The Denver Broncos picked up a huge win for their playoff chances, taking down the Cleveland Browns, 41-32, in a back-and-forth thriller on “Monday Night Football.”
This game was a shootout much like Jameis Winston’s previous nationally televised bout, which ended in victory for the Browns this past Thursday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
But Bo Nix, not Russell Wilson, was Winston’s opposing quarterback this time, and he continued to show why he’s an Offensive Rookie of the Year frontrunner as he picked apart the Browns’ defense.
On the team’s second drive, Nix was methodical as he dissected the defense, finding fellow rookie DeVaughn Vele for a 16-yard gain that landed the Broncos at the one-yard line. A few plays later, running back Javonte Williams scored the game’s first touchdown to get the home team on the board first.
But leave it to Winston to immediately respond, launching one to Elijah Moore for a 44-yard gain four plays into the next drive to get into the red zone. Then, David Njoku went upstairs to haul in his first of two touchdowns on the night for Cleveland to tie things up 7-7.
The Browns’ offense, though, definitely ran through Jerry Jeudy, who went into this contest against his former team saying he wanted to “whip their a–.”
He lived up to those words with 235 yards on nine catches, including a 70-yard touchdown that came immediately after Nix had thrown a dot to Marvin Mims Jr. on third-and-11 for a 93-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
After the Broncos kicked a field goal to make it a 31-26 game, Winston was back under center again, this time looking to take the lead for the first time in this game with a touchdown.
That’s exactly what happened, as Nick Chubb was uncovered on his route for a five-yard score.
However, Nix, who has been calm under pressure throughout this season, continued his good performance by getting his team into the red zone once more and Wil Lutz buried a short field goal to retake the lead, 34-32.
Winston had a chance to respond once more, but he threw his second pick-six of the game, as Ja’Quan McMillan stepped into the out route and wasn’t touched after falling to the turf. He walked right into the end zone to pull away late in the fourth quarter.
That was the victory seal for Denver, as Winston and the Browns didn’t have any magic in them to pull spoiler yet again.
Looking at the stat sheet, Nix was 18-for-35 for 294 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, with Mims (3 catches, 105 yards) and Courtland Sutton (6 catches, 102 yards) leading the team.
On the ground, Jaleel McLaughlin had 84 yards on 14 carries for the Broncos.
For the Browns, Winston had a whopping 497 yards passing on 34-of-58 with Moore also tallying 11 yards on eight catches. Njoku finished with nine receptions for 52 yards and his two scores.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) mocked Morning Joe co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski for visiting President-elect Donald Trump, suggesting they kissed the president-elect “a little bit lower” than “the ring.”
During an interview with Cruz – himself a former Trump critic who previously described his ally as a “pathological liar” and a “sniveling coward” – Fox News host Sean Hannity said, “You have Joe and Mika going to Mar-a-Lago to kiss the ring and suck up to Donald Trump. You can’t make that story up.”
“Well, I’m not even sure they were kissing the ring,” replied Cruz. “I think they were kissing a little bit lower than that.”
He continued, “I mean listen, they’re desperate. There are three viewers that watch Morning Joe and two of them are blood relatives to Joe and Mika. I mean, it’s– they’re desperate for relevance and it is, look, America– I gotta say, there’s an excitement in Texas. People are excited. People are excited about a Republican administration.”
The two Morning Joe co-hosts received backlash and ridicule after they visited Trump at his Mar-a-Lago home “to restart communications” last month, despite previously comparing the president-elect to Adolf Hitler and likening him to a dictator.
“It’s hard to believe. I mean, I wouldn’t go and meet with Hitler, but that’s just me. Maybe it was all nonsense all along,” reactedDonald Trump Jr. to the visit. “Maybe I’m just a rational being, but it would be nice to bring some common sense back to Washington, and hopefully, we get some of that finally.”
Fox News host Sean Hannity reacts to President Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter ahead of his exit from office on “Hannity.”
SEAN HANNITY: Now, the Democrats you saw there, they were just flat-out lying. In fact, there are people who are very clearly above the law, the ones that are lecturing all of you about the rule of law, and by the way, they are called the Biden family, or as we affectionately refer to them on this program as simply the “syndicate.”
Early today, in a move that surprised no one who watches this channel, President Biden did issue a full, unconditional pardon to his beloved son, Hunter. Only months after vowing over and over again that he would never pardon Hunter because of his deep, unwavering commitment to justice and the rule of law, you might recall.
…
Well, we’ve all been subjected to one insane lie after another that only a handful of remaining MSNBC, fake news, CNN viewers could or would believe. So, it’s not a shocker that Joe Biden lied about a pardon for Hunter.
Author J. K. Rowling decried the “rewriting of history” soft-pedaling the extreme hostility she faced for her views on transgender ideology.
Last week, The New York Times published a piece on transgender activists rethinking their “all-or-nothing” approach and referenced the backlash against critics like Rowling as “unsparing criticism.”
“When J.K. Rowling said that denying any relationship between sex and biology was ‘deeply misogynistic and regressive,’ a prominent LGBTQ group accused her of betraying ‘real feminism.’ A few angry critics posted videos of themselves burning her books,” the article said.
On Monday, the “Harry Potter” author attacked this mild description of the backlash, reminding her X followers that she and others have received death threats and more.
“The rewriting of history begins. Opponents of gender ideology haven’t merely ‘endured unsparing criticism.’ I haven’t simply been told I ‘betrayed real feminism’ or received a few book-burning videos,” Rowling posted.
She continued, “I’ve been sent thousands of threats of murder, rape and violence. A trans woman posted my family’s home address with a bomb-making guide. My eldest child was targeted by a prominent trans activist who attempted to doxx her and ended up doxxing the wrong young woman. I could write a twenty thousand word essay on what the consequences have been to me and my family, and what we’ve endured is NOTHING compared to the harm done to others.
“By standing up to a movement that relies on threats of violence, ostracisation and guilt-by-association, all of us have been smeared and defamed, but many have lost their livelihoods. Some have been physically assaulted by trans activists. Female politicians have been forced to hire personal security on the advice of police. The news that one of the UK’s leading endocrinologists, Dr Hillary Cass, was advised not to travel by public transport for her own safety should shame everyone who let this insanity run amok.”
She added how this reinterpretation of the backlash only occurred since “the political landscape has shifted” and “some who’ve been riding high on their own supply are waking up with a hell of a hangover.”
“Mealy-mouthed retconning of what has actually happened over the past ten years is predictable but will not stand. I don’t doubt those who’ve turned a blind eye to the purges of non-believers, or even applauded and encouraged them, would rather minimize what the true cost of speaking out was, but ‘yes, maybe trans activists went a little over the top at times’ takes are frankly insulting,” Rowling wrote.
She concluded, “A full reckoning on the effects of gender ideology on individuals, society and politics is still a long way off, but I know this: the receipts will make very ugly reading when that time comes, and there are far too many of them to sweep politely under the carpet.”
Though transgender activists have viciously attacked Rowling and protested her works, HBO announced in a statement last month that it was standing behind the author ahead of her “Harry Potter” book series being adapted for television.
“J.K. Rowling has a right to express her personal views. We will remain focused on the development of the new series, which will only benefit from her involvement,” a network spokesperson said.
So, the latest revelation that Pete Hegseth’s mother once e-mailed him to call him out for his character and behavior with women is enough to kill his nomination, right? I mean, we already have credible accusations of sexual assault to go along with misogynistic views about women in combat, and White nationalist adjacent tattoos. Plus, you know, the fact that he is utterly unqualified save in the most minimal of senses.
Under more normal circumstances the sexual assault allegations would have been enough to kill the nomination. But, under normal circumstances, Hegseth never would have been nominated and, moreover, would not have had the Gaetz nomination to make him look better (not to mention RFK, Jr., and a host of other less-than-stellar picks).
The mother of Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, wrote him an email in 2018 saying he had routinely mistreated women for years and displayed a lack of character.
“On behalf of all the women (and I know it’s many) you have abused in some way, I say … get some help and take an honest look at yourself,” Penelope Hegseth wrote, stating that she still loved him.
She also wrote: “I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth.”
Mrs. Hegseth, in a phone interview with The New York Times on Friday, said that she had sent her son an immediate follow-up email at the time apologizing for what she had written. She said she had fired off the original email “in anger, with emotion” at a time when he and his wife were going through a very difficult divorce.
So, will Mrs. Hegseth’s repudiation of her e-mail be enough to blunt its impact?
In the interview, she defended her son and disavowed the sentiments she had expressed in the initial email about his character and treatment of women. “It is not true. It has never been true,” she said. She added: “I know my son. He is a good father, husband.” She said that publishing the contents of the first email was “disgusting.”
For the record, I acknowledge that the publication of this e-mail is a breach of privacy and it is a very serious thing to have done. I will hasten to add, however, that being Secretary of Defense is a very serious job, and character matters (or, at least I thought it did). This letter adds to the growing preponderance of evidence that Hegseth is not worthy of the position.
Mrs. Hegseth emailed her son on April 30, 2018, during a turbulent period in his life. He was in the middle of a contentious divorce from his second wife, Samantha, the mother of three of his children. Samantha Hegseth filed for divorce after her husband impregnated a co-worker, part of a pattern of adultery that dated back to his first marriage.
I mean, I understand that life is complicated and that not all marriages last. But this is the picture of someone with deep character flaws, not just someone whose relationship didn’t work out. But, again, when POTUS has the same character, I guess that metric is out the door.
Mr. Hegseth married Meredith Schwarz, his high school sweetheart, in 2004, one year after they both graduated from college. Ms. Schwarz sued for divorce less than five years after their wedding. The 2009 court judgment cited Mr. Hegseth’s infidelity as the reason for the breakdown of the marriage.
The following year, Mr. Hegseth married Samantha. Within five years, they had three boys.
[…]
By late 2016, Mr. Hegseth, a Fox News contributor and aspiring anchor, was having an affair with Jennifer Rauchet, an executive producer at Fox News. He was named as the weekend anchor of Fox & Friends in early 2017 — a post he held until earlier this month, when Mr. Trump announced he wanted him to head the Defense Department.
Ms. Rauchet, who has three other children, delivered a baby girl in August 2017, one month before Samantha Hegseth filed for divorce. Mr. Hegseth married Ms. Rauchet in 2019 at a ceremony at Trump National Golf Club Colts Neck in New Jersey.
The acrimonious divorce from Samantha took 10 months to finalize and led to the appointment of a parenting consultant to help negotiate disputes over dividing time with the children.
Sounds like a solid, trustworthy individual.
I expect that the defenses will be along these lines:
Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Mr. Trump, said in an email that The Times was “despicable” for publishing “an out-of-context snippet” of Mrs. Hegseth’s exchange with her son, adding that Mrs. Hegseth had “expressed regret for her emotional message and apologized.”
The Times published the entire e-mail here: Text of the Email That Pete Hegseth’s Mother Sent Him (I am out of gift links for the month, so you are all on your own for this one). To be clear, the e-mail itself proves nothing. But it is part of a broad pattern of behavior that is impossible to ignore.
I also expect a lot of defenders to attack the media for publishing the e-mail, rather than dealing with is implications. The rationalization was already underway in regard to the other alleged bad behavior, so who knows how this will hit?
Several key Republican senators have said that the sexual assault allegation in Monterey is not an obstacle to Mr. Hegseth’s nomination because it was never proven. But Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican of Iowa who has said she was sexually harassed while in the military, told Politico: “Any time there are allegations, you want to make sure they are properly vetted, so we’ll have that discussion.”
As I have noted in multiple posts on the nomination process: there is every reason to hold the nominees to a high standard because there are other options out there. Hegseth was a major test for the Senate GOP from the moment he was nominated, and that test has only gained in clarity since that time.
The fact my headline has a question mark and that I honestly don’t know if all of this will actually torpedo the nomination is a commentary on the incoming Trump administration and the general state of the Republican Party.
However, I will underscore that even if he withdraws or is rejected, this pick, along with all the others, continues to demonstrate the low character and terrible judgment of Donald J. Trump.
Warning: This story contains graphic details. Viewer discretion is advised.
The Florida woman who suffocated her boyfriend while he was trapped in a suitcase has been sentenced to life in prison.
Sarah Boone, 46, was handed a life sentence by Judge Michael Kraynick on Monday. He also rejected a motion for a retrial from Boone’s lawyers, according to FOX 35 Orlando.
Boone was found guilty of second-degree murder in October. The suitcase incident involving her then-boyfriend Jorge Torres took place in February 2020.
Boone and Torres had been drunkenly playing hide-and-seek when she zipped him up in a suitcase in their apartment in Winter Park, Florida, on Feb. 25, 2020.
At another point in the video, Boone said, “That’s what you get,” and “That’s what I feel like when you cheat on me,” while Torres struggled to free himself.
Boone reported the death the next day. In a chilling call that was released in October, she told a 911 operator that Torres was dead.
“[We were] playing last night and I put him in a suitcase, and we were playing,” Boone said. “A hide-and-seek kinda thing.”
Boone also claimed that she passed out the night before, and attempted to give Torres CPR when she discovered he had died.
“I don’t know what happened,” she explained. “He had blood coming from his mouth. He’s purple.”
In court proceedings, Boone claimed that she never intended to kill or hurt Torres and that her actions were in self-defense. She also alleged that Torres abused her.
Boone’s sentencing was attended by Torres’ family on Monday. Taking the stand, Torres’ daughter said her father was a “hidden gem” who was taken away “by evilness.”
“I pray that you see his face when you see him at night,” she said to Boone.
Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Mollie Markowitz contributed to this report.
A senior adviser to President-elect Donald Trump wanted no part of a question about whether his boss would accept a pardon from President Joe Biden.
On Sunday, Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden, who was convicted on federal gun and tax charges in two separate cases and was awaiting sentencing. The pardon was sweeping, covering all federal crimes his son committed or may have committed from 2014 to 2024. Not surprisingly, the move drew heat from Republicans and some Democrats after the president had previously said he would not pardon his son.
Until being elected last month, Trump faced his own federal legal problems. He had been indicted in two unrelated cases. In one, the government alleged he willfully retained classified documents after leaving office and obstructed their retrieval. In the other, the government claimed that Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election were criminal. After Trump won, Special Counsel Jack Smith sought to drop all charges against Trump because Department of Justice policy bars prosecutors from bringing charges against sitting presidents. Moreover, Trump, who pleaded not guilty to all counts, would simply quash those cases as president.
During Monday’s edition of The Ingraham Angle on Fox News, Laura Ingraham floated the idea of the president pardoning Trump before leaving office.
“Jason, would Donald Trump accept a pardon from Joe Biden?” she inquired.
“At this point, I don’t know what Joe Biden is gonna pull,” Miller replied. “I think it’s nonsense. If it’s some aspect of some PR play, he might try to do it. But President Trump did absolutely nothing wrong. That’s why everything is disappearing. That’s why he’s focused on actually serving for this second term here.”
Ingraham interrupted to reiterate the question.
“Wait, would President Trump say ‘no’ to a pardon, though?” she insisted. “Come on.”
“I’m not gonna go and put words in the president’s mouth,” he said. Everyone sees exactly what’s going on. This is a complete media manipulation by Joe Biden.”
The 2025 WNBA regular season schedule was released on Monday, and the latest clash between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese will be happening right away.
Clark’s Indiana Fever and Reese’s Chicago Sky will be going head-to-head to open their respective seasons on May 17 – one day after the league’s opening slate the day before.
This rivalry that goes back to their college days at Iowa and LSU quickly translated to the pros, as drama was seen in the Rookie of the Year race as well as their matchups on the court.
Clark went on to win Rookie of the Year this past season after setting numerous rookie and league records, but Reese quickly made her presence known as a fellow WNBA All-Star by impacting Chicago in her inaugural season as well.
Four meetings between the Fever and Sky were had last season, and each was more anticipated than the next as these two tried to best one another to help notch a win for their squad.
But it was Clark’s Fever who pulled off three wins out of the four meetings. In those games, though, Reese tallied more points and rebounds than Clark, though the floor general did best Reese in assists in all four games.
There were also some tense moments in those games, beginning with Reese’s teammate, Chennedy Carter’s flagrant foul on Clark early in the season that made national headlines and sparked tons of sports debate after the veteran guard checked the rookie to the ground in what many described as a cheap shot.
Then, on June 16, Clark was going in for a layup against the Sky when Reese came flying in to try to swat the ball away. Instead, her arm smacked Clark in the head, and she went down hard.
A flagrant 1 foul was called on Reese, who had to defend herself after the game, saying she was simply trying to make a play on the ball and not trying to hurt Clark.
Clark would say the same thing, understanding Reese was just trying to help her team in the moment.
Their performances, both in college and in the pros, have made each of them reach celebrity status that transcends sports. Reese even said on the opening episode of her podcast that the 2023 national championship game between her Tigers and Clark’s Hawkeyes “changed my life forever.”
But that change has sometimes come with hate.
“I think it’s really just the fans, her fans, the Iowa fans, now the Indiana fans, that are really just, they ride for her, and I respect that, respectfully,” Reese said. “But sometimes it’s very disrespectful. I think there’s a lot of racism when it comes to it.”
There’s no doubt Clark and Reese have each played a significant role in growing the game of women’s basketball and women’s sports in general, which led to the WNBA wasting no time getting them on the court immediately for their latest rivalry chapter.
Also worth noting about the WNBA schedule release is the newest franchise, the Golden State Valkyries, who tip off for their first-ever game on May 16 against the Los Angeles Sparks.
The New York Liberty, winners of the 2024 WNBA title, will see their ring ceremony on May 17 before their matchup with the Las Vegas Aces.
The Fever and Sky will have five meetings in the 2025 season.
Former “Who’s the Boss” child star, Danny Pintauro, landed in the hospital after an accident while riding on his scooter on Thanksgiving.
Pintauro, who played Jonathan Bower on the hit sitcom, shared a video slideshow on Instagram, featuring photos of himself from the hospital, explaining he underwent emergency surgery to repair a tear in his stomach. He sustained the injury while riding his scooter on the night of Thanksgiving and the bike lane he was in was “suddenly blocked with cones.”
“I was forced to choose between a van and a pylon,” his post read. “The pylons hurt!! Have a terrible scrape on my arm and I was pretty convinced I had broken my arm. The next morning it was a whole lot better so I didn’t worry as much.”
It wasn’t until the next day, Saturday, Nov. 30, that he began to feel “weird chest pains,” which later spread across his stomach and shoulder muscles, saying the pain was so severe, “I could barely breathe.”
Pintauro shared that his husband, Wil Tabares, subsequently drove him to the hospital, and after running multiple tests, it was confirmed the accident caused a tear in his stomach lining, which in turn caused “an infection in my bloodstream,” and “air and stomach acid, etc, were escaping into my abdomen.”
Calling it “the most excruciating pain I’ve ever felt in my whole life,” Pintauro shared on Sunday, the discovery led to “emergency surgery last night to repair the tear.”
“The surgery went well and now that it’s fixed, the pain is pretty much gone away, although I’m still very sore,” he said. “They just took the intubation tube out, but I have to leave another tube in my stomach for three days to keep removing the acids so as to not upset the stitches and repair they did. Which also means that I won’t be eating or drinking anything for the next three days.”
Pintauro reflected on the very real possibility that the situation could have ended very differently for him, saying, “If I had waited any longer, I could have died.” He realized how important it is to listen to your body, explaining it “was the one who told me something was absolutely wrong.”
He went on to thank his “wonderful husband” for staying by his side through everything, as well as the doctors and nurses at Memorial Care Miller Hospital, who are taking care of him.
“Unfortunately, it means that and any of the Book Nooks I was working on will have to wait a few more days so I will change the shipping dates to reflect. I hope that’s okay. This is my first major surgery I, first emergency surgery EVER but I kept it together. It was absolutely terrifying.”
He continued: “If anybody might wanna send me flowers, I wouldn’t be opposed. Lol just kidding.I’m stressed, hungry, in pain and exhausted. Light a candle for me, okay?Ohhh! They did an X-ray of my arm and it’s not broken! So there’s one bright side.”
Pintauro starred in “Who’s the Boss,” alongside Tony Danza, Judith Light, Alyssa Milano and Katherine Helmond, for almost 200 episodes spanning eight seasons, from 1984 to 1992.
Following the end of the series, Pintauro mostly stayed out of the spotlight, choosing to move out of California and onto a different career path. He has acted sporadically since his time on the show, mainly in “The Quarantine Bunch” in 2020 and “A Country Christmas Harmony” in 2022.
