“I want [Brittney Griner] to return back home. … [but] we cannot trade that horrible human being for her. It’s just not a fair trade,” professional basketball player Enes Kanter Freedom said during a Friday appearance on Fox News’ The Story with Martha MacCallum. Freedom, who has been an outspoken critic on human rights issues in countries such as Communist China, officially added the “Freedom” to his name after becoming a U.S. citizen in 2021. WNBA player Griner, who was arrested in February in a Moscow airport with CDB oil in her luggage, was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison on drug charges by a Russian court Thursday morning. The Biden administration reportedly made an offer to swap Brittney for convicted arms dealer and “Merchant of Death” Viktor Bout, who is being held on a 25-year sentence in the U.S. for selling weapons to a Columbian terror group. “I’ve been following her case very closely and the one thing that I will say, we cannot be sending a … [Read more...] about Enes Kanter Freedom: White House Cannot Exchange ‘Merchant of Death’ for Brittney Griner
Pippa evans 50 ways to leave the white house
The Biden Age Is Hitting Its Stride
Photo: Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images Last week, Democratic Representative Carolyn Maloney of the Upper East Side, chair of the powerful House Committee on Oversight and Reform, made national headlines by telling me, in the middle of a high-stakes televised debate , that she thinks Joe Biden will voluntarily be a one-term president. “I don’t believe he is running for reelection,” she said in response to my yes/no question about whether Biden ought to be a candidate in 2024. The remark drew a double take from attorney Siraj Patel, one of her fellow debaters, but it wasn’t a gaffe: When asked on CNN to clarify the remark the next morning, Maloney quasi apologized and pledged her support for the president, but reemphasized that she doesn’t believe Biden will be a candidate. Maloney’s remarks fly in the face of emphatic White House statements. “To be clear, as the president has said repeatedly, he plans to run in 2024,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tweeted in June. … [Read more...] about The Biden Age Is Hitting Its Stride
Two prominent men died on Titanic – were they secretly a couple?
Let's be clear up front: No one knows for sure whether Archibald Butt and Francis Davis Millet were in a romantic relationship. In the times and society in which they lived, for such a thing to become known would have meant ruin. Here's what we do know. Butt never married. Millet was estranged from his wife and had a previous relationship with a man. Butt and Millet lived together in a mansion in Washington's tony Georgetown neighborhood, where they threw parties for the city's elite - including Butt's boss, President William Howard Taft. And in the weeks before they died on the Titanic, they were vacationing together in Europe. "The enduring partnership of Butt and Millet was an early case of 'Don't ask, don't tell,' " historian Richard Davenport-Hines wrote in 2012, referring to the policy that once required gay members of the military to keep their sexuality secret. A National Park Service page for the White House memorial fountain in their honor says they were "widely … [Read more...] about Two prominent men died on Titanic – were they secretly a couple?
I experienced the festival opulence of the $2,000 Outside Lands VIP pass
Anyone who has ever been to a music festival knows that using the bathroom is an annoying chore at best, and at worst, a test of how long you can hold your breath and bladder. However, on Saturday afternoon at Outside Lands , armed with my Golden Gate Club wristband, that experience was “elevated.” Instead of waiting to exhale, I breathe deeply as I cleanse my hands in the spacious lavatory trailer with mid-tier designer soap (Public Goods, if you must know). Then I spritzed myself with a facial mist that smelled like fresh sheets from a boutique hotel. A wristband that allows entry to this luxurious bathroom, as well as a host of other perks including front of stage access, costs $1,995 for one day, plus fees (general admission is $175). I was given media access to this exclusive wonderland in order to experience the grandeur, and report back to you, the reader who is likely spending that amount of money on a month’s pandemic-reduced rent in a one-bedroom San Francisco … [Read more...] about I experienced the festival opulence of the $2,000 Outside Lands VIP pass
SoulCycle Without the Bike: Here Comes Peoplehood
To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android . Since last summer, a start-up in beta mode has been soliciting volunteers to take part in 55-minute sessions called “gathers,” where strangers discuss their deepest hopes and fears. The fledgling company, Peoplehood, is led by the entrepreneurs Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice, who combined sweat and spirituality in their last venture, the high-end fitness chain SoulCycle. So far nearly a thousand people have taken part, Ms. Cutler and Ms. Rice said. On a recent night I was one of about 20 volunteers who logged on to a remote session moderated by Shamicka Jones , an actress, dancer and model who, in Peoplehood-speak, is a “superconnector.” Wearing a sweatshirt with “PPLHD” across the front, Ms. Jones had an infectiously upbeat presence. After leading us through a series of breathing exercises, she introduced the topic of the day: uncertainty. Before … [Read more...] about SoulCycle Without the Bike: Here Comes Peoplehood