Oscars 2026: Conan O’Brien jokes about Timothée Chalamet, gets optimistic & more during monologue

Oscars 2026: Conan O’Brien jokes about Timothée Chalamet, gets optimistic & more during monologue
Oscars 2026: Conan O’Brien jokes about Timothée Chalamet, gets optimistic & more during monologue
ABC’s The Oscars hosted by Conan O’Brien. ((Disney/Mark Seliger)

The 98th annual Academy Awards went down in Hollywood Sunday, with host Conan O’Brien kicking things off with a taped segment set to Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage,” which had him made up to look like Amy Madigan’s character in Weapons and dropping into Oscar-nominated films.

He opened his monologue by saying he was honored to be the “last human host of the Academy Awards,” before joking, “Last year when I hosted Los Angeles was on fire, but this year everything’s going great.”

Noting that security was tighter at the Oscars this year, he joked it was because of concerns over “attacks from both the opera and ballet communities,” a reference to Timothée Chalamet’s recent comments, adding “they’re just mad you left out jazz.”

There were also cracks about the Oscars getting political, joking there’s an alternate Oscars hosted by Kid Rock at Dave & Buster’s, as well as jokes about it being Netflix’s Ted Sarandos’ first time in a theater and several about the nominated films, including Hamnet and Bugonia sounding “like off-brand lunch meat.”

But it wasn’t all jokes, with Conan then getting serious about why the Oscars are important.

“Everyone watching around the world is all too aware that these are very chaotic, frightening times,” he said. “It’s at moments like these that I believe that the Oscars are particularly resonant.”

“Every film we salute is the product of thousands of people speaking different languages, working hard to make something of beauty,” he added. “We pay tribute tonight, not to just film but to the ideals of global artistry, collaboration, patience, resilience and that rarest of qualities today, optimism.”

Finally he noted, “So let us celebrate not because we think all is well, but because we work and hope for better in the days ahead.”

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Doja Cat reveals she’s been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder

Doja Cat reveals she’s been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder
Doja Cat reveals she’s been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder
Doja Cat performs at the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, November 8, 2025 (Disney/Frank Micelotta)

Doja Cat has revealed that she has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.

In a TikTok video, Doja described how it has affected her this way: “I’ve learned from a very young age to pretend that I like stuff, to pretend that I’m happy, to pretend that I don’t like stuff that I do, to appear like everything is okay: ‘I’ll get it done!’ And it caught up with me, and I think it always does for people. I’m now struggling with BPD.”

According to the Mayo Clinic, BPD “affects how you see yourself” and “includes unstable and intense relationships, extreme emotions, and impulsiveness.”

Doja said she’s been living with BPD “probably forever,” adding, “It’s an agonizing condition, curable, thank God, and I’ve been in therapy for years now and I am so relieved and so proud of myself. I have made it so far and I still make mistakes but it is like an eight-year process of curing — of treatment and healing, in order to cure it.”

Doja then talked about how much she admired Chappell Roan’s ability to be “uncomfortable, comfortably in front of people, and protect herself and be honest,” which is something she aspires to do.

“I had to learn how to be honest. I had to learn how to be honest with myself. I lied to myself for years. For most of my life,” Doja said. “And to see her sit there — and I love it. I love that she can do that without hurting people. She hasn’t hurt one person by being herself, and that shows that I can do the same.”

She concluded, “Let her have an attitude. Because I’d love to have one as well and I f***** will, hopefully, in the future.”

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Jack White performing on ’SNL’; mourns death of his mother

Jack White performing on ’SNL’; mourns death of his mother
Jack White performing on ’SNL’; mourns death of his mother
Jack White at 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Disney/Cristian Lopez)

It’s been a weekend of highs and lows for Jack White.

To start with the positive, the “Seven Nation Army” rocker has been announced as the musical guest for the April 4 episode of Saturday Night Live. The set will mark his fifth SNL performance as a solo artist, following his appearances in 2012, 2018, 2020 and 2023. He also performed with The White Stripes in 2002.

The episode will be hosted by actor and Tenacious D frontman Jack Black, so we expect it will feature a sketch called “Jack Gray.”

As for the sadder news, White announced on Saturday that his mother, Teresa Gillis, has died.

“Teresa Gillis 1930-2026. Rest in peace with the Lord,” White wrote in an Instagram post.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Harry Styles kisses Ben Marshall on ‘SNL,’ has full-circle musical moment

Harry Styles kisses Ben Marshall on ‘SNL,’ has full-circle musical moment
Harry Styles kisses Ben Marshall on ‘SNL,’ has full-circle musical moment
Harry Styles performs on ‘Saturday Night Live,’ March 14, 2026 (Will Heath/NBC)

Did you know Harry Styles can do a pretty good Sebastian Maniscalco impersonation? Have you ever seen him kiss a six-foot-five redhead? If you watched Saturday Night Live, the answer is “yes.”

Harry was the host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live, and in his monologue, he joked about being a “tremendously boring” person. He then added, “As a British man who spent a lot of his life in the public eye, I can assure you, there’s something nice about being boring. It’s better than the alternative.” Cut to the notorious picture of the former Prince Andrew in the back of a car after his arrest.

Harry also addressed a criticism he faced a few years ago. “Some people accused me of something called ‘queerbaiting,’” he said. “But did it ever occur to you that MAYBE YOU DON’T KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT ME, DAD?”

At the end of the monologue, Harry said he only “kissed all the time” with someone who had a “tight little bum.” When cast member Ben Marshall showed up and asked, “Where’s my kiss?” Harry replied, “Come on Ben, everyone knows there’s nothing little about that thang!” But then he planted one on Ben anyway, turned to the camera and said, “Now that’s queerbaiting!”

Harry also appeared in multiple sketches, mostly doing an American accent. In one, he successfully matched Marcello Hernandez’s Sebastian Maniscalco impersonation with his own impression of the comic; in another, he showed off a European accent

The sketch “Harry for Him” focused on a line of Target clothing that allows men to wear the same outrageous outfits Harry’s worn over the years. Of course, unlike Harry, they become the subject of ridicule.

And oh yeah: Harry also sang. Last week’s SNL host Ryan Gosling introduced his performance of “Dance No More,” and legendary Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Paul Simon introduced his performance of “Coming Up Roses.” That was a full-circle moment, because a track on Harry’s new album, “Carla’s Song” is about his friend Carla discovering Paul’s music, and then her reaction when he played her one of Paul’s most famous songs, “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”




Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Judge partially backs Democrat Kennedy Center trustee in lawsuit over renaming

Judge partially backs Democrat Kennedy Center trustee in lawsuit over renaming
Judge partially backs Democrat Kennedy Center trustee in lawsuit over renaming
Protesters gather in front of the The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after President Donald Trump’s name was added to the facade on Dec.20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Photo by Maxine Wallace/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled Saturday mostly in favor of Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, in her effort to obtain more details about the planned closure and renovation of the Kennedy Center, which is set for a board vote at the White House on Monday.

Judge Christopher Cooper also ruled that as a trustee, Beatty must be afforded a “meaningful opportunity to provide input” and not be “categorically barred” from speaking at the meeting, which President Donald Trump is set to chair.

But Cooper stopped short of requiring at this stage that Beatty be permitted to cast a vote as a trustee, saying that is a “trickier question” with no clearcut answers.

“As the foregoing facts suggest, a project of this salience and magnitude—which threatens to involve at least some demolition and reconstruction of a major national memorial and active performing arts theater—does not happen overnight,” Cooper said in his ruling.

The judge directed the government to provide Beatty with materials on the project ahead of the Monday meeting.

“The government’s assertion, both in its briefing and at the hearing, that such information is ‘preliminary’ and not yet sufficiently ‘finalized’ to share with the full slate of decisionmakers—just four days before the Board is set to vote on a complete, two-year closure of the Center they are statutorily charged with overseeing—borders on preposterous,” Cooper said.

Beatty’s pending lawsuit challenges the renaming of the Kennedy Center to the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as the pending closure and renovations. Cooper said the court will address those issues at a later date.

“No president has the authority to shut Congress out of the governance of the Kennedy Center, much less unilaterally rename or demolish it,” Beatty said in a statement Saturday. “We will not stand by while an important part of our national heritage is jeopardized, and I intend to make that clear at next week’s board meeting.”

The White House didn’t immediately have a comment about the ruling.

Asked for comment on the lawsuit previously, White House spokesperson Liz Huston told ABC News in a statement that the Kennedy Center’s board voted to rename it after Trump “stepped up and saved the old Kennedy Center.”

As for whether a sitting member of the House who serves on the Kennedy Center board as a function of her office can vote, Judge Cooper said that the legal argument in Beatty’s favor is strong, but how the board has operated in practice in that respect is not clear.

Some veterans of the Kennedy Center recalled ex-officio members of the board voting, while others say they never observed that.

The board approved a bylaws change last May to delineate presidentially-appointed general trustees from “nonvoting” ex-officio members.

“Though the Court thinks that Beatty has the better statutory argument as to both participation and the right to vote, her battle for emergency relief on these fronts is not yet won,” Cooper ruled. 

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Cross-country storm gearing up to bring snow, strong winds for the weekend

Cross-country storm gearing up to bring snow, strong winds for the weekend
Cross-country storm gearing up to bring snow, strong winds for the weekend
ABC News

(NEW YORK) — The first of two storms has passed through the Great Lakes and is now moving through the northern tier of the Northeast, bringing widespread strong winds and snow from the eastern Great Lakes to northern New England.

On Friday, wind gusts greater than 70 mph were reported in Ohio, Minnesota, Michigan and Indiana. Wind alerts remain in place from northeast Ohio and central Pennsylvania up to Upstate New York and the higher elevations of Massachusetts through Saturday morning and afternoon for wind gusts between 45 and 60 mph.

Saturday morning, snow continues across Upstate New York and into northern New England. An additional widespread 1 to 3 inches of snow can be expected from northwest New York to Maine, with some localized areas possibly getting over 3 inches of snow.

Heavier snow and severe weather
The next storm will be a stronger, cross-country storm that has been impacting the Pacific Northwest and northern Rockies since Friday and will sweep into the northern Rockies and Plains Saturday and the Midwest later Saturday into Sunday.

Winter storm warnings stretch from the Idaho Panhandle to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, with some flight agencies cancelling flights ahead of this major winter storm.

Blizzard Warnings have also been issued for parts of South Dakota and southwest Minnesota for snowfall of more than a foot and strong winds up to 60 mph possible, with the National Weather Service warning that travel will likely become impossible late Saturday and Sunday.

By Sunday morning, snow stretches from South Dakota and Nebraska into the Great Lakes.

On the southern side of the powerful system, a line of severe storms will develop from Michigan down to Texas Sunday afternoon into the night.

An “Enhanced” risk (Level 3/5) has already been issued for parts of the Midwest on Sunday, from Indianapolis to just north of Memphis. Widespread damaging wind gusts will be the main threat although a few tornadoes will be possible along with large hail.

Chicago could go from thunderstorms on Sunday night to snow and whiteout conditions on Monday.

On Monday, the major storm will continue to move east. There will still be snow and wind across the Great Lakes and rounds of heavy rain and strong winds moving into the Northeast.

More severe weather will continue across the East Coast on Monday late afternoon into the evening from the Florida Panhandle up to Pennsylvania.

An “Enhanced” risk (level 3 of 5) has been issued for parts of the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland and southern Pennsylvania. This includes Columbia, South Carolina; Raleigh, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia; Washington, D.C; Baltimore, Maryland; and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

The main threat will be damaging winds, some large hail and a few tornadoes.

By the time this storm passes through, a widespread 3 to 6 inches of snow will be likely from Montana to the northern fringes of Upstate New York. The heaviest snow is expected from northeast South Dakota to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where 10 to 20 inches of snow will be possible, as well as gusty winds that could cause blowing snow and reduced visibility.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Motörhead guitarist Phil Campbell dead at 64

Motörhead guitarist Phil Campbell dead at 64
Motörhead guitarist Phil Campbell dead at 64
Phil Campbell of Motörhead performs at the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, Pilton on June 26, 2015 in Glastonbury, England. (Tabatha Fireman/Redferns via Getty Images)

Longtime Motörhead guitarist Phil Campbell has died at age 64.

Campbell’s band the Bastard Sons, which includes his children, announced the news in an Instagram post Saturday reading, “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved father, Philip Anthony Campbell, who passed away peacefully last night following a long and courageous battle in intensive care after a complex major operation.”

“Phil was a devoted husband, a wonderful father, and a proud and loving grandfather, known affectionately as ‘Bampi,'” the post continues. “He was deeply loved by all who knew him and will be missed immensely. His legacy, music and the memories he created with so many will live on forever. We kindly ask that our family’s privacy is respected during this incredibly difficult time.”

Campbell joined Motörhead in 1984 in place of Brian “Robbo” Robertson, who played in the band for a year following the departure of classic lineup guitarist “Fast” Eddie Clarke in 1982. The first iteration of the band with Campbell also included frontman Lemmy Kilmister, drummer Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor and another guitarist, Michael “Würzel” Burston, turning the longtime trio into a quartet.

After several changes behind the kit, Motörhead brought in drummer Mikkey Dee in 1992. Following Burston’s departure in 1995, Motörhead returned to a trio with Kilmister, Campbell and Dee. That lineup remained intact until Lemmy’s death in 2015, upon which Motörhead disbanded.

Campbell played on 16 Motörhead’s studio albums. Outside of Motörhead, Campbell released three albums with the Bastard Sons, as well as a solo record in 2019.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

El Nino is likely to return this year, but its strength and impacts remain uncertain

El Nino is likely to return this year, but its strength and impacts remain uncertain
El Nino is likely to return this year, but its strength and impacts remain uncertain
Homes at Mondo’s Beach between the Solimar and Faria Beach communities west of Ventura have their sea walls tested Wednesday morning, January 06, 2016, as the third storm this season’s El Nino moves in with more rain and heavy surf. (Photo by Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) — El Nino is increasingly likely to return later this year, bringing potentially significant impacts to our weather, the upcoming hurricane season and global temperature trends, though its timing and strength remain uncertain, experts told ABC News.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued an El Nino Watch on Thursday, meaning that conditions are favorable for its development over the next six months. NOAA’s latest forecast puts the chance of El Nino developing in June through August at 62%, with higher odds expected by the fall months.

El Nino refers to the warmer-than-average phase of the El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a natural cycle where sea surface temperatures across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific rise and fall. The cooler-than-average phase is called La Nina, while near-average conditions are known as ENSO-neutral.

The current La Nina is expected to fade over the next month as equatorial Pacific waters warm, with ENSO-neutral conditions likely to persist through much of the Northern Hemisphere summer.

If El Nino forms, its potential strength remains highly uncertain. NOAA says there is roughly a 1 in 3 chance it will be strong by the end of the year, though current forecasts favor a weak-to-moderate event.

El Nino and La Nina events occur at irregular intervals, typically every 2 to 7 years. El Nino has been somewhat more frequent than La Nina in past observations, but both phases vary in timing and intensity from one cycle to the next.

Forecasters caution that El Nino predictions tend to be less accurate at this time of year and could change in the coming months.

“Keep in mind that because we’re making these forecasts during the spring season, a time of lower model accuracy, so there is large uncertainty,” said Michelle L’Heureux, physical scientist at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.

This is largely because spring in the Northern Hemisphere is when sea surface patterns across the tropical Pacific Ocean are in a transitional phase.

“Predictions issued at this time of year are typically less reliable due to the so-called boreal spring predictability barrier, a well-known limitation affecting ENSO outlook skill,” the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in a statement.

There is usually a delay between the onset of El Nino and its associated effects, meaning it will likely be well into the second half of the year before impacts begin to unfold, based on the latest forecasts.

“An estimate for the length of time before consistent impacts are observed once El Nino forms is typically 1-2 months,” Jon Gottschalck, Chief of the Operational Prediction Branch at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center told ABC News. “This varies largely depending on other climate factors active at the time in both the tropics and extratropics, as well as the time of the year.”

Typical El Nino impacts across the United States

Impacts from El Nino, similar to La Nina, tend to be most consistent and pronounced from late autumn through early spring following the event’s onset, NOAA says.

Experts caution that the impacts on weather patterns are nuanced. Each season is different, and typical El Nino conditions don’t always materialize.

“Every El Nino is different in terms of timing, magnitude, and geographic extent, and such differences lead to variability in the impacts — on temperatures and rainfall, for example — on a global scale,” Andrew Kruczkiewicz, senior staff researcher at Columbia Climate School, said.

Typically, during El Nino, the northern half of the United States and parts of Alaska are more likely to see warmer than average temperatures, with near- to below-average temperatures favored along the southern tier of the U.S., most likely from Texas to the Southeast.

For precipitation, wetter than average conditions are typically observed along the southern tier of the U.S. in parts of California, the Southwest, Gulf Coast and Southeast U.S. Below average precipitation is frequently observed across parts of the northern Rockies, south-central Mississippi Valley, Ohio Valley and Great Lakes regions.

El Nino typically increases the odds of above-average snowfall in the southern Rockies, south-central Plains, mid-Atlantic and coastal areas of the Northeast with below-average snowfall favored in the northern Rockies, northern Plains and Great Lakes regions.

“The more consistent impacts on precipitation and temperature don’t occur until the winter months — so for 2026-27,” L’Heureux added.

How El Nino could influence hurricane season activity

The impact of El Nino on this year’s Atlantic and Eastern Pacific hurricane seasons will largely depend on when it unfolds and how strong it gets.

El Nino conditions often suppress activity during the Atlantic hurricane season by producing unfavorable atmospheric winds. In the Eastern Pacific, the opposite occurs, with favorable conditions supporting above-average hurricane season activity.

“It will likely suppress the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season somewhat, with increased sinking air and upper level wind shear over the Atlantic,” said Andy Hazelton, an associate scientist at the University of Miami’s Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies.

Vertical wind shear, which refers to changes in wind speed and direction with height in the atmosphere, is often a primary factor in below-average hurricane season activity. Strong vertical wind shear can tear a developing tropical system apart or even prevent it from forming, NOAA says.

Other factors, such as sea surface temperatures, also play an important role in tropical cyclone development and strength. Unseasonably warm ocean waters can partially offset the effects of unfavorable atmospheric winds. However, that will largely depend on sea surface temperature readings as the hurricane season ramps up, which is still months away.

“It’s a little early to say how far below average the Atlantic might be. That will also depend on what the Atlantic sea surface temperatures do – right now they’re average or a little below,” Hazelton added.

NOAA is expected to issue its official hurricane season outlook in May. The Eastern Pacific season begins May 15, followed by the Atlantic season on June 1.

Since El Nino is only one of several important variables considered, Gottschalck said it is important to wait until the outlook is released in May.

Global temperature records could be challenged again

The year 2024 ranked as the planet’s warmest year on record, following the last El Nino event, which emerged in mid-2023 and persisted through spring 2024, according to NOAA.

“The warmer ocean temperatures associated with El Nino, together with its tendency to favor warmer conditions in many areas, often contribute to warmer than normal global annual temperatures,” Gottschalck said.

Record highs in global average temperature often occur during El Nino years, but the phenomenon isn’t the sole reason for the record-breaking warmth, climate scientists say. Short-term El Nino temperature spikes occur on top of the long-term global warming trend, which is primarily driven by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.

“The WMO community will be carefully monitoring conditions in the coming months to inform decision-making. The most recent El Nino, in 2023-’24, was one of the five strongest on record and it played a role in the record global temperatures we saw in 2024,” WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said in a statement.

According to NOAA, 2025 ranked as the third-warmest year on record globally, trailing 2024 and 2023. The slightly lower ranking came amid recent La Nina conditions, which typically cause a temporary dip in global average temperatures.

Similar to the last event, El Nino typically has the greatest impact on global temperatures after it peaks, NOAA says, meaning a spike in global temperatures often lingers into the year following the event’s onset. The intensity of any upcoming El Nino will play a major role in whether global temperature records could be challenged in the near future.

According to the latest outlook from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, there is more than a 90% chance that 2026 will rank among the five warmest years on record, but the probability of it becoming the warmest year currently stands at about 1%. Those odds could rise significantly in 2027, depending on how the event unfolds.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

2 DOGE staffers say ‘no’ regrets for people losing income, didn’t reduce the deficit: Depositions

2 DOGE staffers say ‘no’ regrets for people losing income, didn’t reduce the deficit: Depositions
2 DOGE staffers say ‘no’ regrets for people losing income, didn’t reduce the deficit: Depositions
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, accompanied by U.S. President Donald Trump (R), and his son X Musk, speaks during an executive order signing in the Oval Office at the White House on February 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) — One year after Elon Musk began an unprecedented attempt to eliminate swaths of the federal government, newly released deposition videos are providing a never-before-seen look at two of the people responsible for the largest mass termination of federal grants in the National Endowment for the Humanities’ history.

According to the depositions and other materials released as part of a civil lawsuit related to the funding cuts, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) relied on ChatGPT to identify more than $100 million in grants related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) that were later cancelled.

When President Donald Trump returned to office last January, he empowered Musk to slash federal spending as a lead adviser in the newly created DOGE. Within days, all agencies were directed to put DEI staff on leave and related programs were shuttered.

In lengthy depositions, two DOGE employees — Justin Fox and Nate Cavanaugh — defended the effort to cut “useless agencies” as part of DOGE’s attempt to reduce the federal deficit.

“You don’t regret that people might have lost important income … to support their lives?” an attorney asked Cavanaugh about the grant cancellations.

“No. I think it was more important to reduce the federal deficit from $2 trillion to close to zero,” Cavanaugh said.

“Did you reduce the federal deficit?” the attorney asked.

“No, we didn’t,” Cavanaugh said.

With backgrounds in tech and finance, neither man worked in government prior to joining DOGE last year. Cavanaugh said they originally determined which grants could be cut based on if they included certain words — like “DEI, DEIA, Equity, Inclusion, BIPAC, LGBTQ” — though the final decision about cuts was up to the head of individual agencies.

“Do you think it’s inappropriate in any way that someone in their 20s with no experience with grants for the federal government was making personal judgment calls about what grants to cancel?” an attorney asked.

“Um, no. I don’t think it’s inappropriate,” Cavanaugh said, arguing that he did not need formal education or experience to make informed judgments.

“So presumably you read some of these books that would have informed you on how to cancel a grant based on DEI,” the attorney asked.

“Um, I did not read a book, um, on how to discern whether a grant includes DEI or not. I read the actual description of the actual grant,” Cavanaugh said.

Fox said they instead turned to OpenAI’s ChatGPT to help sift through the thousands of grants awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

According to court filings, the men prompted ChatGPT by asking, “From the perspective of someone looking to identify DEI grants, does this involve DEI? Respond factually in less than 120 characters.· Begin with ‘Yes.’ o. ‘No.’ followed by a brief explanation.· Do not use ‘this initiative’ or ‘this description’ in your response.”

Fox was repeatedly pressed by attorneys to explain certain funding decisions, such as defunding a language center — described as a “wasteful, noncritical spend” — or projects related to Black history and civil rights.

“Why is a documentary about Holocaust survivors DEI?” an attorney asked.

“It’s a gender-based story that’s inherently discriminatory to focus on this specific group,” Fox said.

According to the depositions and legal documents, the men did not provide a clear definition for DEI or take additional steps to ensure the decisions were not discriminatory — arguing it was not necessary because AI software was not the final decision-maker.

“Did you do anything to ensure that ChatGPT’s perception of DEI as applied here wouldn’t discriminate on the basis of sex?” an attorney asked, prompting another objection.

“It didn’t matter,” Fox said.

DOGE’s efforts in multiple federal agencies and departments last year faced opposition and lawsuits, with critics raising concerns about the group’s effectiveness and its access to sensitive data. 

Both Fox and Cavanaugh defended the funding decisions, arguing the cuts were necessary to reduce the deficit, though they never achieved their goals.

“Did you ever find it problematic that you were, alongside Nate, short-listing for termination projects that had hits on words like Black, homosexual, LGBTQ+?” an attorney asked, prompting an objection and follow up question.

“We were identifying wasteful spend in the government based on administration direction. That was the whole reason we were there, was to find savings,” Fox said, though he acknowledged the deficit was never reduced.

Their work cutting grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities was memorialized in a social media post by DOGE, which vowed that any future grants would be “merit-based and awarded to non-DEI, pro-America causes.”

According to the depositions, some of the saved funds were spent on the National Garden of American Heroes — a sculpture garden to commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Music notes: Mariah Carey and more

Music notes: Mariah Carey and more
Music notes: Mariah Carey and more

Why does Mariah Carey think she belongs in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? It’s all about the stats. Speaking to Billboard, she says, “I would say they should check out the 19 No. 1s…not everybody has those to their name.” Billboard also points out that, in her career, Mariah has covered songs by rock artists, including Def Leppard, Journey and Foreigner.

The Fray’s first new album in more than 10 years, A Light That Waits, just dropped on Friday. Meanwhile, their biggest album, How to Save a Life, has just been RIAA-certified for sales of five million units. The band’s Summer of Light tour kicks off May 11 in New Brunswick, Canada.

Shaggy has announced a new album called Lottery, due out May 15. The “It Wasn’t Me” singer has teamed with Robin Thicke for the first single called “Looking Lovely.”

Spice Girl Mel C has just announced a world tour starting in Montreal on Sept. 8. The North American leg wraps up Set. 25 in San Diego, before heading to the U.K, Europe, Asia and Australia. You can now sign up for an artist presale, which starts March 18 at 10 a.m. local time; the general onsale begins March 20. For full ticket info and presale, visit MelC.net. She’s also dropped a new single, “Undefeated Champion,” from her forthcoming album Sweat, due May 1.


Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.