Barack Obama: Last News

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Marc Maron has joined the cast of Universal’s untitled New York Christmas movie, written by Richard Curtis, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “Notting Hill” and “Love Actually.” Maron is starring alongside Melissa McCarthy and Paapa Essiedu in the film, a fairy-tale comedy about a workaholic man who enlists the help of a magical genie to help win his family back before Christmas. Sam Boyd, who wrote and created the Anna Kendrick-led HBO Max series “Love Life,” will direct. It’s set to premiere on the NBCUniversal-owned streaming service Peacock on a yet-to-be-determined date.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Elon Musk’s purge of blue check-marks from Twitter accounts verified under the company’s previous regime has begun. Now a blue check-mark badge on Twitter primarily signifies that it’s an account belonging to someone who’s paying Musk, one of the world’s wealthiest individuals, for the perk. On April 20, as Musk had announced, Twitter started un-checking thousands of “legacy” verified accounts — those which the company had previously deemed to be “active, notable and authentic” — unless those users were subscribers to Twitter Blue, which starts at $8 per month.

Naman Ramachandran BAFTA-winning “The Last King of Scotland” writer Jeremy Brock will adapt independent studio Wiip and India’s Roy Kapur Films’ series based on the book “The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company” by author and historian William Dalrymple. “The Anarchy” will be mounted as an international co-production between Wiip and Roy Kapur Films to be produced across the U.S., U.K. and India. The book tells the story of how one of the world’s most magnificent empires, the Mughal empire, disintegrated and came to be replaced by the British East India Company – a dangerously unregulated private company based thousands of miles away in a small London office just five windows wide.

Malina Saval Associate Editor, Features Growing up in Australia, civil rights in the U.S. were not part of Craig Emanuel’s school curriculum. So when the future power attorney moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s, he “read everything” he could get his hands on.  “I was fascinated,” says Emanuel. “And when it was the 50th anniversary of the marches on the Edmund Pettus Bridge [in 2015], I turned to [my wife] and said, ‘I want to go to Selma.’”  An avid photographer, Emanuel has “saved every negative [he’s] shot” from the age of 6. He’d photographed historic events like President Barack Obama’s inauguration and wanted to do the same in Selma, Ala. Upon the suggestion of a colleague, Emanuel reached out to the Faith & Politics Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded in 1991 to bridge racial, religious and political schisms among politicians. Rep. John Lewis, who died in 2020, organized the group’s annual civil rights pilgrimage to Selma. Emanuel and his wife made plans to join the organization there. 

Sophia Scorziello editor Fox settled its Dominion Voting Systems defamation suit for $787.5 million, but the network’s litigators submitted several clips from “The Simpsons” to be shown in court, had the case gone to trial. Each of these scenes show Homer Simpson voting in a presidential election, as NBC reported: — Season 20’s “Treehouse of Horror XIX” shows Homer attempting to cast a ballot for Barack Obama.— The promotional short “Homer Votes 2012” shows him voting for Mitt Romney.— The YouTube short “Homer Votes 2016” features Russian President Vladimir Putin disguising himself as an American voter and trying to convince Homer to vote for Trump.— Season 32’s “Treehouse of Horror XXXI” finds Homer unsure whether to vote for Trump or Biden.

A Fugees rapper on trial in a multimillion-dollar campaign finance and foreign influence case was trying to reinvent himself as he entered the political arena, not break any laws, defense attorneys said Monday. Prakazrel "Pras" Michel became a best-selling, Grammy-winning artist with the 1990s hip-hop group the Fugees, but in the years after its breakup was looking for his next chapter, attorney David Kenner said as he began making the defense case. Michel surrounded himself with people to help with his transition to politics and eventually entered the orbit of a wealthy Malaysian "playboy" but didn’t engage in "James Bond … cloak and dagger stuff," he said.

Jackson, 63, took to the podium to weigh in on the council’s discussion about holding a gay pride parade.She argued that Franklin should not celebrate the gay community, claiming that God “hates” sodomy, homosexuality, sexual immorality and pride.“Like, one of the most things he hates is pride,” she insisted as she cited Bible verses.“Proverbs 11:12: When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. The Lord detests all the proud of heart.

Rihanna has become the most followed woman on Twitter, after surpassing Katy Perry.The news comes as a significant milestone in the pop icon’s career, following her worldwide success in the music, fashion and cosmetics industries.As reported by Social Blade, the ‘Lift Me Up’ singer now has 108,278,326 followers on the social media platform – which makes her the most followed woman in the world and the fourth most followed account ever.Currently, her closest competitors are Justin Bieber, who ranks third with 113,171,252 followers and former POTUS Barack Obama who is the second most followed account, with 132,941,739 followers. At time of writing, Elon Musk – who became the owner of Twitter last October – is in the top spot, with 134,341,896 followers.Previously, it was ‘Dark Horse’ singer Katy Perry who held the title of the most followed woman on the platform.

The U.S. economy added 236,000 jobs in March, showing continued strength in the job market even amid the Federal Reserve’s interest rate increases.

Leonardo DiCaprio took the stand at Washington, D.C.’s federal courthouse on Monday as a witness in the trial of former Fugees member Prakazrel “Pras” Michel.

Donald Glover is opening up about Gilga, his production company headquartered in Ojai, California. One of the projects that have people buzzing is a short film created by Malia Obama, the eldest daughter of former President of the U.S. Barack Obama and former First Lady of the U.S. Michelle Obama.

Malia Obama was spotted hanging out with old friends in the city. Barack Obama’s eldest daughter was photographed hanging out with Joe Biden’s grandkids, Maisy, Finnegan and Beau Jr.

The wolf of the courtroom. Leonardo DiCaprio took the stand to testify in former Fugees rapper Pras Michel’s money-laundering case.

Michelle Obama wants you to pick up some yarn and knitting needles. The former First Lady of the United States took to Instagram to talk about one of her favorite hobbies- knitting.

Leonardo DiCaprio took the stand at Washington, D.C.'s federal courthouse on Monday as a witness in the trial of former Fugees member Prakazrel «Pras» Michel.Pras is accused of allegedly funneling money to Barack Obama's 2012 presidential reelection campaign through straw donors and working with fugitive Malaysian financer Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low. Five years later, prosecutors say Pras tried to squelch an investigation into Low under former President Donald Trump’s administration. Additionally, Low is being accused of masterminding an international money laundering and bribery scheme that stole billions from the Malaysian state investment fund known as 1MDB.Both Michel and Low are facing charges in the United States, but Low remains at large, so Michel is on trial alone.CBS News reports that DiCaprio, who is not accused of any wrongdoing, testified to a grand jury on Monday and discussed his relationship with Low in a bid by prosecutors to show that Low used stolen money to curry favor with actors, models, and politicians in the United States. According to prosecutors, Low and DiCaprio wereintroduced by the stepson of former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, who was charged in Malaysia in connection with the 1MDB corruption scandal. DiCaprio recalled to jurors first meeting Low when when he attended his Las Vegas birthday party in 2010.

Leonardo DiCaprio took the stand on Monday (April 3) to testify about his relationship with accused billionaire Jho Low in a federal trial against Fugees member Pras Michel.

Leonardo DiCaprio testified in federal court Monday in a case involving international money laundering and bribery. DiCaprio, 48, took the witness stand to talk about his connection to Jho Low – one of the primary financiers of his film "Wolf of Wall Street." Jho Low, also known as Low Taek Jho, has been accused of stealing billions of dollars from a Malaysian state investment fund. Prakazrel "Pras" Michel is accused of funneling money for Jho Low into Barack Obama's 2012 election campaign.

Malaysian financier Jho Low tried to funnel up to $30 million to President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign as part of a far-reaching influence operation.“I basically said, ‘Wow, that’s a lot of money,'” DiCaprio testified.The “Titanic” star was testifying in the trial of rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel of The Fugees hip hop group, who US prosecutors accuse of illegally taking tens of millions of dollars to lobby the US government on behalf of Low and the Chinese government.DiCaprio is one of several prominent figures linked to Low, who is suspected of embezzling $4.5 billion from Malaysia’s 1MDB sovereign wealth fund.The financier, who was known to pay Hollywood celebrities to party with him, supported DiCaprio’s charitable foundation and helped fund “The Wolf of Wall Street,” the 2013 movie in which DiCaprio starred.DiCaprio has been cooperating with the US government’s investigation.He managed to enter the courthouse without being spotted by news crews that had been staking out his arrival.Michel is accused of profiting from an alleged embezzling scheme by Low, as well as a Chinese government influence campaign aimed at repatriating dissident Guo Wengui.Michel faces 11 criminal counts for trying to influence the administrations of Obama and former President Donald Trump. Michel has denied the allegations.The Fugees won two Grammy Awards for their best-selling 1996 album “The Score.” But by 2012, prosecutors said, Michel was in dire need of cash.Prosecutors said Michel agreed to funnel money into Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign and hide the source of the funds.

Ben & Jerry’s will be giving away unlimited free ice cream all day today to celebrate its birthday. The annual ‘free cone day’ happens every year, with the worldwide ice cream giant letting fans loose on their favourite flavours.

Quinta Brunson had a real-life “pinch me” moment on April 1. The “Abbott Elementary” creator and star made her “Saturday Night Live” debut as the night’s guest, and according to her monologue, it was a long time coming.

Katie Reul editor Class is back in session with “Abbott Elementary” creator and star Quinta Brunson, whose April 1 hosting debut on “Saturday Night Live” featured a comedic lesson on why she and her character, Janine Teagues, are actually nothing alike. “I love that people are enjoying ‘Abbott,’ but I wish that they didn’t expect me to be exactly like my character all the time in public. Janine Teagues is a second grade teacher who is caring and wholesome, but I’m the opposite. I mean, I’m not a filthy whore but I like to have fun,” Brunson joked. For viewers not familiar with Brunson, the actor provided a biting description of her acclaimed mockumentary series that caused an eruption of laughter among the crowd: “It’s a network sitcom, like ‘Friends,’ but instead of being about a group of friends it’s about a group of teachers, instead of New York it’s Philadelphia and instead of not having Black people, it does.”