(WASHINGTON) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has spoken candidly with print reporters about her husband’s assault, what she called “survivor’s guilt” and her decision to step down from Democratic leadership.
“If anything it made me think about staying,” Pelosi told reporters about the violent, attack against Paul Pelosi in their California home last month that authorities say appeared to be politically motivated.
“No, it had the opposite effect,” she continued. “I couldn’t give them that satisfaction.”
Pelosi did ultimately decide to end her time as speaker, announcing it in a dramatic floor speech to her colleagues on Thursday. She will remain in Congress representing her San Francisco district as a member of the caucus.
“I quite frankly, personally, have been ready to leave for a while,” she told reporters from the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and other print outlets. “Because there are things I want to do. I like to dance; I like to sing. There’s a life out there, right?”
Pelosi, 82, made history as the first and only woman to be elected speaker. She’s worked with four presidents as a leader of the Democratic Party, and is revered for her legislative prowess and fundraising abilities.
Walking onto the House floor Thursday to give her farewell speech, clad in a suffragist-white pantsuit, she received a standing ovation from her colleagues.
“I feel balanced about it all,” she told the print reporters. “I don’t feel sad about not having a leadership position,” she said.
As for who will succeed her, Pelosi said at the time she wouldn’t endorse anyone. New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries officially announced his bid for Democratic leader on Friday. After his announcement, Pelosi released a statement saluting Jeffries, as well as Reps. Katherine Clark and Pete Aguilar, for stepping up to take on top leadership roles within the party.
On the future of the Democratic Party, Pelosi told reporters, “That’s up to them, I want it to be whatever they want it to be.”
“They will have their vision, they will have their plan,” she said.
Addressing her husband’s recovery after the attack required him to undergo surgery to repair a skull fracture, Pelosi said he’s “doing okay.”
“But the traumatic effect on him, this happened in our house,” she said, adding their San Francisco residence has turned into a “crime scene” after the attacker broke into it early in the morning on Oct. 28.
The alleged attacker was looking for Nancy Pelosi, according to a federal complaint.
“If he had fallen, slipped on the ice, or was in an accident and hurt his head, it would be horrible, but to have it be an assault on him because they were looking for me is really — they call it ‘survivor’s guilt’ or something,” she said.
Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
The smoke hasn’t even cleared on the billion dollar FTX cryptocurrency scandal, yet Hollywood is looking to tell the story.
Deadline is reporting Michael Lewis, who spent a year documenting now-disgraced one-time crypto king Sam Bankman-Fried, was working on a book about the figure. Now, there’s already a bidding war afoot to bring it to the big screen.
While cryptocurrency is a dense topic for your average movie audience, Lewis’ book about the dry matter of baseball statistics was shaped into the Oscar-nominated movie Moneyball; his financial scandal book The Big Short inspired the Oscar-winning script for the movie of the same name, and Lewis’ work The Blind Side ended up netting Sandra Bullock a Best Actress Academy Award for its big screen adaptation.
Bankman-Fried’s story stretches from Washington, D.C. to Hollywood to Ukraine; the supposed wunderkind graced the covers of magazines like Forbes, and he became one of the largest Democratic party donors in the world.
What was once the third-largest crypto exchange has all the ingredients for a ripped-from-the-headlines movie: sex, scandal, celebrity, and money. Stars like Tom Brady and Larry David promoted the cryptocurrency, while Bankman-Fried and his friends reportedly lived like rock stars in the Bahamas. Fast-forward to today, and a billion dollars is gone.
The House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing next month to investigate, with Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters — reportedly one of the recipients of Bankman-Fried’s donations, as were many in DC — saying, “The fall of FTX has posed tremendous harm to over one million users, many of whom were everyday people who invested their hard-earned savings into the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, only to watch it all disappear within a matter of seconds.”
(NEW YORK) — The number of flu cases, hospitalizations and deaths this season are rapidly increasing, according to data released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
So far this season, there have been at least 4.4 million illnesses, 38,000 hospitalizations and 2,100 deaths from influenza.
The numbers are about 1.5 times higher than the 2.8 million illnesses, 23,000 hospitalizations and 1,300 deaths reported the prior week.
Additionally, the cumulative hospitalization rate currently sits at 8.1 per 100,000 — up from 5 per 100,000 the previous week — which is the highest at this point in the season since statistics began being recorded in the 2010-11 season.
The data also shows that 8,707 new patients were admitted to hospital this past week with flu complications, according to the CDC, compared to 6,465 the previous week.
Two pediatric deaths from the flu were recorded last week bringing the total this season to seven, the CDC said.
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump launched his third White House campaign Tuesday evening, getting a very early head start in the next election cycle that could see challenges from, by some predictions, nearly a dozen other Republicans looking to oust him as the head of the GOP.
According to preliminary assessments by aides and observers in the party, the 2024 dynamic is likelier to seem more like 2016’s months-long primary fight — with its quarreling campaigns and competing headlines — than 2020’s glide to re-coronation.
While Trump enters the race as the front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination, Republican operatives said they expect he won’t have the primary field to himself for long, given his mixed track record at the ballot box and his personal and legal baggage.
One GOP strategist allied with a potential primary challenger said Trump’s Tuesday announcement speech at his Mar-a-Lago resort — in which he promised “America’s comeback starts right now” — was “not anything that would discourage people from thinking about running against him.”
“He was subdued, he was on topic, he stayed on teleprompter. As far as what I would consider a dynamic announcement, I didn’t see much there,” said the person, who, like others, agreed to be interviewed for this story on the condition of anonymity so as to not direct ire to their professional relationships.
In roughly hour-long remarks, Trump portrayed his one term in office as a “golden age” and periodically alluded to a message of teamwork while contending that successor Joe Biden, whom Trump had sought to prevent from taking office, had brought “pain, hardship, anxiety and despair.”
Trump also occasionally veered into conspiracy theories, including about China, while returning to some frequent topics like what he called the scourge of drug dealers, widespread immigration and “rotting” cities turned into “cesspools of blood.” He touted his own style of international relations and his handling of the economy compared to Biden.
“If you were a pro-Trump person, you loved it. And if you were an undecided, it didn’t move you,” the strategist said. “And if you were somebody that didn’t like him, that didn’t change your mind.”
The setting, at a ballroom at his club, marked a departure from Trump’s typically boisterous campaign rallies that often toggle between prepared remarks on policy and stream-of-consciousness comments on the controversy du jour.
He also stayed away from cultural third rails like abortion after three Supreme Court justices he appointed helped scrap constitutional protections, fulfilling a promise Trump made to Republican voters during his previous two runs. And he made only a passing reference to the 2020 presidential race after election deniers in top midterm races fell short and exit polls indicated that midterm voters punished the party for its support of such views.
“He needed to show voters that he properly understands the stakes in 2024, and I think his speech accomplished that,” said another GOP strategist, who added that Trump has “got to show that he has the ability to look forward.”
Some allies of the former president swiftly announced their endorsement of his new bid, with House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik of New York voicing her support before he even made his speech.
“Yeah, 100%,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said Wednesday when asked if he backed Trump’s 2024 campaign. “I look at winning and losing. He won while he was here. He helped the American people. And I like his policies. I like how tough he is. We need a president that’s gonna stand up, be tough, not just domestically but internationally. And he does that.”
Still, the speech’s tone didn’t please everyone in the party, with one Trump ally saying they were “bored,” while others cast doubt on whether Trump, famous for his reputation for riling up the grassroots, would maintain a restrained pitch.
“For all the people who claim they are turned off by his bombastic style, it’s ironic they are now complaining he’s too focused and toned down,” said one former administration official, who still conceded it was “doubtful” that Trump would remain as subdued moving forward.
And while Trump enters the race with a high floor of support with the Republican primary electorate, plenty of money and nearly universal name recognition, strategists expected he’ll still have to fight for the GOP nomination.
Among those thought to be considering presidential bids of their own are Govs. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., Asa Hutchinson, R-Ark., Larry Hogan, R-Md., Kristi Noem, R-S.D., and Glenn Youngkin, R-Va., former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Tim Scott, R-S.C.
Some may yet be dissuaded from running against Trump given his sway, though there have been indications the former president’s hold on the party is not as ironclad as it once was, particularly after the disappointing midterm cycle for Republicans in which some of his chosen candidates in marquee races lost — helping Democrats defy historical patterns and hold the Senate.
The Club for Growth, the anti-tax group that used to be close with the former president, released polls the day before Trump’s launch showing him trailing DeSantis in key states. And The New York Post, a conservative tabloid that lavished Trump with praise for years, buried news of his launch on page 26 on Wednesday with the headline “FLORIDA MAN MAKES ANNOUNCEMENT.”
Other potential contenders have also indicated their plans aren’t being adjusted in light of Trump’s launch.
Pence in recent days has insisted in media interviews that there are “better options,” while Pompeo tweeted on Wednesday that “we need more seriousness, less noise, and leaders who are looking forward, not staring in the rearview mirror claiming victimhood” after Trump called himself a “victim” over various investigations.
“I do think that over the coming weeks, multiple candidates are going to announce,” said John Thomas, the head of a pro-DeSantis super PAC. “I think the next five to 10 days are going to be telling to see if cracks begin to emerge, and those cracks may turn into canyons and end up causing the former president to lose a primary.”
Still, strategists warned against underestimating Trump, who emerged as the 2016 Republican nominee after a chaotic primary and went on to win the White House despite late-breaking scandals like the Access Hollywood tape.
And should the GOP field get crowded for 2024, strategists said that could simply help Trump repeat his 2016 success in which he won the nomination with a plurality of the vote while the rest of the party’s delegates were divided among a crowd so large that it required two debate stages.
“It will be incredibly hard if everybody gets in line with the president for anybody to challenge him,” Thomas said.
More immediately, Trump’s announcement has thrown the end of the current midterm cycle into uncertainty, with his candidacy possibly firing up both parties’ bases ahead of next month’s Georgia Senate runoff.
Republicans are eager for Herschel Walker to unseat Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock to keep the Senate at 50-50, creating some procedural obstacles for the majority party, while Democrats are hopeful that Warnock could win, bumping up their caucus to 51-49.
It’s still unclear if Trump intends to campaign for Walker — which the Republicans who spoke for this story said they don’t want after his involvement in last year’s two Georgia Senate runoffs preceded losses in both races.
“I just think it reminds people that he’s out there and with the Senate not being in the balance, it’s going to be even harder to get voters out to vote,” said Georgia conservative radio host Martha Zoller. “And I think that’s true for Democrats and Republicans.”
Drake and 21 Savage have agreed to take down the fake Vogue cover they posted in promotion of their joint album, Her Loss, after publisher Condé Nast filed a lawsuit against them, Billboard reports.
In a new document filed in New York federal court on Thursday, the two artists “voluntarily ceased and desisted” from using the Vogue trademark. Those actions were required under a restraining order issued last week by a federal judge.
According to Billboard, the document noted that Drake and 21 Savage only agreed to take down the image “to avoid unnecessary cost and expense” while they continue to fight the case. They said they were not “conceding any liability” or “wrongdoing.”
(WASHINGTON) — In a scathing statement, Tom Petty’s estate on Thursday night threatened to sue Arizona Republican Kari Lake’s “failed” campaign after it used Petty’s song, “I Won’t Back Down,” in a video this week, days after Lake’s opponent, Katie Hobbs, was projected to win the race for governor.
“The Tom Petty estate and our partners were shocked to find out that Tom’s song, ‘I Won’t Back Down’ was stolen and used without permission to promote Kari Lake’s failed campaign,” Petty’s estate said in a statement. “This is illegal. We are exploring all of our legal options to stop this unauthorized use of Tom’s beloved anthem.”
Lake had tweeted a video Wednesday of campaign trail highlights put to two minutes of the song from the late singer-songwriter.
Since the statement from Petty’s estate, the video tweet has been removed from Lake’s account. The Lake campaign did not immediately return an ABC News request for comment.
The warning comes days after singer-songwriter Issac Hayes’ estate said it was exploring legal options after former President Donald Trump played a song co-written by Hayes Tuesday at Mar-a-Lago when announcing his 2024 bid.
It’s also not the first time an artist has gotten angry with Lake.
Early in her campaign, when Lake previously walked out to “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister, the band’s frontrunner, Dee Snider, publicly blasted what he said was her unauthorized use of it.
“As the songwriter & singer I DENOUNCE EVERYTHING @KariLake STANDS FOR!” Snider tweeted in August. “It was you and people like you that inspired every angry word of that song!”
With both Trump and Lake facing threats of legal challenges from artists’ estates, they also appear to be conferring on Lake’s own legal options from his Mar-a-Lago club, following her projected loss this week.
After long refusing to commit to accepting the results of her race if she lost, Lake also tweeted another video Thursday to say that she’s “still in this fight” and has legal minds exploring “every avenue,” while the latest statewide results have her down by 16,780 votes.
“Now I am busy here collecting evidence and data,” Lake said, after falling relatively silent since Hobbs’ projection. “Rest assured, I have assembled the best and brightest legal team, and we are exploring every avenue to correct the many wrongs that have been done this past week. I’m doing everything in my power to right these wrongs.”
Lake speaks directly to the camera in the two minutes and 27-second video, first telling supporters, “I wanted to reach out to you to let you know that I’m still in this fight with you.”
“My resolve to fight for you is higher than ever,” she says.
Lake traveled to Florida overnight Wednesday to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, two people connected to the campaign told ABC News, and attended a luncheon Thursday hosted by Trump’s America First Policy Institute.
Hobbs, meanwhile, is focused on her transition, her campaign manager told ABC News Thursday, when asked about Lake’s videos and resolve to “fight.”
“Governor-elect Katie Hobbs is laser-focused on her transition, building a team that is ready to hit the ground running on Day One,” said Nicole DeMont, Hobbs’ campaign manager. “Arizonans made their voices heard on November 8th, and we respect the will of the voters.”
The statewide canvass of results is set for Dec. 5 in Arizona, leaving Lake a small window of time to bring any legal challenges.
Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse has been a globally beloved figure for the past 100 years, but how did this little mouse become an icon? Find out in the new documentary Mickey: The Story of a Mouse, which debuts Friday on Disney+.
Director Jeff Malmberg describes the ins and outs of the beloved character in the project, which he tells ABC Audio would be a good explanation of what’s going on if aliens ever visit Earth.
“I always kind of shared that thing that Shanique Smith says in the film. She and I were joking about it and she says it on camera, is ‘Aliens are going to come down and they’re going to see Mickey on all this stuff and go, What is happening? What happened here?’ So this would be like the decoder ring to that for them.”
Aliens aside, Malmberg says the film is for rabid fans and non-fans alike.
“The more you are a fan of Mickey, the more you might appreciate it. But I hope that anybody can look at it and learn something new and see something new inside of it,” he shares, adding that Mickey is a “phenomenon” that we’ve all agreed represents joy.
Even so, the documentary attempts to cover multiple iterations of Mickey, not just Disney-sanctioned ones.
“I find some of the off-brand Mickey stuff, for instance, the Milton Glaser short, Mickey Mouse in Vietnam, some of those kinds of things to be on equal footing with some of the things that Disney has done,” Malmberg shares.
So why does Malmberg like Mickey?
“It’s like shorthand to joy,” he says. “It’s just so bizarre that this little mouse binds us in this weird, short, brief, almost meaningless, but still somewhat meaningful connection.” (AUDIO IS ABC 1-ON-1)
The Jonas Brothers, GAYLE, Em Beihold and Pitbull will be headlining next year’s AT&T Playoff Playlist Live! college football series.
Billboardreports the lineup for the championship games was announced Friday, with the JoBros and Em holding down the fort on Saturday, January 7, while Pitbull and GAYLE will take the stage the following night. The series will be held at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles.
While the shows are free, fans will need to register in advance for tickets. Pre-registration will open on collegefootballplayoff.com starting at 1 p.m. ET on December 2. Tickets will be dispersed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Those unable to make the show will still be able to see it via the livestream experience AT&T 5G Concert Lens, on the ESPN app.
As for you college football fans, the championship match will be held Monday, January 9, at LA’s SoFi Stadium, with kickoff scheduled at 7:30 p.m. ET. The match will air on ESPN.
Disturbed‘s new album Divisive has arrived, and with it comes a duet with Ann Wilson.
The Heart vocalist guests on a new song called “Don’t Tell Me,” which finds her harmonizing with frontman David Draiman as they sing about an ending relationship.
Along with “Don’t Tell Me,” Divisive features the previously released songs “Hey You,” “Unstoppable” and “Divisive.” Disturbed has also premiered a video for the album cut “Bad Man,” which consists of 10,000 frames of AI-generated images. You can watch that streaming now on YouTube.
Divisive is Disturbed’s eighth studio album and the follow-up to 2018’s Evolution.
(“Bad Man” video contains uncensored profanity)
Elvis Costello & The Imposters just earned a Best Rock Album Grammy nomination for The Boy Named If, and now, fans are about to be treated to a new version of the record.
Costello just announced he’s dropping the companion album, The Boy Named If (Alive at Memphis Magnetic), on November 25. The record features live-in-the-studio takes on the album’s songs, recorded during tour rehearsals at Memphis Magnetic Recording in October 2021 and May 2022.
The album also includes a version of the Costello classic “Every Day I Write The book,” along with covers of The Rolling Stones’ “Out of Time”; Nick Lowe’s “Truth Drug”; The Byrds’ “So You Want Be A Rock and Roll Star”; The Beatles’ “Here There and Everywhere”; and Paul McCartney and Wings’ “Let Me Roll It.” Plus, there is a remix of Costello’s “Magnificent Hurt” by the Japanese duo chelmico, which has just been released.
