Influencer Joe Felz — known for posting about his van life — died by suicide … TMZ has learned.  The Georgia Bureau of Investigation Medical Examiner’s Office tells TMZ … an autopsy determined Joe’s cause of death was hanging and his…

From TMZ.

“Dumbo being held by his mum through the bars 😢”

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Source BuzzFeed.

Matt Rife is catching tons of flak for telling a paranormal expert with autism to kill himself … and now that man’s family is demanding the comic issue a public apology. Here’s the deal … Matt launched a social media attack against paranormal…

From TMZ.

President Donald Trump met with ex-reality TV star and failed Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt during his trip to that city this week, a White House official told MS NOW.

The meeting, which has not previously been reported, came after the president met with Pratt and his young son in the Oval Office in July.

The purpose and length of the meeting were not immediately clear, but it was among several engagements Trump did while in LA for less than a day.

In an Instagram post on Friday, Pratt shared photos of himself and Trump sitting at a dining table at Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles, writing that they spoke about a 25% federal film tax credit “to bring back Hollywood” and other “important topics.” Similar tax credits have bipartisan support in California.

Pratt gained Trump’s support and that of several key MAGA allies during his surprise mayoral campaign, as MS NOW previously reported, with Republicans drawing parallels between the two because of their shared backgrounds in reality television and Pratt’s ability to draw eyeballs on social media with attention-grabbing artificial intelligence videos that supercharged his campaign.

But the self-described former reality TV villain sought to distance himself from partisan — and national — politics. He repeatedly vowed that he would work with anyone regardless of party and that he had no political aspirations other than restoring LA to its “golden age” after the deadly Palisades fire, which killed 12 people and destroyed 6,800 homes and buildings. Pratt’s family home was among those that burned to the ground.

Republicans have been floating Pratt as a future presidential contender after his relative success in the LA mayoral race. Despite having no political experience and being a registered Republican in deep-blue Los Angeles, Pratt finished with more than a quarter of the vote — 3.5 percentage points behind Democratic Councilmember Nithya Raman and nearly 9 points behind Democratic incumbent Karen Bass. Raman and Bass are now heading to a November runoff.

Pratt conceded the race in a combative video in which he derided, and appeared to threaten, the women who had finished ahead of him. Contrary to Pratt’s pledge that he would leave the city if he lost, he suggested he will instead stay put in LA — a promise he appears to have kept.

After Pratt’s loss, Trump encouraged him not to “go away quietly” and pushed baseless claims that the election was “rigged” because of California’s historically long vote-counting process. Pratt seemed to heed the president’s advice, continuing to post social media critiques about Democrats in LA. The same day that he publicized his Oval Office meeting with Trump, Pratt also announced the launch of The War Foundation, an initiative that aims to “restore common sense and roll back the long march of socialism through our vital institutions.” Records show it is a nonprofit registered with the California Secretary of State on June 24 by Pratt’s former campaign staffer Briana Bilbray.

Spokespeople for Pratt did not immediately respond to MS NOW’s request for comment Thursday afternoon.

Trump has evolved from knowing very little about Pratt to becoming one of his biggest cheerleaders. “I don’t know him,” Trump initially told reporters in May. “I assume he probably supports me. I hear he’s a big MAGA person.”

When Pratt visited the Oval Office last month, Ambassador Monica Crowley, who organizes state visits for foreign dignitaries as Trump’s chief of protocol, said on X that Pratt “may very well be on the other side of that desk someday.”

This story has been updated to include details included in an Instagram post from Pratt summarizing the meeting.

The post Trump met with Spencer Pratt in LA, White House official says appeared first on MS NOW.

From MS Now.

A federal judge clarified that reporter Catherine Herridge doesn’t have to pay an $800-per-day contempt fine as she appeals to the Supreme Court. The judge, Christopher Cooper, had imposed the fine. She had been found in civil contempt after she declined to reveal the source for her 2017 Fox News stories that reported on a […]

Source: Deadline.

A federal prosecutor fired last year over critical comments he had written as a private citizen about President Donald Trump has sued the Justice Department, saying his termination violated his First Amendment rights

Source: ABC News

Influencer Ash Trevino avoided jail time after pleading guilty to fraud … but she got hit with a five-figure tab she has to pay back. The content creator pled guilty to welfare fraud and healthcare fraud earlier this week … and instead of…

From TMZ.

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was partially refilled on Friday to flush out what NPS said were clogged pipes that supply water to the monument.

Source: ABC News

President Donald Trump is renewing his attempt to remove Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve, according to a letter from the White House obtained by MS NOW.

The letter to Cook, dated Aug. 5, states that Trump “is considering removing you from your position on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve due to there being sufficient reason to believe that you made false statements on one or more of your mortgage agreements.”

The letter was first reported by ABC News.

Cook’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement that the allegations of mortgage fraud “are as baseless now as they were a year ago,” when Trump first tried to remove Cook.

“No matter what President Trump tries to do next, this much is clear under the facts and Supreme Court precedent — there is no valid cause for removing Governor Cook,” Lowell said. “As we did before, we will challenge this latest pretext and preserve her position and the historic role of the Fed.”

Trump’s latest attempt at pushing Cook out of the central bank comes weeks after the Supreme Court blocked him in June from immediately firing her, allowing her to remain on the job while she fights Trump’s efforts to oust her. Days later, the president indicated to CNBC that he would continue to try to remove Cook.

The letter to Cook points to a criminal referral from Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to the Justice Department from August 2025, alleging that Cook had committed mortgage fraud by listing both her homes, in Atlanta and Ann Arbor, Michigan, as a primary residence in what they said was an attempt to obtain a lower interest rate for her loans.

“Because the allegations in the Criminal Referral reflect on your honesty, trustworthiness, and competence to perform the duties of the office you currently hold, the President has determined that there is reason to believe they constitute cause to remove you from your position on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve,” the letter read.

Cook has denied the allegations. Her lawyer, Lowell, has said that the accusation hinges on “one stray reference” in a document from 2021 that was “plainly innocuous in light of the several other truthful and more specific disclosures” about her properties. Reuters reported in September 2025 that Cook did in fact list her Atlanta house as a “vacation home” on a loan estimate.

Cook is the first Black woman to serve on the central bank’s board. She was nominated to the role in 2022 by then-President Joe Biden and narrowly confirmed by the Senate.

The letter comes three months after the Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chairman, succeeding Jerome Powell. Trump had waged an aggressive campaign to pressure Powell to lower interest rates to no avail. After Trump nominated him to lead the central bank, Warsh said during his confirmation hearing that he would not capitulate to Trump’s demands to cut rates.

According to a White House official, Trump and Warsh have been speaking “once in a while” by phone since Warsh became Fed chairman. The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations, described the calls as casual and said the president is typically taking a pulse on how Warsh sees economic issues, such as artificial intelligence.

“They have a very friendly relationship,” the person said. The official, who said they have listened in on some of the calls, said the president isn’t pushing Warsh on interest rates.

The post Trump renews attempt to fire Lisa Cook from Federal Reserve after Supreme Court defeat appeared first on MS NOW.

From MS Now.

It’s hard to describe exactly what genre Diarra From Detroit fits in, and believe me, that’s a good thing. The series includes mystery, comedy and crime all had a place, giving creator and star Diarra Kilpatrick room to send her characters into unfamiliar territory, leaving audiences guessing where the story will go next.

Following its move from BET+ to Paramount+, the series returns with a larger canvas and new challenges for Diarra Brickland and the people in her orbit. In addition to Kilpatrick, returning cast members include Bryan Terrell Clark, DomiNque Perry, Jon Chaffin, Shannon Wallace and Phylicia Rashad, while Season 2 also features an impressive lineup of guest stars. Morris Chestnut reprises his role alongside Glynn Turman, Bokeem Woodbine, Amber Riley, Lil Rel Howery, Lovie Simone, Shoniqua Shandai, Nicco Annan, Skilla Baby, Icewear Vezzo, Chris “CP” Powell and Jude Demorest.

After spending Season 1 introducing viewers to Diarra’s world, Kilpatrick now has an opportunity to push her lead character into new situations while exploring questions beyond solving the latest case. Chaffin, whose portrayal of Danger became a fan favorite, also takes on material revealing another side of the character after revelations from the first season turned his life upside down.

Away from the cameras, both actors describe an environment built on trust, humor and collaboration, something they believe carries over into every episode. “It’s always really fun on set,” Chaffin says, and having spent much of the summer introducing Season 2 to audiences through an extensive promo run, they’ve also had a chance to see firsthand how the show’s fan base has continued to grow.

Shortly after the show’s premiere, ESSENCE caught up with Kilpatrick and Chaffin to discuss expanding the world of Diarra From Detroit, developing their characters beyond the first season, and why every episode feels like its own movie.

ESSENCE: Comic-Con, Food Trucks, Jimmy Kimmel—you have been everywhere the past couple of months, Diarra. How amazing has the press run been for season two?

Diarra Kilpatrick: It’s really exciting. I mean, we both come from the theater where it’s like you do the performance and then you see the audience kind of right away. So, it’s really nice to come face to face with the audience of the show. People have been so lovely and generous, and then it’s also nice to just be out and be introduced to a new audience altogether and kind of welcome them into our world as well.

Jon, what are you most excited about exploring this season?

Jon Chaffin: Just his internal life. I think that after season one, the news that he didn’t commit this crime and his whole life, his adult life has been based off of this lie that was told to him by Velvet. And now he’s trying to pick up the pieces of his life in season two, and he’s trying to rediscover who he is. And I think that’s why we find him in a different part of Michigan at the beginning of this season, because he’s really just trying to find out where he is in this world and how he fits in and who he is. So it was really fun to explore his internal life and also get to play in the world that he gets to play in this season because he’s definitely in a different element. I’ll put it like that.

After the response of season one, did you feel any pressure going into season two? Or did it give you more freedom creatively to write what you wanted to?

DK: No, it felt more like an opportunity. And I think we learned this season just how big the sandbox is of this world. It really can support almost anything. I was the little girl late at night who wouldn’t go to bed because I had to finish my Nancy Drew novel, and then wanted to go to the store and get another one that put her into a different case in a different world. And we’re able to do that same thing where every season is like a different book and we can explore such fun terrain. And this time we’re in that action adventure space, that Indiana Jones space. It felt like nothing but blue sky and open opportunity story-wise.

What did you enjoy the most about playing a character in this show where the story can go from funny to serious so quickly?

JC: It’s fun because it’s a tennis match, you know what I’m saying? And you’re trying to keep the ball over the net. Diarra is a comedic genius. DomiNque is a comedic genius. Brian Terrell Clark is a comedic genius. And I just kind of get to step in and do my thing every now and again and let them really shine, and handle that comedic side of it. But it’s fun to be able to just play in this world with these characters and tell this story because you don’t really know where it’s going—and you’re finding out in real time. We were getting scripts maybe a week or two before we shoot, and I’m like, “Oh wow, this is what Danger’s doing? Okay. Thank God I have a theater background and I can dive into the work a little bit more easily.” But, it’s a lot of fun just playing this guy and being able to show the different sides of a Black man because we don’t always get that opportunity. A lot of times it’s one note; this is who he is, but we really get to go inside the heart and the mind of Danger.

DK: Jon is being humble. I think every episode is kind of its own movie and all of the actors, and Jon especially, it’s like we want to make sure that they can hold that closeup, that they can hold that movie. And Jon gets to do his own Western this season, and then he’s in an action movie in an episode. All of our actors really do bring just this gravitas, this presence, because we like to think of each episode as a movie.

I spoke to Bryan and DomiNque earlier, and I brought up the family vibe that I get from you all. What is the atmosphere like on set?

JC: [Diarra’s] going to break out in a song. Every time there’s a new setup, she’s singing something.

DK:  Every time I turn the camera around, I have to sing.

JC: It’s like this all the time on set. If you’re spending 14, 15, 16 hours a day with people, you want to enjoy the people that you’re working with. And everybody is bringing their own personality and it’s a big soup where the ingredients just work and it just tastes so good at the end. And it’s so much fun. I’m not the singing type, but I’ll let Diarra and Bryan handle that.

DK: He’ll get there. (Laughs.) Yes, [Method Man] was always rapping. Jon’s always looking cool. I think I’ve heard other people say this before and I know that they’re lying, but this is true. Everybody’s really kind. So, we have a lot of fun and we all feel really safe. And I remember we were shooting a scene with Bokeem [Woodbine] one time. We were around a table all day. And I remember him just being like, “Wow, this is really fun. We wouldn’t be able to do this on any other set.” Just sitting around a table together all day. And I realized then that I was taking for granted how high the vibes were.

Diarra, is there anything in specific that you wanted to do differently with your character this season?

DK: I just wanted to keep exploring who she was. So basically now she’s accepting that there’s this new part of her that she likes being a P.I. She likes the thrill of it all, but then that has to coexist with the woman that she is. She still has to make money. She still kind of wants a family and wants love. And so this season was really about figuring out how she owns the private detective side of her, but also maintains the woman that she is. And so it was really that push and pull. And right now she’s really thinking about having a baby. And that’s how Met the Man’s character comes into her world to offer her this opportunity to become a mother. And so that was the new part was to see that side of her.

Jon, you’re part of a show with a beautiful black cast, black creator, black crew, etc.—why do you think a show like this is important?

JC: I mean, when you look at the landscape of America right now, there’s so much division and voices are being silenced, especially our voices. And to be able to be a part of a show that’s led, created, and starring a Black woman, and being able to go through the lens of her life and see the world through her eyes, I think is necessary. I think it’s very necessary. We don’t have enough stories of that, and we don’t get to see enough of ourselves in these characters that are being offered right now. And it really is a gift. It’s a joy. I don’t tell you lightly. And I’m grateful because we have Diarra, we have Issa, we have Ava, we have Gina Prince-Bythewood, and it’s still not enough. We need more. We need more access and more accessibility. I think our story that we’re telling from our point of view is a human story. So everybody can relate to these characters, whether you’re white, Black, Asian, whatever. You have somebody in your life that is a little delulu.

DK: Who, me? (Laughs.)

JC: Yeah, just a little bit. You have somebody in your life that is going to protect you no matter at all costs. So I think that’s a real gift to be able to put that on display.

DK: I just want to add to that, if I might—I love what he was saying. I just think as a Black creator, it’s interesting because no matter what I do, I know it’s going to be political. I just know that. So, we lean into that in some ways, the entire story being this metaphor for a Black woman kind of putting a community on her back and solving crimes that the police are not able to or unwilling to take harder looks at. But I feel like the opportunity there is to have as much fun as humanly possible along the way. And that’s really what we tried to inject in this season was just this feeling of summer fun and adventure, and to just take us back to when we were kids and the summer just meant long days and ice cream.

That’s really, really the vibe that we hope pulls you back every Wednesday. We know we’re saying some heavier things in the background, but at the end of the day, we just want y’all to enjoy yourselves.

Republicans, members of the so-called “America First” party, claim to be laser-focused on the issues that matter to everyday Americans as the midterm elections approach. 

And what does that mean to Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee? Evidently, meddling with South Korea’s effort to stop the spread of disinformation and misinformation online. 

CNBC reported Thursday that Jordan led a group of lawmakers in sending a letter to South Korea’s Media and Communications Commission expressing concerns over a new law in the country that punishes large media outlets and publishers for deliberately spreading false information. The context here is that Jordan and the conservative movement — which often relies heavily on misinformation and disinformation to spread their propaganda — have spent several years now targeting people and institutions interested in, and competent in, combatting fake news online. 

Jordan and the MAGA movement are currently in lockstep with President Donald Trump, a man who has launched the most brazen assault on free speech, the free press and corporate independence of any president in modern history — if not ever.

And yet CNBC reported Jordan and his fellow Republican lawmakers claimed their concerns are centered on free-speech issues and protections for American companies:

“This amendment serves as a major threat to online speech and expression and would allow the KMCC to punish American companies and their users for exercising their constitutionally protected rights,” the lawmakers, including House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote.

One can easily read that excerpt and presume Jordan and his colleagues are just caping for Trump-aligned social media companies — such as Elon Musk’s X platform and the Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta — that have been known for spreading misinformation and disinformation and could face scrutiny under South Korea’s new law. 

And all of this, I’d argue, contributes to a revealing display of the MAGA movement’s priorities with the midterms fast approaching. Are top Republican lawmakers homing in on stemming the healthcare crisis they’ve helped create with their massive cuts to federal programs? No. Are they doing anything substantive to end Trump’s deadly war with Iran as it kills scores of people and devastates the economy? Sure doesn’t seem like it. Are they doing anything to combat the corruption Trump has openly engaged in? Absolutely not. 

Instead, we’ve seen them focus on voter suppression efforts, deploying racist scare tactics and trifling away with MAGA-backed side quests like interfering with South Korea’s anti-misinformation efforts. 

The post Rep. Jim Jordan is meddling in South Korea’s war on disinformation appeared first on MS NOW.

From MS Now.

A couple OG stars from “The Real Housewives of New York” are locking horns … and it’s all because one of them is returning to the Bravo series. Luann de Lesseps and Carole Radziwill are exchanging jabs over a new beef Luann started, AKA Countess…

From TMZ.