probably a bad idea
Anti-Trump activists are handing out these very convincing — and very fake — Washington Posts around D.C.
The definition of fake news has hit Washington, D.C.
"UNPRESIDENTED," the front page of The Washington Post screamed Wednesday, featuring a story that claimed President Trump had resigned. Except it wasn't The Washington Post, and it definitely didn't happen.
An activist group spent Wednesday morning handing out the fake Post copies around the capital, dated May 1, 2019 and suggesting Trump would resign with a note written on a napkin, the real Washington Post reports. It was full of anti-Trump stories that also appeared on a Post lookalike website, which has since been taken down.
The Post's PR team quickly tweeted that the paper and website were "not Post products." Anti-Trump activist L.A. Kauffman later said she, along with author Onnesha Roychoudhuri and the activist pranksters known as the Yes Men, created the fake paper, per NPR. As Politico report Ian Kullgren tweeted, "this is problematic" and definitely not helping their cause, but whoever was handing out the papers "wasn't having it" when he told her as much, he said.
The now-defunct fake Post website contained just a story called "A look at the 64 bills." The real Post published a real version of it, which you can read here.
congratulations
Chicago Sky wins 1st WNBA championship
The Chicago Sky won the franchise's first WNBA championship on Sunday, defeating the Phoenix Mercury 80-74 in Game 4.
Allie Quigley scored 26 points for the Sky, making five 3-pointers, followed by Candace Parker with 16 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists. Kahleah Copper, who averaged 17 points and 5.5 rebounds for the Sky during the series, was named Finals MVP.
"I've never been one to say I don't have anything if I don't win a championship," Quigley said after the game. "But I also know how much it means if you do have one. I feel like you're elite when you have a championship. It's just something in your legacy that makes you special."
Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Biden's chief medical adviser, was questioned by Fox News' Chris Wallace on Sunday about why he believes he has "become a polarizing figure" during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Fox News Sunday, Wallace asked the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases if he thinks there's anything he has done that may have "contributed" to him becoming a "controversial" figure over time. Fauci responded that he couldn't "think of anything" but that "I'm sure some people will."
He went on to say that there are people who "deny reality that's looking them straight in the eye," and it's "understandable" that those people "don't particularly care for me."
"Sometimes the truth becomes inconvenient for some people, so they react against me," Fauci said. "That just is what it is. There's not much I can do about that."
During the appearance on Fox News Sunday, Fauci also criticized Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's (R) recent executive order prohibiting COVID-19 vaccine mandates, saying, "From a public health standpoint, that is really unfortunate."
purely and simply evil
Halloween Kills scores best debut for a horror film during the pandemic
Michael Myers is killing it at the box office.
Halloween Kills, the new installment in the long-running slasher franchise, took in $50.4 million at the domestic box office this weekend, Variety reports. That came in below the $76 million, pre-pandemic debut of the film's 2018 predecessor. But it was still considered a strong start for the horror sequel, especially given it's also available to stream on Peacock at no additional charge to subscribers.
This was the latest 2021 release that drove audiences out to theaters even though there was the option to watch the movie at home, with others including Godzilla vs. Kong and Black Widow. It was also the latest horror film to perform well at the box office in 2021, and Deadline notes Halloween Kills had the best three-day domestic debut of any horror movie released during the pandemic. That record was previously held by A Quiet Place Part II, which opened to $47.5 million over three days in May. Halloween Kills also scored the best pandemic opening for an R-rated movie, above the DC film The Suicide Squad.
Though it's the 12th film in the Halloween series, Halloween Kills serves as the second chapter in a revived version of the franchise, which picks up 40 years after the original 1978 movie but ignores all prior sequels. Reviews for Kills were more lukewarm than for the 2018 installment, and some fans expressed disappointment that Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie Strode has a smaller role this time, as the movie shifts focus to returning characters from the 1978 classic. But Curtis is set to return for a third film that will apparently conclude this era of the series, Halloween Ends, and hits theaters in October 2022.
After Halloween Kills, another test of how a simultaneous streaming release can affect a film's box office potential will come next weekend, when the sci-fi epic Dune hits both theaters and HBO Max.
Comedian Jon Stewart offered some pointed media criticism during an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday, arguing the press does a "terrible job at de-escalation."
The host of The Problem with Jon Stewart on CNN's State of the Union made the case that the media places too great a focus on stories seeking to "expose the conflict lines" in the United States. Stewart put forward this argument after Tapper asked a question referencing California recently mandating gender-neutral toy sections in stores.
"Honestly, like that law, who gives a s--t?" Stewart asked. "You know what I mean? In terms of the importance of the running of California. Yeah, it's a law — who's it really going to impact?"
As another example, Stewart mocked people who are bothered by pop star Demi Lovato changing their pronouns to they and them, and the former Daily Show host argued this is the kind of story that doesn't matter but is still "ubiquitous" in the media.
"I think the media does a terrible job at de-escalation," Stewart said. "And de-escalation is the antidote to all this nonsense. And I don't mean civility and I don't mean nonpartisanship. I mean focusing on things that are more urgent and elemental in people's lives, and really hammering away at those things, rather than purely the emotional fault lines that occur in societies."
During the interview, Stewart also argued that it's a "mistake" to focus only on former President Donald Trump, as opposed to focusing on "systems and dynamics that have been in place long before this cat ever learned how to surf those waves."
the comeback kid
Bill Clinton released from hospital after infection treatment
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Former President Bill Clinton has been released from a California hospital after undergoing treatment for an infection.
The 42nd U.S. president's spokesperson, Angel Ureña, on Sunday released a statement from the University of California Irvine Medical Center's Dr. Alpesh N. Amin announcing that Clinton has been discharged.
"His fever and white blood cell count are normalized and he will return home to New York to finish his course of antibiotics," Amin said. "On behalf of everyone at UC Irvine Medical Center, we were honored to have treated him and will continue to monitor his progress."
Clinton was hospitalized on Tuesday for what was described as a non-COVID-related infection. His spokesperson said Saturday the former president was making "excellent progress" and was in "great spirits" while "spending time with family, catching up with friends, and watching college football." President Biden spoke with Clinton over the phone on Friday, and according to CNN, he also received calls from Vice President Kamala Harris, former President George W. Bush, and former Vice President Al Gore.
