A ndrew Tate had a plan. It was late January, and he sat in a stark jail cell in a bland, four-story police structure in Bucharest, Romania. He’d been there since Dec. 29, detained on suspicion of organized crime, rape, and human trafficking. Andrew and his brother, Tristan, were escorted …
Read More »The Iraq War Unleashed an Age of Grift. We're Still Living in It
T he quote that would secure Jim Mattis’ reputation as the most celebrated Marine general of his generation came during meetings he hadn’t wanted to attend. It was April 2004, a half-mile east of the Iraqi city of Fallujah, which had exploded in an insurrection that threatened to doom the …
Read More »'The Idol': How HBO's Next 'Euphoria' Became Twisted 'Torture Porn'
Lily-Rose Depp as a glamorous, troubled pop star. The Weeknd as a slimy, modern cult leader. Supporting roles for Blackpink’s Jennie, Troye Sivan, and a handful of other buzzy stars. And in-demand director Sam Levinson at the helm. For months, the hype machine has been at full tilt for HBO’s …
Read More »The FBI's Persecution of Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier walked among kings and earned Hollywood’s highest honors, but that didn’t stop the Federal Bureau of Investigation from keeping tabs on the actor and philanthropist via informants and surveillance tactics during the civil rights era, according to documents newly obtained by Rolling Stone. Poitier, who passed away at …
Read More »Last Stand in Coal Country
I t’s a week before Christmas and the sons and daughters of Alabama miners are playing musical chairs in an old school at Tannehill Ironworks State Park, 30 miles south of Birmingham. A mom presses play, and the music starts. It’s Stevie Wonder. Someday at Christmas we’ll see a landWith …
Read More »Guns, Grift, and Gore: The Life and Times of an Arms-Dealing Hustler
W HEN ROSS ROGGIO and his then-mistress arrived at New York’s John F. Kennedy airport in February 2017, officers from several U.S. government agencies were waiting for them. The federal agents interviewed Roggio in one of the airport’s small offices, and the American businessman told them a frightening tale. Tall …
Read More »Report: Kanye's Anti-Semitic Rhetoric Led to Assaults, Vandalism
When Kanye West, a.k.a. Ye, began his antisemitic blitz late last year — threatening to go “death con 3 on Jewish people”; proclaiming his “love” for Nazis; and insisting it’s time for Jews to “forgive Hitler” — the hate didn’t just go viral on the Internet. It soon spread to …
Read More »Twitter Kept Entire 'Database' of Republican Requests to Censor Posts
When the White House called up Twitter in the early morning hours of September 9, 2019, officials had what they believed was a serious issue to report: Famous model Chrissy Teigen had just called President Donald Trump “a pussy ass bitch” on Twitter — and the White House wanted the …
Read More »Eight Women Say the Same Man Raped or Assaulted Them. Now They're Out for Justice
O n the morning of Dec. 9, 2022, a young woman named Zoë awoke and found herself to be in avenger mode. Strictly speaking, a disguise may not have been necessary for the doling out of justice Zoë had planned for that day. But it had been a year and …
Read More »Trump's Killing Spree: The Inside Story of His Race to Execute Every Prisoner He Could
I n the final moments of Brandon Bernard’s life, before he was executed by lethal injection at a federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, on Dec. 10, 2020, President Donald Trump picked up the phone to entertain a final plea for mercy on Bernard’s behalf. The call was not with …
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