The conjurers have decided to stay put at Hollywood’s Magic Castle.
In a membership vote of the Academy of Magical Arts that concluded Monday, members say that about 92% of those voting endorsed a reorganization plan designed to give control over the castle’s operations and revenue to a company owned by Magic Castle landlord Randy Pitchford.
As part of the deal, AMA members can continue to use the castle as their clubhouse. The AMA, a nonprofit group, would continue to promote magic, running educational efforts and awards programs.
If the magicians had voted no, they would have needed to find a new venue at the expiration of their lease on Dec. 31, 2028.
Members said they received results by email from the academy Tuesday morning, with tallies showing a 1,038-89 vote to approve changes to AMA bylaws and a 1,043-84 vote to approve changes to AMA articles of incorporation. The vote “will provide a strong foundation for the future of the Academy of Magical Arts,” wrote Christopher Grant, president of the AMA board of directors, in an email to members. The Magic Castle remains open daily and leaders have vowed a swift transition to new management.
Leaders of the AMA and Magic Castle Enterprises — the Pitchford-owned company taking over operations — declined to comment on the results. An AMA spokesperson said “the AMA and MCE treat membership proceedings as private club matters and therefore refrain from public comment on internal processes.”
The AMA’s membership was recently put at 4,664, suggesting that most academy members didn’t vote.
In the run-up to voting, some members said they were not being told enough about what the AMA gets out of the deal. Several academy members said that moving from their historic home could deeply damage the AMA.
“We’ve given up a significant portion of self-governance for an undefined and indefinite occupancy,” said Ralph Shelton, a longtime AMA member and attorney who opposed the proposal.
Soon after reporting vote totals on Tuesday morning, AMA leadership sent another missive saying that veteran Magic Castle general manager Hervé Lévy was leaving his position, effective Tuesday. Lévy was not immediately available for comment.
The Magic Castle opened in 1963.
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
The Magic Castle, a 1909 Edwardian-style mansion, opened in 1963 as a clubhouse and performance venue for the Academy of Magical Arts, a nonprofit group founded by the Larsen family. The membership vote, conducted Sept. 8 through 29, follows several dramatic changes for Pitchford, the Magic Castle and the Academy of Magical Arts.
Despite trouble in 2020, when the pandemic shut it down and a Times investigation detailed allegations of sexual harassment and racism, the mansion reopened in 2021 amid a leadership overhaul.
Pitchford, 54, is a longtime academy member, having married his wife, Kristy Pitchford, in the castle in 1997. His Texas-based company, Gearbox Entertainment, created the popular Borderlands video game franchise. When he bought the Magic Castle building in 2022, he inherited a lease that allows the AMA to remain at the castle through December 2028. Rather than negotiating to extend that pact, Pitchford and his team MCE have been working on plans for a dramatic reorganization.
With the changes, Pitchford’s MCE is to gain control of castle operations, including its restaurant, bar, gift shop and valet parking. Also, MCE will get to nominate two members to the AMA board, which will shrink from nine members to five.
Some members expressed faith in Pitchford’s long history with the Magic Castle and noted that two members of academy’s pioneering Larsen family hold key positions with MCE. During the voting period, longtime AMA member Christopher Hart, who serves as chair of the academy’s board of trustees, said, “I think [Pitchford] has tried to do everything in his power to preserve the nature of this iconic place.”
On the day that Michele Mulroney was elected president of the Writers Guild of America West, writers won a significant victory. After writers protested ABC’s suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” for days, the network brought the late-night show back on air.
“Our currency is words and stories, and the freedom to be able to express ourselves is really important, and so our members could not feel more strongly about this and of course we will be speaking out and lobbying and working in any way we can to protect this fundamental right,” Mulroney said in a recent interview.
Mulroney, formerly the WGA West vice president and a writer on the 2017 “Power Rangers” movie and 2011 film “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” enters her new role at a time when the industry is facing significant challenges.
Those include major consolidation in the industry as studios look to cut costs and move TV and film production overseas because of hefty financial incentives. The climate has been tough for many writers who have struggled to find work after enduring a 148-day strike in 2023. After the walkout, writers did secure groundbreaking protections for AI in contracts, but they are still confronting AI models ripping off their work without compensation.
As the guild gears up for contract negotiations next year, Mulroney said she plans to build on earlier gains in AI and other areas, and aims to convince the studios to pay more for WGA’s health plans amid rising healthcare costs.
“It’s going to need some support from the companies,” Mulroney said. “Their drastic pullback in production and employment led to a pretty severe industry contraction that has contributed to some strain on our funds. We’ll be looking to them to help fix that with us.”
When asked about whether she thinks there is appetite among WGA’s members for another strike, Mulroney said “it’s way too early to speculate about that.”
“It’s really hard out there in the industry for all industry workers and for many of our members, but our members have shown time and again that when they have to, when it’s necessary, we are ready to fight for the contract we deserve,” Mulroney said.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers declined to comment, but in an earlier statement said its members look forward to working with her “to address key issues for WGA writers and to strengthen our industry with fair, balanced solutions.”
A studio-side source who was not authorized to comment said that the WGA health plan faces “complex financial challenges that require a balanced approach to align with market norms and ensure long-term stability.”
To keep costs down, studios have been moving more productions to the U.K. and other countries offering significant financial incentives, shrinking job opportunities for entertainment industry workers in Southern California. Some have had to move out of state to look for jobs.
Unions including the WGA lobbied for California to boost annual funding for its film and TV tax credit program and succeeded in raising that amount to $750 million, from $330 million.
“This was a real bright spot of good news in an otherwise really bleak and tough time for our industry,” Mulroney said in an interview last week. “Now there needs to be federal action on this, too, so we’ll continue working with our allies to try to keep production in the U.S., and specifically in Hollywood, in Southern California.”
Mulroney declined to comment on President Trump’s renewed threat to impose a 100% tariff on foreign-made films.
Another big worry for writers has been artificial intelligence. The WGA has been outspoken about wanting studios to sue AI companies that writers say are taking their scripts for training AI models without their permission. Earlier this year, studios including Disney, Universal and Warner Bros. Discovery took legal action against AI companies over copyright infringement.
“We were glad to see some of the studios come off the sidelines and file lawsuits to protect their copyright from these AI companies that are stealing our members’ work to build their models,” she said. “I think we will probably be dealing with AI and wrangling that for the rest of our lives, right?”
Mulroney, 58, ran uncontested, receiving 2,241 votes or 87% of the votes cast, according to the union. CBS series “Tracker” writer and co-executive producer Travis Donnelly became vice president, and TV comedy show “Primo” executive producer Peter Murrieta became secretary-treasurer.
Mulroney grew up in the U.K., the daughter of a factory worker and a janitor. She’s served on the union’s board of directors for four terms and as an officer for six years prior to being elected president.
Mulroney’s background was in theater and theater directing, but she had always dabbled in writing. In her 20s, she worked in development for a British TV and film studio where she read a lot of scripts, which led her to think, “Maybe I could write one of those things.”
Her first writing gig was for a PBS children’s show called “Wishbone,” about a Jack Russell terrier who imagines himself as a character in literary classics. She’s been a screenwriter for 25 years and is based in West Hollywood with her husband and writing partner, Kieran.
Mulroney succeeds Meredith Stiehm, who led the union during the 2023 strike.
Kimmel coming back on air was a parting gift to Stiehm, said Mulroney, adding that the union is still watching the situation.
“We’re still monitoring,” Mulroney said. “I somehow doubt this is the last instance we’re going to see where censorship and free speech are going to be a topic.”
Victoria Beckham’s highly anticipated Netflix documentary is set to be released on October 9, and the streaming giant has released a brand new trailer.
The eagerly awaited docuseries will arrive on Netflix next week, leaving fans absolutely buzzing with excitement. The three-part programme is scheduled for release on 9 October, and is crafted by the same team behind the Emmy award winning BECKHAM series.
Featuring exclusive chats and shocking revelations, the docuseries will give viewers an unprecedented peek behind the curtain of Victoria Beckham’s world, encompassing both her professional journey and family dynamics. And supporters won’t have much longer to hold their breath.
Netflix has unveiled a fresh teaser as the fashion mogul opens up about her family memories, reports the Manchester Evening News. In the footage, Victoria Beckham reveals: “I’ve always wanted to do this.
“Throughout my life, I’ve used clothes to become someone else, be the person that I always wanted to be, that maybe naturally I wasn’t.
“I used to customise the school uniform in the bathroom at lunchtime. I used to love watching my mum get dressed up, you know she really cared and made the best of herself.
“I remember my mum saying to me if you dress up to get on the aeroplane, if there’s any chance of being upgraded they’re always going to look at who looks the best. I mean the truth is, there is no first class on budget air lines.”
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Posting the teaser on Instagram, Netflix captioned: “Victoria Beckham looks back on the importance of fashion in her life VICTORIA BECKHAM comes to Netflix October 9.”
One excited fan responded: “I can’t WAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIT!” Another chimed in with: “Welcome back.”
While Netflix has already given us a glimpse into the life of her ex-footballer husband David Beckham, this new series will shine the spotlight on the former Spice Girl.
Netflix tantalises viewers with: “VICTORIA BECKHAM, a three-part documentary series, gives all of us a front row seat as Victoria prepares for the fashion show of her life.
“From the teenager who restyled her school uniform, to the Spice Girl who fought to be accepted by a notoriously demanding fashion industry, Victoria Beckham is the story of resilience, reinvention and self-discovery.
“From the makers of the Emmy award-winning BECKHAM and the award-winning director of Michelle Obama’s Becoming.”
Last month, Netflix released the official trailer which saw the star breaking down in tears as she made a shocking confession. She revealed: “We were millions in the red”, while husband David confessed it “made me panic.”
Victoria Beckham premiers on Netflix on October 9.
Those were among the visceral reactions this week from Emily Blunt, Whoopi Goldberg, Natasha Lyonne and many other actors and filmmakers over the sudden fame of Tilly Norwood.
Norwood isn’t real — the brunette who appears in a comedy sketch on her Instagram page is in fact a computer-generated composite.
“I may be AI, but I’m feeling very real emotions right now,” states a message on Norwood’s Instagram page. “I am so excited for what’s coming next!”
The sentiment was not widely shared, at least in Hollywood, where anxieties about the use and abuse of artificial intelligence replacing actors runs deep.
Norwood’s creator ignited a furor after she announced that the digital actress would soon be signed by a talent agency.
This week, SAG-AFTRA weighed in with a withering response. Two years ago, the union’s members engaged in a 118-day strike to fight for more AI protections in their contracts with major studios.
“To be clear, ‘Tilly Norwood’ is not an actor, it’s a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers — without permission or compensation,” the guild said. “It doesn’t solve any ‘problem’ — it creates the problem of using stolen performances to put actors out of work, jeopardizing performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry.”
Norwood was created by AI through Xicoia, a London-based AI talent studio launched by Dutch actor Eline Van der Velden. Xicoia is working with estates and Hollywood stars who want to appear as their younger selves on screen, according to Deadline, which first reported talent agency interest in Norwood.
Van der Velden, who is also the founder of AI production company Particle6, was not available for comment on Wednesday. But in a statement posted on Instagram following the backlash, Van der Velden stressed that Norwood is “a creative work — a piece of art.”
“I see AI not as a replacement for people, but as a new tool — a new paintbrush,” Van der Velden said. “Just as animation, puppetry, or CGI opened fresh possibilities without taking away from live acting, AI offers another way to imagine and build stories.”
SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin disputed the claim.
He said in an interview with The Times that the material used to create Norwood was “improperly obtained” from SAG-AFTRA members’ work without permission, compensation or acknowledgment.
“It manipulates something that already exists, so the conceit that it isn’t harming actors — because it is its own new thing — ignores the fundamental truth that it is taking something that doesn’t belong to them,” Astin said.
“We want to allow our members to benefit from new technologies. … They need to give permission for it, and they need to be bargained with.”
Norwood has 44,000 followers on Instagram and is portrayed as an aspiring young actor based in London who enjoys shopping and iced coffee.
The social media page depicts Norwood in various scenes. In one, she’s armed and ready to battle a monster; in another, she’s running away from a collapsing building in a futuristic city.
At an industry panel in Zurich on Saturday, Van der Velden touted her creation.
“With Tilly, you know, when we first launched her, people were like, ‘That’s not going to happen,’” Van der Velden said. “And now, we’re going to announce which agency is going to be representing her in the next few months. It’s all changing and everyone is starting to see the light, fortunately.”
Talent agencies have represented digital characters used in ad campaigns. And seeing such avatars in the mainstream has become increasingly common — in 2024, Japanese digital character Hatsune Miku performed at Coachella and an AI model was featured in the August issue of Vogue magazine for L.A. brand Guess.
And some studios, including Lionsgate, have partnerships with AI startups to explore using the technology in areas such as storyboarding. Others, such as Netflix and Amazon MGM Studios, have series that use AI in visual effects.
Tech companies have argued that they should be able to train their AI models on content available online and bring up relevant information under the “fair use” doctrine, which allows for the limited reproduction of content without permission from the copyright holder.
But the proliferation of AI has also fueled concerns that AI companies are using copyrighted material to train their models without compensation or permission. Earlier this year, Disney, Universal and Warner Bros. Discovery sued AI companies over copyright infringement.
Some actors called for a boycott of any agents who decide to represent Norwood. “Read the room, how gross,” “In the Heights” actor Melissa Barrera wrote on Instagram.
“Our members reserve the right to not be in business with representatives who are operating in an unfair conflict of interest, who are operating in bad faith,” Astin said.
YouTube TV dropped Univision’s Spanish-language networks late Tuesday, a contentious turn in a simmering dispute that has already drawn scrutiny from members of Congress.
“Google’s YouTube TV has refused to ‘Do the Right Thing’ and dropped Univision from its platform — stripping millions of Hispanic viewers of the Spanish-language news, sports, and entertainment they rely on every day,” parent company TelevisaUnivision said in a statement, alluding to its campaign slogan.
The outage began about 7 p.m. PDT, shortly before the federal government shutdown — a newsworthy event that Univision journalists have been covering.
The impasse occurred as another deadline loomed in separate contract talks between YouTube TV and NBCUniversal, raising the possibility of a second blackout. Both Univision and NBCUniversal’s distribution agreements were set to expire Tuesday night. But at the deadline, NBCUniversal granted YouTube TV a short-term extension to allow the two sides to continue working on a new deal.
NBCUniversal owns Telemundo, the other major Spanish-language broadcast network.
Prominent members of Congress, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), have demanded answers from Google executives, including Chief Executive Sundar Pichai.
A major sticking point was YouTube TV’s proposal to shift the Univision network from its basic plan, which is available to all subscribers, and put the channel on a more expensive Spanish-language add-on package.
Univision cried foul, saying the switch would amount to an 18% fee increase for its Spanish-language viewers. The move would also dramatically cut the revenue that Univision receives because YouTube and other distributors pay fees based on the number of subscribers that have access to a channel.
“Google shouldn’t be abusing its monopoly power by forcing millions of Texans & Americans to pay extra for Spanish-language programming,” Cruz said in a message on X. “That’s not right & it’s not fair.”
YouTube is flexing its market muscle. The Google platforms have become the dominant video service in the U.S., according to Nielsen, with YouTube attracting more than 120 million active daily users.
The YouTube TV service has become a major draw with more than 10 million customer homes that receive its traditional TV channel packages that include NBC, ABC, Fox News and Comedy Central.
A YouTube spokesperson downplayed Univision’s departure, saying the Spanish-language company continues to have a massive following on its main YouTube site with more than “160 million subscribers and billions of views across YouTube, where they generate ad revenue from their content.”
However, on the paid service, YouTube TV, the Spanish-language programming “only represents a tiny fraction of overall consumption,” the YouTube spokesperson said.
NBCUniversal’s talks with Google have also been rocky. The tech behemoth has expressed a desire to fold Peacock programming onto its YouTube TV platform rather than the current stand-alone service. But NBCUniversal has balked because it has spent billions of dollars building Peacock and it wants to remain the conduit for its customers.
YouTube TV launched in April 2017 for $35 a month. The package of channels now costs $82.99.
In a bid for more sports fans, YouTube TV took over the NFL Sunday Ticket premium sports package from DirecTV, which had been losing more than $100 million a year to maintain the NFL service. YouTube TV offers Sunday Ticket as a base plan add-on or as an individual channel on YouTube.
UCLA’s five-member search committee for its next football coach that was revealed Thursday features heavy hitters from various corners of the professional sports world, including two who helped engineer a quick turnaround with the NFL’s Washington Commanders.
Commanders general manager Adam Peters and adviser Bob Myers — who will be joined on the committee by sports executive Casey Wasserman, former NFL star linebacker Eric Kendricks and UCLA executive senior associate athletics director Erin Adkins — were part of the team that hired Washington coach Dan Quinn, who took the Commanders to the NFC Championship Game in his first season.
They will hope to have similar success in selecting the successor to Bruins coach DeShaun Foster, who was fired earlier this month after his team started the season with three consecutive losses. Every member of the committee will be driven to find a winner given they either graduated from UCLA or work for the school’s athletic department.
“I want to thank the members of the search committee who have, out of their love for UCLA, agreed to contribute their time and expertise to this process,” Bruins athletic director Martin Jarmond, who will head the committee, said in a statement. “We will identify, recruit and invest in a leader who has the vision, the confidence, the attitude, and the proven ability to return UCLA football to national prominence, and we will provide the resources to compete and win at the highest level. That’s our commitment to our alumni, fans and supporters.”
One prominent figure with strong UCLA ties missing from the committee was Troy Aikman, the former Bruins quarterback and Pro Football Hall of Famer who was part of the committee that in 2017 landed Chip Kelly. That hiring of the hottest coaching candidate on the market was considered a coup, even if Kelly’s results in the six seasons that followed were largely disappointing.
The only holdover from the committee that hired Kelly is Wasserman, a UCLA megadonor who is also the founder and chief executive of the eponymous sports and media talent agency.
After Kelly left the Bruins in February 2024 to become Ohio State’s offensive coordinator, Jarmond used an internal search committee consisting of athletic department employees — including Adkins, who heads the department’s name, image and likeness strategy and initiatives — to select Foster in less than 72 hours.
UCLA will have considerably more time to select its next coach given that most hires are made in December.
Myers, a reserve forward on the Bruins’ last national championship basketball team in 1995, hired Steve Kerr in his role as general manager of the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors have won four NBA titles under Kerr, who was also selected the NBA’s coach of the year during the 2015-16 season.
After leaving the Warriors in 2023, Myers has worked as an ESPN basketball analyst and was appointed to the board of the University of California regents. Myers also assisted Peters, a former defensive end for UCLA’s football team, in the coaching search that landed Quinn.
Before he joined the Commanders, Peters enjoyed a successful career as vice president of player personnel and assistant general manager with the San Francisco 49ers, helping the team appear in four NFC Championship Games and two Super Bowls over his seven seasons with the franchise.
The youngest member of the committee is Kendricks, the former Butkus Award-winning linebacker with the Bruins who is currently a free agent after 10 NFL seasons that included a Pro Bowl appearance in 2019.
UCLA said it would have no additional comment on the search or candidates until a hire is announced.
The beloved Gogglebox family have been on the show since the very first series – but there’s one member who doesn’t often feature
Joe Crutchley Screen Time Reporter
07:10, 24 Sep 2025
Gogglebox Siddiqui family reveal rarely-seen member and fans all say same thing (Image: Channel 4)
Gogglebox fans have been thrilled after a seldom-seen member of the Siddiqui household made a surprise appearance in a social media clip.
The cherished family became part of the inaugural series of the Channel 4 programme back in 2013, featuring Baasit alongside his two siblings, Umar and Raza, plus their dad Sid. However, mum Nasreen has remained absent from the show.
It’s safe to say the Derby-based Siddiqui clan quickly established themselves as viewer favourites. Throughout the years, the family have left audiences in hysterics with their witty remarks and amusing reactions to television moments.
Recently, Sid posted a video on the family’s Instagram account. Yet it was an infrequently-spotted member appearing with Sid that sparked considerable discussion, reports the Manchester Evening News.
During the footage, Sid encouraged supporters to watch the fresh Gogglebox instalment and was joined by the household’s adored feline Rocky. He informed watchers: “You’ll see me and him [the cat].”
Within the comments area, supporters were effusive about Rocky’s cameo. One individual commented: “Love you and your family and Rocky!” Someone else contributed: “Aw Rocky.” A third person remarked: “Love Rocky and your family.”
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Meanwhile in other Gogglebox developments, Baasit recently marked his birthday, prompting his spouse Mel to post a touching tribute. Mel, who is mother to Baasit’s two youngsters, used Instagram to publish a moving birthday message for her partner.
She wrote: “Happy birthday @baasit_siddiqui, Wishing you the most wonderful birthday, we all love you to the moon and back and are so proud of everything you do, Love you always xxx.”
She posted a photograph of him sporting a ‘Best. Daddy. Ever’ t-shirt, alongside some sweet family photographs.
Fans flocked to send their birthday wishes to Baasit, including fellow Gogglebox personality Tristan Daine Plummer, who features on Gogglebox alongside his brothers.
“Happy birthday poppet xxx all the way from Hilton,” one wrote, as another said: “Have a fantastic day.” A third echoed: “Happy birthday mate, hope you have a great day!”
Five months ago, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass revealed that more than 1,600 city workers might have to be laid off to close a $1-billion budget shortfall.
On Tuesday, after months of negotiations, Bass stood at City Hall with union leaders and announced that her administration had averted every layoff.
“Some people said it couldn’t be done, but I am so glad to stand here today and say that we have proved the naysayers wrong,” Bass said.
The announcement came on the heels of an agreement with the L.A. City Coalition of Unions, which collectively represents gardeners, mechanics and clerks, who will take up to five unpaid holidays in 2026. Seventy-five workers had previously been targeted for layoffs.
Since the mayor unveiled her proposed budget in late April, she and the City Council have worked to reduce layoffs through a variety of cost-cutting measures. The council scaled back hiring at the LAPD and reduced the number of new hires in the fire department, saving about 1,000 jobs.
Last month, the Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents sworn LAPD officers, and the Engineers and Architects Assn., which represents city planners and some LAPD civilian employees, signed agreements with the city that saved nearly 300 other jobs.
The Police Protective League agreed to a voluntary program where officers can take days off in exchange for overtime hours, while Engineers and Architects Assn. members will take up to five unpaid holidays.
While the unions negotiated, the city began laying off workers, with many members of the Engineers and Architects Assn. sent home, said Marleen Fonseca, the union’s executive director.
On Monday, Fonseca spoke with a member who had been hospitalized over the weekend, delivering the good news that he had his job back.
“Had we not had this agreement, he would be facing a medical crisis with no health insurance,” she said. “This is the real human difference that solidarity makes.”
The city also moved some employees targeted for layoffs into open jobs in other departments. The City Council worked over the course of 10 committee meetings to find those openings, said Councilmember Tim McOsker.
“This is great news for this fiscal year, but we must remain clear-eyed: our city’s budget challenges will continue and we need to stay focused on long-term solutions and protecting our city workforce and services,” McOsker said.
Wedding Dress Controversy: Rumours begin circulating that there’s tension between Nicola and Victoria Beckham after Nicola chooses not to wear a Victoria Beckham-designed wedding gown. Nicola later clarifies in August 2022 (and again in March 2023) that Victoria’s atelier couldn’t make the dress in time, but reports in May 2025 suggest Victoria actually changed her mind about making the dress.
Post-Wedding (2022 onwards): Minimal interaction between Nicola and Victoria on social media, and noticeable absence of Nicola at key Beckham family events.
May 2025:David Beckham’s 50th Birthday Snub: Brooklyn and Nicola are notably absent from David Beckham’s 50th birthday celebrations in London, despite being invited. Reports suggest their absence was due to Brooklyn not wanting to be in the same room as Kim Turnbull, the girlfriend of Romeo who had previously been reported to have been dating Brooklyn, who David allegedly opted to have at the party over Nicola.
Rumours emerge of a falling out between Brooklyn and his younger brother Romeo, reportedly due to Romeo’s new girlfriend, DJ Kim Turnbull, who allegedly had a past connection with Brooklyn.
Reports surface that the Beckham parents are “hurt and disappointed” that Brooklyn is “playing no part in family life.” Sources claim that tensions between Brooklyn and Nicola and his parents are “definitely not beyond repair.”
July 2025: Reports indicate David and Victoria are “desperate” to reconcile with Brooklyn. Brooklyn publicly wishes his sister Harper a happy 14th birthday on Instagram, tagging Nicola, which is seen as a potential “olive branch” and a rare public message to his family amid the rumored rift.
Brooklyn UNFOLLOWS his brothers Romeo and Cruz just 24 hours after his birthday message to Harper. Nicola quickly follows suit and also ditches the Beckham bros from her Instagram following. Romeo and Cruz are now also no longer following Brooklyn.
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Romeo also opted for a throwback snap with his cousinCredit: Instagram
Christopher Nolan was elected president of the Directors Guild of America on Saturday, taking over leadership of the union that represents more than 19,500 members.
Nolan, 55, is among the most successful directors of his generation. His previous film, 2024’s “Oppenheimer,” made more than $975 million worldwide and won seven Academy Awards, including best director and best picture for Nolan. His next film, a star-studded adaptation of Homer’s “The Odyssey,” opens July 16, 2026, and sold out shows a year in advance.
In a statement, Nolan said, “To be elected President of the Directors Guild of America is one of the greatest honors of my career. Our industry is experiencing tremendous change, and I thank the Guild’s membership for entrusting me with this responsibility.”
Nolan takes over leadership of the guild from Lesli Linka Glatter, who has served two terms since 2021.
Nolan added in a statement, “I also want to thank President Glatter for her leadership over the past four years. I look forward to collaborating with her and the newly elected Board to achieve important creative and economic protections for our members.”
Also announced on Saturday were Laura Belsey as national vice-president and Paris Barclay, a former president of the DGA, as secretary-treasurer. Additional vice-presidents include Todd Holland, Ron Howard, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Seith Mann, Millicent Shelton and Lily Olszewski.
Nolan has been a member of the DGA since 2001 and served as a member of the national board since 2015. He is chair of the guild’s theatrical creative rights committee and its artificial intelligence committee.
He won the DGA award for outstanding directorial achievement in theatrical feature film for “Oppenheimer” and was previously nominated for his films “Dunkirk,” “Inception,” “The Dark Knight” and “Memento.”
In a statement, the AMPTP said, “We look forward to partnering with President Nolan to address the issues most important to DGA members while ensuring our member companies remain competitive in a rapidly changing industry.”
More than 100 members of the Writers Guild of America East and their supporters jammed the sidewalk in front of Walt Disney Co.’s Lower Manhattan headquarters Friday to protest ABC’s decision to pull “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
The late-night program has been dark since Wednesday, when the Disney-owned network announced in a terse statement that it will be “preempted indefinitely.” The move followed decisions by two major owners of ABC affiliates to drop the show because of Kimmel’s remarks about the suspect in the shooting death of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
Members of the union, which represents TV and film writers, marched with signs calling the move an attack on free speech and accusing Walt Disney Co. executives of lacking backbone.
Among the messages: “Disney and ABC Capitulation and Censorship,” “Always Be Cowards,” “Absolute Bull— Cowards” and “Disney/ABC Bows to Trump Extortion.” There were chants of “Bring Jimmy back.”
The demonstration reflected anger building in the creative community over Kimmel’s removal, which Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr called for during a podcast interview that aired on Wednesday.
On Monday’s show, Kimmel seemed to suggest during his monologue that Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused in the shooting death of Kirk, might have been a pro-Trump Republican. He said MAGA supporters “are desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
The remarks prompted a widespread conservative backlash on social media, including demands for Kimmel’s firing. Kimmel, who has expressed sympathy for Kirk’s family online, has not yet commented on his removal.
President Trump has also said that late-night hosts who are critical of his administration should be banished from the airwaves. Trump cheered ABC’s decision, as he did the recent cancellation of CBS’ “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.”
Kimmel remains off the air and has had discussions with Disney executives about how to bring the show back on the air. But his future with the network remains uncertain.
Greg Iwinski, a late-night TV writer and council member of the WGA East, said the threat of pulling a broadcast license is a dangerous weapon that can be used on any program and ultimately chill free expression.
“You can use that for any broadcast network anywhere,” Iwinski said. “Any late-night show, daytime show, game show or sitcom — any show you don’t like. Everything is under threat that is on network TV.”
Iwinski warned that ABC’s actions will only invite the Trump administration to exert more control over the broadcast airwaves.
“What if a relationship on a drama doesn’t fit the values of Donald Trump?” he said. “What if it’s not racially representative of what he thinks — ‘Well, we’re going to pull your licenses’ — all of that is on the table.”
The WGA East members were joined by local government officials supporting their cause, including New York City Comptroller Brad Lander.
Statements of protest over ABC’s moves are coming from all corners of the entertainment industry, including from Michael Eisner, the former Disney chief who preceded Bob Iger’s first run in the job.
“Where has all the leadership gone?” Eisner wrote Friday on X. “If not for university presidents, law firm managing partners, and corporate chief executives standing up against bullies, who then will step up for the first amendment?”
Eisner said ABC’s action is “yet another example of out of control intimidation” by the FCC.
“Maybe the Constitution should have said, ‘Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, except in one’s political or financial self-interest.’” Eisner added. “By-the-way, for the record, this ex-CEO finds Jimmy Kimmel very talented and funny.”
Disney did not immediately comment on Eisner’s post.
Damon Lindelof, the Emmy-winning co-creator of the hit ABC series “Lost,” said in an Instagram post Wednesday that he would no longer work for Disney or ABC unless Kimmel is reinstated.
A major Republican voice weighed in on Friday as well, with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) saying the FCC chair’s threats are “dangerous as hell” and compared them to organized crime tactics.
Carr, who has been in lockstep with Trump on matters concerning the media, has said that stations have the right to pull the show if owners believe the content conflicts with community standards.
“Broadcast TV stations have always been required by their licenses to operate in the public interest — that includes serving the needs of their local communities,” he wrote Thursday on X. “And broadcasters have long retained the right to not air national programs that they believe are inconsistent with the public interest, including their local communities’ values. I am glad to see that many broadcasters are responding to their viewers as intended.”
Having a fan on the board is a nice touch that will connect with supporters, but who is the celebrity producer who was James Corden’s best man and had Harry Styles live in his house for two years during the peak years of One Direction?
Winston, 43, has been a season ticket holder at the club for more than 30 years, and says he started supporting Arsenal when he was around ‘five or six’ before going to his first match aged nine.
He has had an interesting and successful life and his father is Baron Robert Winston, the world famous fertility doctor and scientist.
But it is Winston’s success as a film and TV producer which makes his appointment to the Arsenal board so interesting.
According to an article in GQ, external Winston met Corden on the show Teachers, where Winston was a runner and the two bonded over their love of football.
Winston, who went to university in Leeds, would visit Corden while he filmed Fat Friends in the city.
And Winston’s support of the Gunners is not for show.
He did not miss a European away game for 12 years and pictures on his Instagram show him in the Bernabeu Stadium for Arsenal’s wins over Real Madrid in 2006 and 2025, while he also successfully won an auction with three friends for a lunch with former Gunners boss Arsene Wenger.
His production company Fulwell 73 has won 23 Emmy awards and three Baftas.
In the sporting world they have produced programmes such as Sunderland’s Netflix documentary ‘Till I die and the Class of 92 around ex-Manchester United players, including David Beckham and Gary Neville investing in Salford City.
Alongside Corden, Winston came up with the successful Carpool Karaoke series on the Late Late show, which Corden hosted, and the company also produce ‘The Kardashians’.
Winston’s celebrity connections could be a key part of the next step for Arsenal as they try to lean into that fanbase.
The Gunners are supported by some huge celebrity names with Anne Hathaway, Lewis Hamilton, 21 Savage and Reese Witherspoon all making their love for the Gunners clear.
Superstar singer Dua Lipa has been pictured at the stadium, as has Romeo Beckham, who is a vocal Arsenal supporter despite his dad David’s success with Manchester United.
The club lean into their fanbase across the world with music artists being used in their transfer announcement videos and pictures of celebrities in their shirts shared on social media.
There can’t be many people better placed than Winston, with all of his contacts, to take that fandom to the next level.
AFTER a roller coaster few weeks, which saw her publicly battle her ex-husband while enjoying unexpected chart success, Katie Price has found comfort in her large entourage of friends.
Amid her devastating feud with Peter Andre over the welfare of their children, Junior and Princess, she’s continued to tour with pal Kerry Katona, partied with Chloe Ferry and celebrated her single, I Got You, topping the charts with a young group of up-and-coming collaborators. But there’s one person Katie secretly relies upon more than anyone else.
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Katie Price hit the headlines over her children, Princess and Junior, which she shares with ex Peter Andre
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Princess, pictured with Junior, launched a new reality TV show in August but it didn’t feature KatieCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
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Katie with Lou (right) and Olivia Attwood (left) recentlyCredit: Instagram
And that’s her best pal of over twenty years and the woman whose influence in Katie’s life is slowly but steadily becoming more apparent.
Despite referring to Louisa Anderson-Roy as “extended family”, not a lot of people are aware of just how inseparable the ladies are. And in recent times, fiercely loyal Lou, an aesthetics practitioner and CEO of the LA Hair Skin and Beauty salon, has been working closely with Katie in a bid to overhaul her image and get her public persona back on track.
Not only has she styled Katie in a series of “classy” ensembles for Katie and Kerry’s ‘Evening With’ tour, Lou was also responsible for connecting Katie with SHAYE, a producer who’s working with her on brand new music. She’s also been attending professional jobs with Katie, including a recent recording alongside Olivia Attwood.
Kate and Lou have been friends forever, and while a lot of people have betrayed her, Kate knows Lou genuinely has her back
Lou’s efforts come after Peter, 52, publicly slated Katie, accusing her of telling “lies and baseless accusations” and claiming their children were placed in his care “for their safety” years before.
Katie, 47, hit back, saying she “refused to be gaslit” by her former husband – but the damage was done and the former glamour model didn’t come out of the public slanging match very well.
Now sources have revealed just how much of a “secret weapon” mum-of-six Lou is, and why she’s one of only a few people that Katie genuinely listens to.
“Kate and Lou have been friends forever, and while a lot of people have betrayed her, Kate knows Lou genuinely has her back,” a pal revealed.
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Peter has accused Katie of telling “lies and baseless accusations”Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
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Katie, dressed in a pink jumpsuit covered in pictures of her own face, and pal LouCredit: instagram/lou_andersonroy
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Katie pictured with pal Lou and daughter PrincessCredit: Instagram
“But more than anything, Kate trusts Lou’s opinions and judgement. Lou is incredibly influential. She’s been there for all the drama in Kate’s life and she seems to have an instinct for what’s right for Kate.
“Obviously the Pete stuff really p**sed Lou off – she immediately felt protective over Kate and has vowed to step up and help her friend shine. Kate really does see her as a secret weapon – somehow she’s stronger when Lou’s around.”
Indeed Lou has been extremely defensive of her bestie of late. After sharing a picture of them together on social media, a handful of Lou’s followers bodyshamed Katie for her recent weight loss, which some assume to be the result of Ozempic.
It led Lou to clap back in a lengthy rant.
“Anyone commenting on any of my posts or pictures with my friend re weight.. Whether it be about someone gaining or losing weight, I really don’t care, but you will be removed..,” she wrote. “You do not know reasons as to why anyone may lose or gain or what’s going on in people’s worlds so don’t be so nasty to point out weight changes! Women should support women.”
Lou is incredibly loyal…Kate will be grateful for the support.
Our source explained why a message like this would be so important for Katie.
“Lou is incredibly loyal and won’t stand for any hate on her socials, but more than anything she’s trying to protect Kate,” they said. “And it won’t go unnoticed. Kate will be grateful for the support. Especially when she’s trying so hard to turn public opinion around in the wake of the Pete mess.”
Last week Lou reassured Katie’s fans that she would “never do anything for my mate for any kind of recognition or financial gain – never have and never will” and gave a telling insight into their friendship.
“Its one that’s always been based on total honesty and loyalty to one another and realness throughout some of the toughest moments we have equally both faced in our lives,” she shared on Instagram. “I’ll always support people I love, especially when I see they don’t deserve hate.”
When a follower replied, “I know you have a deep fondness and love for Katie”, Lou responded, “I really do care for those I love.”
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Katie and Lou have been friends for many years, and Lou fiercely defends herCredit: instagram/lou_andersonroy
In response to another comment Lou admitted she got “a fair bit of hate” for supporting Katie but added, “I let it go over my head.”
One infamous moment in 2020 saw Katie coughing on a pizza to stop Lou from having any of it. Following backlash from disgusted fans, a spokesperson for Katie insisted at the time, “Lou is deemed as extended family – Katie pretending to cough on her pizza is simply making light of life and highlights the sisterhood shared between the pair. It’s not uncommon behaviour when they’re larking about.”
While claiming she was too busy ‘filming’ to attend Milton Keynes Pride last Saturday, the mum of five was instead seen living it up in Newcastle where she was filmed dancing with Chloe and pals.
Everything you need to know about Katie Price
Step inside the life of former glamour model Katie Price
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Kerry Katona and Katie Price on their tour recentlyCredit: Instagram
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Peter is now married to wife Emily, pictured with his kids Junior and PrincessCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
The blow comes after a spell of good news for Katie. Not only did her single end up at number one in the iTunes charts following a fan campaign, it’s also been reported that her two youngest children, Jett and Bunny, will move back in with her in November. The pair had been living with their father, Katie’s third husband Kieran Hayler, since 2022.
As well as that, Katie’s been getting decent reviews for her tour with Kerry, with one punter saying they “loved every minute of the show”.
This, despite several hiccups, including backlash for vaping on stage, reportedly missing the first half of one show last week and landing herself in hospital after she “accidentally stabbed” herself with a knife while making a curry.
But one thing is certain, despite all the ups and downs, loyal Lou will be at Katie’s side regardless.
A Hollywood institution known for mystery, deception and drama, the Magic Castle is now gripped by a new variety of suspense.
Magic Castle mansion owner Randy Pitchford, who bought the establishment in 2022, has presented a reorganization plan to his tenant, the Academy of Magical Arts. The AMA is the nonprofit club that operates the castle and whose performer-members have helped build it into one of the world’s top venues for magic.
In a series of proposals, Pitchford has offered AMA members a choice between embracing his plan — which gives him control over castle operations and most revenue — or finding another clubhouse when the academy’s lease expires Dec. 31, 2028.
Members have until Sept. 29 to decide.
With backing from the AMA’s board of directors, Pitchford presents this moment as a chance for the academy to secure a vibrant future for the Magic Castle while preserving its legacy.
But the proposal is causing “division, fracturing and confusion” among many AMA members, as one magician, Ralph Shelton, put it. Some members, who asked not to publish their names, told The Times they believe that Pitchford is using an ultimatum to take control of the castle. Other members say they simply worry that Pitchford is giving AMA members too little information.
“The easiest people to fool are magicians and scientists,” said Shelton, a Huntington Beach attorney who put himself through law school by doing magic. “You know what they’re looking for and you work around that.”
Pitchford did not immediately respond Thursday to requests for comment on the allegation that he is using an ultimatum to take control of the castle. But Pitchford and his team had said that by taking over the risks and rewards that come with running the Castle, his company is freeing up the AMA to focus on its non-commercial mission — promoting magic — “for as long as it wishes to use the Magic Castle as its clubhouse.”
Since Sept. 8, the academy’s 4,664 members have been casting electronic votes on whether to change the organization’s bylaws and other documents to allow the proposed realignment. In previous polling, the members who voted have heavily favored a deal. A “yes” vote would mean the reorganization would begin as soon as Oct. 1.
At the Magic Castle, guests say a secret password to enter.
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
Pitchford learned magic at the castle before building a video game empire as the co-founder of Gearbox Entertainment. In a Sept. 9 statement to The Times, he noted that he and his wife were married in the Magic Castle’s Palace of Mystery in 1997, “so our investment into its preservation and quality is quite personal to us.”
As an AMA member for more than 30 years, he said he is “thrilled that the Academy of Magical Arts, with the overwhelming support of the membership, are our ally in forging a bold, mission-first partnership for at least the next 30 years of magic at the Magic Castle.”
The Magic Castle, a 1909 Edwardian-style mansion, opened in 1963 as a clubhouse and performance venue for the Academy of Magical Arts, which was founded and sustained for years by the Larsen family. From the start, the academy was a tenant in the building, leasing from private owners, the Glover family, on terms often described as “a handshake deal.”
For decades, visitors have been drawn by the idea of dressing to the nines and roaming room to room, sipping cocktails as conjurers and sleight-of-hand artists ply their trade. Performers and members have included Cary Grant, Johnny Carson, Orson Welles, Jason Alexander, Neil Patrick Harris and Larry Wilmore (who sits on the board of directors). Exclusivity is part of the appeal, too. To get in, most guests need an invite from a member.
The enterprise ran into trouble in 2020 when the pandemic shut it down and a Times investigation detailed allegations of sexual harassment, groping and racism. In 2021, the mansion reopened amid a leadership overhaul.
Erika Larsen, president of Magic Castle Enterprises, and mansion owner Randy Pitchford.
(Tara Ziemba / Getty Images)
The latest chapter in the castle’s story began in April 2022 when Pitchford bought the property from its longtime landlords, the Glover family.
Pitchford, 54, whose Texas-based company created the popular Borderlands video game franchise, is a controversial figure in the video game industry. His purchase of the castle, valued by the L.A. County Assessor at $50 million, also included an adjacent apartment building and the 33-unit Magic Hotel next door.
About the same time as the castle purchase, Pitchford also bought intellectual property rights to the Magic Castle name from Milt Larsen, who died in 2023.
When Pitchford was announced as buyer of the castle, many academy members voiced optimism. “We were absolutely thrilled beyond measure,” said Paul Kott, an Anaheim-based commercial and residential real estate broker who has been an AMA member for 50 years. “We know his heart wants to dedicate this place to the art of magic.”
To manage the new holdings, Pitchford and his wife, Kristy Pitchford, created companies called Magic Castle Enterprises (for intellectual property) and Magic Castle Entertainment (for real estate), together known as MCE. They also enlisted Erika Larsen, daughter of castle pioneers Bill and Irene Larsen, as president of Magic Castle Enterprises, and Jessica Hopkins, granddaughter of Bill and Irene Larsen, as chief operating officer.
In January 2024, the AMA’s leadership told members that the group’s lease on the building would not be renewed — causing a surge of anxiety among members — and that academy board was negotiating with MCE in hopes of keeping the group in place.
On July 30, 2024, AMA members said they received an email that included a warning from MCE saying that if it couldn’t make a deal with the academy, MCE might “create a new club with enticing features and pricing” that “might possibly lead to [the academy’s] demise.”
(In a later email exchange with The Times, Pitchford said he did not recall that specific sentence; he did not respond to a request to confirm or deny the passage.)
In December 2024, AMA leaders invited members to vote on a proposed “resolution implementation agreement” for MCE to take over the Magic Castle’s commercial operations while the academy remained on site indefinitely and focused on its nonprofit role, including awards programs and educational efforts.
MCE reported that more than 90% of ballots favored the deal. Opponents said that a minority of members cast votes. A second vote yielded similar results.
Further details emerged in a “white paper” document that MCE circulated in February 2025. It said MCE would operate and collect revenue from the castle gift shop, bar, restaurant, box office and valet parking. AMA members would pay dues through a new entity which would divide that revenue between MCE and the academy. The Magic Castle would serve “as the exclusive clubhouse of the AMA indefinitely.”
MCE also pledged to invest $10 million in capital improvements and maintenance and relieve the AMA of remaining lease and trademark-related financial obligations. Meanwhile, the AMA board of directors would gradually shrink from nine members to five, two of them nominated by MCE.
In March, the Magic Castle announced that the MCE and AMA board of directors had signed a resolution implementation agreement, the framework for a deal. An AMA spokesperson said that MCE and the AMA board of directors “have negotiated terms for long-term access. Details of the agreement will not be released.”
“I think [Pitchford] has tried to do everything in his power to preserve the nature of this iconic place,” said longtime member Christopher Hart, who serves as chair of the academy’s board of trustees, which oversees artistic choices at the castle. Hart played “Thing,” the disembodied hand, in the “Addams Family” movies.
“The rumors have been so rampant in so many directions,” said Gay Blackstone, a longtime member who has served in many roles on the academy board of directors and board of trustees. Blackstone said she still has research to do before casting her vote but “I know that [Pitchford’s] love and passion for the magic are tremendous.”
Still, for some, doubts persist. “I don’t think the membership is being given what they need to make a good decision…. How long can we stay? how much is it going to cost?” Kott asked.
Now comes another membership vote. On Sept. 8, members began a binding vote on proposed changes in academy bylaws and other documents that would make the new deal possible. Those changes include creation of a Magic Castle Club, separate from the Academy of Magical Arts.
That “is an important wrinkle,” Shelton said.
The concept of the Magic Castle Club “is not to compete with the A.M.A., but we needed a new entity to collect dues on behalf of the A.M.A. and MCE per the arrangement,” Randy Pitchford said in a statement to The Times Sept. 15. Once an agreement is in place, Pitchford said, “All club activities, events, initiatives, etc, are and will be led and directed by the Academy of Magical Arts.”
The goal, MCE leaders have said, is “a seamless transition with a focus on an uninterrupted member and guest experience.”
If the membership rejects the changes, Christopher Grant, president of the academy’s board of directors, said in a statement that “MCE will terminate its current lease with the AMA” and the academy would need to find a new clubhouse by January 2029.
Further effects of a “no” vote, especially for academy-member performers and audiences at the Magic Castle, are harder to predict.
In his Sept. 9 statement, Pitchford suggested that the new proposal puts in place “the same kind of relationship that founded and created” the Magic Castle in the first place.
“Change is always scary,” Hart said. “Members just want the same experience they’ve always had and loved about the castle.” The proposed changes, Hart added, “could make the castle greater than it’s ever been.”
A BRITISH rock band has split with a long-serving member just days before kicking off a UK tour.
Crawlers have ‘decided to part ways’ with their drummer Harry Breen a year after their debut album, The Mess We Seem to Make, reached number seven in the UK charts.
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Crawlers have announced the departure of Harry BreenCredit: Getty
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The drummer won’t be part of the band’s UK tour that starts next weekCredit: Alamy
A statement on Instagram reads: “After a period of reflection, and discussion with our drummer Harry Breen, we’ve each decided to go our separate ways.
“CRAWLERS continues, louder and more alive than ever before. we can’t wait to continue to tell our story, and to forge that beside you on our upcoming headline shows and when we join Pierce the Veil in arenas across Europe this autumn.
“Evolution is in motion, the future is big, there’s a new world building around us and it’s ours to share. all we have is us. yours always, holly, liv & amy.”
Harry had been due to head out on the band’s new UK tour which kicks off in Portsmouthnext week.
It’s thought that the band will have a session drummer to fill in for the tour dates.
The band are also due to head out on tour in Europe with US rock giants Pierce the Veil later in the year.
The band first formed in 2018 after band members Holly, Liv and Amy met while studying at performing arts college.
Harry joined soon after. The band went on to gain a huge internet following after their song went viral on TikTok.
Following their success, the band gained support from BBCRadio 1 and MTV.
They have also performed multiple sold-out headline tours across the UK.
In 2023, their song So Tired was used in DC universe series Doom Patrol.
Their debut album The Mess We Seem to Make was released in late 2024 and entered the official charts at number seven.
Last year they had been set to support alt legend Jane’s Addiction on their reunion tour but after frontman Perry Farrell fought with guitarist Dave Navarro on-stage, the band split and run was pulled.
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Crawlers’ debut album reached number seven in the UKCredit: Alamy
WASHINGTON — Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday let President Trump remove a member of the Federal Trade Commission, the latest in a string of high-profile firings allowed for now by Supreme Court.
Trump first moved to fire Rebecca Slaughter in the spring, but she sued and lower courts ordered her reinstated because the law allows commissioners to be removed only for problems like misconduct or neglect of duty.
Roberts halted those decisions in a brief order, responding to an appeal from the Trump administration on the court’s emergency docket.
The Justice Department has argued that the FTC and other executive branch agencies are under Trump’s control and the Republican president is free to remove commissioners without cause.
Slaughter’s lawsuit over her firing will keep playing out, as Roberts asked her lawyers to respond to the Trump administration’s arguments by next week.
The court has previously allowed the firings of several other board members of independent agencies. It has suggested, however, that his power to fire has limitations at the Federal Reserve, a prospect that could soon be tested with the case of Fed Gov. Lisa Cook.
Monday’s order is the latest sign that the Supreme Court’s conservative majority has effectively abandoned a 90-year-old high court precedent that protected some federal agencies from arbitrary presidential action.
In the 1935 decision known as Humphrey’s Executor, the court unanimously held that presidents cannot fire independent board members without cause.
The decision ushered in an era of powerful independent federal agencies charged with regulating labor relations, employment discrimination, the airwaves and much else. But it has long rankled conservative legal theorists who argue the modern administrative state gets the Constitution all wrong because such agencies should answer to the president.
The agency at the center of the case was also the FTC, a point cited by lower-court judges in the lawsuit filed by Slaughter. She has ping-ponged in and out of the job as the case worked its way through the courts.
The FTC is a regulator created by Congress that enforces consumer protection measures and antitrust legislation. Its seats are typically comprised of three members of the president’s party and two from the opposing party.
Whitehurst writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Mark Sherman contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON — For decades, Doug Wilson was a relatively unknown pastor in Idaho, relegated to the fringe of evangelicalism for his radical teachings.
Now he’s an influential voice in the Christian right. That shift in clout was apparent this past week as he took a victory lap through Washington, sharing a stage with Trump administration officials and preaching at his denomination’s new church.
“This is the first time we’ve had connections with as many people in national government as we do now,” Wilson told The Associated Press in August.
Wilson and his acolytes within the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches still teach that empathy can be a sin, that the U.S. is a Christian nation, that giving women the right to vote was a bad idea. But as evangelicalism has aligned more closely with President Trump’s Republican agenda, these teachings have a larger and more receptive audience.
“Whatever he may have been in the past, he’s not fringe now,” said Brian Kaylor, a Baptist minister and Wilson critic who wrote the forthcoming book “The Bible According to Christian Nationalists.”
Wilson’s Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, opened a church blocks from the U.S. Capitol this summer. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, member of a CREC church in Tennessee, attended the opening.
On Saturday, the fledging congregation gathered for its first church conference. It rented a larger space in Virginia for the weekend to accommodate the 350 people who went to hear Wilson, more than doubling their usual Sunday attendance.
Wilson said they started the congregation to serve church members who relocated to work in Trump’s administration.
“We didn’t come to D.C. in order to meet important people,” Wilson told the gathering. “We’re here because we want to create the opportunity for important people and other people to meet with God.”
Making the case for Christian nationalism
At the National Conservatism Conference days earlier, Wilson was a featured speaker along with members of Congress and Trump’s Cabinet, including border czar Tom Homan, budget director Russell Vought and Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri. Two more CREC ministers were on the program to give an opening prayer and speak on a panel.
From the lectern in his affable baritone, Wilson gave a full-throated endorsement of Christian nationalism.
“America was deeply Christian and Protestant at the founding,” he said, while admitting numerous “credentialed” historians dispute this notion, “which should tell you something about our credentialing system.”
He talked to a sympathetic crowd, filled with conservatives who support a populist, nationalist and largely Christian America. Like Wilson, their movement has momentum, thanks to Trump’s return to the White House.
Wilson’s vision for a renewed Christian America calls for the end of same-sex marriage, abortion and Pride parades. He advocates restricting pornography and immigration.
“It is not xenophobic to object to the immigration policies of those who want to turn the Michigan-Ohio border into something that resembles the India-Pakistan border,” he said onstage.
He questioned, in particular, Muslims’ ability to assimilate: “There’s only so much white sand you can put in the sugar bowl before it isn’t the sugar bowl anymore.”
Downplaying the horrors of slavery
Wilson and the CREC, which he co-founded, ascribe to a strict version of Reformed theology — rooted in the tradition of 16th-century Protestant reformer John Calvin — that puts a heavy emphasis on an all-powerful God with dominion over all of society.
Since the 1970s, Wilson’s ministry and influence have grown to include the Association of Christian Classical Schools and New Saint Andrew’s College in Moscow, Idaho. Wilson is a prolific writer and content creator, and he and his ministry have a robust media presence, including a publishing arm, Canon Press.
His extensive catalog of books and blog posts provides plenty of fodder for his critics. In one infamous example, he co-authored a 1996 book that downplayed the horrors of slavery, an effort not dissimilar from recent Trump administration moves to revise museum exhibits.
Today Wilson says he’d make some points more clearly in “Southern Slavery as It Was.” While he condemns slavery, he still contends some slave owners and enslaved people “had a good relationship with one another.”
“There was horrific maltreatment on the one hand, and then there are other stories that are right out of Disney’s ‘Song of the South,’” Wilson told the AP, referring to the 1946 film that hasn’t been released in decades because it paints a sunny picture of plantation life with racist stereotypes.
Worries that patriarchy can fuel abuse
Wilson’s hard-line theology and happy-warrior ethos have attracted a cadre of young, internet-savvy men to his ministry. They help make slickly produced hype videos to circulate online, like one in which Wilson uses a flamethrower to torch cardboard cutouts of Disney princesses.
CREC leaders like to use humor to poke fun at their reputation.
“We want our wives to be barefoot, pregnant, in the kitchen making sourdough,” joked Joe Rigney, one of Wilson’s Idaho pastors, at the church conference.
“Of course, this is a gross slander,” Rigney said. “We are more than happy for our wives to wear shoes while they make the sourdough.”
CREC practices complementarianism — the patriarchal idea that men and women have different God-given roles. Women within CREC churches cannot hold church leadership positions, and married women are to submit to their husbands.
Christ Church allows only heads of households, usually men, to vote in church elections. Though Wilson said his wife and daughters vote in nonchurch elections, he would prefer the United States follow his congregation’s example with household voting.
To the uproar of critics, Wilson has argued sex requires male authority and female submission, a point he acknowledges is “offensive to all egalitarians.”
“The sexual act cannot be made into an egalitarian pleasuring party,” he writes in “Fidelity.” “A man penetrates, conquers, colonizes, plants. A woman receives, surrenders, accepts.”
Former CREC members have accused Wilson and the denomination of fostering a theological environment ripe for patriarchal abuse of women and children.
“I’ve seen how much this hurts people,” said journalist Sarah Stankorb, who documented allegations of mishandled abuse within CREC for Vice and in her 2023 book “Disobedient Women.”
In her 2024 memoir “A Well-Trained Wife,” Tia Levings, a former CREC member, alleges Wilson’s writings on marriage and patriarchy provided a theological justification for her ex-husband’s violence toward her.
“I call it church-sanctioned domestic abuse,” Levings told the AP.
Wilson denies condoning abuse or ever sanctioning physical discipline of wives.
“Our teaching has to be taken as a whole,” he said, emphasizing wives should submit but husbands must love them in a Christ-like way.
“Beating their wives or spanking their wives is a call-the-cops situation,” he told reporters Saturday after his church conference concluded.
CREC has more than 150 churches in the United States and abroad. Wilson said its goal is to have thousands of churches, so most Americans can be within driving distance of one.
Wilson often says his movement is playing the long game, that its efforts won’t come to fruition for two centuries.
“Doug loves to play humble,” Levings said, “that his vision is going to take 250 years to manifest. That’s actually not the case when we look at the results of what his ministry has done.”
After all, it took him only a few decades to get this close to the White House.
CBS News’ “Face the Nation” will no longer edit taped interviews after U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem complained about how her remarks were cut in her last appearance on the Washington-based program.
The news division said Friday that the Sunday show moderated by Margaret Brennan will only present interviews live or “live to tape” in which no edits are made. Exceptions will be made when classified national security information is inadvertently stated or language is used that violates Federal Communications Commission broadcast standards.
“In response to audience feedback over the past week, we have implemented a new policy for greater transparency in our interviews,” a CBS News representative said in a statement. “This extra measure means the television audience will see the full, unedited interview on CBS and we will continue our practice of posting full transcripts and the unedited video online.”
The representative declined to comment on the reason for the policy beyond the statement.
But the timing makes it clear that CBS News is reacting to Noem’s complaints following her Sunday appearance in which she discussed the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man wrongly deported to his native El Salvador. He was returned to the U.S., where he faces deportation efforts.
Noem wrote on X that “CBS shamefully edited the interview to whitewash the truth about this MS-13 gang member and the threat he poses to American public safety.”
The comments cut from the “Face the Nation” appearance were potentially defamatory. Noem said that Abrego Garcia was a member of MS-13 and that he solicited nude photos from minors.
“Even his fellow human traffickers told him to knock it off, he was so sick in what he was doing and how he was treating small children,” Noem said in the unedited version of the interview she posted on X.
The government has accused Abrego Garcia of being a member of MS-13, which he has denied. A court has described the evidence of his connection as “insufficient.”
“Face the Nation,” which has been on the air since 1954, became the focal point in a legal battle between CBS News and President Trump last year. Trump sued CBS News for $20 billion, claiming the program deceptively edited a “60 Minutes” interview with his 2024 opponent, then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Face the Nation” ran a clip from the interview that differed from what appeared in the “60 Minutes” broadcast, which led Trump to claim that it was changed to aid Harris and damage his election chances.
Editing interviews for clarity and time restrictions of a broadcast is a common practice in TV news. While 1st Amendment experts said CBS News had done nothing wrong, parent company Paramount settled the case for $16 million to help clear the regulatory hurdles for its merger with Skydance Media. The merger was completed Aug. 7.
The policy change regarding live interviews will likely be seen as another capitulation to Trump administration, who has shown a willingness to use legal measures to punish or attempt to silence his critics in the media. It will also pose a challenge to “Face the Nation” producers who already operate in an environment where real-time fact checking can’t always keep up with the misinformation presented by guests on the program.
CBS News is expecting additional changes as Skydance is in serious talks to acquire the Free Press, the right-leaning web-based media company founded by former New York Times opinion writer Bari Weiss.
The deal is said to be nearing completion, according to people familiar with the discussions, and would include a prominent role for Weiss at CBS News, even though she has no experience in running a TV news organization.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s health secretary and a longtime vaccine skeptic, struck a defiant tone Thursday as he faced bipartisan criticism over changes he has made to reorganize federal health agencies and vaccine policies, telling senators that he is determined to “eliminate politics from science.”
In the testy appearance before the Senate Finance Committee, Kennedy repeatedly defended his record in heated exchanges with senators from both parties and questioned data that show the effectiveness of vaccines. In turn, senators accused him of taking actions that contradict his promise seven months earlier that he would do “nothing that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking vaccines.”
“Secretary Kennedy, in your confirmation hearing you promised to uphold the highest standard for vaccines. Since then, I’ve grown deeply concerned,” Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, a top-ranking Senate Republican and a physician, said during the hearing.
Kennedy forcefully denied that he has limited access to vaccines and defended his record in restoring trust in federal healthcare agencies under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“They deserve the truth and that’s what we’re going to give them for the first time in the history of the agency,” Kennedy told senators.
From the outset, it was expected that Democrats would slam Kennedy’s record. Some of them called on him to resign and accused him of politicizing federal health policy decisions. But three other Republicans, including Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who was key in advancing Kennedy’s nomination, joined Democrats in criticizing Kennedy’s actions, mostly pertaining to vaccine policy changes.
Thursday’s session marked a peak of bipartisan frustration over a string of controversial decisions by Kennedy that have thrown his department into disarray. Kennedy dismissed an entire advisory panel responsible for vaccine recommendations and replaced its members with known vaccine skeptics. He withdrew $500 million in funding earmarked for developing vaccines against respiratory viruses. And, just last week, he ousted the newly appointed director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention following disagreements over vaccine policy.
In an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, Susan Monarez, the former CDC director, wrote that she was forced out after she declined to recommend people “who have publicly expressed antivaccine rhetoric” to an influential vaccine advisory panel.
At the hearing, Kennedy said Monarez was lying. Instead, he said he fired her because he asked her if she was trustworthy, and she told him, “no.”
He added that he fired all the members of the vaccine panel because it was “plagued with persistent conflicts of interest.”
“We depoliticized it and put great scientists on it from a very diverse group, very, very pro-vaccine,” he claimed.
In questioning, however, members of his own party questioned his support for vaccines. At one point, Cassidy, a physician, read an email from a physician friend who said patients 65 and older need a prescription to get a COVID-19 shot.
“I would say effectively we are denying people vaccines,” Cassidy said.
“You’re wrong,” Kennedy responded.
In that same exchange, Cassidy asked Kennedy if he believed President Trump deserved a Nobel Prize for his administration’s work on Operation Warp Speed, the initiative that sped the development of the COVID-19 vaccine and treatments.
“Absolutely,” Kennedy said.
Cassidy said he was surprised at his answer because he believes Kennedy is trying to restrict access to the COVID-19 vaccine. He also expressed dismay at Kennedy’s decision to cancel $500 million in contracts to develop vaccines using mRNA technology, which Cassidy said was key to the operation.
Kennedy’s position on vaccines have reverberated beyond Capitol Hill.
Ahead of the hearing, more than 1,000 employees at the health agency and national health organizations called on Kennedy to resign. Seemingly in support of Kennedy’s direction, Florida announced plans to become the first state to end all vaccines mandated, including for schoolchildren. And three Democratic-led states — California, Washington and Oregon — have created an alliance to counter turmoil within the federal public health agency.
The states said the focus of their health alliance will be on ensuring the public has access to credible information about the safety and efficacy of vaccines.
Almost as if in a parallel universe, Kennedy told senators on Thursday that his goal was to achieve the same thing, after facing hours of criticism on his vaccine policies.
“I am not going to sign on to something if I can’t make it with scientific certainty,” he said. “It doesn’t mean I am antivax, it just means I am pro-science.”
Aug. 28 (UPI) — Robert Primus, member of the Surface Transportation Board, was fired by the White House Thursday, though he contends that the move is illegal.
The Surface Transportation Board is an independent regulatory agency that has been considering the merger of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern railroad companies.
“Robert Primus did not align with the president’s America First agenda and was terminated from his position by the White House,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement. “The Administration intends to nominate new, more qualified members to the Surface Transportation Board in short order.”
In a statement on LinkedIn, Primus said the email he got telling him he was fired was “deeply troubling and legally invalid.”
“Ironically, this comes at a time when the Board is considering significant, pressing matters of critical importance to both our national freight rail network and supply chain that would directly affect large swaths of our manufacturing, agricultural, industrial and energy sectors,” he wrote.
He noted that he was hired by President Donald Trump in his first term, was kept on during the President Joe Biden administration, and was unanimously confirmed by the House and Senate.
“I have worked tirelessly to build bipartisan trust and have demonstrated myself to be truly an independent Board member that has consistently rendered fair and impartial decisions,” he said. “My record during my four and a half years at the Board reflects this, and I strongly believe the actions of the White House would weaken the Board and adversely affect the freight rail network in a way that may ultimately hurt consumers and the economy.”
He ended his statement saying he doesn’t plan to step down.
“I plan to continue to discharge my duties as a member of the Board and, if I’m prevented from doing so, I will explore my legal options,: he said.
The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers — Transportation Division said it strongly condemns the “unprecedented and unjustified” removal of Primus.
“Appointed bodies established through federal code are not designed to be erased at the whim of powerful corporate interests. This action is unprecedented, unlawful in spirit, and reeks of direct interference from hedge funds and the nation’s largest rail carriers,” SMART-TD, the largest rail labor organization in the United States, said in a statement.
“It sends a chilling message: that regulators who dare to stand up for fairness and balance in the rail industry can be swept aside to serve Wall Street’s agenda,” SMART-TD said.
The Surface Transportation Board started the review of the merger in July after Union Pacific announced it would buy Norfolk Southern for $85 million. The merger faces criticism from labor unions and those who believe it would hurt competition in the rail industry.
