Politics

Alyssa Pointer/ReutersDonald Trump simultaneously claims he’s much wealthier than a court says but too broke to appeal the judgment that threatens to take away those very riches.In a court filing written with glaring irony, Donald Trump’s lawyers on Monday revealed that the real estate tycoon has failed to secure the gigantic, half-billion dollar bond required to temporarily halt the New York Attorney General from seizing his properties after he lost a bank fraud trial.The deadline clock is now ticking, with only a week left until AG Letitia James can ask a judge for permission to start grabbing Trump’s Monopoly board portfolio. The former president has until Sunday, March 24, to obtain what amounts to a massive loan—with a surety company guaranteeing to the court that Trump will pay his financial penalty if he ultimately loses the case on appeal.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Best/GettyPresident Joe Biden’s erosion of support with Black men should set off alarm bells in his campaign. Unlike other interest groups in the Democratic coalition, Black men should be among his most enthusiastic supporters in crucial states.The Georgia primary, held this coming Tuesday, may offer a moment for Biden to reflect on the lackluster support of a key constituency.That’s because the dilemma first came to light in the Peach State during Stacey Abrams’ ill-fated campaign for governor in 2022. Back then, her platform reflected the thinking of strategists that the compelling issue of concern to Black men was criminal justice reform.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / GettyThere’s a poetic irony in the coincidence that the most recognizable young boxer in America also has one of the country’s most punchable faces. That face, of course, belongs to YouTube superstar Jake Paul, who announced last week that he will fight 57-year-old Mike Tyson this summer. Actually, Tyson will be 58 when he fights 27-year-old Jake Paul—for reference, Mike Tyson is closer in age to Joe Biden than he is to Jake Paul. This multigenerational match will be carried on Netflix, and in the announcement video, Paul billed the bout as “the biggest fight of the 21st century.”The problem is that the 21st century has already seen its biggest fight: the 2015 matchup between world champions Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, which made $410 million in the United States with 4.6 million PPV buys. Six years later, when Logan Paul (the elder and more socially acceptable brother) fought Mayweather, the fight generated just over one million PPV buys. That’s still a huge number but it couldn’t match the figures for Jake Paul’s fight against wrestler Ben Askren, which reportedly had over 1.5 million buys—making it one of the top-selling fights of the century.The Tyson-Paul fight will undoubtedly sell a lot of tickets and maybe even a few Netflix subscriptions. But no, Jake Paul is not going to fight the biggest fight of the 21st century against Mike Tyson. And yet you can’t blame him for making that claim. He didn’t invent the gimmick. Boxers have been talking themselves up since Muhammad Ali invented the routine. And you can’t blame legitimate, gray-haired fighters for stepping into the ring with YouTube superstars. The paydays are absurd. Mayweather boasted that he made $30 million from the advertisements on his trunks alone, quipping, “Your kids can’t eat legacy.”Read more at The Daily Beast.

Alexander Nemenov/Getty ImagesRussian oligarchs and state-owned companies are increasingly running private military companies and recruiting and training their own battalions for Russia’s war in Ukraine.Russian billionaire Viktor Shendrik, the head of the security department of Russian Railways, has reportedly been backing a detachment of Russian fighters made up of a group of football fans called “Espanyola,” according to iStories (an independent outlet also known as Important Stories or Vazhnie Istorii).Shendrik is close with the Rotenberg brothers, Arkady and Boris Rotenberg—two other Russian billionaires who are longtime friends of Russian President Vladimir Putin and who were reportedly interested in having their own private military company (PMC).Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/ElectroLeague/Courtesy Jalil Moghaddan/Miyu Productions/Mast Films/From death row and incest to war and more war, this year’s Oscar nominees for Best Animated Shorts are perhaps the bleakest—and worst—in recent memory. Although Pixar, which goes unrecognized this year, has no shortage of wins and nominations in this area, this group is really missing that studio’s brighter, happier stories. It could use an ounce of levity!This year’s lineup brings, if nothing else, a fascinating blend of animation techniques to the Oscars. From doodle-esque black scrawl to stories hand-painted onto literal clothing that moves to create action, there’s a great array of creative styles. That said, the short most likely to take home the win feels like standard, Pixar-like animation without as much heart—which makes sense, considering it was written and directed by a former Pixar employee.The shorts may have appearances from Tim Blake Nelson, John Lennon, and a sweet young French girl, but that doesn’t make them any more entertaining. Nevertheless, we watched them so you don’t have to—and we have a good idea of what will win, to keep your Oscar ballot looking strong.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/ElectroLeague/Courtesy Jalil Moghaddan/Miyu Productions/Mast Films/From death row and incest to war and more war, this year’s Oscar nominees for Best Animated Shorts are perhaps the bleakest—and worst—in recent memory. Although Pixar, which goes unrecognized this year, has no shortage of wins and nominations in this area, this group is really missing that studio’s brighter, happier stories. It could use an ounce of levity!This year’s lineup brings, if nothing else, a fascinating blend of animation techniques to the Oscars. From doodle-esque black scrawl to stories hand-painted onto literal clothing that moves to create action, there’s a great array of creative styles. That said, the short most likely to take home the win feels like standard, Pixar-like animation without as much heart—which makes sense, considering it was written and directed by a former Pixar employee.The shorts may have appearances from Tim Blake Nelson, John Lennon, and a sweet young French girl, but that doesn’t make them any more entertaining. Nevertheless, we watched them so you don’t have to—and we have a good idea of what will win, to keep your Oscar ballot looking strong.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty/UniversalThis weekFill Out Your ScorecardsThis is a rare year for the Oscars. Not only are the nominees—this never happens—actually good, but every detail we’ve heard about the show makes me excited. (Former winners as presenters! Ryan Gosling performing!) We’re so conditioned to complain about the Academy Awards telecast. This year, it might actually be fun!Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty/UniversalThis weekFill Out Your ScorecardsThis is a rare year for the Oscars. Not only are the nominees—this never happens—actually good, but every detail we’ve heard about the show makes me excited. (Former winners as presenters! Ryan Gosling performing!) We’re so conditioned to complain about the Academy Awards telecast. This year, it might actually be fun!Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/NBCThe chaotic brilliance of Deal or No Deal has returned. But it’s back with a Survivor-style twist. Deal or No Deal Island may sound like a title ripped from 30 Rock—I feel like I write this every week at this point, with reality shows about twins dating, MILFs, and polyamory always popping up—but it’s 100 percent real and about to debut on NBC.Deal or No Deal Island, which premieres Monday night on NBC at 9:30 p.m. ET, was a show made for anyone who still watches reruns on the Deal or No Deal Roku Channel that airs reruns at every hour of the day. (So, me. I’m unapologetic about this fact—Deal or No Deal rocks.) It was made for people who want to scream, “Don’t make that deal!” at confused contestants who think a measly $83,000 is better than a potential million bucks hiding within their case. Even without Howie Mandel, Deal or No Deal Island is a dreamlike, messy, absurdist concept that ties in facets of the original Deal or No Deal with ease.At first, one might not expect such high praise for Deal or No Deal Island. The series is shoddily made, with iPhones replacing the iconic landline phones to contact the banker. Joe Manganiello takes the place of Mandel as host, a C-minus replacement at best. The models who present the cases—Meghan Markle used to be one—are no longer present; instead, two unfashionable “banker’s assistants” do that job. The ever-present techno thrums of the stressful Deal or No Deal music have vanished too.Read more at The Daily Beast.