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Robert Kraft 'loved' irreverent massage joke that sparked Tom Brady reaction, Jeff Ross says
Tom Brady stunned those watching his Netflix roast special on Sunday night when he ran up in defense of Robert Kraft and told comedian Jeff Ross not to "say that s--- again" after the roast master cracked a Robert Kraft massage joke.
Ross, however, appeared on "The Rich Eisen Show" on Monday and said he talked with the New England Patriots owner after the show and all was well.
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"C’mon… No way. … He’s having fun," Ross said. "It’s like, that’s his dad. Robert Kraft is like a father figure to him. He was just showing his love to Robert Kraft. And Robert Kraft loved it. We had a great talk afterward. He was so happy that I gave him a shoutout."
It seemed to be the only joke that was off limits.
During Ross’s joke presentation, he mentioned Brady being taken 199th overall in the NFL Draft, and he said he walked into Kraft’s office to tell him something.
ELI MANNING HAS GREAT REASON FOR WHY HE WAS ABSENT FROM TOM BRADY'S NETFLIX SPECIAL
"’I’m the best decision your organization has ever made,’" Ross said.
But Ross wasn’t done.
"’Would you like a massage?’" he said.
In February 2019, Kraft was charged in a multicounty investigation of massage parlors that included a secret video recording in the spas’ lobbies and rooms. Police said the recordings showed Kraft and other men engaging in sex acts with women and paying them.
Kraft pleaded not guilty to the charge, issued a public apology in March 2019 and was cleared of a soliciting sex charge in 2020.
Fox News’ Scott Thompson contributed to this report.
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Met Gala 2024: Red Carpet Arrivals
The 2024 Met Gala brings celebrities, supermodels, musicians and A-list stars to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art for a night of costumes and culture.Russian journalist charged with 'justifying terrorism' over years-old Telegram posts
A Russian journalist who has worked for both state-funded and independent media was detained Monday and faces charges of justifying terrorism through posts on the Telegram messaging app, her lawyer said.
The detention of Nadezhda Kevorkova comes amid an intensifying crackdown on journalists, opposition figures and critics of Russia's war in Ukraine.
Kevorkova is expected to appear in court Tuesday, her lawyer Kaloy Akhilgov said on Telegram. If convicted, she could be sentenced to up to five years in prison.
US ARMY SOLDIER DETAINED IN RUSSIA, CHARGED WITH CRIMINAL MISCONDUCT: OFFICIALS
Akhilgov said the charges involve two posts, one in 2018 and the other in 2021.
The post in 2018 republished an article written by another journalist about the 2005 attack by Islamic militants on the city of Nalchik in southern Russia in which 139 people were killed, including 94 militants, the lawyer said. The 2021 post concerned the Taliban, but Akhilgov did not detail about what was in that post.
Kevorkova's work has appeared in the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta and the Kremlin-funded satellite TV channel RT, among other media.
Two Russian journalists were arrested last week on charges of extremism for allegedly working with a group founded by the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Evan Gershkovich, a 32-year-old American reporter for The Wall Street Journal, is awaiting trial on espionage charges. Both Gershkovich and his employer have vehemently denied the charges.
Gershkovich was detained in March 2023 while on a reporting trip and has spent over a year in jail. Authorities have not detailed what, if any, evidence they have to support the espionage charges.
Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who works for U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was detained in October and charged with failing to register as a "foreign agent."
Journalist and activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, arrested two years ago and serving a 25-year sentence on a treason conviction for statements against the Ukraine war, on Monday was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in The Washington Post.
Dem lawmaker’s response to Kristi Noem’s Kim Jong Un controversy blasted as racist
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., found himself in hot water Monday after he was accused of perpetuating a racist stereotype about Asians in a now-deleted post on X.
The post had been in response to a CBS Mornings’ interview with South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, discussing her request to remove an excerpt from her forthcoming book, "No Going Back," about supposedly meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The Republican governor, who is rumored to be a potential vice president pick for Donald Trump, told the interviewers she "should not have" included that anecdote in the book, and refused to answer directly whether the meeting had in fact taken place.
It was the latest controversy Noem is facing over her book, after receiving bipartisan backlash for a story of how she once shot her hunting dog.
Weighing in on the controversy, Moskowitz responded in a post on X: "Why am I getting the feeling that she wanted to eat dog with Kim Jong Un."
Moskowitz deleted the post after some backlash.
Politico reporter Nicholas Wu wrote that Moskowitz’s tweet used a stereotype about Asians and dogs.
In response, Moskowitz wrote that he had "tremendous respect for Nick as a fantastic journalist."
"I made a joke about 2 specific people. No one else," Moskowitz wrote. "However, I would never want to be insensitive and feed into a stereotype. He called me out, deserved."
Wu later shared a statement from Democratic Reps. Andy Kim of New Jersey and Marilyn Strickland of Washington.
"While we appreciate our colleague standing up to GOP extremism, we cannot perpetuate harmful stereotypes in the process," wrote the two lawmakers. "We thank Rep. Moskowitz for apologizing and taking down his tweet."
Moskowitz deleted another post on X in March involving an edited photo of President Biden.
It featured side-by-side pictures of actress Sydney Sweeney wearing a revealing outfit on her recent Saturday Live Appearance and the president, looking shocked as he arrived to give his State of the Union address.
The original photo depicted Biden’s reaction to seeing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, R-Ga., at the address.
Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Noem and Moskowitz for further comment.
‘Golden Bachelor’ Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist’s divorce came down to cornfields, ‘Bachelor’ alum claims
Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist said their divorce came down to their living situation, but according to "Bachelor" alum Ben Higgins, there was more to it.
During Monday’s episode of "The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous" podcast with Ashley Iaconetti, Higgins claims a disagreement over cornfields led to their rift.
"This is a rumor. I want to be clear that as I preface this, this is a rumor of a generalization of a conversation that Gerry and Theresa had, and I think you’re gonna find it interesting," Higgins began.
He explained that prior to a trip to Indiana, Turner and Nist were allegedly already "not seeing eye-to-eye in life."
'GOLDEN BACHELOR' GERRY TURNER, THERESA NIST'S DIVORCE NEWS LEAVES SHOW CONTESTANTS HEARTBROKEN
As they were driving from the airport, where Turner picked up Nist, heading for his lake house two hours away, Nist’s comments about the many, many cornfields in the area, highlighted a surprising issue between the couple.
According to Higgins, "[She said], ‘Wow, look at all this beautiful untouched land. Think about what could be done if they developed it. Condos, office buildings, apartments. Think about the towns that could congregate in these open fields and think about the people that would be interested in moving here. And look at that lake. There’s a lake with only cornfields around it. Think about if they build up a resort where people could vacation to.’ And Gerry’s comment back to her, again, a rumor, was, ‘You don’t take land from a farmer.’"
He added, "This was a big start to them disagreeing on how they saw the world and what they imagined for the world and how they wanted to invest into the world."
Representatives for Turner and Nist did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Iaconetti jokingly doubted the story, and Higgins again emphasized it was just a rumor.
The episode’s guest, former "Bachelor" star Chris Soules, who also happens to be a farmer, said he could see "both sides" of the argument.
"There’s areas that would benefit from development and economically, it makes sense. But there’s a ton of land out there, farmers have plenty of land to farm, and sometimes there’s some misconceptions that, maybe, there’s a shortage, but they’re not making any more new land, so there’s that," Soules said. "But that doesn’t seem like something that should interfere in a fundamental breakup of a relationship, I would say. I think there’s a happy medium that we can all live with. … I don’t think that should have resulted in [a breakup], but you, to each their own, I guess."
Soules also noted that distance can be a "factor" post-show.
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Turner and Nist announced their divorce last month after three months of marriage.
"Theresa and I have had a number of heart-to-heart conversations, and we’ve looked closely at our situation, our living situation, so forth and — and we’ve kind of come to the conclusion mutually that it’s probably time for us to — dissolve our marriage," Turner said during an appearance on "Good Morning America" last month with Nist.
Nist added, "We have received so much love and support from so many people who watched ‘The Golden Bachelor,’ and I don’t think we can tell you how many people told us that it gave them so much hope. We want none of that to change for anybody."
The couple married in January of this year in a televised ceremony, after Turner proposed in the season finale of the ABC reality dating series.
Settling on a living situation seemed to be an issue. Nist is based in New Jersey and Turner in Indiana, and while they had plans to move to South Carolina, they didn’t come to fruition.
"We looked at homes in South Carolina, we considered New Jersey, and we just looked at home after home, but we never got to the point where we made that decision," Nist explained on "Good Morning America."
They also made it clear that they did not have any animosity towards each other, and the issue was not that they had fallen out of love, as Turner said, "I still love this person. There’s no doubt in my mind, I still am in love with her. I root for her every day."
Minnesota lawmakers debate constitutional amendment to protect abortion and LGBTQ rights
Minnesota lawmakers launched their debate Monday on far-reaching legislation to amend the constitution to protect abortion and LGBTQ rights.
The Minnesota Equal Rights Amendment would be among the nation's most expansive protections of abortion and LGBTQ rights if it is approved by lawmakers this session and then by voters on the 2026 ballot.
MINNESOTA LAWMAKERS INITIATE DEBATE ON PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE BILL
Over 100 people crammed into the legislative hearing room Monday. Supporters wore green clothes and buttons that said "ERA YES" while opponents wore bright red shirts that said "NO CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT to kill unborn babies."
Betty Folliard, whose group ERA Minnesota has been pushing for such a measure since 2014, testified in support, as did members of Gender Justice — an advocacy organization for gender equity — and OutFront Minnesota, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group.
"This isn’t just about reproductive justice," Folliard said in an interview. "It’s also about pay inequity, historic stereotypes and discrimination that keep on being overlooked, generation to generation to generation."
The amendment’s wording would prohibit the state from discriminating against anyone on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, disability or sex — including gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation. The state also couldn’t discriminate over a person "making and effectuating decisions about all matters relating to one’s own pregnancy or decision whether to become or remain pregnant."
Minnesota already has a non-discrimination law, the Human Rights Act, that applies to individuals, businesses, schools and other institutions. The constitutional amendment would apply to state government, and would protect certain laws — including recent ones that have made Minnesota a refuge for out-of-state people seeking an abortion and gender-affirming care — from being repealed by future lawmakers and administrations.
Carrena Falls testified in opposition. She said she's a college student in the Twin Cities who is "repulsed" by the proposal, which would "enshrine a radical abortion agenda into our Constitution."
Others who testified against the proposal included members of Minnesota Family Council, a Christian advocacy group; Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, an anti-abortion group; and Minnesota Catholic Conference, a policy organization for the Catholic Church.
Rebecca Delahunt, director of public policy at Minnesota Family Council, said she's concerned the ERA would grant children a constitutional right to gender-affirming care.
Republican House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth said she is "very disappointed" that Democrats developed the proposal without Republican input. Her motion to submit the proposal to questioning in other House committees failed along party lines.
Democrat House Majority Leader Jamie Long's motion advancing the proposal to the House floor succeeded with a 9-5 vote along party lines.
"These rights are so incredibly important," Long said. "We know that Legislatures can change, and we know the courts can change. But the Constitution is the one thing that we know will stay in effect."
If approved by the Legislature, voters in 2026 would be asked: "Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to say that all persons shall be guaranteed equal rights under the laws of this state, and shall not be discriminated against on account of race, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, or sex, including pregnancy, gender, and sexual orientation?"
If approved, the amendment would take effect on Jan. 1, 2027.
Last year, a different Minnesota ERA proposal passed in the Senate but did not get a final vote in the House.
Democratic Rep. Kaohly Vang Her, a chief author of both proposals, said several Democrats wanted the ERA to do more to protect transgender and reproductive rights. She said recent attacks on transgender people and the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court have been top of mind for many Democrats.
Democrats have only narrow majorities -- their margin is just one vote in the Senate -- so they need the support of most in their party if Republicans oppose the legislation. If placed on the ballot, the constitutional amendment would need to be approved by a majority of all voters casting ballots, not just a majority of those voting on the question.
Tennessee-based company fined $650K for illegally employing children to clean meat processing plants
A Tennessee-based sanitation company has agreed to pay more than half a million dollars after a federal investigation found it illegally hired at least two dozen children to clean dangerous meat processing facilities in Iowa and Virginia.
The U.S. Department of Labor announced Monday that Fayette Janitorial Service LLC entered into a consent judgment, in which the company agrees to nearly $650,000 in civil penalties and the court-ordered mandate that it no longer employs minors. The February filing indicated federal investigators believed at least four children had still been working at one Iowa slaughterhouse as of Dec. 12.
U.S. law prohibits companies from employing people younger than 18 to work in meat processing plants because of the hazards.
COMPANY ACCUSED OF HIRING CHILDREN TO CLEAN MEAT PROCESSING PLANTS
The Labor Department alleged that Fayette used 15 underage workers at a Perdue Farms plant in Accomac, Virginia, and at least nine at Seaboard Triumph Foods in Sioux City, Iowa. The work included sanitizing dangerous equipment like head splitters, jaw pullers and meat bandsaws in hazardous conditions where animals are killed and rendered.
One 14-year-old was severely injured while cleaning the drumstick packing line belt at the plant in Virginia, the investigation alleged.
Perdue Farms and Seaboard Triumph Foods said in February they terminated their contracts with Fayette.
The agreement stipulates that Fayette will hire a third-party consultant to monitor the company's compliance with child labor laws for at least three years, as well as to facilitate trainings. The company must also establish a hotline for individuals to report concerns about child labor abuses.
A spokesperson for Fayette told The Associated Press in February that the company was cooperating with the investigation and has a "zero-tolerance policy for minor labor."
The Labor Department has called attention to a growing list of child labor violations across the country, including the fatal mangling of a 16-year-old working at a Mississippi poultry plant, the death of a 16-year-old after an accident at a sawmill in Wisconsin, and last year’s report of more than 100 children illegally employed by Packers Sanitation Services Inc., or PSSI, across 13 meatpacking plants. PSSI paid over $1.5 million in civil penalties.
The Labor Department’s latest statistics indicate the number of children being employed illegally in the U.S. has increased 88% since 2019.
2 workers confirmed dead, 53 still trapped after South Africa building collapse
A multi-story apartment building under construction collapsed Monday in a coastal city in South Africa, killing two construction workers and leaving 53 trapped under the rubble, authorities said.
An additional 20 workers were pulled from the mangled wreckage of the building and were being treated for injuries at various hospitals, city authorities said.
The building collapse happened just after 2 p.m. in the city of George, about 250 miles east of Cape Town on South Africa’s south coast.
40 WORKERS TRAPPED AFTER BUILDING UNDER CONSTRUCTION REPORTEDLY COLLAPSES IN SOUTH AFRICA
Hours later, more than 100 emergency personnel were at the site and were likely to work through the night, using sniffer dogs to try and locate survivors, some of whom were feared buried under huge slabs of concrete.
Cranes and other heavy lifting equipment were being sent to help with the rescue effort, the George municipality said, while more emergency responders were being brought in from nearby towns and cities. They were expected to reach the site at about midnight.
There were 75 workers at the building site when it collapsed, and family and friends were gathered at the nearby municipal offices waiting for news, the municipality said.
Authorities were investigating what caused the tragedy and a case was opened by police, but there was no immediate information on why the building suddenly collapsed.
Marco Ferreira, a local representative of the Gift of the Givers non-governmental organization, was at the site with a team to offer support and food and drink to the rescuers. Gift of the Givers is a charity that often helps during disasters in South Africa. It had also provided three sniffer dogs and handlers to help with the search, Ferreira said.
"The situation at this stage is still very much in the rescue stages," Ferreira told the eNCA TV news channel. "We don’t know, it’s probably going to carry on for days. There are some cranes there to help lift some concrete. But it’s not a pretty sight."
Authorities didn't immediately provide details of the injuries sustained by the workers who were taken to hospitals, but South African media reported that a number of them had suffered serious injuries. The two workers who died were declared dead after being admitted to hospitals, the George municipality said.
"Our thoughts are with the families and all those affected who continue to wait on word of their loved ones," George Executive Mayor Leon Van Wyk said.
The provincial Western Cape government said it was closely monitoring the situation and had sent resources to assist with the emergency response.
"All the necessary support has been offered to emergency personnel to expedite their response. At the moment, officials are focused on saving lives. This is our top priority at this stage," Western Cape Premier Alan Winde, the head of the provincial government, said in a statement.
The national government was being briefed on the rescue operation, Winde said.
Bill Maher says he won't 'go f---ing nuts again' and 'get anxious like a Millennial' if Trump wins
Liberal comedian Bill Maher insisted he "won't go f---ing nuts again" if former President Trump gets re-elected.
During an interview on his "Club Random" podcast with fellow comedian Jerry Seinfeld, Maher reflected on how "we live in the most amazing f---ing times" despite all the "bulls---" the country faces.
"Climate change is probably gonna get us at some point, but it hasn't yet," Maher said on Sunday's episode. "We walked out here today. We weren't, like, evaporated by the rays of the sun or something. I mean, it was a beautiful day. The grass is green. The sky is blue. I know it's really not - there's lots of things going on behind the scenes that are horrible, blah, blah, blah but we're still living in that time where we're basically, you know, yes, health certainly can rear its ugly head and there's lots of poisons everywhere and lots of terrible things and Trump could do this and democracy and blah, blah, blah and nuclear war. But for the moment…"
Maher then recalled a dinner he had with a group talking about how "the world's ending."
"Look around you, you f---! You dumbass!" Maher told them. "We're at this f---ing awesome restaurant, they're bringing you this food, this dinner is gonna cost $700. You're not even gonna f---ing blink at paying the check. Shut the f--- up about how terrible things [are]."
"I'm not gonna lose my nervous system about Trump again," he continued. "If he ends the world, he's gonna end the world. I'm not gonna f---ing go nuts again if he wins another term. I just can't."
"I hope you have that wherewithal," Seinfeld responded.
BILL MAHER FUMES OVER MERRICK GARLAND: ‘ATTORNEY GENERAL BARNEY FIFE’ ‘SUCKS’ AT HIS JOB
Maher chuckled, asking Seinfeld, "Well, what are you going to do?"
"I don't know," Seinfeld responded. "I'm trying to stay right there."
"Yes!" Maher agreed. "Or you can get anxious like a Millennial. I mean, that generation, especially the Z generation-"
"Ugh," Seinfeld reacted before the two of them laughed.
Maher is among Trump's biggest critics in Hollywood. He was famously vocal with his prediction that Trump would refuse to leave office willingly long before the 2020 presidential election.
For several months, Maher has been sounding the alarm about Trump's chances of victory in the upcoming election, and he has repeatedly urged President Biden to step aside for another Democrat to become the nominee.
However, his attitude recently shifted during Trump's ongoing trial in New York City, suggesting the political winds could change if there's a guilty verdict.
"This one, I got to say I was always against [it] because I thought of all the ones you're bringing, this is the least serious. … Now I think Trump could lose," Maher said last month. "And by the way, if this goes that way and Trump loses, it's going to change the whole election. A number of independents, a significant number, and Republicans say their vote will change if he is a convicted criminal."
California reports the first increase in groundwater supplies in 4 years
After massive downpours flooded California’s rivers and packed mountains with snow, the state reported Monday the first increase in groundwater supplies in four years.
The state saw 4.1 million acre-feet of managed groundwater recharge in the water year ending in September, and an 8.7 million acre-feet increase in groundwater storage, California’s Department of Water Resources said. Groundwater supplies are critical to growing much of the country’s fresh produce.
CROP-RICH CALIFORNIA REGION MAY FALL UNDER STATE MONITORING TO PRESERVE GROUNDWATER FLOW
The semiannual report came after water officials stepped up efforts during last year's rains to capture water flows from melting snowpack in the mountains and encouraged farmers to flood fields to replenish groundwater basins.
"The impressive recharge numbers in 2023 are the result of hard work by the local agencies combined with dedicated efforts from the state, but we must do more to be prepared to capture and store water when the wet years come," Paul Gosselin, deputy director of sustainable water management for the agency, said in a statement.
California has been seeking to step up groundwater recharge with ever-drier years expected from climate change. Much of the state's population counts on groundwater for drinking water in their homes, and farmers that grow much of the country's food rely on the precious resource for crops ranging from carrots and almonds to berries and leafy greens.
For many years, Californians pumped groundwater from wells without measuring how much they were taking. But as some wells ran dry and land began sinking, the state enacted a law requiring local communities to start measuring and regulating groundwater pumping to ensure the basins would be sustainable for years to come.
In Monday's report, California water officials noted that some areas where land had been sinking saw a rebound as users pumped less groundwater since more surface water was available following the rains. Overall, the state extracted 9.5 million acre-feet of groundwater during the last water year, down from 17 million a year before, the report said.
Some farmers in California have reported seeing a recovery in their wells this year, prompting them to question how much the state needs to cut groundwater pumping. Joaquin Contente, a dairy farmer in the crop-rich San Joaquin Valley, said he has seen recovery in his wells, with one returning to 19 feet (5.8 meters) deep from more than 30 feet (9.1 meters) deep two years ago.
"They've already come back to almost a normal level," he said.
California water officials welcomed the recharge but said it would take five rainy years like last year to boost groundwater storage to levels needed after so many years of overpumping.