Daily Beast

Lorenzo Bevilaqua/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty ImagesAmy Robach and T.J. Holmes, the now publicly-coupled former ABC News anchors who were ousted from their network last year after reports of their affair hit the tabloids—both were married to other people at the time—offered words of support to Rob Marciano, a longtime ABC News meteorologist who was reportedly fired this week, via their joint podcast on Friday. Marciano, a senior meteorologist for ABC News, was terminated this week after chief meteorologist Ginger Zee overheard accounts of Marciano getting into a “heated screaming match” with a Good Morning America producer; Zee reported the incident to the network, leading to Marciano’s ousting, sources told The Daily Beast on Wednesday. “It’s tough situation,” Robach said, on the latest episode of the Amy and T.J. podcast. “Yes, we have walked down that road and it’s not an easy one. And I know he also has, and I think he might still be going through a divorce. So, we know what it’s like to have your entire life upended, career and personal life.”Read more at The Daily Beast.

Stefanie Keenan/Getty ImagesMohamed Al-Fayed’s daughter on Friday pleaded not guilty to a charge over the alleged robbery of her brother’s iPhone at the family’s mansion in southern England.Camilla Fayed, 39, is accused of ordering her bodyguards to rob the device belonging to her sibling, Omar, 36, in the gym of Barrow Green Court in Surrey in May 2020. Fayed spoke only to confirm her identity and enter her plea at the hearing at Guildford Crown Court, the BBC reports.Her husband, Mohamad Esreb, and the couple’s close protection officers—Matthew Littlewood and Andrew Bott—have also each been charged with a single count of robbery in connection with the alleged incident. Esreb and Bott pleaded not guilty at the Friday hearing while Littlewood, a decorated Afghanistan veteran, was working overseas and will enter a plea at a later date, according to MailOnline.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Mahamadou Hamidou/ReutersRussia has sent troops into an air base in Niger that is hosting American soldiers, reports say, after the country’s ruling junta ordered all U.S. forces to leave the West African nation.The situation at Air Base 101 in Niamey, the capital city, comes as relations between Washington, D.C. and Moscow are at their lowest point since the end of the Cold War due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. It’s not clear how many American troops are on the base, but an unnamed U.S. official told the Associated Press that only a small number of U.S. forces remained.The official also said the Russian troops had arrived last month after Niger told the U.S. to withdraw its almost 1,000 troops from the country. Before the junta seized power in a coup in July 2023, Niger had been an important partner in U.S. counterterror operations in the Sahel region of Africa where groups affiliated with ISIS and al Qaeda operate.Read more at The Daily Beast.

ABC News YouTubeAuthorities in Mexico have arrested several people in connection with the mysterious disappearance of a trio of foreign tourists—including an American—who vanished in Baja California last week.U.S. national Jack Carter Rhoad and Australian brothers Callum and Jake Robinson have not been seen since April 27, according to the Robinson family. The Baja California prosecutor’s office says the group were then reported missing two days later.The three were on a surfing trip close to the municipality of Ensenada around 60 miles south of Tijuana, Reuters reports. Mexican authorities say tents, a vehicle, and a cell phone have since been found during a search in an area where the group were last seen.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Michael M. Santiago/GettyThe third week of Donald Trump’s hush-money trial will come to a close on Friday after a second week of bombshell testimony about what prosecutors claim was a scheme to bury salacious, damaging stories about him in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.The Manhattan courtroom on Thursday heard more from Keith Davidson, a lawyer who represented porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal—both of whom claimed to have had sexual liaisons with Trump (which he denies). Jurors heard about Davidson’s shock when he realized that he may have contributed to the success of Trump’s first bid for the White House, sending a dramatic election night text to Dylan Howard, the then-editor of the National Enquirer, reading: “What have we done?”“Oh my God,” replied Howard, who participated in the so-called “catch and kill” scheme at the Enquirer to shut down embarrassing stories about Trump. When asked in court what the exchange meant, Davidson explained that the pair had an understanding that “our activities may have in some way assisted the presidential campaign of Donald Trump.”Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/GettyWelcome to Trail Mix, your 2024 election sanity guide. See something interesting on the trail? Email me at [email protected]. To get Trail Mix in your inbox, subscribe here for free.This week, an exclusive look at the connections between Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the MAGA-verse. RFK’S TRUMP PROBLEMRead more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesOne year ago, Sean “Diddy” Combs attended the 2023 Met Gala dressed in an all-black ensemble by Sean John couture, representing both a comeback and a coup for the mogul’s eponymous fashion brand. Clad in a motorcycle jacket and black pants combo—topped off by a cape adorned with 1,000 satin and velvet petals—that he’d designed himself, Combs was riding high and enjoying his victory lap on the red carpet. “I had a chance to spend time with Karl when I was designing Sean John, just as a fellow designer,” Combs told Vogue that evening, nodding to the evening’s theme, which revolved around Karl Lagerfeld, the longtime creative director of Chanel. “[Lagerfeld] was so creative and he had such attention to detail (and) to beauty.” The quote oozes insider status. A lot can change in a year. Combs’ public image is now in tatters. The rapper and mogul is facing a number of serious sexual assault and trafficking allegations put forth in multiple lawsuits filed against him since last November. In March, federal agents raided two of his homes as part of a wider investigation. Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty imagesThe expected refusal of any members of the royal family to endorse Prince Harry’s Invictus Games charity by joining him at a church service commemorating its 10th anniversary next week is a “classic example of the royals cutting off their nose to spite their face,” a source has told The Daily Beast.Harry is arriving in London next week for a PR blitz focused around a thanksgiving service at St Paul’s Cathedral in London on Wednesday for his Paralympic-style event for wounded servicemen. It is the latest sign that Harry, whose team recently hired a U.K.-based spin doctor, is far from ready to give up on winning back the hearts and minds of his native land.The Palace declined to respond to requests for comment, but reports have made it clear that no working members of the royal family will attend the service. While there are hints he may see his father King Charles, Prince William and Kate Middleton’s camp ruled out even a quick meeting with Harry soon after Harry’s visit was announced. They will never forgive him for betraying family secrets in his memoir Spare, and don’t trust him to keep their meetings confidential, friends have told The Daily Beast.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily BeastOne irony of politics is that you are often punished for fixing a problem. The most famous example of this is Winston Churchill, who, after winning World War II, was promptly thrown out of office in 1945. No good deed goes unpunished; once you have solved our problems, we have no more use for you.Today’s Republican Party seems to understand this concept (look no further than Donald Trump sabotaging border security in order to keep the issue alive), and Democrats in Arizona, at least, apparently, do not.In case you missed it, the Arizona Senate voted on Wednesday to repeal the 1864 abortion ban that the Arizona Supreme Court reimposed last month. All 14 Democrats (with the help of two Republicans) voted for repeal, and Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs immediately signaled she would sign the bill.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/GettyListen to this full episode of The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and Stitcher.Donald Trump gave a lengthy interview this week for a cover story in Time magazine—and it sure scared The New Abnormal co-hosts Danielle Moodie and Andy Levy.In it, the twice-impeached 2024 hopeful lays out his plans to mobilize the military domestically to deport more than 11 million people, pardon every Jan. 6 rioter, allow states to monitor women’s pregnancies, withhold congressionally appropriated funding at his whims, and fire any attorney general that does not prosecute his chosen targets—among other things.Read more at The Daily Beast.