refuses

JOJO Siwa has addressed whether she’d date women again – as she lifted the lid on her relationship with Chris Hughes.

The US singer and dancer, 23, struck up a romance with Love Island alum Chris, 33, on last year’s edition of Celebrity Big Brother.

Prior to entering the House, JoJo had been in a relationship with Kath Ebbs and identified as a lesbian.

Although during her time on the show, the star later said she wanted to identify as queer.

Speaking more recently on the Wildmen podcast, JoJo refused to rule out dating women again.

She told hosts Dylan Sprouse and Brendan Columbus about her relationship with Chris: “I thought it was just another friend adding to the thing, right?

together again

JoJo Siwa strips to bikini for loved-up reunion with boyfriend Chris Hughes

HUGHE JOB

Chris Hughes lined up for huge new Big Brother job – and JoJo could join him

“Once realised I wasn’t grossed out by the thought of him being a boy, I was like “whoa.”

JoJo continued: “It was definitely… it was weird, because I’d never thought that before.”

The star explained while she had attractive male friends, she never thought of them romantically – joking her bridal party would be “all dudes.”

JoJo went on: “With Chris… it actually was fascinating because I physically thought I would never be with a dude, ever. I just never thought it was possible.

“And people always go, “What if something happened with Chris, who would you date? – boys or would you go for girls?

“At this point, I have no right to say. You can find interviews on me where I’ve sworn how gross dudes are and I’ll never be with one.

“And now I’m head over heels in love with one.

“People always ask that and it’s always just like, “I have no right to say”, but I really do think that Chris is very much so a special dude.”

Reporting from Washington — During a testy White House briefing Thursday, a reporter challenged Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to counter President Trump’s claim that the American press is the “enemy of the people.” She wouldn’t.

The heated exchange between Sanders and CNN’s chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, came near the end of a briefing on Russia’s attempted interference in the midterm elections, and just hours after Ivanka Trump unhesitatingly broke with her father in a public interview, telling her questioner that she does not believe that the media is the enemy.

Acosta told Sanders, “I think it would be a good thing if you were to say right here, at this briefing, that the press — the people who are gathered in this room right now, doing their jobs every day, asking questions of officials like the ones you brought forward earlier — are not the enemy of the people.”

“I think we deserve that,” he added.

“I think the president has made his position known,” Sanders replied, proceeding to express her own disdain at length. She told Acosta that it was “ironic” that “you and the media attack the president for his rhetoric when they frequently lower the level of conversation in this country.”

Sanders claimed that media outlets “incite anger” and have “personally” attacked her, adding that she was unfairly ridiculed at the White House Correspondents’ Assn. dinner in April by the comedian that the organization hired to headline the event.

“As far as I know, I’m the first press secretary in the history of the United States that’s required Secret Service protection,” she said.

“Tell that to the five dead people in Annapolis!” another reporter shouted, referring to the employees of the Capital newspaper who were shot dead in their Annapolis, Md., office in June.

Acosta followed up, giving Sanders another chance to disavow Trump’s claim.

“For the sake of this room, the people who are in this room, this democracy, this country, all the people around the world are watching what you’re saying, Sarah,” he told her. “The president of the United States should not refer to us as the enemy of the people.”

Sanders didn’t yield. She said she appreciated Acosta’s “passion,” but reiterated that Trump had made his position on the matter clear. Then she moved on to the next question. And, as the briefing ended, Acosta walked out.

A much different exchange played out earlier in the day, when Ivanka Trump was interviewed before an audience in Washington by Mike Allen, the executive editor of Axios, a news website.

“Do you think that we’re the enemy of the people?” Allen asked her.

The president’s daughter, who is also his senior White House advisor but — unlike Sanders — doesn’t have to be fearful of her job security, responded, “No, I do not.”

“That’s not a view that’s shared in your family,” Allen pressed, as the audience laughed.

“I have some sensitivity around why people have concerns and gripe, especially when they feel targeted. But, no, I do not feel that the media is the enemy of the people,” Trump said.

In a tweet later Wednesday, President Trump sought to suggest that he and his daughter were in complete agreement, and said that she had given the right response.

But then he repeated the accusation: “It is the FAKE NEWS, which is a large percentage of the media, that is the enemy of the people!”

The latest from Washington »

@ElizaFawcett

WASHINGTON — A federal judge has refused to block the Trump administration from taking steps to build 62 miles of international border wall along part of a Native American tribe’s reservation without its consent.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington denied the Tohono O’odham Nation’s request for a court-ordered halt to border wall construction on its 2.8-million-acre reservation. Leon ruled Friday that the tribe hasn’t established that a border wall will change its reservation boundaries without congressional authority.

The judge also rejected the tribe’s claim that the planned border wall would illegally trespass on its reservation.

“And in any event, I find that the Government’s interests in securing the border, enforcing immigration laws, and ensuring public safety outweigh any surviving irreparable harms at this juncture,” Leon wrote.

The tribe released a statement late Friday strongly disagreeing with the decision.

“Too many critical issues were not adequately addressed, such as inevitable impacts construction will have on the Nation’s land and the permanent destruction of sacred sites,” Tohono O’odham Nation Chairman Verlon M. Jose said. “The Nation will consider all possible options for moving forward, as this issue is simply too important to the O’odham.”

The O’odham reservation in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona abuts 62 miles of the Mexico border. The tribe has more than 37,000 members, including thousands who live in Mexico.

Building the border wall would lead to “significant devastation” on the reservation, including the destruction of mountain peaks that are sacred to the O’odham, tribe attorneys said.

“It would fray the ties between O’odham communities and families on opposite sides of the border, interfere significantly with O’odham religious rituals and practices, and destroy plant and animal resources sacred to the O’odham,” the lawyers wrote.

In 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt issued a proclamation reserving a 60-foot strip of public land along the U.S.-Mexico border for a buffer zone dubbed the “Roosevelt Reservation,” which was formed a decade before the reservation’s establishment.

Tribe attorneys say it is “fanciful at best” to suggest that border wall construction can be confined to a 60-foot-wide corridor.

During a July 22 hearing, Leon appeared to be skeptical that U.S. laws tip in favor of the tribe’s bid for a preliminary injunction, calling it an “extraordinary” request. Leon, who was nominated to the bench by President George W. Bush, said he couldn’t find a previous court ruling under comparable circumstances.

“This is a novel case with novel issues,” the judge said.

Kunzelman writes for the Associated Press.

Aug. 12 (UPI) — MyPillow founder Mike Lindell is refusing to concede defeat in the Minnesota governor’s Republican primary election, saying there were irregularities in the vote tallies.

Lindell lost by 11 points to Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth.

A reporter on his own network, LindellTV, asked him if he would concede if The Associated Press called it for Demuth, he answered: “Why would I listen to the AP?”

“There’s 265,000 votes left to count. I’m down by 18,000 now,” he said. “I’m not going to give up this race until the votes are counted. That’s nonsense.”

His own site shows Demuth as the winner by 11% with 99% of the votes counted as of 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Lindell, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump in his run for governor and has previously supported Trump’s claim that the 2020 election was stolen.

Lindell was sued by Dominion Voting Systems for defamation against a former employee of the company, which makes voting machines. Lindell claimed that the employee, Eric Coomer, had helped rig the 2020 election. In 2025, Lindell was ordered to pay Coomer $2.3 million.

Lindell stepped down from MyPillow leadership on Aug. 5 to focus on his campaign for governor.

“Minnesota deserves my full attention, and that’s exactly what I’m giving it,” He said in a statement on X at the time. “I’m all in, and I can’t wait to earn your vote.”

Demuth said her win is a “major milestone,” but said there was still the November election to win.

“Tonight, Minnesotans made it clear they are ready for real change — at the top. It’s time to end the fraud, restore common sense to our state government and return Minnesota to a place that works for families, seniors, businesses and our next generation,” the post said.

“Let’s go win in November!”

Demuth will face Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., in November’s election.