Russian President Vladimir Putin likely didn’t order the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny when the 47-year-old collapsed and died in February at an Arctic penal colony, U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded, according to a report.
While the U.S. has concluded that the Kremlin attempted to kill Navalny in 2020, when he was poisoned by a Soviet-era Novichok nerve agent, and Putin has culpability in his death earlier this year, agencies like the CIA, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the State Department have assessed that Putin likely wouldn’t have wanted him killed at that moment, according to the Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the matter.
One factor among many in the assessment was that Navalny’s death when he collapsed after a walk at the prison overshadowed Putin’s reelection, sources told the Journal.
The U.S. increased sanctions on Russia after Navalny’s death. "Make no mistake. Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death," President Biden said earlier this year.
Former President Trump told Fox News in March that he thought Putin was "probably" to blame for Navalny's death after "Media Buzz" host Howard Kurtz asked him if he thought the 71-year-old leader bore "some responsibility."
"I don’t know, but perhaps, I mean possibly, I could say probably, I don’t know," Trump said. "He’s a young man, so statistically he’d be alive for a long time … so something happened that was unusual,"
Navalny had been in prison since 2021, after he returned to Russia from Germany where he had been in a hospital recovering from his poisoning.
After his death, the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District in Russia put out a statement that said: "On Feb. 16, 2024, in penal colony number 3, convict Navalny A.A. felt unwell after a walk, almost immediately losing consciousness.
"The medical staff of the institution arrived immediately, and an ambulance team was called. All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out, which did not give positive results. Doctors of the ambulance stated the death of the convict. The causes of death are being established."
His cause of death has not been determined by the U.S. Russian media reports have claimed it was a blood clot.
Navalny’s allies have called the U.S. assessment naive, and some European countries are skeptical that it wouldn’t have been directed by Putin.
Navalny’s ally Leonid Volkov said in a statement that anyone claiming Putin didn’t order his death, "clearly do not understand anything about how modern day Russia runs. The idea of Putin being not informed and not approving killing Navalny is ridiculous."
Slawomir Dębski, of the Polish Institute of International Affairs, said the chances of Navalny’s death being unintentional were small.
"Navalny was a high-value prisoner, politically, and everybody knew that Putin was personally invested in his fate," he said, according to the Journal. "The chances for this kind of unintended death are low."
Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation has also said that Putin ordered his death to prevent his release in a potential prisoner swap with the U.S. Putin said in March that the two agreed to the swap.
House Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations Subcommittee chair Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, accused the Biden administration of using taxpayer funds for "campaign activities" in support of President Biden's re-election campaign on "Fox News Live."
The accusations stem from an announcement in March of a memorandum of understanding between the Small Business Administration and the Michigan Department of State to "promote civic engagement and voter registration in Michigan" through 2036.
The memo follows a 2021 executive order from Biden directing federal agencies to "promote voter registration and voter participation."
Van Duyne referenced an investigation by the House Small Business Committee that revealed 22 out of 25 of the SBA's outreach events in Michigan have occurred in counties with the highest population of Democratic National Committee target demographics.
"This is obviously a campaign attempt to get out Biden voters, and they're using taxpayer dollars to do it, which is in direct violation to the Hatch Act. You don't use taxpayer funds — official funds — to pay for campaign activities, and that's exactly what it appears is going on," Van Duyne said.
"They're acting outside the intent of laws that Congress has passed, and they're doing it all to get voters because if they see the polling numbers, they're trying to pull in more, and it's all about power, it's all about control."
Van Duyne argued the SBA should be "focused on helping these small businesses that right now are being crippled by Biden's economic policies, that are seeing increases in inflation by nearly 20%. They're having a hard time with hiring people because the government is paying them entitlements to stay home. These are the things that the SBA should be focused on. They should be a vocal champion of Main Street and a small business, but they're not."
Fox News national correspondent Bryan Llenas stressed the importance of Michigan to Biden's re-election campaign.
The "Blue Wall" — Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — is the "clearest path" for Biden to be re-elected. Llenas noted Biden beat former President Trump in Michigan 50–47, but currently trails the former president by "3 points or pretty much within the margin of error."
"We're absolutely concerned that it's not only going to extend to other states, but other agencies that will be doing this as well under this executive order from the president," Van Duyne added.
Jon Gosselin shared an update on his weight-loss journey after he began taking semaglutide, the generic form of Ozempic, in February.
During a Thursday interview with Page Six, the 47-year-old "Jon & Kate Plus 8" alum revealed that he lost 32 pounds in two months since he started using the Type 2 diabetes medication, which is prescribed off-label for weight loss.
"You know what’s annoying? The regret of not starting it 10 years ago," Gosselin said. "I feel amazing! Like, why didn’t I do this sooner? Maybe it wasn’t the right time."
Since their highly-publicized 2009 divorce, Gosselin and his ex-wife Kate have squared off in a number of court battles over child custody and support.
"A lot of things were going on emotionally and I went to court a lot, which was super expensive," Gosselin explained "It just wasn’t a good time in my life. But now I finally have time to focus on myself."
Gosselin told the outlet that using semaglutide had enabled him to quit drinking and develop healthier eating habits.
"It’s really nice because it helped me stop drinking, and it helped me get my appetite under control with less eating. I was able to really refocus my diet that way," he explained. "I just focused on consuming what I need to consume in a healthy manner."
Gosselin spoke to Page Six while attending the Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center West Hollywood grand opening on Thursday night. He told the outlet that he often receives body contouring and fat removal treatments since he started taking semiglutide.
"I do CellSound, which they offer here. It’s ultrasonic visceral fat removal, and that can be the hardest kind of fat to get rid of," Gosselin said.
"You can do a million crunches, but sometimes you just can’t tighten up that skin," he added. "But with this, you can just lay on the table and get closer to your goal. I was scared that it might hurt before I tried it, but I’m happy to report that it doesn’t."
While he is enjoying the benefits of noninvasive treatments, Gosselin told the outlet that he would never opt for cosmetic surgery.
"When it comes to actual surgery like lipo[suction], I’m like, ‘Hell no.’ I would never do anything that’s invasive to my body that I don’t need," he said.
"If I have to run or do the elliptical or the Peloton or any of that, that’s on me. But I would never have voluntary surgery because I was lazy," he continued. 'That’s how I see it. I’m not super overweight. I just told myself, ‘Dude, you’ve got to stop eating fries. You’ve just got to stop eating drive-thru food.’"
In late February, Fox News Digital confirmed that Jon and his daughter Hannah, 19, were set to begin taking semaglutide and undergoing CellSound Therapy.
"I just got complacent with my health," Gosselin told Entertainment Tonight at the time, admitting he'd gained a significant amount of weight.
Gosselin attributed the weight gain to his unconventional work and travel schedule as a DJ. "Vegas, Miami . . . I go to places where I am twice as big as everyone," he told ET of how his weight impacts his profession.
"This is the first time I had to buy XL!," he said, referring to his jacket. "And XL doesn't really fit me, because I'm short. I'm 5'8 . . . the sleeves are too long. Like, you got to have tailored clothing. Why should I even go through that, when I could just change my lifestyle?"
Gosselin added that a will to look better, coupled with a scary family history, was the ultimate motivation to address his weight concerns.
"Heart disease runs in my family. My dad had congestive heart failure. He died almost 18 years ago," Gosselin explained. "He died at 62, and his father died at 65, so I keep track of that kind of stuff."
He appeared in 12 of the Crimson Tide's 14 games last season, recording 60 tackles.
While the expectations are low for Key, there is a prize in being the last man chosen.
Every year, Mr. Irrelevant and his family are invited to Newport Beach, California, for a week of golfing, visiting Disneyland and living a rather relevant lifestyle.
Last year's Mr. Irrelevant, Desjuan Johnson of the Los Angeles Rams, recorded two sacks in his 11 games last season. He played in a season-high 48% defensive snaps in their final game of the regular season but played in just three snaps in their playoff game against the Detroit Lions.
In almost every case, there aren't many expectations for Mr. Irrelevant, but the final pick from 2022 has flipped the script.
That year's Mr. Irrelevant was Brock Purdy, who became the San Francisco 49ers' starting quarterback after multiple injuries to other players. He led the Niners to an NFC title game in 2023 and a Super Bowl appearance in 2024.
Since taking over, he has gone 21-6 as a starter, completing 68.7% of his passes for 5,654 yards, 44 touchdowns and just 15 interceptions. Purdy was named to the Pro Bowl last season and finished fourth in the MVP voting.
Maybe the title doesn't show it, but at the very least, "Mr. Irrelevant" is more relevant to the sport than a lot of other players.
Teams will continue acquiring players after the draft as undrafted free agents.
Anti-Israel agitators marched through the streets of Washington, D.C., on Saturday to protest American support of the Israeli military, taking aim at press and media members attending the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner.
Code Pink, a left-wing activist group, organized a protest through Kalorama Park to the Washington Hilton, where the White House Correspondents' Dinner was being held Saturday night.
On its website, the organization accuses the media of "endors[ing]" the White House's support of Israel.
"The White House Correspondents' Dinner, traditionally a symbol of journalistic integrity and freedom, has now become a platform that celebrates and endorses the administration's actions," Code Pink argues on its website.
"The United States media perpetuates anti-Palestinian narratives and ignores Israeli war crimes. The Correspondents' Dinner is nothing more than a celebration and endorsement of the administration's actions. That is not journalism. That is complicity."
Footage shows crowds of people beating drums and yelling "Shame on you!" to the well-dressed folks walking to the White House Correspondents' Dinner, with many of the men wearing tuxes and the women wearing ballroom gowns.
Many of the demonstrators wore keffiyehs, waved Palestinian flags or held signs lamenting the loss of human life in Gaza.
It is unknown how much the protests will impact President Biden, who was expected to leave the White House at around 7 p.m.
He will take the stage at the dinner at around 8 p.m., and is expected to make remarks later Saturday night.
The protests come as anti-Israel demonstrations have surged across the country, with many universities hosting encampment protests. The protests gained steam at Columbia University in New York City, where over 100 students participated in tent demonstrations, and have spread from Massachusetts to California to Texas.
Harvaard University, University of Southern California and University of Texas at Austin have all have especially-heated demonstrations, sparking clashes with police officers and resulting in numerous arrests.
On Saturday, nearly 70 demonstrators at Arizona State University were arrested. Police say that most of the protesters were not affiliated with the university.
Former New York Knicks star Charles Oakley did not shy away from sharing his feelings about reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid.
The 76ers center scored 50 points to propel Philadelphia to a 125-114 victory over the Knicks in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series. But Oakley seemed to take issue with Embiid’s behavior.
"They’ve got to do something about it," Oakley told Newsday. "I wouldn’t be shaking their hands before the game when they play, friends or no friends. I wouldn’t shake Embiid’s hand or anyone’s hand. We are on a mission."
He was called for a flagrant foul in the first quarter of Game 3. He fell to the ground as the Knicks were moving the ball around and then grabbed Mitchell Robinson’s legs while he was on the floor. Robinson was trying to go up for a shot and came down awkwardly.
The 76ers star was not ejected. Robinson later left the game with an ankle injury.
Embiid also struck Robinson in the groin when the Knicks center went up for a shot later in the game.
Oakley suggested Embiid's antics would have been answered if he was still an NBA player.
"I probably would have smacked him," Oakley added of Embiid. "You can’t let him send that kind of message. If he had done something like that [when I played], he would not have gotten away with it. David Robinson, when he played, he knew what he could get away with. They [bullies] pick a fight they think they are going to win."
The Knicks have a 2-1 series lead. The Sixers host the Knicks for Game 4 Sunday.
A New York man secretly recorded hundreds of women and girls in a public restroom at a local park where he worked, federal prosecutors allege.
The U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York, said that 54-year-old John Towers planted hidden cameras in the ladies' room of a public park in Putnam County, New York — authorities declined to share the name of the public park.
Towers allegedly used the planted cameras to capture "prepubescent minors" and females using the bathroom.
"John Towers’s alleged disturbing conduct violated the public’s trust by placing hidden cameras in a public bathroom and using those cameras to capture sexually explicit images of children," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said. "As today’s arrest shows, we will use every tool available to law enforcement to investigate and prosecute those alleged to have sexually exploited children."
Towers allegedly used an old cellphone and 10 "spy cameras" to record approximately 800 explicit videos of girls and women using the bathroom, a Manhattan federal complaint said.
They also found more than 6,000 images and videos that had been uploaded to the internet, according to the complaint.
Authorities said that three of the spy cameras were designed to look like ballpoint pens, and others looked like a battery pack, an antenna and a tiny camera that looked like a button.
Towers transferred the recordings to a hard drive, prosecutors alleged.
When investigating Towers' home on March 19, authorities found computers and hard drives filled with pornographic images.
Many of the files contained the misspelled term "yung," prosecutors alleged.
Towers is charged in the federal complaint with sexual exploitation of a minor, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 30 years, and possession of child pornography, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Fans attending a long-awaited Indiana Pacers' home playoff game were treated to a surprise appearance by basketball sensation Caitlin Clark.
Clark was the first player selected in the 2024 WNBA Draft, and she will begin playing regular-season games next month inside the same arena where the Pacers play. Clark received a standing ovation when she was introduced to the crowd, and she even tossed a few T-shirts to fans.
Before the Pacers' first postseason game since 2019 tipped off, Clark helped rev up a raucous Indiana Pacers crowd by pumping the accelerator of a replica IndyCar.
Clark stuck around to watch the Pacers defeat the Milwaukee Bucks in overtime to take a 2-1 first-round series lead. Clark did not speak. But when she joined her new Fever teammates on the court during the second quarter for the T-shirt toss, Fever guard Erica Wheeler had some words for the crowd.
"Playoffs!" Wheeler told the team’s emcee when asked about this season’s goal. "We want to be doing this, and we’ve got the pieces. We want it to look like this every night."
Indiana has not advanced to the WNBA playoffs since 2016.
"That’s definitely our goal is to get back to championship habits," Clark said shortly after she was drafted. "I’m very lucky to be going there to an organization that really loves women’s basketball. … There’s a lot of young talent on the team, and just getting back to the playoffs and doing everything we can to win a lot of basketball games is certainly the goal."
Clark, the NCAA Division I all-time scoring leader, finished her college career with 3,951 points. The Fever begins training camp April 28, and its regular season begins May 14.
Harvey Weinstein has been hospitalized at Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital in New York City after being examined by doctors upon his arrival at the Rikers Island jail on Friday, his lawyer, Arthur Aidala, told the Associated Press on Saturday.
Aidala told the outlet that Weinstein, whose 2020 rape conviction was overturned in a New York appeals court on Thursday, was taken to Bellevue Hospital for additional tests.
"They examined him and sent him to Bellevue. It seems like he needs a lot of help, physically. He’s got a lot of problems. He’s getting all kinds of tests. He’s somewhat of a train wreck health wise," Aidala said of the 72-year-old former movie mogul.
Craig Rothfeld, Weinstein's prison consultant and authorized DOCS representative, told Fox News Digital in a statement, "We grateful for NYC DOC's care and discretion as they have been treating Harvey Weinstein's medical issues as best they can."
"Harvey is in the hands of NYC Department of Corrections and NYC H+H/Correctional Health Services and is having his medical needs tended to by DOCS and CHS," Rothfeld added. "We are grateful for how smoothly they handled his eventual return to Bellevue's prison ward."
Weinstein’s representative, Juda Engelmayer, told Fox News Digital that Weinstein was moved to Bellevue on Saturday morning.
"At the same time, we‘re cautiously optimistic and are prepared to go to trial, if it comes to that," Engelmayer added. "There are fewer charges now and the deck isn’t going to be illegally stacked against him. While we all enjoy the same rights when it comes to our justice system, a defendant has an additional right to due process. We are glad the Appeals Court judges saw it that way."
On Thursday, in a 4-3 decision, the appeals court found that Weinstein's trial judge allowed prosecutors to call women who said Weinstein had assaulted them to testify, even though their accusations did not specifically relate to the entertainment mogul's charges.
An attorney for Weinstein did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
The former Hollywood film producer - who was accused of sexual assault and rape by more than 80 women - was sentenced to 23 years in prison after being convicted in February 2020 of forcing oral sex on TV and film production assistant Mimi Haley in 2006 and third-degree rape of hairstylist Jessica Mann in 2013.
He was acquitted of first-degree rape and two counts of predatory sexual assault from actor Annabella Sciorra’s allegations of rape in the 1990s. He has denied ever engaging in non-consensual sex.
"Justice was served. I believe this decision is larger than Harvey Weinstein," Donna Rotunno, Weinstein's defense lawyer, told Fox News in a statement on Thursday. "Courts cannot operate on emotion and lack of due process. The world is off-balance, and when the justice system does not work, nothing does. This decision restores faith in the foundation of our system."
However, though the New York appeals court overturned Weinstein’s conviction, that does not mean he is getting out of prison.
After Weinstein's sentencing in New York in 2020, he was extradited to California in July 2021 to face sexual assault allegations made by four women in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills between 2004 and 2013.
Additionally, in December 2022, he was found guilty of rape, forced oral copulation and another sexual misconduct count involving a woman known as Jane Doe 1. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in February 2023. Weinstein also faces charges in London for two alleged offenses in 1996.
Fox News Digital's Lauryn Overhultz, Michael Dorgan and Tracy Wright contributed to this post.
Washington, D.C., chooses its wars. And, for now, leaders in Washington have decided the U.S. has a vested interest in the war in Ukraine.
After months of consternation, lawmakers eventually approved $62 billion for Ukraine to fight Russia in recent weeks, with most Democrats endorsing American assistance.
But Congress only dislodged the money after a lengthy push by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. President Biden, McConnell and others finally pushed House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to support the aid, even though most House Republicans opposed it. The Senate OK'd a combination foreign aid package a few days later, 79-18. Only 31 of the Senate’s 49 GOP members voted yes.
Tucked into that package was money for Israel, another conflict in which the U.S. has infused itself, thanks to the votes of bipartisan lawmakers.
A not-so-subtle reminder of how Washington immerses itself into overseas conflicts came the other day following the death of Alfonso Chardy. Chardy was a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the Miami Herald and helped untangle and expose the Iran-Contra Affair in the mid-1980s. That was a decision by the Reagan administration to involve itself in proxy wars in Central America under the guise of fighting the spread of communism during the Cold War. There was worry about increasing Soviet influence in the Western Hemisphere.
Leftist Sandinistas grabbed power in Nicaragua in the late 1970s. Congress sent money to the Contra rebels to support them in the civil war. But lawmakers began restricting money to the Contras in the early 1980s before eliminating all funding.
Reagan administration officials found a creative — albeit illegal way — to go around Congress.
The U.S. would covertly sell weapons to Iran in an effort to curry favor with Tehran to release western hostages held in the Middle East. The proceeds from those arms sales benefited the Contras to wage their battles against the Sandinistas.
Congress may have decided against getting involved in Nicaragua. But Washington as a whole picked that particular fight, making sure the U.S. was fighting through a proxy in Central America.
Fast-forward several decades, when the U.S. made a decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003. Congress voted in the fall of 2002 to approve the operation, but few lawmakers defend the entirety of that conflict today.
That was the thesis of a floor speech from Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, perhaps the most ardent opponent in Congress against sending assistance to Ukraine.
"In 2003, I was a high school senior and I had a political position," declared Vance, speaking about his time finishing high school in Middletown, Ohio, and enlisting in the Marine Corps. "Back then, I believed the propaganda of the George W. Bush administration that we needed to invade Iraq."
Vance later said arguments about helping Ukraine "sound familiar."
"It’s the same exact talking points 20 years later with different names," said Vance. "I saw when I went to Iraq that I had been lied to. That the promises of the foreign policy establishment of this country were a complete joke."
Vance called the push for war in Iraq "perhaps the most shameful period in the Republican Party’s history of the last 40 years."
Vance added that his "excuse" for backing the war in Iraq "is that I was a high school senior. What is the excuse of many people who are in this chamber or in the House of Representatives at the time and are now singing the same song when it comes to Ukraine?"
The answer is that America’s leaders are committed to helping Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.
History will bear out who is right or wrong on this front. Just the same as history has judged U.S. involvement in Central America against Soviet influences or by seeking war in Iraq. Remember that the foreign aid package includes money for Israel. Congressional Republicans were more comfortable assisting Israel than some liberals.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was one of the most outspoken opponents of sending U.S. dollars to Israel.
"Put simply, we are deeply complicit in what is happening. This is not an Israeli war. This is an Israeli-American war. Most of the bombs and most of the military equipment the Israeli government is using is provided by the United States and subsidized by American taxpayers," said Sanders. "We are aiding and abetting the destruction of the Palestinian people."
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., also opposed the legislation in the House.
"This bill passed today is a death warrant. A death warrant on Palestinians," said Bush. "Apparently, it means that Palestinians are not as valued. That their lives are not as valuable as Israeli lives. And I have to say this, for those that feel that way, shame on you."
Back on Ukraine, it was clear McConnell prevailed. Perhaps it's one of his last major policy achievements as Republican leader. McConnell didn’t call out Vance by name. But it was clear who he was targeting in an impassioned floor speech.
"So much of the hesitation and shortsightedness that has delayed this moment is premised on sheer fiction," said McConnell. "I take no pleasure in rebutting misguided fantasies. I wish sincerely that recognizing the responsible ideas of American leadership was the price of admission for serious conversation about the future of our national security."
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., echoed his counterpart.
"Getting this done was one of the greatest achievements the Senate has faced in years. Perhaps decades. A lot of people inside and outside the Congress wanted this package to fail," said Schumer.
"I think we’ve turned the corner on the isolationist movement," observed McConnell. "You could argue that this is a more challenging time right now than it was leading up to World War II. I don’t want it to take something like the Pearl Harbor attack to get our attention."
The U.S. sat on the sidelines as Adolph Hitler ran roughshod through Europe in the 1930s and early 1940s. The U.S. only got involved after the Japanese bombed Pearl Habor and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill made a plea to America during a Joint Session of Congress just after Christmas in 1941.
America chooses its wars; America has chosen its wars in Ukraine and Israel.
History will judge whether those were the right decisions.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas raised a question Thursday that goes to the heart of Special Counsel Jack Smith's charges against former President Donald Trump.
The high court was considering Trump's argument that he is immune from prosecution for actions he took while president, but another issue is whether Smith and the Office of Special Counsel have the authority to bring charges at all.
"Did you, in this litigation, challenge the appointment of special counsel?" Thomas asked Trump attorney John Sauer on Thursday during a nearly three-hour session at the Supreme Court.
Sauer replied that Trump's attorneys had not raised that concern "directly" in the current Supreme Court case — in which justices are considering Trump's arguments that presidential immunity precludes the prosecution of charges that the former president illegally sought to overturn the 2020 election.
Sauer told Thomas that, "we totally agree with the analysis provided by Attorney General Meese [III] and Attorney General Mukasey."
"It points to a very important issue here because one of [the special counsel's] arguments is, of course, that we should have this presumption of regularity. That runs into the reality that we have here an extraordinary prosecutorial power being exercised by someone who was never nominated by the president or confirmed by the Senate at any time. So we agree with that position. We hadn't raised it yet in this case when this case went up on appeal," Sauer said.
In a 42-page amicus brief presented to the high court in March, Meese and Mukasey questioned whether "Jack Smith has lawful authority to undertake the 'criminal prosecution'" of Trump. Mukasey and Meese — both former U.S. attorneys general — said Smith and the Office of Special Counsel itself have no authority to prosecute, in part because he was never confirmed by the Senate to any position.
Federal prosecutions, "can be taken only by persons properly appointed as federal officers to properly created federal offices," Meese and Mukasey argued. "But neither Smith nor the position of special counsel under which he purportedly acts meets those criteria. He wields tremendous power, effectively answerable to no one, by design. And that is a serious problem for the rule of law — whatever one may think of former President Trump or the conduct on January 6, 2021, that Smith challenges in the underlying case."
The crux of the problem, according to Meese, is that Smith was never confirmed by the Senate as a U.S. attorney, and no other statute allows the U.S. attorney general to name merely anyone as special counsel. Smith was acting U.S. attorney for a federal district in Tennessee in 2017, but he was never nominated to the position. He resigned from the private sector after then-President Trump nominated a different prosecutor as U.S. attorney for the middle district of Tennessee.
Meese and Mukasey argued that because the special counsel exercises broad authority to convene grand juries and make prosecutorial decisions, independent of the White House or the attorney general, he is far more powerful than any government officer who has not been confirmed by the Senate.
Sauer and Trump's other attorneys objected to the legitimacy of Smith's appointment in the charges against Trump in the classified documents case, also brought by Smith, before a Florida federal court.
In a March court filing in Florida, Trump's attorneys claimed that the special counsel's office argues in federal court that Smith is wholly independent of the White House and Garland — contradicting Trump's arguments that the federal charges against him are politically motivated. But at the same time, the special counsel's attorneys insist that Smith is subordinate to the attorney general, and therefore not subject to Senate confirmation under the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
"There is significant tension between the Office’s assurances to that court that Smith is independent, and not prosecuting the Republican nominee for President at the direction of the Biden Administration, and the Office’s assurance here that Smith is not independent and is instead so thoroughly supervised and accountable to President Biden and Attorney General Garland that this Court should not be concerned about such tremendous power being exercised to alter the trajectory of the ongoing presidential election," Trump's attorneys wrote in the filing.
The special counsel's office, responding to Trump's claims in the Florida case, argued that the attorney general "has the statutory authority to appoint a Special Prosecutor" and that the Supreme Court even upheld that authority "in closely analogous circumstances nearly 50 years ago" — in a 1974 case that challenged the prosecutor investigating the late President Richard Nixon.
Meese and Mukasey wrote in their brief that the Nixon case was irrelevant because it "concerned the relationship between the President and DOJ as an institution, not between the President and any specific actor purportedly appointed by DOJ."
The pair also said special counsel investigations are necessary and often lawful, but stated that "the Attorney General cannot appoint someone never confirmed by the Senate, as a substitute United States Attorney under the title ‘Special Counsel.’ Smith’s appointment was thus unlawful, as are all actions flowing from it, including his prosecution of former President Trump."
Smith was a private citizen when Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed him as special counsel to investigate Trump in 2022.
Other recent special counsels — including John Durham's Trump-Russia probe; David Weiss of the Hunter Biden investigation; and Robert Hur, who investigated Biden's mishandling of classified documents — were all confirmed by the Senate to various positions before being named as special counsels.
The Florida court has yet to rule on Trump's motion to dismiss the classified documents case due to claims that Smith was improperly appointed.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule on Trump's immunity arguments before its term ends in June.
A Texas mom who fatally shot a 14-year-old boy who was breaking into her 8-year-old daughter’s window last December found out this week she won’t be charged.
"I feel great that they were able to see it through my eyes," Aleah Wallace told FOX 4.
She said she had worried her case would be "drug out, or I would be away from my kids or, you know, things like that."
A grand jury in Tarrant County this week chose to no-bill Wallace, meaning they didn’t find enough evidence to charge her with a crime over the shooting.
Wallace said she and her kids are still in therapy over the incident.
"They go to counseling once a week, so it's still a little tough for them, but other than that, they're okay," she said of her four daughters.
But she said she still feels for the family of Devin Baker, 14, who lost their son when he climbed in her window.
"I want to offer my condolences to his family," she told FOX 4.
Wallace previously defended her actions to FOX 4, while facing eviction for allegedly violating the apartment’s rules that guns aren't allowed in government-subsidized housing.
"It’s just me and my four daughters that stay there," she told the news station in January. "I just was protecting my daughters. I'm devastated that he was 14. I hate that. I literally do. And I'm so sorry. But at that point, I had to think about my babies. I didn’t know he was 14 when he was on the other side of that window. All I knew was that somebody could come in and hurt me or my kids. That's it."
Baker’s mother previously said he had snuck out of her home in the middle of the night without her knowledge before the shooting.
Wallace had been the victim of repeated attempted burglaries in the weeks leading up to the shooting, and she called 911 each time, police confirmed last year.
Her eviction threat was dropped after a lawyer took up her case pro bono, and she has also been supported by Republican state Rep. Carrie Isaac.
"I want to say thank you so much, we are eternally grateful," Wallace said of the support she received.
Super Bowl winner Matthew Stafford seems to want to return to the negotiating table. The NFL Network recently reported the 36-year-old quarterback was not happy with the amount of guaranteed money remaining on his contract with the Los Angeles Rams.
He is expected to collect an estimated $31 million in guarantees for the upcoming 2024 season, according to Overthecap.com.
Rams coach Sean McVay acknowledged the report but stopped short of providing any substantive details on a possible timetable for potentially adjusting Stafford's contract.
"I've had good dialogue with Matthew," McVay told reporters Friday. "We'll keep those things in house, but he's been working with our guys, and we'll keep those things in house."
McVay and Rams general manager Les Snead were also asked if they believed the franchise would be able " to find a solution for the contract issue," but they danced around the question.
"We're definitely jacked to have Matthew as our QB," Snead said.
At times, an NFL player's displeasure about his contract can lead to the player skipping practices and other offseason workouts. McVay said the team is taking a day-by-day approach.
"We're going to take it a day at a time. We'll see," McVay said. "So, we're going to try to figure it out. There's nothing that's more important than making sure that he feels appreciated and he knows how much we love him and want him to lead the way. I think that commitment that I think he wants to have can be reciprocated, and we want to work towards figuring that out."
The Detroit Lions traded Stafford to the Rams in 2021. He led the Rams to a Super Bowl title in his first season in Los Angeles and signed a four-year extension with the Rams in 2022.
Stafford and star receiver Cooper Kupp dealt with injuries during the 2022 campaign, and the Rams finished with a disappointing 5-12 record. Stafford appeared in nine games in 2022. He injured his thumb last season but still appeared in 15 regular season games and helped lead the Rams to the playoffs.
Junior Colson was coached by Jim Harbaugh for all three of his years at the University of Michigan. Well, Colson will be in familiar territory in the NFL.
After nine seasons in Ann Arbor, Harbaugh returned to the NFL to be the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.
Several Wolverines were in this draft, including 10th overall pick J.J. McCarthy, who is now the Minnesota Vikings quarterback. In fact, in the third round, three-straight Michigan players were drafted (Blake Corum to the Rams, Roman Wilson to the Steelers and Zak Zinter to the Bengals).
But before those three were picked, the linebacker in Colson got the life-changing call when he was informed that he would be the 69th pick of the draft . . . by Harbaugh's Chargers.
Harbaugh is the one who called Colson to let them know they were reunited.
During the call, Harbaugh let out his "Who's got it better than us?" which became a Michigan rallying cry en route to their national championship.
Harbaugh went to Michigan in 2015 after coaching the San Francisco 49ers for four years. He lost Super Bowl XLVII to his brother, John, and the Baltimore Ravens.
Colson set a career-high with 44 solo tackles last season as part of an elite defense who played a key factor into going 15-0 on the season. His 95 tackles led the team.
The Chargers' defense ranked 28th in the NFL last year, so they could sure use any help they can get.
Marla Adams, who famously portrayed Abbott family matriarch Dina Abbott Mergeron on "The Young and the Restless" for 37 years, has reportedly died. She was 85.
The Emmy Award-winning soap opera actress died in Los Angeles on Thursday, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"We send our deepest sympathies to Marla Adams’ family," the show's official X account (formerly Twitter) wrote on Friday. "We’re so grateful and in awe of Marla’s incredible performance as Dina Abbott Mergeron as both Marla and Dina made an unforgettable mark on Y&R."
Before Adams — born in Ocean City, New Jersey in 1938 — began her career in daytime television, she first appeared on Broadway in "The Visit" in 1958 and in the 1961 film, "Splendor in the Grass" alongside Natalie Wood.
It wasn't until 1968, when Adams made her official debut on daytime TV as Belle Clemens on CBS' "The Secret Storm" and years later, in 1982, as Dina Abbott Mergeron on "The Young and the Restless."
Adams played her "Young and the Restless" character off and on over the course of nearly four decades. After her three-year contract was up in 1985, the actress returned to Genoa City in 1991, 1996, 2008 and again from 2017 to 2020. Towards the end, her character — living with Alzheimer's disease — died in an October 2020 episode.
"Of all the characters I've played, from ‘The Secret Storm’ to Broadway, this has been the most astonishing, amazing part I have ever had the privilege to play," she said in a 2020 tribute to her character.
"I’ve had the most wonderful life, this little gal from Ocean City," she said in a 2016 interview.
A Jewish Princeton University freshman recounted the virulent antisemitism he witnessed on the Ivy League campus at an anti-Israel protest encampment this week.
Maximillian Meyer of New York told Fox News Digital that protesters flew Hezbollah flags and chanted in support of Hamas as the wave of anti-Israel activism that continues to wash over some of America's top institutions came to Princeton — placing Jewish students in fear of attending classes and engaging in regular student life.
"The craziest thing to me is the fact that I saw the Hezbollah flag multiple times, and I wasn't even shocked," Meyer said in an interview. "And I thought that that is more emblematic of the moral rot that has taken hold on our college campuses — of our so-called elite college campuses — than anything else. The fact that not only do we have Hezbollah flags, not only are there chants supporting the Houthis, chants supporting Hamas, but that we're not even surprised. It has become ubiquitous. And that is devastating."
The U.S. State Department officially designates Hezbollah a foreign terrorist organization.
The Hezbollah flag was spotted at the Princeton encampment at approximately 5:16 p.m. Thursday, according to The Daily Princetonian. Organizers then promptly asked it be put away.
The photo of the flag was initially shared by an X account belonging to Myles McKnight, an 2023 alum who also served as president of an undergraduate student organization dedicated to promoting free speech, per the publication. It was re-posted by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
Meyer, who is currently studying politics at Princeton, said he has been standing up against anti-Israel organizations since the war in Gaza broke out after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. He said the number of counter-protesters who have joined him varies, sometimes reaching a total of about six or seven students, in comparison to the 100 to 150 students and faculty demanding that Princeton divest from Israel and condemn the Jewish state's campaign to eradicate Hamas, a terrorist group.
However, Meyer said many Jewish students don't want to stay and speak out due to their fear and intimidation by the pro-Hamas groups.
"They are intimidated by the fact that their professors are participating in calls for their own for their own genocide," Meyer told Fox News Digital.
Meyer said that when he does protest, he always holds an American flag alongside the Israeli flag in an effort to signal his support for Israel as a Jewish American.
"So, when I carry my American flag and my Israeli flag, I understand that I'm not just protesting for my own people as a Jew, but I'm protesting for my own people as an American," he explained. "And that is a fundamental point that people need to understand. People need to understand that standing against the pro-Hamas mob is the exact same thing as standing with the United States of America."
Meyer stated his fellow Jewish students can no longer attend school normally, with students now distracted during class "because they hear the chants."
"They're calling for their genocide while they're trying to pay attention and obtain their education," he said. "These are not only distracting and hateful, but they are expressly antisemitic. I'd like to see the administration condemn any of these calls."
Meyer called out faculty members who had supported the protest and specifically mentioned professor Max Weiss, who recently made a speech at the tent encampment on Princeton University's campus wherein he read a poem written by a Palestinian writer. The poem says that Jews "evolved backward" from "victims to victimizes," according to a New York Post reporter, who witnessed the speech. Weiss is currently an associate professor of history at Princeton.
"In that poem [he] said, the Jews have ‘evolved backwards.’ Evolved backwards. And if that's not antisemitic, if that isn't in violation of policies regarding discrimination, I don't know what is," Meyer said.
Princeton University did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Just this past week, university police moved in on the tent encampment on Princeton's campus, ultimately leading to two arrests. Princeton University Public Safety, the Ivy League school’s police force, gave demonstrators several warnings before acting, the university said.
Meyer said he thought the university made a move in the right direction with the arrests of the protesters, but "that's not enough."
"Espousing overt antisemitism is abhorrent. It is abhorrent, and the university doesn't do anything except for talk about free speech and not allow tents to be built. But tents are not the extent of the problem," Meyer told Fox News Digital. "Tents are not the end all, be all of what must be stopped. They certainly must be stopped. But Hezbollah flags must be stopped."
Fox News Digital's Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.
Then, a post on X, formerly Twitter, went viral that said Blue Jays' Japanese pitcher Yusei Kikuchi made reservations for 50 people at a Toronto sushi spot. But the big bolt came when Reddit users found there was a plane from Anaheim, California, where Ohtani played the previous six seasons, on its way to Toronto.
MLB Network then reported that Ohtani was en route to Toronto, and another rumor swirled that the Blue Jays had called a press conference.
Those reports were quickly debunked, though, and Ohtani eventually stayed in southern California, switching to the Dodgers on a record-setting $700 million deal.
Ohtani made his first trip to Toronto this weekend since the plane rumors, and fans made their displeasure known by booing him intensely.
The boos continued Saturday, and he answered with a base hit that left the bat at nearly 120 mph, his hardest hit ever recorded.
Entering Saturday, Ohtani was off to his best start ever offensively, hitting .354 with an MLB-leading .681 slugging percentage. He is not pitching as he recovers from elbow surgery.
He led the majors in 2023 with a .654 slugging percentage and 1.066 OPS, his .412 on-base percentage was second in the league, his 44 homers were fourth and his .304 average was ninth.
Ohtani was also brilliant on the mound, going 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA and 167 strikeouts in 132 innings pitched. Among pitchers who threw 130.0 innings, his ERA was the ninth-lowest in MLB and his K/9 was sixth. Among AL pitchers with that number of innings, he ranked fifth and third, respectively.
Several Democratic governors ripped into Gov. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., after an excerpt of her upcoming book detailing how she once killed her 14-month-old dog went viral on social media this week.
Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., Gov. Gretchen Whiter, D-Minn., and other blue state governors shared pictures of themselves with their own dogs to mock the Republican leader after The Guardian published a preview of her new book that recounted her killing her dog because it was "untrainable."
Noem confirmed on social media that she shot and killed the dog and characterized the decision as a "tough" one that comes with farm life.
According to The Guardian’s report, Noem wrote in her book "No Going Back" that she took her 14-month-old female dog "Cricket" to a "gravel pit" near her farm and shot it dead because it was "less than worthless" and "untrainable."
Noem reportedly described in her work how the dog had ruined a pheasant hunt, going "out of her mind with excitement, chasing all those birds and having the time of her life."
The governor also noted that Cricket went AWOL and ate several of the chickens on her farm.
"It was not a pleasant job, but it had to be done. And after it was over, I realized another unpleasant job needed to be done," Noem’s book reportedly added about putting Cricket down.
Noem replied to The Guardian’s story on X, writing, "We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm. Sadly, we just had to put down 3 horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years."
"If you want more real, honest, and politically INcorrect stories that’ll have the media gasping, preorder ‘No Going Back,’ she added.
The governor’s explanation did not stave off the tide of criticism that followed the story going viral, including criticism coming from her fellow lawmakers.
Gov. Walz posted an image of himself on Friday evening feeding his dog, adding the snarky caption, "Post a picture with your dog that doesn’t involve shooting them and throwing them in a gravel pit. I’ll start."
Several other blue state governors replied to his thread. Gov. Whitmer shared a photo of herself posing with her two pet dogs.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, D-Ill., contributed a photo of his dog standing in between the U.S. and Illinois state flags.
Gov. Tim Murphy, D-N.J., joined in as well, adding a picture of him lying on the floor next to his pet dog.
Even the DNC got in on the Noem bashing.
In a statement shared with The Hill, the organization – referring to itself in this instance as the "Dogmocratic Party" – said, "As DNC’s canine companions, we’ve heard a lot from our owners about just how extreme and dangerous Donald Trump and his far-right MAGA allies are — but nothing could prepare us for the truly disturbing and horrifying passages Kristi Noem willingly chose to put in her new book."
Fox News Digital reached out to a Noem representative for comment.
At just 34 years old and a member of Ukraine’s parliament, her formal tasks include looking into ways Ukraine can integrate into the rest of Europe’s institutions.
But, what really has gotten her attention are her posts about her hometown, Kharkiv. It has a population of 1.3 million people, just 20 miles from the northeast border with Russia.
From the beginning, Putin has wanted to take it over. In 2022, Ukrainians pushed them back.
However, in recent months, Russian attacks have grown furious, knocking out residential areas, power infrastructure, even the city’s huge TV tower.
Daily showers aren’t necessary and may not have any health benefits, according to some experts.
Proponents of less frequent showers claim that most people take them every day — or multiple times a day — only because this has become a societal norm.
"Why are we washing? Mostly because we’re afraid somebody else will tell us that we’re smelling," environmentalist Donnachadh McCarthy said in an interview with the BBC.
McCarthy said he only showers once a month, freshening up with sink washes in between.
Approximately two-thirds of Americans shower every day, according to Harvard Health.
Some of the most common reasons are to prevent body odor, freshen up after working out and get help in waking up.
Robert H. Shmerling, M.D., senior faculty editor of Harvard Health Publishing, noted in an article for Harvard Health that frequent hot showers remove the healthy oils and "good" bacteria from the skin.
As a result, the skin can become dry, itchy or irritated, he noted.
The skin may also become more susceptible to infections and allergic reactions, as harmful bacteria and allergens are able to enter through dry, cracked areas.
Daily showers could also weaken the immune system, Shmerling warned.
"Our immune systems need a certain amount of stimulation by normal microorganisms, dirt and other environmental exposures in order to create protective antibodies and ‘immune memory,’" he said.
"This is one reason some pediatricians and dermatologists recommend against daily baths for kids. Frequent baths or showers throughout a lifetime may reduce the ability of the immune system to do its job."
Risks could also arise from exposure to chemicals in water — including salts, heavy metals, chlorine, fluoride and pesticides — and in shampoos, conditioners and soaps.
"Overcleaning your body is probably not a compelling health issue," Shmerling wrote.
"However, daily showers do not improve your health, could cause skin problems or other health issues — and, importantly, they waste a lot of water."
While some dermatologists recommend showering every other day or just two or three times per week, according to Healthline, the frequency of showers comes down to personal preferences, routines and lifestyles.
There are some risks associated with not showering enough, experts say, including unpleasant body odor, skin infections, discoloration of the skin, acne, and flare-ups of eczema, psoriasis and dermatitis in people who have those conditions.
"While there is no ideal frequency, experts suggest that showering several times per week is plenty for most people (unless you are grimy, sweaty or have other reasons to shower more often)," said Shmerling in the Harvard Health article.
"Short showers (lasting three or four minutes) with a focus on the armpits and groin may suffice."
Fox News Digital reached out to Shmerling for additional comment.
Progressive commentator Keith Olbermann took out his frustration against The New York Times’ supposed bias against President Biden by appearing to end his subscription with the flagship liberal newspaper.
Olbermann shared a screenshot to X on Friday evening that showed him going through the process of ending his subscription with The Times on its website.
The image showed that Olbermann was choosing which explanation for why he was leaving that the paper’s website provided ahead of allowing him to opt out of paying for it.
Of the two shown – "I have concerns about the New York Times’s coverage" and "I want to cancel for a different reason" – the image revealed that Olbermann chose the former option.
In a subsequent prompt, where the website asked the user for "feedback" on why they were cutting the subscription, Olbermann called out The Times’ publisher, A.G. Sulzberger, for his alleged attitude towards Biden.
In the field, Olbermann wrote, "AG Sulzberger’s grudge against Biden is intolerable and endangers democracy."
In a caption he provided with the image, Olbermann added, "Goodbye, @nytimes. Subscriber since 1969. Not again until Sulzberger is gone."
In a video posted to his account on Saturday, Olbermann alluded to exactly why he was frustrated with Sulzberger – namely, a recent Politico article that detailed the tensions between the New York Times and the White House over the outlets and specifically pointed to Sulzberger.
Olbermann’s clip mentioned a quote in the Politico piece from an anonymous Times journalist who allegedly said, "It’s A.G. He’s the one who is pissed [that] Biden hasn’t done any interviews and quietly encourages all the tough reporting on his age."
According to Politico, Sulzberger also reportedly confronted Vice President Kamala Harris over Biden's decision to avoid interviews with major newspapers.
Following Politico’s piece, The Times released a statement which slammed Biden for granting "far fewer press conferences and sit-down interviews with independent journalists than virtually all of his predecessors."
"It is true that The Times has sought an on-the-record interview with Mr. Biden, as it has done with all presidents going back more than a century. If the president chooses not to sit down with The Times because he dislikes our independent coverage, that is his right, and we will continue to cover him fully and fairly either way," it added.
Fox News Digital reached out to the New York Times for comment on Olbermann allegedly canceling his subscription.
Olbermann has demonstrated he isn't a fan of liberals criticizing President Biden. After "The Daily Show" host John Stewart mocked the Biden administration in February for avoiding the Super Bowl interview and opting for TikTok posts instead, the former MSNBC anchor slammed the comedian.
He posted to X, "Well after nine years away, there's nothing else to say to the bothsidesist fraud Jon Stewart bashing Biden, except: Please make it another nine years."
And when CNN anchor Abby Phillip remarked in January that "nobody" wants former President Trump or Biden to be president again, Olbermann hit her with a personal attack, posting, "CNN has to address the reality that [Phillip] has been an absolute disaster and that this foot-in-mouth editorial is the first thing she's gotten noticed for since her show debuted."
Phillip shot back at Olbermann on X, "Or, you can come to terms with the reality of your irrelevance and stop being a nasty social media troll. But that’s entirely up to you."
"We at Viva Promotions mourn the loss of Ardi Ndembo, a talented Congolese boxer who tragically passed away after a knockout in a Team Combat League match on April 5," the promotion said in a statement, via the New York Post. "He remained in an induced coma until his untimely death. RIP Ardi Ndembo!"
Floyd Mayweather's uncle, Jeff, works with the Team Combat League on the same team that Ndembo represented when he fought.
"Boxing’s a sport where you grow up watching it and loving it, but there’s so much risk involved," Mayweather told The Sun. "Anyone can lose their life from boxing. When something like this happens, it wakes up the whole entire world.
"I don’t think boxing’s a bad sport, because you can die in any sport. You drive a race car at 200 mph, if it slides, you’re going to die, too. You can die in any sport, but boxing is a brutal sport."
The league gave the fighter a 10-bell salute and is matching donations made to a GoFundMe up to $25,000.
Ndembo, who was Congolese, was 8-0 entering the fight earlier this month. He is survived by his wife and two children.
He looked like a man with a weight of responsibility off his shoulders – but the burden remains.
Fox News spoke exclusively with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy the day that Congress and President Biden signed off on a massive U.S. foreign aid package, with $61 billion of that going to Ukraine’s military in its battle with Russia – after being on hold for six months.
"We have waited for six months," he said in the English-language interview. "$61 billion ‘hopes.’ I’m thankful for the people of America."
The hitch now is getting the weaponry to the troops in Ukraine who have been outgunned and have lost ground to the Russians. Pentagon officials said Ukraine’s military could receive some weapons soon from nearby Germany.
"God bless we will get it as quick as possible," Zelenskyy pleaded, "otherwise they (the Russians) will push us back."
Zelenskyy is fighting not only against Russia, but also for attention. He watched as the U.S. and other allies pitched in to defend Israel fending off attacks from Iran.
I asked him if he was jealous.
"We saw it," he said, "and that’s why if the western countries want to be real allies… they have to show the same on our territory."
Zelenskyy is also monitoring American politics. Not just the 112 Republicans who voted against aid in the House… but also that former President Trump might regain the White House and take a harder line on Ukraine.
We asked him if he could work with Trump. He replied, "Of course, of course, we will work with the U.S. in any way because it’s our strategic partner."
This as the casualties mount in Ukraine, not just on the military, but also on the civilian side.
We asked him how he kept morale up in the country during these difficult days.
"That is the most difficult question for me," Zelenskyy replied. "It’s a question without a real answer."
Finally, I asked him perhaps the toughest question: whether Ukraine will win against Russia.
"We have to. We have no alternative," he said. "I don’t know the kind of victory. I’m not sure that everybody will be happy. But, we don’t have any alternative. We have to win and we will."
At that, President Zelenskyy stood up, shook my hand and thanked me for coming. I thanked him for the exclusive look at his challenges. The look on the man’s face was tired, emotional… but determined.
Joe Alt was the first offensive lineman selected in the 2024 NFL Draft. The former Notre Dame standout decided to watch the draft from home, instead of traveling to Detroit.
The Los Angeles Chargers held this year's fifth overall draft pick, where they selected Alt. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the Chargers selection. Cameras then quickly shifted to Alt, who was surrounded by family and friends. But videos showing Alt's girlfriend's reaction to the life-changing moment began circulating across social media.
Emilie Meyer, who attended the same private Minnesota high school as Alt, appeared to have a serious look on her face at the moment cameras panned to the area she was sitting in during the draft party.
The broadcasts are typically on a short delay, so Meyer might not have been aware of which NFL team Alt would be playing for at the moment when she was shown on camera.
Nevertheless, the clip of Meyer's reaction sparked reacation across social media. "Blink twice if you need rescue," one observer wrote on X.
Another person joked: "That’s the face of someone who realized that his game checks will be taxed at 65% because he’ll be in Cali," along with a pair of laughing face emojis.
While Alt's paycheck from the Chargers will be subject to California state taxes, he will also have to pay taxes when the team travels for road games.
Professional athletes are often subject to what is colloquially known as the "jock tax." It is a type of income tax that is usually enforced on professional athletes and entertainers. It essentially taxes the money that nonresidents earn when they visit a state, according to tax preparation company H&R Block.
Meyer was eventually seen celebrating with Alt and others at the draft party. She is also an athlete and competes on the Drake University track and field team.
The Chargers received some criticism for their decision to draft an offensive lineman in the top five, but first-year coach Jim Harbaugh defended the pick.
"Offensive linemen we look at as weapons," Harbaugh said. "That group when we talk about attacking, when we talk about attacking on offense, offensive line is the tip of the spear." Harbaugh developed a physical brand of football during his lengthy tenure at Michigan, and it appears that Alt will be one of the building blocks for the Chargers' new offensive identity.
A woman on Reddit who says she was alienated and given the cold shoulder by her family after she accepted a free first-class upgrade on a vacation did nothing wrong, Reddit users said, weighing in on her drama.
Reddit user "Abbyissostupid" told Reddit's "Am I the A--hole" (AITA) subreddit about her dilemma in a post on Friday, April 26, titled, "AITA for not letting my 6'6" brother have the free first-class upgrade the airline gave me on our 12-hour flight?"
In the post, the woman said she's currently on a family trip in Hawaii to celebrate her father's recent retirement, and that he paid for the entire family to attend.
"There are six of us but my brother and I live in the same part of the country," she said — so the two of them were on the same flight to Hawaii.
"I guess it's relevant to say I am 5'1" and my brother is 6'6," she wrote.
A frequent traveler for work, she said she has "quite a bit of status with the airline for which my dad bought our tickets."
As she and her brother were boarding the plane, she was approached by a flight attendant and told that a spot in first class had become available.
The flight attendant "whispered that they had a first-class passenger not show up, and they needed the coach seat to accommodate a standby passenger," said Abbyissostupid.
"She said I had by far the most status of anyone on the plane, so they were willing to move me to first class for free."
The woman happily accepted the upgrade, she said, and "took it in a heartbeat."
"I told my brother I'd see him in 12 hours and let me know if he wanted any food or drink and I grabbed my stuff and moved," she said.
Her brother, however, was quite upset that she did not give him the upgrade instead, as he is much taller and presumably could've used the extra legroom to be more comfortable.
After the plane landed, her brother refused to speak to her for the entire ride to their hotel, she said — and then told her family that she had been upgraded.
"We had a nice hello with the rest of the family, but after I got down from my shower my mom took me aside and said what I did ‘was awful,’" said Abbyissostupid.
Confused, the woman said she asked her mother what she was talking about — "and she said that I should have given my brother the seat."
The Reddit writer added, "I thought that would be the end of it, but all five of my siblings and my parents are upset with me and the vacation is off to a very rough start," she said.
Her siblings even told their children to avoid her for not being a loyal family member, the woman said.
"My sister said, ‘No, they only like to play with people who give a s--- about their family — what were you thinking?’" wrote Abbyissostupid.
When the woman pointed out that her brother never even asked for an upgrade, the sister replied that he should not have had to — and that she should have automatically given her brother the upgrade for his comfort.
"I've been by myself since brunch and not having much fun. AITA?" asked Abbyissostupid of others on Reddit.
In an update to the post after others had commented, Abbyissostupid added that her family is still angry at her, but to varying degrees — and that she's been spending time instead with a friend who lives in Hawaii.
"So my vacation will be great no matter what," said Abbyissostupid. "But reading your comments really gave me confidence to not give a crap (or try to at least!). Thank you."
Fox News Digital reached out to Abbyissostupid for further updates — and to a relationship expert for advice on the topic.
Dr. Kathy Nickerson, PhD, a clinical psychologist based in California, said in an email to Fox News Digital on Saturday afternoon, "It would have been nice for the [Reddit writer] to give her brother the upgrade because coach is far less comfortable for someone who is 6'6" than 5'1". However, I can understand that since the flight attendant whispered in her ear, [the woman] might have thought she needed to be discreet and not offer it to her brother."
Nickerson added, "If we could go back in time, I would have whispered in [the woman's] ear: 'Are you OK here? I know it is not first class, but can you deal with this and let your brother go instead? Seems like he's pretty uncomfortable.'"
She also said it would have been "a thoughtful, loving, kind gesture" for the woman to offer the first-class seat to her brother.
Said Nickerson, "Now that it is done, the best thing to do is apologize to her brother and express understanding to her family. It's reasonable for everyone to feel the way they do; it's not so reasonable to ruin the family vacation because of it."
She noted that in her experience, "People make poor decisions all the time. People can be selfish and thoughtless sometimes. Everyone deserves compassion and a chance to make amends. Having everyone in the family berate and criticize the [woman] is not helpful."
Nickerson said she'd advise "a family meeting, where they can apologize for the hurtful choices, all around — and express some understanding for the others' feelings and agree to do better next time, then move on. Let's forgive each other, learn from this and enjoy our trip."
Most commenters on Reddit, however, had a very different point of view.
On the AITA subreddit, people can reply to posts and indicate the poster is "NTA" ("Not the A--hole"), "YTA" ("You're the A--hole"), "NAH" ("No A--holes Here") or "ESH" ("Everyone Sucks Here").
Users can "upvote" responses they think are helpful and "downvote" ones that are not.
Most users said that the woman was "NTA" for taking the upgrade — and that the airline likely would not have allowed her to give it to her brother, even if she wanted to, they said.
"Had something happen to me years ago on Air Canada. Vancouver to Toronto red eye. Flying with adult daughter and got tagged for upgrade," said Reddit user "BetAlternative8397" in the top-upvoted comment.
The user continued, "I asked about letting her fly upfront instead and was told the seat is only available to the status holder. I was exhausted from a week working away, so I took it," the person added.
The same individual noted, "No one shamed me for it" and said that Abbyissostupid's brother was rude and jealous.
"NTA, but you sure have a family of them," said Reddit user "Fearless_Ad1685" in another top comment.
"Your status got you the offer. If you declined it, it wouldn't have gone to your brother anyway," Fearless_Ad1685 continued.
"No reason you should have turned it down just to stay in coach with your brother."