October 29, 2018 1:26PM PT Cesar Sayoc, suspected of sending at least 13 packages containing mail bombs to CNN, top Democrats, and other critics of President Donald Trump, appeared in court on Monday for the first time to face five federal charges. According to the Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Sayoc remained calm during the
Politics
Lin Manuel Miranda, Natalie Portman, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Adam Scott are among the entertainment figures who plan to appear at rallies or canvass in the final days before the midterms, while Cake, Steven Stills and The Flatliners are headlining a concert on Tuesday for Beto O’Rourke. Most of the celebrities are trying to get Democrats
“Companies like Google and Facebook, now among the largest companies in the world, must step up to greater responsibility for the theft of creative content that they facilitate, and take proactive steps,” the letter reads. “While the creative communities recognize that the need for greater platform responsibility extends far beyond copyright infringement, our industry has
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump continued to blame the media for anger and polarization in the political sphere, calling the “fake news media” the “true enemy of the people.” He’s used the reference before, but in the wake of a deadly shooting rampage at a Pittsburgh synagogue and the mailing of pipe bombs to some
WASHINGTON — The day after the 2016 presidential election, UK comedian Tom Walker scored a viral video hit with his take on what Hillary Clinton did wrong and how Donald Trump won. On the latest edition of Variety‘s PopPolitics on SiriusXM, Walker, who plays reporter Jonathan Pie, says that he fears that many late-night comedians and
Saturday’s mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, the worst attack ever in the U.S. to target the Jewish community, has caused an outpouring of grief and rage among notable figures in entertainment. The shooter, identified as Robert D. Bowers, was reportedly shouting anti-Semitic slurs as he opened fire, killing 11 congregants
President Trump again blamed the media for the state of political discourse, faulting them for any suggestion that he and Republicans somehow bore responsibility for a suspect to mail out pipe bombs to top Democrats and other Trump critics. At the rally in Charlotte, the crowd chanted “CNN sucks,” as Trump cast blame on news
WASHINGTON — California’s net neutrality law, signed last month by Gov. Jerry Brown, will be put on hold until federal litigation over the FCC’s role is resolved. The state’s attorney general, Xavier Becerra, agreed to pause the implementation of the law, which includes the strongest net neutrality protections of any state measure that has passed
WASHINGTON — Cesar Sayoc, the suspect apprehended on Friday in connection with a string of attempted mail bombings, faces at least five federal crimes, including threats against former presidents, said attorney general Jeff Sessions. The charges carry up to 58 years in prison. Authorities were led to Sayoc, 56, of Aventura, Fla., after the discovery
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump praised law enforcement for the arrest of a suspect in connection with the sending of at least a dozen mail bombs to CNN, top Democrats, and other officials. “These terrorizing acts are despicable and have no place in our country,” Trump said, just a few hours after characterizing the suspected
Federal authorities have arrested a man in connection with the mailing of packages containing suspected explosive devices to CNN, top Democrats, and other prominent public figures. Sarah Isgur Flores, a spokeswoman for the Justice Department, said, “We can confirm one person is in custody.” A press conference is planned for Friday afternoon. News reports showed
Variety and Rolling Stone will co-host their first-ever Criminal Justice Reform Summit next month in Los Angeles. Featuring CNN host and activist Van Jones, as well as Kim Kardashian West and hip-hop artist Meek Mill, the Nov. 14 event will bring together the entertainment, philanthropic, advocacy and policymaking communities to drive criminal justice reform. Jones
Authorities retrieved two more packages suspected of containing mail bombs on Friday. One was addressed to Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and the other to James Clapper, the former director of national intelligence, and was to be sent in care of CNN, according to law enforcement sources. The package sent to CNN was discovered at a
October 26, 2018 6:28AM PT A day after an explosive device was sent to his New York City offices, Robert De Niro is urging people to exercise their right to vote. De Niro thanked law enforcement officials for handling the suspicious package that was sent to the offices of his Tribeca Enterprises in Lower Manhattan
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump continued to turn attention to the media in the aftermath of the spate of suspected mail bombs sent to CNN and some of his prominent critics, this time complaining that the cable news network was casting blame on him. “Funny how lowly rated CNN, and others, can criticize me at
The title of Sara Bareilles’ new song, “Armor,” makes it sound like she’s ready for battle. And that’s not altogether off the mark for this female-centric anthem, as the lyrics take a so-done-with-this attitude toward a politicized patriarchy. But there’s even more compassion than fierceness as the lyric video for the single celebrates women and
October 25, 2018 7:13PM PT The Los Angeles Police Department bomb squad was called out to check a suspicious package sent to Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Thursday afternoon, but the item turned out to be harmless. Building security at 11111 Santa Monica Blvd. called the LAPD at 4:15 p.m., the agency said. Feinstein has a
Former Vice President Joseph Biden, making his first comments since the discovery of that suspicious packages containing potential explosive devices were mailed to him, said that “this division, this hatred, this ugliness — it has to end.” Speaking at an event at the University of Buffalo in Buffalo, N.Y., Biden also said that the press
The spate of mail bombs sent to prominent Democrats this week has spurred news organizations to step up security measures, in another disturbing sign of the polarization that has created new dangers for journalists covering politics and divisive social issues. The FBI and other law enforcement agencies have mounted a nationwide investigation into the source
October 25, 2018 2:24PM PT Caitlyn Jenner no longer supports President Trump. In an op-ed for The Washington Post, Jenner expressed her regret at having mistakenly believed that the Trump administration supported the transgender community. “Believing that I could work with Trump and his administration to support our community was a mistake,” she wrote, citing
Authorities again asked for the public to contact the FBI, NYPD, and other law enforcement agencies for any tips as to the source of suspicious packages sent with suspected explosive devices to CNN, actor Robert De Niro, former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other public figures. At a press conference
President Donald Trump stepped up his attacks on the news media, blaming it for the angry political environment as questions are raised on what motivated one or more individuals to send pipe bombs to CNN and other top Democrats. The intemperate tweets came less than a day after the president had called for national unity.
President Donald Trump, speaking at a Wisconsin rally following the discovery of explosive devices sent to CNN and a number of top Democrats, said those in the political arena “must stop treating political opponents as being morally defective.” But he did not make any acknowledgement of his own political rhetoric, in which he has recently
October 24, 2018 4:13PM PT John Legend and Linda Perry are teaming up to promote voting with their new social media single “Get Up and Vote.” After posting their own solo versions of the song on Twitter, the pair has encouraged both fans and celebrities alike to share their own versions as a part of
President Donald Trump said that packages containing potential explosive devices and sent to top Democrats and CNN were “abhorrent,” and said threats of acts of political violence “have no place in America.” “In these times, we have to unify, we have to come together. That is a very bipartisan statement,” he said at the beginning
The Columbus Circle area of Manhattan was transformed Wednesday morning into a chaotic scene of police barricades, bomb squad trucks, security tape, and shuttered streets as New Yorkers grappled with another bomb threat, this time directed at CNN headquarters in the Time Warner Center building. The scene on 58th Street outside the entrance to what
October 22, 2018 2:19PM PT WASHINGTON — The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture kicks off its inaugural film festival on Wednesday, with Steve McQueen’s “Widows” as the opening selection and Barry Jenkins’ “If Beale Street Could Talk” as the closing pic on Saturday. The Smithsonian African American Film Festival will screen
October 22, 2018 8:14AM PT The Trump Administration continues to gather facts regarding the death of journalist and Saudi Arabia dissident Jamal Khashoggi, adviser Jared Kushner said Monday in rare public remarks. “We are more in the fact-finding phase,” said Kushner, who is also the president’s son-in-law, at a conference held by CNN during an
In the wake of the global scandal surrounding the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, Vice is reviewing its contract with Saudi Arabian publishing group SRMG, an industry source told Variety on Monday. Vice has an ongoing contract with SRMG to produce a series of four mini-documentaries aimed at promoting Saudi Arabia. Some of these have
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Actress and comedian Julia Louis-Dreyfus accepted the Kennedy Center’s 21st annual Mark Twain Prize Sunday with heartfelt thanks to the cadre of colleagues gathered to pay tribute to the “Veep” star during in a warm and spontaneous evening that recounted her illustrious career. Not surprisingly, some of the event’s most pointed material was aimed