October 19, 2018 9:54AM PT Taylor Swift shocked her fans (and Washington, D.C. for that matter) when she broke her silence on politics last month, endorsing two Tennessee democrats on Instagram. Katy Perry was one of the first to “like” the post, fueling speculation that the bad blood between the two pop megastars has finally
Politics
President Trump praised Rep. Greg Gianforte (R-Montana) as “my kind of guy” for body slamming a reporter who was trying to ask him a question on the eve of a special election last year. Trump was speaking at a rally in Missoula, Mont., where the president was campaigning for a Republican challenger to Sen. Jon
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that he won’t attend an investor summit in Saudi Arabia next week amid an international furor over the Saudi regime’s potential role in the apparent killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. “Just met with @realDonaldTrump and @SecPompeo and we have decided, I will not be participating in the Future Investment
WASHINGTON — Rob Goldstone doesn’t quite understand what is fueling President Donald Trump’s relationship with Kanye West, but thinks social media followers have more to do with it than perhaps music itself. Goldstone is the music publicist who instigated the infamous 2016 Trump Tower meeting between a Russian lawyer and top members of Trump’s campaign
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department’s appeal of the AT&T-Time Warner antitrust decision has been set for oral argument on Dec. 6. A panel of the D.C. Court of Appeals will hear from both sides in the case as it weighs whether to overturn all or parts of U.S. District Judge Richard Leon’s decision in favor
Six Democratic candidates hoping to flip House seats in California raised more than a half-million dollars at a fundraiser on Tuesday at the home of Laura and Casey Wasserman, drawing donors such as Haim Saban, Brian Grazer, Dana Walden, and Chris Silbermann. A source said that more than $600,000 was raised at the event, which
Former President Barack Obama is using digital-media company ATTN: as a mouthpiece to reach millennials — with a new video aimed at getting young Americans to the polls for the Nov. 6 midterm elections. “Here’s your chance to vote for people who actually know what the internet is,” President Obama says in the video. “You
October 17, 2018 6:20AM PT WASHINGTON — Yeardley Smith, the voice of Lisa Simpson on “The Simpsons,” is donating $250,000 to the Human Rights Campaign’s SuperPAC to support its organizing and get-out-the-vote efforts in advance of the midterms. Smith also is matching donations up to $50,000 from others donating to HRC’s Equality Votes Super PAC.
WASHINGTON — The publisher and CEO of The Washington Post said “it is essential that our own government and others push harder for the truth” about Jamal Khashoggi, the columnist whose disappearance since he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul has created an international uproar. Turkish officials say Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi government, was
October 16, 2018 8:59AM PT WASHINGTON — PEN America, an organization representing writers and literary professionals, filed suit against President Donald Trump on Tuesday, claiming he has used regulatory enforcement powers to attack media outlets in violation of the First Amendment. “He has threatened to engage, and has engaged, in conduct intended to retaliate against
With just three weeks to go until the mid-term elections, Hollywood Democrats claim they are not taking anything for granted — a different outlook than they had in 2016. Complacency and confidence are being replaced by energy, enthusiasm and anger, as industry heavyweights forge get-out-the-vote videos, knock on doors and in some cases perform at
WASHINGTON — What largely got lost in the surreal moments surrounding President Trump’s meeting with Kanye West last week was the purpose of the visit: Criminal justice reform. Kanye West, Kim Kardashian West, and other entertainment figures have tried to spotlight the problems with mandatory minimum sentencing, which has put non-violent drug offenders behind bars
October 15, 2018 11:16AM PT Beyonce, Sean Hannity, and LeBron James are among the most politically divisive celebrities in America, according to a new report from market research firm Morning Consult. With midterm elections on the horizon, Morning Consult surveyed more than 6,000 Americans to discover which celebrities cause the largest divide between Democrats and Republicans.
With three weeks until the midterm elections, Casey and Laura Wasserman are hosting a fundraiser on Tuesday evening at their home to raise money for eight candidates hoping to flip House districts in California to Democrats. The event at the Wasserman home has a long list of co-chairs, including Reginald and Chrisette Hudlin, Jon Vein
President Donald Trump has vowed to seek “severe punishment” if officials from Saudi Arabia are found to have been involved in the disappearance of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Trump made the remarks in a sit-down interview with “60 Minutes” correspondent Lesley Stahl that was recorded Thursday at the White House. The President has been criticized
Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. – rapper, father, entrepreneur, actor, reality star T.I. – has never had a problem speaking his mind; not in his role as truth-telling trap music avatar, reflecting on the ways of coming up hard in his Atlanta hometown; not in the lived-in advice given by him and his wife, songwriter Tameka
October 12, 2018 1:09PM PT “If you listen closely you can hear the tears of our ancestors hit the floor,” the rapper wrote of the “vile” White House meeting. “This is my stop, I’m officially DONE!!!!” The hip-hop artist T.I. is claiming Kanye West invited him to go along on Thursday’s visit to the White
John Legend and Chrissy Teigen are hosting a fundraiser on Sunday at their Beverly Hills home for Democratic Senate candidates, and Legend is expected to perform. The event will raise money for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and is billed as a “reception to take back the Senate majority,” according to the invite. Democrats face
WASHINGTON — As the Justice Department pursues its appeal of a federal judge’s decision in favor of the AT&T-Time Warner merger, new court filings shed light on the tense meetings that ended with the filing of the landmark lawsuit. The contentiousness in one key meeting revolved around the companies’ claims that they were being unfairly
Kanye West recently announced that he was delaying “Yandhi,” his hotly anticipated next album — hotly anticipated by Diamond and Silk, anyway — until Nov. 23. But West may have the first fan base in the world to hope that their hero delays a project much, much longer than the artist himself anticipates. How about
October 11, 2018 2:11PM PT Kanye West met with President Donald Trump at the Oval Office in the White House on Thursday, where the rapper touched on a variety of topics including mental health and prison reform. West also said he viewed Trump as a “father figure,” adding that putting on the “Make America Great Again”
WASHINGTON — Kanye West met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday for a lunch to discuss topics like prison reform and urban revitalization. But that is not likely to be the media takeaway from the scene. After pool reporters were allowed into the Oval Office for a photo op, West and Trump
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed the Music Modernization Act on Thursday at a White House ceremony. Kid Rock was among those attending the signing at the Roosevelt Room. Others in the industry had their invites canceled after the ceremony was scaled back because of changes in Trump’s schedule to monitor the devastation of Hurricane Michael
Prominent figures in media and entertainment are weighing whether to go forward with plans to attend a Saudi investment conference, in the wake of the disappearance of dissident Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. On Wednesday, the New York Times announced that it has withdrawn as a media partner of the event, which will be held
WASHINGTON — Kanye West will join President Trump at the White House on Thursday for a signing ceremony of the Music Modernization Act, a sweeping bill to reform music licensing and royalty payments long sought after by the industry and artists. Neil Portnow, the president and CEO of the Recording Academy, will attend the event,
October 9, 2018 7:45AM PT WASHINGTON — Nikki Haley, President Donald Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, has resigned. Haley, the former governor of South Carolina who has been considered a rising star within the GOP, was scheduled to appear with Trump in the Oval Office for a media statement. “Big announcement with my friend
Emma González is, in many ways, your typical teenager. She’s bright-eyed and jaunty, and wears her passions, emotions and fierce independence on her sleeve. She doesn’t attempt to censor her opinions. She voraciously consumes movies and TV shows like “The Office” on Netflix. She knows all the lyrics to her favorite songs, and her Spotify user name is
It is fitting that Emma González wears a leather choker with a Joan of Arc medallion. It was given to her by Father Edwin Leahy, headmaster of St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, N.J., where she spoke with students in May about their experiences in a community that’s been ravaged by gun violence. Her visit came just
October 8, 2018 10:10PM PT In the latest development of the Kanye West saga, the rapper is expected to meet with President Donald Trump and his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner on Thursday, according to a report in the New York Times. The Times’ sources say West will first meet with Kushner and then
A half a dozen Democratic candidates hoping to secure a majority in this year’s midterms will appear at the Writers Guild Theater on Tuesday for a fundraiser, aimed in part at drawing younger- and lower- dollar donors. The candidates appearing will be Ken Harbaugh, seeking a seat in Ohio; Kendra Horn, running in Oklahoma; Lucy