the baby from coming too early. The couple has not shared the baby’s name. Read it at PeopleRead more at The Daily Beast.