Singer Frankie Beverly, who led the funk and soul group Maze, has died. He was 77.
Known for his smooth vocals on songs like "Joy and Pain,” “Love is the Key,” and “Southern Girl," Beverly was a big influence on R&B music.
It was Marvin Gaye who put Maze on the map in the early 1970s, helping them release their first album in 1977.
From 1977 to 1993, Maze had nine gold albums, but the band had longevity as a cult sensation.
Beverly was still performing for live audiences as recently as July, when he finished his farewell tour in his native Philadelphia.
His family confirmed his death in a statement.
"During this time, as we are navigating feelings of sorrow, reflection, and remembrance we kindly ask for privacy and understanding, allowing us the space to grieve in our own way," the post said. "This period for is one of healing, and your respect for our need for solitude is appreciated as we honor the memory of our beloved Howard Stanley Beverly known to the world as Frankie Beverly."
"He lived his life with pure soul as one would say, and for us, no one did it better. He lived for his music, family and friends," the post continued. "Love one another as he would want that for us all.”
One of Beverly's fans is Beyonce, who covered his hit "Before I Let Go" in 2019.
"Thank you Frankie Beverly for bringing us all together with your music. You’ve written some of the most inspiring and uplifting songs for the world to enjoy. With your lyrics, you have humanized our experiences, through joy and pain. Thank you for teaching us about the importance of community, family, and togetherness. We will never forget you. May you rest in power," she said.
Beverly sometimes expressed regret at not achieving more notoriety, but he also savored the group's special place in music.
"I wish more people did know who I was, but if it’s at the expense of me giving up this thing we have, then I just have to wait until they find out,” he told the Baltimore Sun in 1994.
"’Cause whatever we have, whatever this thing is that we seem to have a part of, it’s a cult kind of thing.”
Democrats are once again demanding Clarence Thomas recuse himself from Supreme Court cases over his wife Ginni's political ties.
Senate Judiciary chairman Dick Durbin called on Thomas to recuse himself from any cases involving a religious liberty group, First Liberty Institute, after his wife reportedly praised the organization for opposing Supreme Court reform.
For months, Democrats have pushed for sweeping reforms at the conservative Supreme Court, including a code of ethics and term limits. Republicans have dismissed the criticism as politically motivated.
The push for reform was initially fueled by reports of Justice Thomas accepting undisclosed gifts from conservative billionaires.
Ginni Thomas recently praised First Liberty Institute for opposing the reform push, according to ProPublica. The outlet claimed to obtain a recording of First Liberty CEO Kelly Shackelford reading aloud an email from Thomas.
"YOU GUYS HAVE FILLED THE SAILS OF MANY JUDGES. CAN I JUST TELL YOU, THANK YOU SO, SO, SO MUCH," Thomas reportedly wrote.
First Liberty has won religious liberty cases at the Supreme Court, including a controversy last year on a Christian postal worker's right to observe the Sabbath.
Senator Durbin called Ginni Thomas' praise of First Liberty Institute "deeply problematic."
“The reported comments by Ginni Thomas are deeply problematic,” Durbin said. “She’s testified before Congress that she and Justice Thomas do not discuss each other’s work. That defense now rings hollow. Whether she’s inflating her knowledge of judges’ views on ethics reform or telling the truth, her apparent comments on behalf of judicial officers create a clear appearance of impropriety for Justice Thomas. He must recuse himself from any case involving First Liberty Institute.”
This is not the first time Democrats have demanded Thomas' recusal over his wife's political activities.
Thomas refused to step aside from January 6th cases over his wife's role in advocating peacefully for President Trump after the 2020 election. Thomas attended Trump's "Stop the Steal" rally on January 6th, 2021, but left before violence broke out at the Capitol.
It's not unheard of for federal judges to speak with political groups that have business before the court. Ruth Bader Ginsburg never recused herself from cases involving the American Civil Liberties Union, law professor Josh Blackman noted in a recent article.
What's happening now is that Democrats are devising a new standard to attack the Supreme Court's conservatives and their spouses. Really sickening.
The Kamala Harris campaign is worried about her performance at Tuesday night's high-stakes debate with Donald Trump, after ABC News rejected her team's request to have microphones unmuted.
The Harris team is "scrambling to rewrite their playbook" at the 11th hour, Politico reported, as Democrats express concern that the debate parameters will work against the vice president.
Aides complain the rules have "handcuffed" Harris, a former prosecutor, who was planning to "object, fact-check and directly question" Trump as if they were in court.
"Trump’s worst moments in the debates are when he gets upset and snaps,” an aide to Harris in her 2020 presidential campaign said anonymously. “And they have neutered that.”
During her 2020 debate with former vice president Mike Pence, Harris memorably scolded her opponent for interrupting, telling Pence repeatedly, "I'm speaking."
With microphones muted, there will be limited crosstalk, and a greater risk that Harris gives one of her infamous "word salad" responses.
The Harris campaign believes she is inheriting a burden from Biden, who negotiated the microphone rules with Trump.
The rules backfired on Biden, who gave a disastrous debate performance in which he labored through incoherent answers. Biden ultimately was forced to suspend his campaign in July.
"It was a bad set of rules for someone who needed to be protected, who never should’ve been on the debate stage,” a national Democratic strategist said. “And now they’re stuck with it.”
Harris has spent days intensively preparing to face Trump, an experienced and unpredictable debater. Democrats have expressed worry ahead of the high-stakes event, which could tip the scales in an extremely close race.
"People are extremely anxious about her performance,” Ray Zaccaro, a Democratic strategist and former Senate aide, told The Hill. “There’s a sense of real caution about expectations on her performance.”
The latest polling has been sobering for Harris, who spent much of the summer riding a wave of positive press coverage. A New York Times/Siena College poll released Sunday showed Trump narrowly taking the lead.
Harris' aversion to scrutiny may has raised the stakes of the debate, leading some to label it a "make-or-break" moment for her.
"I don’t think I’ve ever seen a candidate with more weight on a given moment than this candidate will have at the debate Tuesday,” he added.
After months out of the public eye, Melania Trump is becoming more vocal in support of her husband's presidential campaign.
In her most forceful show of support yet, Melania condemned attempts to "silence" her husband, who has faced multiple politically motivated criminal prosecutions.
In a promotional video for her upcoming memoir, Melania lamented the impact of the Biden presidency on the economy, foreign policy, and the First Amendment.
"The 2020 election results changed our lives forever. It impacted our quality of life, cost of food, gasoline, safety, and even the geopolitical landscape," Melania said.
"America is more divided today than ever before. It has become increasingly apparent that there are significant challenges to free speech. I was demonstrated by the efforts to silence my husband," she added.
The statement comes after Melania took a swipe at lies about her in the media in an initial teaser for her first-ever memoir, Melania.
The unfairly maligned former First Lady blasted "misrepresentations" about her that have long circulated in the Trump-bashing press.
"Writing this memoir has been a deeply personal and reflective journey for me," she said in a short black-and-white video.
The former first lady added, "As a private person who has often been the subject of public scrutiny and misrepresentation, I feel a responsibility to clarify the facts. I believe it is important to share my perspective: the truth."
Melania showed solidarity with her husband after he survived an assassination attempt in July. She condemned the shooter as a "monster" in a poignant letter and appeared at the Republican National Convention, although she did not give a speech at the event.
The former First Lady is known to value privacy and isn't one for the political circus. She did not appear at her husband's bogus "hush money" trial in the spring, which ended with Trump's conviction for "falsifying business records" under a novel prosecution theory.
The judge in the case, Juan Merchan, has refused to lift a gag order despite the trial being over. Trump's electoral opponent, Kamala Harris, has repeatedly used the conviction to attack Trump on the campaign trail.
Trump's sentencing has been delayed until after the presidential election, and his remaining criminal case have been stalled or dropped.
As with any high-level campaign, leaks from within are inevitable, even with President Donald Trump's well-oiled campaigning machine.
According to reports, someone within the campaign recently leaked a memo about leaking information to the press, proving that leakers are a given in this day and age of anonymity and multiple methods to stay incognito.
Top campaign managers reportedly sent out the leaked memo regarding leaking to the rest of the crew.
The memo stressed that so far, most leaks had been prevented, and warned that nobody should be talking to the press at this point without express permission.
Trump co-campaign managers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles issued the memo earlier this week, even threatening termination should someone be caught leaking to the press.
"You should not be independently speaking or communicating with any members of the press—on or off the record," the co-campaign managers wrote.
"We have done a great job at preventing leaks," they added.
A leaked memo from Trump campaign Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles warns staffers on no uncertain terms not to make unauthorized contact with the press in any way, or face termination. The memo continued, declaring that they've "done a great job of "preventing leaks" (LOL), and… pic.twitter.com/JDrbQDPc0F
— JV3MJD (@JV3MJD) September 5, 2024
They stressed to staffers that the press isn't their friend, and that they're not concerned over whether or not leaked information could cost the campaign staffers their jobs.
"And that has been because everyone knows what the policy is and what we expect from everyone. Information is power—and the press doesn’t give a damn if you lose your job because you spoke out of school."
The leaked memo regarding leaking unfortunately caught the attention of Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign. Ammar Moussa, the Harris' campaign's rapid response director, offered his take on the situation.
"We’re at the leaks about leaks part of the Trump campaign! We’ve all seen this movie before," they wrote on X.
Some journalists, including Tara Palmeri of Puck News, suggested that the memo could mean a "hot story" from the Trump campaign is in the works.
"NEW leak: Trump's co-campaign managers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles warn staff in internal email to stop talking to the press less than an hour ago, with the threat of termination. There must be a hot story in the works..." she wrote.
Former Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has spent the past several weeks attempting to have his name removed from several state ballots in the wake of throwing his full support behind former President Donald Trump.
According to the Daily Caller, Kennedy successfully had his name removed from the Wyoming ballot.
The outlet noted that the Wyoming secretary of state granted the request just a day after he filed to have it removed, making it one of the easier ballot removal requests he faced.
Kennedy, who switched from Democrat to independent earlier this year, essentially dropped out of the race in August before endorsing Trump.
Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray announced the removal of Kennedy from the state's ballot in a statement that was posted to his office's official X account.
"Following his notice of withdrawal, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will not appear on the ballot as a presidential candidate in Wyoming," Gray wrote. "Our office is dedicated to providing continued, transparent service to the people of Wyoming."
On September 4th, RFK, Jr. notified the Wyoming Secretary of State that he intended to withdraw his name from the 2024 General Election ballot in Wyoming. RFK Jr. has officially withdrawn from the 2024 General Election in Wyoming and will NOT appear on the ballot in Wyoming. pic.twitter.com/vnf5qaDbEi
— Wyoming Secretary of State's Office (@WyomingSOS) September 5, 2024
As far as states that matter, Kennedy's name has already been removed from Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
Kennedy and his team battled to have his name removed from ballots in Michigan and Wisconsin, but both states' respective courts denied the request.
North Carolina also denied Kennedy's request to have his name removed, but the former candidate's lawyer noted that they're appealing that particular decision.
Hilariously, there was a time when Democrats didn't want Kennedy's name on any ballot. Now, they want him to stay on in as many as possible.
That's because, generally speaking, Kennedy's name on the ticket, at this point, would take more votes away from Trump than it would Vice President Kamala Harris.
While Wyoming was a lock for Trump, regardless of Kennedy's appearance on the ballot, it's one less state that his campaign has to worry about.
Hopefully, Kennedy and his lawyers have luck removing him from the rest of the important swing states before November.
Republicans have called on the Biden administration to end the government's support of data brokers following a massive hack that exposed the personal information of some 2.9 billion people, including "potentially all Americans."
National Public Data, a data broker that performs background checks, was targeted in a massive hack in April. The group USDoD claimed responsibility for the hack, which exposed Social Security numbers, full names, personal addresses, and other sensitive info.
In a letter to Biden, nine House Republicans said the breach highlights a deeper problem with the government's "subsidization" of mass data collection.
"These payments to data brokers amount to the government’s ongoing subsidization of the data broker industry. Americans should not have to fear bad actors will abuse their hacked data or that their own government will purchase their data, wittingly or not, in circumvention of their civil liberties."
The Republicans urged the administration to end what privacy advocates call the "data broker loophole," which enables the government to purchase Americans' data without a warrant.
Biden "strongly opposed" a bill sponsored by Warren Davidson (R-Oh.), the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act, that would have closed the loophole.
"As recently as this year, your administration has instead forcefully opposed overwhelmingly popular and bipartisan privacy protections like the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act. This bill would bar the unconscionable practice of funneling taxpayers’ money to data brokers," the Republicans said.
The letter was signed by Reps. Davidson, Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Randy Weber (R-TX), Ralph Norman (R-SC), Andy Ogles (R-TN), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Barry Moore (R-AL), and Ben Cline (R-VA).
They asked Biden to address the data breach and commit to ending the government's subsidizing of "data broker surveillance."
"We are especially concerned that this data could enable malicious actors to build a sophisticated dossier on every American that can cross-reference and validate other sensitive personal data obtained from the largely unregulated data broker industry, as well as other past and future data breaches."
"We ask for a swift and comprehensive response from your administration, including acknowledgement of the severe consequences of this breach for our national security — and for the executive branch to finally join us, hundreds of our colleagues, and hundreds of millions of Americans in demanding an end to the federal government’s subsidizing and warrantless exploitation of data broker surveillance,” the lawmakers concluded.
Former Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will campaign with Donald Trump in the battleground states, as they unite to "drain the swamp" and keep Vice President Kamala Harris away from the White House.
Trump and Kennedy have found a common enemy in the modern Democratic party, which embraces censorship, endless wars, and election interference in the name of "democracy."
“We haven’t worked out the entire schedule, but certainly I’ll probably do rallies with him and with other surrogates where President Trump. We’re hoping, we’re co-planning these rallies that make America healthy again, rallies and … drain the swamp,” Kennedy told The Hill.
To help Trump, Kennedy has sought to have his name removed from the ballot in swing states like Michigan and North Carolina.
If Kennedy can't get his name off the ballot, he's going to join Trump in the swing states to get their anti-establishment message out.
“We’re planning a Make America Healthy Again tour where we’re going to visit almost all of those states,” he said.
“So I will be doing rallies in each of those states over the next 61 days,” he continued. “We want to, if we’re going to accomplish the mission that I set out to accomplish when I got into this campaign — end the censorship, end surveillance, get out of Ukraine war and unravel the war machine and the chronic disease epidemic.”
“The only way to do that is to get President Trump in the White House and me into Washington. So we’re going to pull out all the stops to make sure that happens.”
Kennedy's efforts to get off the ballot in swing states have faced opposition from Democrats, who previously fought to keep Kennedy from running.
He had cited the Democratic party's ruthless "legal warfare" when he dropped out and endorsed Trump, sparking condemnation from his family of famous Democrats.
Kennedy said he found common ground with Trump on free speech, foreign policy, and the rise in chronic diseases among Americans.
Trump has embraced Kennedy's messaging around public health, pledging to get to the bottom of declining children's health outcomes if elected.
A North Carolina judge rejected Kennedy's request Thursday to take his name off the ballot after the state's Democrat-run elections board argued it was too late for him to withdraw.
Lawyers for Donald Trump filed a salvo of legal arguments challenging the verdict in his "business fraud" case, as Letitia James fights to collect on the staggering half-billion-dollar judgment.
The aggressively political attorney general was blocked in a different case recently when a judge stopped her from targeting crisis pregnancy centers.
An oral argument is scheduled September 26 to consider Trump's appeal, as James defends a $464 million judgment in a case involving no victims.
New York judge Arthur Engoron found Trump liable for business fraud before the lengthy trial began, later slapping Trump with a $464 million judgment and a three-year ban on doing business in his home state.
AG James threatened to seize Trump's property if he did not pay, but he was able to post a reduced $175 million bond after the New York Appellate Court stepped in.
While the legal battle has faded from the headlines, Trump is still fighting to overturn Engoron's verdict, the severity of which shocked many in the business world who likened it to a "corporate death penalty."
In August, James quietly filed a brief before the Appellate Court insisting there was "overwhelming" evidence of Trump's guilt.
Trump's lawyers noted in their response last Friday that there were no victims of the supposed fraud, mentioning Trump's clients were "paid back in full."
“This case involves no victims, no complaints, no misstatements, no causation, and no injuries or losses," Trump lawyers Alina Habba and Clifford Robert wrote.
They slammed judge Engoron for undervaluing Mar-A-Lago "at $18 million to $27.6 million, disregarding unrebutted expert testimony that it is worth over $1.2 billion.”
The court told the New York Sun that a decision could take up to eight weeks, so an outcome is unlikely before the 2024 presidential election.
Trump has long ripped James' case as a political witch hunt, noting she campaigned for her office on going after him.
The far-left attorney general was rebuked by a Trump-appointed federal judge in a separate case recently for illegally targeting the free speech rights of crisis pregnancy centers.
James threatened to take action against the pregnancy centers for sharing "misleading" information about reversing the effects of the abortion pill. U.S. District Judge John Sinatra Jr. reminded James that even false speech is protected by the First Amendment.
“Plaintiffs are irreparably harmed each day that their First Amendment freedoms are infringed,” Sinatra wrote.
James Darren, the 1960s teen heartthrob known for his role in the surfer movie Gidget, has died. He was 88.
Unfortunately, doctors couldn't save the actor, who was considered too weak for an aortic valve replacement. The news was confirmed by his son Jim Moret, a journalist for Inside Edition.
“I always thought he would pull through,” Moret said, “because he was so cool. He was always cool.”
Darren first found fame as Moondoggie, the handsome surfer and love interest of Gidget in the 1959 movie of the sane name starring Sandra Dee.
Darren appeared in two sequels, 1961’s Gidget Goes Hawaiian and 1963’s Gidget Goes to Rome. Like many actors of the decade, Darren was a sometime singer, scoring a top hit with 1961's "Goodbye Cruel World."
He described the moment he realized he was famous decades later to Los Angeles Magazine.
“The defining moment was when I was at a studio in San Francisco and word got out that I was there,” Darren said in 2015.
“Thousands of girls were screaming out front. When I had to leave the building, they tackled me to the ground and pulled pieces of my hair out. The police had to rescue me and took me to the roof until things settled down. It was total pandemonium.”
Over the course of a varied career, Darren also appeared in TV shows like the 1960s sci-fi series The Time Tunnel and the 1980s police drama TJ Hooker, starring William Shatner.
Darren stayed busy into the 1990s with a role in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, where he played a holographic lounge singer.
Nancy Sinatra, daughter of legendary crooner Frank Sinatra, issued a statement calling Darren "one of my dearest, closest friends."
One of my dearest, closest friends in all the world, of all my life has passed away. Godfather to my daughter, AJ. Wishing him a fast & beautiful journey through the Universe & beyond. Godspeed, sweet Jimmy. My heart is torn but full of love for Evy, Christian, Anthony & Jimmy Jr pic.twitter.com/n3WxuLzlK8
— Nancy Sinatra (@NancySinatra) September 2, 2024
Beyond acting, Darren also directed on shows like Beverly Hills, 90210 and Melrose Place.
He is survived by wife Evy; sons Jim Moret, Christian Darren and Tony Darren; and five grandchildren.