Kelly

United States Senator Mark Kelly has sued the Department of Defense and its secretary, Pete Hegseth, over allegations they trampled his rights to free speech by embarking on a campaign of “punitive retribution”.

The complaint was filed on Monday in the US district court in Washington, DC. It also names the Department of the Navy and its secretary, John Phelan, as defendants.

“I filed a lawsuit against the Secretary of Defense because there are few things as important as standing up for the rights of the very Americans who fought to defend our freedoms,” Kelly, a veteran, wrote in a statement on social media.

Kelly’s lawsuit is the latest escalation in a feud that first erupted in November, when a group of six Democratic lawmakers – all veterans of the US armed services or its intelligence community – published a video online reminding military members of their responsibility to “refuse illegal orders”.

Democrats framed the video as a simple reiteration of government policy: Courts have repeatedly ruled that service members do indeed have a duty to reject orders they know to violate US law or the Constitution.

But Republican President Donald Trump and his allies have denounced the video as “seditious behaviour” and called for the lawmakers to face punishment.

A focus on Kelly

Kelly, in particular, has faced a series of actions that critics describe as an unconstitutional attack on his First Amendment right to free speech.

A senator from the pivotal swing state of Arizona, Kelly is one of the highest-profile lawmakers featured in November’s video.

He is also considered a rising star in the Democratic Party and is widely speculated to be a candidate for president or vice president in the 2028 elections.

But before his career in politics, Kelly was a pilot in the US Navy who flew missions during the Gulf War. He retired at the rank of captain. Kelly was also selected to be an astronaut, along with his twin Scott Kelly, and they served as part of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

His entry into politics came after his wife, former Representative Gabby Giffords, was shot in the head during a 2011 assassination attempt. On Monday, Kelly described the Senate as “a place I never expected to find myself in”.

“My wife Gabby was always the elected official in our family,” he told his Senate colleagues. “If she had never been shot in the head, she would be here in this chamber and not me. But I love this country, and I felt that I had an obligation to continue my public service in a way that I never expected.”

Kelly’s participation in the November video has placed him prominently within the Trump administration’s crosshairs, and officials close to the president have taken actions to condemn his statements.

Shortly after the video came out, for instance, the Defense Department announced it had opened an investigation into Kelly. It warned that the senator could face a court-martial depending on the results of the probe.

The pressure on Kelly continued this month, when Hegseth revealed on social media that he had submitted a formal letter of censure against the senator.

That letter accused Kelly of “conduct unbecoming of an office” and alleged he had “undermined the chain of command” through his video.

Hegseth explained that the letter sought to demote Kelly from the rank he reached at his retirement, as well as reduce his retirement pay.

“Senator Mark Kelly — and five other members of Congress — released a reckless and seditious video that was clearly intended to undermine good order and military discipline,” Hegseth wrote on the platform X.

“As a retired Navy Captain who is still receiving a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he is still accountable to military justice. And the Department of War — and the American people — expect justice.”

Attacking political speech

Kelly responded to that claim by alleging that Hegseth had embarked on a campaign of politically motivated retribution, designed to silence any future criticism from US military veterans.

“Pete Hegseth is coming after what I earned through my twenty-five years of military service, in violation of my rights as an American, as a retired veteran, and as a United States Senator,” Kelly wrote on social media on Monday.

“His unconstitutional crusade against me sends a chilling message to every retired member of the military: if you speak out and say something that the President or Secretary of Defense doesn’t like, you will be censured, threatened with demotion, or even prosecuted.”

Kelly also took to the floor of the Senate on Monday to defend his decision to sue officials from the Trump administration.

“Every service member knows that military rank is earned. It’s not given. It’s earned through the risks you take,” Kelly told his fellow senators.

“After my 25 years of service, I earned my rank as a captain in the United States Navy. Now, Pete Hegseth wants even our longest-serving military veterans to live with the constant threat that they could be deprived of their rank and retirement pay years or even decades after they leave the military, just because he or another secretary of defence or a president doesn’t like what they’ve said.”

His lawsuit calls for the federal court system to halt the proceedings against him and declare Hegseth’s letter of censure unlawful.

The court filing makes a twofold argument: that the efforts to discipline Kelly not only violate his free speech rights but also constitute an attack on legislative independence, since they allegedly seek to intimidate a member of Congress.

“It appears that never in our nation’s history has the Executive Branch imposed military sanctions on a Member of Congress for engaging in disfavored political speech,” the lawsuit asserts.

The complaint also accuses the Trump administration of violating Kelly’s right to due process, given the high-profile calls from within the government to punish the senator.

It pointed to social media posts Trump made, including one that signalled he felt Kelly’s behaviour amounted to “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOUR, punishable by DEATH”.

The lawsuit also argues that Hegseth’s letter of censure appeared to draw conclusions about Kelly’s alleged wrongdoing, only to then request that the Navy review his military rank and retirement benefits.

Such a review, the lawsuit contends, can therefore not be considered a fair assessment of the facts.

“The Constitution does not permit the government to announce the verdict in advance and then subject Senator Kelly or anyone else to a nominal process designed only to fulfill it,” the lawsuit said.

Jan. 12 (UPI) — Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., filed a lawsuit Monday against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon for trying to censure and demote him.

Kelly’s suit alleges that their efforts are “unlawful and unconstitutional.”

Last week, Hegseth announced that the Defense Department is reducing Kelly’s retirement pay over comments he made in November in a video telling service members that they have the right and duty to ignore “unlawful orders.”

Hegseth alleges that the video was “seditious.”

“Six weeks ago, Sen. Mark Kelly — and five other members of Congress — released a reckless and seditious video that was clearly intended to undermine good order and military discipline,” Hegseth said. “As a retired Navy Captain who is still receiving a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he is still accountable to military justice.”

Last week, Hegseth said the Pentagon was working to downgrade Kelly’s military retirement rank and pay for the video.

The suit says that Hegseth is violating Kelly’s First Amendment rights and the Speech and Debate clause of the Constitution, which grants immunity to lawmakers for official acts.

“It appears that never in our nation’s history has the Executive Branch imposed military sanctions on a Member of Congress for engaging in disfavored political speech,” the suit said.

“Pete Hegseth is coming after what I earned through my twenty-five years of military service, in violation of my rights as an American, as a retired veteran, and as a United States Senator whose job is to hold him — and this or any administration — accountable,” Kelly said in a statement on X. “His unconstitutional crusade against me sends a chilling message to every retired member of the military: if you speak out and say something that the President or Secretary of Defense doesn’t like, you will be censured, threatened with demotion, or even prosecuted.”

Kelly said the actions of the Pentagon could affect any retired military personnel.

“Now, Pete Hegseth wants our longest-serving military veterans to live with the constant threat that they could be deprived of their rank and pay years or even decades after they leave the military just because he or another Secretary of Defense doesn’t like what they’ve said. That’s not the way things work in the United States of America, and I won’t stand for it,” he said on X.

Five other Democratic lawmakers were in the video, but none of them retired from their service. They are: Reps. Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, Jason Crow of Colorado and Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, along with Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan.

Also named as defendants in the suit are Secretary of the Navy John Phelan and the Department of the Navy.

WASHINGTON — Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly sued the Pentagon on Monday over attempts to punish him for his warnings about illegal orders, claiming the Trump administration trampled on his constitutional rights to free speech.

Kelly, a former U.S. Navy pilot who represents Arizona, is seeking to block his censure from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week. Hegseth announced on Jan. 5 that he censured Kelly over his participation in a video that called on troops to resist unlawful orders.

Hegseth said the censure — by itself simply a formal letter with little practical consequence — was “a necessary process step” to proceedings that could result in a demotion from Kelly’s retired rank of captain and subsequent reduction in retirement pay.

Kelly asked the federal court in Washington, D.C., to rule that the censure letter, the proceedings about his rank and any other punishments against him are “unlawful and unconstitutional.”

“The First Amendment forbids the government and its officials from punishing disfavored expression or retaliating against protected speech,” his lawsuit says. “That prohibition applies with particular force to legislators speaking on matters of public policy.”

The Pentagon didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment

The censure stemmed from Kelly’s participation in a video in November with five other Democratic lawmakers — all veterans of the armed services and intelligence community — in which they called on troops to uphold the Constitution and defy “illegal orders.”

The 90-second video was first posted on a social media account belonging to Sen. Elissa Slotkin. Reps. Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander and Chrissy Houlahan also appeared in the video.

Republican President Trump accused the lawmakers of sedition “punishable by DEATH” in a social media post days later.

The Pentagon opened an investigation of Kelly in late November, citing a federal law that allows retired service members to be recalled to active duty on orders of the defense secretary for possible court-martial or other punishment.

Although all six lawmakers served in the military or the intelligence community, Hegseth said Kelly was the only one facing investigation because he is the only one who formally retired from the military and still falls under the Pentagon’s jurisdiction.

Hegseth, the Defense Department, Navy Secretary John Phelan and the Navy are named as defendants in the lawsuit.

Kelly said in a statement on Monday that he is “standing up for the rights of the very Americans who fought to defend our freedoms.” He accused Hegseth of trying to suppress dissent by threatening military veterans with depriving them of their rank and pay.

“That’s not the way things work in the United States of America, and I won’t stand for it,” Kelly said.

Kunzelman writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Ben Finley contributed to this report.

KELLY Clarkson has given a rare glimpse at her family life with her two children following the death of their father, Brandon Blackstock. 

The TV host and Breakaway singer, 43, has been keeping her children River, 11, and nine-year-old Remington (known as Remy) away from the spotlight, even more so since Brandon died in August last year.

While she never addressed him directly, a new video on the YouTube Channel for The Kelly Clarkson Show saw the star speak a bit about what life looks like now for them. 

Speaking in a Q+A, Kelly was asked by a fan: “’What is the one thing you do every day that brings you joy?” 

As Kelly was getting final touches of make-up put on her before going on stage, she beamed as she said: “Snuggle. Oh my God. My kids… look, they’re nine and eleven, they’re that special little fun stage where they can wipe their own behinds, but they’re still small enough to, like, love cuddling and love snuggles.” 

“There’s been a lot for our family recently, and so I have allowed my kids to sleep with me quite a bit,” she added. “So it’s my two dogs, my two kids and me. It’s a lot.

“It’s been really special though, because the conversations you have during that time are pretty cute. So that’s probably my favorite time of day.” 

She also revealed that, when they were little, she would sing Once Upon a Dream from Cinderella as a lullaby to get them to sleep. 

Kelly and Brandon divorced in 2022 after nine years of marriage. He was the son of her former manager, Narvel Blackstock, and former stepson of country singer, Reba McEntire.

During their marriage, Brandon acted as Kelly’s manager, but they split in 2020 with their divorce only being finalised two years later. 

He was living at a $1.7million ranch in Montana with his partner before his death.

In August last year, Brandon died at the age of 48, after a private three-year battle with melanoma. 

A day before his death, Kelly announced she was postponing her planned residency in Las Vegas in order to focus on spending time with her kids.

River and Remy are the youngest of Brandon’s four children, with the music businessman having Savannah and Seth with his first wife, Melissa Ashworth.

A day later, Starstruck Entertainment, the agency where Blackstock worked, confirmed that he had died.

“It is with great sadness that we share the news that Brandon Blackstock has passed away,” they wrote in the statement first published by People.

“Brandon bravely battled cancer for more than three years.

“He passed away peacefully and was surrounded by family.

“We thank you for your thoughts and prayers and ask everyone to respect the family’s privacy during this very difficult time.”

CBS News named veteran anchor and correspondent Adriana Diaz and business journalist Kelly O’Grady as the new co-hosts for “CBS Saturday Morning.”

The duo will officially start this week, the division announced Friday. The previous long-time co-hosts, Michelle Miller and Dana Jacobson, were let go in a wave of company-wide staff reductions in October.

The cuts and changes at the weekend program were in the works before Bari Weiss arrived to begin her role as editor-in-chief of CBS News earlier that month.

Weiss has generated controversy and bad publicity for the network with her last-minute decision to pull a “60 Minutes” story on the Trump administration’s treatment of hundreds of Venezuelan migrants who were deported to El Salvador. Critics have also been less than impressed with the revamp of “CBS Evening News” which began this week with new anchor Tony Dokoupil.

Diaz and O’Grady will also alternate as co-hosts of “CBS Mornings 24/7,” the daily program on the CBS News streaming platform, working alongside featured host Vladimir Duthiers.

Diaz has been with CBS News since 2012. She has served as a China-based correspondent covering Asia, and later reported from Chicago. Her last anchor role was on “CBS Mornings Plus,” a short-lived one-hour program that followed “CBS Mornings” in several markets, including Los Angeles.

Diaz, 42, also had a stint as anchor of “CBS Weekend News.” She is a frequent fill-in for “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King. Internally, Diaz is considered a possible successor to King who is in the final year of her contract with CBS News.

O’Grady, 34, is a recent addition to CBS joined the network in 2024 as a correspondent for its MoneyWatch unit where she reported on the economy. She had been a correspondent and fill-in anchor at Fox Business.

In addition to her co-host role, O’Grady will continue to cover business, technology and the economy for the network.

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday announced that he is issuing a letter of censure to Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona over the lawmaker’s participation in a video that called on troops to resist unlawful orders.

Hegseth said that the censure was “a necessary process step” to proceedings that could result in a demotion from Kelly’s retired rank of captain in the U.S. Navy.

The move comes more than a month after Kelly participated in a video with five other Democratic lawmakers in which they called on troops to defy “illegal orders.” President Donald Trump accused the lawmakers of sedition “punishable by DEATH” in a social media post days later.

In November, Kelly and the other lawmakers — all veterans of the armed services and intelligence community — called on U.S. military members to uphold the Constitution and defy “illegal orders.”

The 90-second video was first posted from Sen. Elissa Slotkin’s X account. In it, the six lawmakers — Slotkin, Kelly and Reps. Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander and Chrissy Houlahan — speak directly to U.S. service members, whom Slotkin acknowledges are “under enormous stress and pressure right now.”

Afterward, Trump accused them of sedition “punishable by DEATH,” reposting messages from others about the video and amplifying it with his own words.

Kelly, along with some of the other Democrats in the initial video, have sent out fundraising messages based off the Republican president’s reaction to their comments, efforts that have gone toward filling their own campaign coffers and further elevating their national-level profiles.

Toropin writes for the Associated Press.

CELEBRITY make-up artist and reality TV star Jasen Kaplan has died, as Kelly Osbourne grieves the loss of her “dear friend”.

The beloved entertainment industry heavyweight sadly passed away on Wednesday in a New York City hospital.

NYPD said they were investigating the death of a man at Kaplan’s apartment building.

The chief medical examiner is still yet to determine the cause of death.

Kaplan, 46, has been remembered by his long-time friend Kelly Osbourne.

“I’m devastated. I love you so much,” Osbourne, 41, wrote on Instagram.

“Thank you for all the love, laughter and joy you brought [to] my life. I hope you are at peace now.

“Life will never be the same without you! RIP my dear friend.”

Osbourne recalled her friend to be the funniest person she knew.

“You were the best wing man a girl could ask for. 25 years of friendship and every second was worth it,” she wrote.

Kaplan made a name for himself when he started working with Brittny and Lisa Gastineau on their 2005 show “Gastineau Girls.”

He went on to become the go-to makeup artist for many celebrities, including Cyndi Lauper, Eva Longoria and Lynda Carter.

He did The Real Housewives of New York City alum Tinsley Mortimer’s makeup for her wedding to Robert Bovard in 2023.

More recently, Kaplan had the chance to work with Bethenny Frankel on numerous campaigns with brands like MCoBeauty and Terez clothing.

He had a strong social media presence, with over 95.4K followers on Instagram, sharing makeup tips and his work wit celebrity clients and brands.

He was the “father” to his beloved dog Coco, understood to be the “love of his life” and featured heavily on his social media.

Kaplan was a contestant on “Finding Prince Charming” , a gay bachelor-style dating show which aired in 2016.

His bio for the show read: “He has a great sense of humor but isn’t afraid to say what’s on his mind. He’s bright, exuberant and completely comfortable with himself.

“Although he is a total flirt and loves dating apps, he’ll only take a relationship to the next level if he really feels like he’s in love.”

He was eliminated in episode two.

Chip Kelly didn’t land on his feet by taking the offensive coordinator position at Northwestern on Tuesday, a month after the Las Vegas Raiders fired him.

More likely, he’ll land on his derriere, seated in a comfy chair overlooking Ryan Field, the Wildcats’ gleaming new $850-million stadium, while calling plays for a program that finished 15th in the Big Ten in points per game this season.

This is what a consolation prize feels like. A year ago, Kelly was calling plays at Ohio State, the most prolific offense in college football and eventual national champion. He’d still be there, pulling the strings again for a juggernaut offense in the College Football Playoff, but for his decision to jump to the Raiders.

It’s been quite the free fall. Las Vegas was 2-9 when Kelly was fired shortly after the lowly Cleveland Browns registered 10 sacks in a 24-10 win over the Raiders on Nov. 23. Whatever play-calling magic Kelly mustered at Ohio State didn’t translate in the NFL, where in years past he had mostly failed in head coaching assignments with the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles.

Kelly, who honed his reputation as a man of few words during his mediocre 2018-2023 tenure as UCLA head coach, didn’t express hard feelings toward the Raiders on his way out.

“Hey, we gotta win,” he told a reporter. “I get it.”

Now he’ll have an opportunity to repair his reputation at Northwestern. Coach David Braun clearly is enamored with Kelly, who cemented his offensive genius bona fides by leading Oregon to a 46-7 record as head coach from 2009 to 2012.

“His innovative approach to offense using systems that focus on varying tempo, efficiency and smart decision-making, his track record of developing quarterbacks, and his ability to maximize talent are exactly what our program needs at this moment,” Braun said in a statement. “Make no mistake: this is a program-defining change and is reflective of our long-term commitment to the pursuit of championships.”

The only titles Northwestern can claim are a dozen Academic Achievement Awards from the American Football Coaches Assn. since 2002. Since leaving Oregon, Kelly has stumbled at every stop except the single season at Ohio State, where he could still be calling plays had he not left for the lure of the NFL.