Friday, December 19, 2025
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Judge Rules Robert Kennedy Lied About New York State Residency, Really Lives in LA, Is Off the Ballot

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Just in case you didn’t hear it last night:

Robert Kennedy, Jr. will not be on the ballot in New York come election day.

According to the Associated Press: “Judge Christina Ryba concluded in her 34-page decision that the rented bedroom Kennedy claimed as his residence in New York wasn’t a “bona fide and legitimate residence, but merely a ‘sham’ address that he assumed for the purpose of maintaining his voter registration” and furthering his political candidacy.”

Kennedy said he’ll appeal, but he’s pretty much unappealing at this point. Kennedy is a resident of Los Angeles, where he’s lived for years since marrying actress Cheryl Hines.

The AP: “Ryba said evidence submitted in trial showed Kennedy had a “long-standing pattern” of borrowing addresses from friends and relatives so he could maintain his voter registration in New York state.”

“Using a friend’s address for political and voting purposes, while barely stepping foot on the premises, does not equate to residency under the Election Law,” the judge wrote. “To hold otherwise would establish a dangerous precedent and open the door to the fraud and political mischief that the Election Law residency rules were designed to prevent.”

Meantime, remember Kennedy’s 30 year old son, Conor? He’s the one who dated Taylor Swift while he was in high school. Conor, who’s 30, is one year out of Georgetown Law School. He works for a class action law firm in Los Angeles. Yesterday he announced his engagement to a Brazilian pop star hottie. They have matching tattoos. On Instagram, he identifies as the King of Madagascar.

Will Barron Take a Gap Year? No Word Yet as Freshman Orientation Begins at UPenn in 8 Days

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Barron Trump, 18, is the subject of planted, fawning press piece in the Daily Mail today.

It’s all about how Barron, who’s 6’7″, and his tiny buddy, Bo Loudon, 17 and still in high school, are advising Donald Trump about social media.

According to the Daily Mail, they’re geniuses. Meantime, no one has ever heard Barron speak. He was recently pictured in a golf cart, gaping while his father called Vice President Kamala Harris a “f***** bitch.”

What no one knows yet is if Barron will be going to college this fall. Trump has said Barron got into all the colleges he wanted to, but so far there hasn’t been one name of a school offered by the usually boastful 34 time convicted felon.

Two names that have come up in gossip are the University of Pennsylvania — where Trump went after his father helped him in — and New York University, so he could live in Trump Tower.

The countdown clock is running. UPenn has freshman orientation on August 21st. New York University has a mandatory first year student orientation on August 24th. Those would be one week and ten days from now, respectively.

My guess? The social media genius will take a gap year. The excuse will be the presidential campaign. Too much pressure, too distracting, and security is an issue. Barron will continue to lurk along the edges, unheard, and mostly unseen. By next fall, when Trump is well past losing the election, interest in Barron will dissipate.

After all, Barron was originally offered as a delegate to the Republican National Convention. But that plan was quickly rescinded. In the end, he wasn’t even at the convention. Aside from the golf cart, he’s been absent from public life.

Let’s not forget this classic Donald Trump post from 2023:

Broadway: Sutton Foster Channels Carol Burnett in Totally Silly, Very Funny “Once Upon a Mattress”

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Carol Burnett, who’s now 92, starred Off Broadway in 1959 in “Once Upon A Mattress.” Her performance as Princess Winifred, coupled with her regular appearances on “The Garry Moore Show,” made her a star.

Many years later in 1996, a pre-“Sex and the City” Sarah Jessica Parker acquitted herself very well on Broadway as the princess, who is also known as Fred.

Now Sutton Foster has taken on the role in a revival at the Hudson Theater. Winner of two Tony Awards, star of a TV series, most recently on Broadway as the prim Marian the Librarian in “The Music Man,” Foster is a living Broadway legend. Cadres of fans adore her, and won’t mind that at 49 she’s twice the age of previous Freds.

In “Younger,” her hit TV series, she was a 40 year old pretending to be 25, and it worked. Nothing has changed. As Princess Fred, Foster is such a pro she pulls it off. So does Michael Urie, 44 in real life, but a young prince who yearns to marry out of his parents’ — the king and queen’s — castle.

The songs are still by Mary Rodgers, daughter of Richard, full of rich melodies. But some things have changed: the book, all polished up and made very “Spamalot” like has been adapted by the great Amy Sherman Palladino of “Mrs. Maisel” and “Gilmore Girls” fame. Palladino has streamlined the story, put it in a logical order, and modernized it. (A couple is now pregnant without marriage. In the original they’d secretly wed.) If you recently saw
“Spamalot” you might think, for example, that Urie just moved over from that show in similar costume. The characters from each– dimwitted, coquettish –are not so different.

There are several other players who are highlights starting with Ana Gasteyer as the Queen. Gasteyer is a legacy player from “SNL.” so exceptionally talented but never found a post SNL path. She’s absolutely hilarious as the haughty queen,. complete with a sensational voice. The rest of the cast is top notch, and well known: Will Chase (who’s sort of the Lyle Waggoner for Burnett fans), Nikki Renee Daniels, John Patrick Kelly (who earlier stole (Into the Woods”), and Brooks Ashmanskas, and Daniel Breaker, — who I only know from “Billions” on TV, is a breakout star.

It takes about 30 minutes in Palladino’s version (and the terrific director Lear deBessonet) to get Foster out on stage. That’s how much she’s fleshed out the original, thin story. All the subsidiary characters now have back stories and quips galore. But in the end it’s all about Sutton Foster. She’s pulled from the best of Burnett nd Lucille Ball, including a scene that hearkens back to Lucy and the chocolate candies. But she’s updated their gifts so they blend with hers. Foster doesn’t have her signature tap dancing in this show, but her physicality is something we haven’t seen on Broadway in a long time. “Mattress” is supposed to be a limited run, but I’ll bet it goes on much longer.

And PS little kids and adults at my performance loved it equally.

Trump Returns to Posting on Twitter, Lowers Value of Company Stock for Truth Social Platform

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Donald Trump turned on his own stockholders today.

Shares of his Trump Media fell to $24 as Trump returned to posting on Twitter X.

Right away, the value of Trump Media, which operates his Truth Social platform, lost value.

Trump is also back tonight on Twitter X at 8pm with Elon Musk.

It does as if he’s abandoning his Truth Social minions

Radio Nowhere: Audacy Destroys Gold Standard 60 Year Old WCBS Newsradio 88, Flipping to ESPN Sports

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After 60 years, WCBS — Newsradio 88 in New York — is over.

Their parent company, Audacy, which barely exists anyway, has destroyed a New York standard bearer.

Maybe as early as today, WCBS — including the call letters — will be replaced by an ESPN sports station.

That leaves New York with just one all news station. WINS continues to operate at 1010AM, but that will change soon, too. Little by little, WINS has been identifying itself as 92.3 FM. Audacy will pull the plug on WINS 1010AM soon, trust me.

As a devoted listener to both stations, I am outraged. I’m sure I’m not alone. But to be honest, Audacy has managed to screw everything up. But there’s no advertising. These stations all rely on garbage bottom feeding ads from things like Balance of Nature, and other non FDA approved snake oil for various ailments.

WCBS 880 will broadcast a live commemorative special, “WCBS 880 News: The People, the Moments, and the Events that Shaped our Lives,” on Aug. 22 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The special edition of “Newsline” with Brigitte Quinn will include interviews and historical clips.

A disgraceful and ignominious end for the gold standard in local news broadcasting.

Trump Posts to Twitter X for 2nd Time Since Return on Eve of Musk “Interview”

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Twitter X owner Elon Musk is “interviewing” Donald Trump tonight at 8pm on the platform.

This morning Trump posted to Twitter X for the second time since Musk allowed him to return to the platform.

“I will obliterate the dark state,” Trump promises in a campaign video.

Tonight’s “interview” — really a product plug — now augurs as Trump’s return to Twitter X through the election. He will be spewing lies like crazy, unchecked. It should be fun!

I’ll be watching tonight. Wouldn’t miss it. I still don’t understand Musk’s interest in Trump, who wants to remove electric cars from the world. I wish Musk would explain all that.

Also today on Truth Social Trump took responsibility for bringing the Olympics to Los Angeles in 2028. And pigs flew over Cincinnati.

Olympics: Billie Eilish Gets Gold Medal as “Birds of a Feather” Goes to Number 1, Phoenix Gets Bronze with “1901”

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The final Olympic medals were handed out after the games ended yesterday.

Billie Eilish went to Number 1 and got gold (so did Finneas) for “Birds of a Feather,” the biggest song off her latest album.

French group Phoenix got bronze at number 3 for the song, “1901.”

These are their respective spots this morning on the iTunes top 100. Billie and Finneas knocked off Shaboozey, whose “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” has been the song of the summer.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers finished in the distance at number 83 with the song they performed, “Can’t Stop.”

The sudden success of both songs is because these artists performed on the NBC Olympics special that was televised yesterday afternoon live from Venice Beach, California. This was the same special that began with HER Music aka Gabby Wilson’s masterful rendition of th Star Spangled Banner. Wilson was followed by Tom Cruise jumping off of the French stadium and driving away on a motorcycle. (He’s somewhere in Belgium now asking if he’s “behind the lines.”

In Eilish’s case, the success all summer of “Birds of a Feather” is unusual. When she released her album, “Hit Me Hard or Hit Me Soft,” she didn’t release a single. “Birds” just found its way to the charts on its own. Now it’s headed to big things come awards season.

The closing ceremony was produced by Ben Winston, the wunderkind who came to the US with James Corden and now rules the world. He produces the Grammy Awards, which means he’ll be reuniting with Billie and Finneas in a few months.

Kelly Ripa Forgets to Thank Regis Philbin, Michael Gelman, or Agnes Nixon While Getting Disney Legend Award

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Kelly Ripa was given a Disney legend award this weekend at the company’s D23 corporate confab.

In her speech she thanked a few people including Bob Iger, Dana Walden, husband Mark Consuelos, and her best friend Ryan Seacrest.

Somehow she forgot Regis Philbin, her longtime producer Michael Gelman, or Agnes Nixon, creator of “All My Children.”

We know she didn’t like Regis — she’s said so ungraciously over and over. She didn’t like him because he was a legend, an old guy who she just didn’t get. When Regis was forced to retire he never heard from Ripa again, was never invited back to the show he created.

“All My Children” creator Nixon plucked her out of oblivion to play David Canary’s daughter on the beloved soap. Gelman? He’s stood offstage producing her for over 20 years. If Ripa has anyone to thank, it’s him. A less tolerant producer would have tossed her years ago.

But hey — it’s easy to forget these things when you’ve made millions upon millions.

We don’t forget.

Trump Says on Social Media If Elected He’ll “Fix” The NY Times, Also Keeps Insisting on Debates Not Scheduled

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Donald Trump says today on his Truth Social that he will “fix” the New York Times if elected this fall.

How will he do that? An Executive Order to wipe out the First Amendment? After all, he’ll be a self-predicted dictator, so why not?

Trump also keeps insisting that he’s going to debate Kamala Harris on dates and on networks that have never been agreed upon.

The only debate that Harris has acknowledged is September 10th on ABC. Trump thinks they’re meeting on Fox News on September 4th. And later on NBC with Lester Holt. What will he do when he’s there alone? To just keep saying it won’t make it so.

Box Office: After Lively Opening Night, “It Ends With Us” Takes $50 Million Weekend

Here’s a new equation for the box office.

A huge opening night followed by two nights that equaled the first.

In regular box office, you’d hope for three days in a row that are roughly similar.

But “It Ends with Us” had a $24 million Thurs-Friday, followed by a $13 million Saturday and $12 million Sunday.

The $50 million total is nevertheless a bonanza for director Justin Baldoni and Sony, and star Blake Lively. “It Ends with Us” is the “Deadpool and Wolverine” of domestic abuse movies. Still, the latter finished first for the weekend, narrowly, with $54 million.

But doesn’t this make Lively and Ryan Reynolds the homecoming queen and king of the summer? They’re a real life Barbenheimer! Weeks and weeks of intense publicity, worth at least $50 million, culminated in this astonishing feat.

What’s left PR wise? Hugh Jackman, at least, will show up at the Monday night premiere for “Once Upon a Mattress” starring his “Music Man” leading lady Sutton Foster. Maybe he’ll bring Ryan along, too. That will pretty much squeeze the orange dry for summer 2024.

Let’s see if the negative publicity about Baldoni vs. Lively has an impact this week. “It Ends with Us” should have a productive Monday and Tuesday, but you never know. There’s not much else to see in the adult category.

Not much else in new showing except for “Borderlands.” The Eli Roth-directed video game adaptation starring Cate Blanchett took in $8.8 million. This was very wide release, so the game is over. It’s Blanchett’s lowest open, but also Kevin Hart’s. (Did you ever think those two would be in the same movie?) The comedy star must be having a Hart Attack looking at those numbers!