SPOILER ALERT! This story contains details about the Season 4 finale of MGM+’s FROM. Few characters on FROM have changed as dramatically as Fatima (Pegah Ghafoori). First introduced in Season 1 as a source of optimism in a town built on fear, she’s become increasingly entangled in the show’s darkest mysteries. By the end of Season 4, Fatima realizes […]
Source: Deadline.
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., a ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, tore into billionaire investor Leon Black, telling MS NOW’s Alex Witt that the longtime Jeffrey Epstein associate won’t be able to “weasel his way out” of answering the panel’s questions about his relationship with the late convicted sex offender.
According to lawmakers, Black walked out of a voluntary interview on Friday after they said he refused to discuss allegations that he signed nondisclosure agreements with women connected to Epstein.
“We asked very basic questions of Mr. Black, including information about these nondisclosure agreements,” Garcia told Witt. “He was unwilling to answer our questions.”
The committee has since issued two new subpoenas, Garcia explained, “One for all of the NDAs, so we can actually see those. And the second for him to actually come back under oath in a deposition … where he can’t, essentially, weasel his way out of not answering questions, which he did [on Friday.]”
The California Democrat noted the move was done with bipartisan support.
Garcia said that in addition to questions over the alleged nondisclosure agreements, the committee intends to ask Black, on the record at the July 16 deposition, about his relationship with Epstein and to explain why he paid the disgraced financier $158 million between 2012 and 2017, years after Epstein had pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor.
Black stepped down from his role as chief executive of the private equity firm Apollo Global Management in 2021 amid scrutiny over his relationship with Epstein, but he has maintained that he had no knowledge of the abuse, saying the $158 million payment was for “legitimate tax and estate planning services.”
You can watch Garcia’s full interview in the clip at the top of the page.
The post Oversight Democrat: Epstein-linked billionaire can’t ‘weasel’ out of subpoena appeared first on MS NOW.
From MS Now.
Daveigh Chase, the one-time child actor best known for her work in “Lilo & Stitch” and “The Ring,” died from AIDS and substance abuse, a medical examiner’s report revealed on Monday.
This post was originally published on NBC News.
From The Hill
Ranch-style dressing has apparently become popular enough with foreigners visiting the US that the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) was forced to issue a PSA reminding them to stop bringing home bottles in their carry-ons.
From The Hill
A new Gallup survey found that American pride is at a 25-year low, days ahead of the country’s 250th anniversary. Poll results show that 33 percent of U.S. adults say they are “extremely proud” to be an American, while 20 percent said they are “very proud.” Twenty-two percent of respondents are “moderately proud,” 15 percent…
“Don’t Hold Your Breath” if you’re waiting for Nicole Scherzinger’s to start showing her age … because she’s celebrating 48 years old and still killin’ it in the looks department! Check out the gallery! The Pussycat Dolls lead singer is popping…
From TMZ.
El futbolista del Arsenal recibió una gran asistencia de Bruno Guimarães y definió con categoría para darle a Brasil su primera ventaja en el partido.
This post was originally published on NBC News.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on Monday rejected an emergency motion from Roy Moore, in litigation related to Moore’s bid to save the $8.2 million jury award he won over a campaign ad that he said falsely portrayed him as soliciting sex from a 14-year-old girl.
An appeals court vacated the Alabama jury’s verdict, and the former state judge and failed GOP Senate candidate signaled that he will appeal that loss to the justices.
In the meantime, his emergency application that Thomas rejected on Monday had asked to halt the appellate ruling from taking effect while Moore prepares his Supreme Court petition. Moore said that without high court intervention, his ability to collect would be hampered if the justices ultimately grant review of his petition and side with him.
Moore’s application went to Thomas because he is the justice assigned to receive urgent motions from the circuit that ruled against Moore on appeal. The justices are each assigned to different lower court regions. In line with the typical practice for such rejections, Thomas did not provide any explanation. Justices usually refer what they see as significant matters to the full bench for consideration, so Thomas’ solo denial suggests he did not see Moore’s application as a close call.
To be clear, the justices will still be free to take up Moore’s underlying petition after he presents it to them and the opposing party has a chance to respond.
In this emergency litigation, the appeals court declined to halt its ruling from taking effect while Moore petitions the justices. The group that ran the ad, the Democratic-aligned Senate Majority PAC, successfully argued to the appeals court that it shouldn’t halt its ruling from taking effect because, among other reasons, it said the Supreme Court is unlikely even to grant review of Moore’s forthcoming petition, much less side with him.
As Moore noted in his failed application, Thomas and Justice Neil Gorsuch have urged reconsideration of the “actual malice” standard that public figures must meet to win defamation claims, a standard that stems from the court’s landmark 1964 opinion in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan. But it takes four justices to grant review of petitions, and the issue has not gained traction at the high court.
In the latest example of that phenomenon earlier on Monday, Thomas and Gorsuch dissented from the Supreme Court’s refusal to take up a defamation petition from Alan Dershowitz in his appeal against CNN.
Opposing Moore’s emergency high court application, Senate Majority PAC said he “entirely failed to show that such extraordinary relief is warranted here.” The group urged the justices to reject what it called Moore’s “rank speculation” that he would be unable to collect without the emergency relief he requested.
The group, which said it’s the primary super PAC committed to the election of Senate Democrats, said its finances are strong and so there’s no need to worry about Moore being able to collect if he were to ultimately win a reversal at the high court.
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The post Justice Clarence Thomas won’t block Roy Moore’s defamation loss from taking effect appeared first on MS NOW.
From MS Now.
The Senate Ethics Committee has dismissed a misconduct complaint against Sen. Ruben Gallego after investigating allegations brought by another lawmaker, the panel wrote in a letter released by the Arizona Democrat’s office.
The letter, dated June 26, states that the GOP-led panel’s probe found no evidence that Gallego “violated Federal law, Senate Rules, or related standards of conduct,” after probing accusations relayed to the committee by Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida. The letter was first reported by NBC News on Monday.
Luna sent the staff of Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., information in April about allegations about Gallego that were “sexual in nature,” she said on CBS at the time. Luna’s allegations, which she never specified, followed reports that then-Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., who was Gallego’s friend, faced allegations of sexual assault and harassment. The letter states that her complaint also alleged unspecified campaign finance violations. (Politico recently reported that Gallego used campaign funds for luxury outings with his wife, and childcare. The lawmaker denied any wrongdoing, noting that the Federal Election Commission permits such expenses as long as they are not for “personal use.”)
The committee’s probe included looking at FEC and expenditure reports, as well as information Gallego provided to the committee himself, the letter states. The panel, led by Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., the chair, and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., the vice chair, wrote that Gallego provided “full cooperation” with the committee’s investigation.
The letter states that the committee “retains the authority to revisit this matters should additional facts become known.”
In a statement, Gallego, a potential 2028 presidential contender, said the dismissal “reaffirms” that the allegations were “right-wing conspiracies.”
“I look forward to an apology from Rep. Luna for weaponizing the ethics process while refusing to investigate historic corruption that’s making life harder for families,” Gallego said. “In the meantime, I will continue fighting for Arizonans and holding Trump Republicans accountable for high costs and new wars.”
Luna rejected Gallego’s characterization of the accusations as “conspiracy theories,” writing in a post on X on Monday, “You’re a gross example of representation.”
The post Senate Ethics Committee dismisses complaint against Sen. Ruben Gallego appeared first on MS NOW.
From MS Now.
Damien O’Brien and Jessica O’Brien — the Michigan couple charged with murdering their obese 7-year-old son — are apparently receiving better treatment in prison than they allegedly provided to their own child. The O’Briens are enjoying a…
From TMZ.
From The Hill
A JetBlue Airways pilot reported striking a drone while approaching John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) on Monday morning, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The pilot of JetBlue Flight 948, en route from Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas, reported hitting the drone at roughly 3,000 feet in altitude while on…
Turns out Druski wasn’t the one calling the shots when a saxophone played SZA and Doechii offstage during their acceptance speeches at the BET Awards … it was production. A source close to production tells TMZ … producers decided to have a…
From TMZ.